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Building and exploring are two words that describe many kids’ styles of play. Whether digging in the dirt in the backyard or building a fort on a snow day, kids love to embrace this part of childhood. Here are 20 toys to help kids embrace this imaginative and important style of play.
LEGO CREATOR 3-IN-1 WILD ANIMALS: PANDA FAMILY
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Kids can build a panda with its cub, an orca with its calf, and a penguin with its chick, all with the same LEGO bricks in this 626-piece set. Five numbered bags and a helpful image-based instruction manual are also included.
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DON’T LET THE PIGEON BUILD THE BUS — MAGNETIC TILE SET (CREATEON)
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Mo Willems’ popular storybook pigeon comes to the construction category with this magnetic tile set that little ones can use to extend storytime into playtime. Each piece features colorful graphics inspired by the books.
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BLOCK TECH BLOCK BOUQUET — PEONY
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Tweens, teens, and kidults can snap these blocks together to build a realistic, 80-piece peony flower, then combine with other sets (sold separately) to make a full bouquet.
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AVAILABLE: APRIL 2025
BLDR SANRIO HELLO KITTY’S DREAM CAFE WITH HELLO KITTY, POMPOMPURIN & CINNAMOROLL
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Enter the world of Hello Kitty with this 354-piece construction set. Kids can build the cafe and enjoy 360-degree play for hours of fun. The set comes with Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, and Pompompurin figures and the bricks are compatible with all major construction brands.
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TILE TOWN RECYCLING TRUCK
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The Tile Town range expands with this six-wheeled deluxe recycling truck. It comes with 12 standard tiles, one magnetic figure, and two action tiles. The included recycling worker engages the action tiles, making the dumpster lift and the trash emptying feature work.
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AVAILABLE: JULY 2025
MAGNA-TILES CASTLE DLX 48-PIECE SET
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Kids can open the working drawbridge and step into a world of magnetic wonder or soar through the skies with an exclusive dragon figure. This magnetic building set also includes MAGNA-TILES first balcony pieces and spiral staircases, as well as microMAGS pieces and plenty of glitter tiles for extra enchantment.
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MAX PREMIUM: RETRO
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Kids and kidults can take a trip down memory lane with this collection of six retro-inspired building sets, each with up to 221 premium pieces. Styles include a TV, camera, boombox, and more.
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AVAILABLE: SPRING 2025
CONNETIX 48 PIECE ROADS CREATIVE PACK
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This 48-piece set includes sleek black magnetic quarter circles, arches, intersections, and ramps. Kids can build roads, raceways, skateparks, cities, and more. It is compatible with all Connetix sets.
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DISNEY FROZEN CASTLE MAGNETIC TILES SET
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Young builders and Disney fans will feel like they are in the Frozen world of Arendelle as they build it with this magnetic tile set featuring characters like Anna, Elsa, and Olaf.
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CRAYOLA PIP TILES 24-PIECES BOLD COLORS
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Kids can create endless structures and patterns in bright, vibrant, crayon-inspired colors with these mini-magnetic building tiles.
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BLOCKABLES
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This collection of snap-and-play wooden blocks and felt accessories is easy to grip and ready for young ones to build, stack, and link in every direction.
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BRIXIES BIRTHDAY CAKE MINI BRICK POSTCARD
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When a normal card isn’t enough and you can’t give them a cake, this pastel building block kit might be the perfect postcard to send.
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TECHNO GEARS MARBLE MANIA EXTREME GLO FREESTYLE
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Creative builders can use gears, 3D connectors, LED light modules, spinners, and more to build endless versions of the ultimate marble run.
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TOOBLERZ SILLY MONSTERS BUILDING SET
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These fuzzy sticks and accessories act as funky friends and fidgets for kids and adults to twist, bend, build, play, and create.
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AVAILABLE: SUMMER 2025
TECTI
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Tecti is a scalable, modifiable, kinetic building system. Tweens and teens can create more than 50 structures using the interlocking, moveable cubes.
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ROCKET LAUNCHER
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Space-minded kids can build their own rocket launcher with an easy-to-understand guide. Then, it’s time for lift-off as the rocket launches into the air.
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PUZZLE BY NUMBER — T-REX
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This dino-themed set combines a paint-by-number game with the classic satisfaction of a puzzle. Young puzzlers match each number with the corresponding color; no glue or ironing is required.
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NUMBERBLOCKS WOODEN BUILDING BLOCKS ACTIVITY SET
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Numberblocks introduce kids to simple math involving numbers and counting in a fun, stackable way. Inspired by the Netflix series, this set features 20 activities to extend the play beyond the building.
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LINCOLN LOGS BEECHWOOD RETREAT
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This set has a unique assortment of 105 wood logs and sturdy plastic pieces, offering kids endless possibilities to build their own mini homes and neighborhoods.
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AVAILABLE: FALL 2025
TILE TOWN — BLUEY TREE HOUSE
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The world of BBC Studios’ Bluey expands with this tree house that preschoolers can build with colorful, sturdy magnetic tiles. The immersive features include a moving swing and a working light.
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AVAILABLE: JULY 2025
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A version of this feature was originally published in the 2025 edition of The BIG Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
The post 20 Top Toys to Embrace Building and Exploring appeared first on The Toy Book.