Everyone in my household is an animal-lover, our three children included. If we had our way, we would turn our house into a menagerie. Since this is not possible, I am glad that Hasbro's FurReal Friends exist to save the day.We had never experienced FurReal interactive toy animals before, so I was curious to see how they would spark my children's imaginations. Hasbro was kind enough to send us one pet for each child . . . a Lulu's Walkin' Kitty for our 3yr old daughter, a Newborn Puppy Beagle for our 3yr old son, and a Newborn Baby Bird for our 6yr old son.
The white FurReal Friends Lulu's Walkin' Kitty was a huge hit with our daughter. This toy retails for $19.99 . . . only $5 more than the FurReal Newborns. This kitty, which also comes in white and orange, can walk, meow, purr, and make a kneading motion.
I think the only phrase I can use to describe how our daughter reacted when her new kitty walked right up to her is utterly delighted. Our real cats do not do that. I think the fact that this cat has a little pink nose and fluffy white medium length fur reminds our daughter of our real cat Buffy, who would never allow anyone to cuddle with her like this.
This FurReal cat does everything a young child would look for in a toy cat. When you manually extend this cat's front legs, she makes a kneading motion when she is triggered to walk. This toy is very user-friendly for preschoolers. There is only one trigger on the cat's back, which is fairly easy to find.
The FurReal Friends Newborns retail for $14.99 . Our kindergartner chose the baby bird. I think he shares his father's fascination about exotic birds. The FurReal Newborn Baby Bird chirps and flaps its wings when hungry. Then when my son feeds the bird with the included bottle, a sensor inside the bird's mouth triggers a sucking sound.
Another cool feature about this bird is that the claws are jointed so that it can perch. With enough patience, our son was able to get the baby bird to perch on his arm while using his body to help it balance.
The FurReal Newborn Puppy Beagle is more subtle than the other two animals we received. For this reason, this particular FurReal Newborn may be better for an older child. This puppy moves his head and opens/closes his eyes to different degrees while making the corresponding puppy sounds. This puppy's body is mostly soft, as are its legs, so it is always in the laying down position.
Although this puppy also came with a bottle for feeding like the Newborn Baby Bird, he did not have an opening built into his mouth. I think this disappointed my 3yr old son a little bit. Instead, he had to pretend to give the puppy its bottle by holding it up to the puppy's mouth.
Even though this puppy does not walk or make drinking sounds, he is still very cuddly and is the perfect size for a preschooler to care for.
To view the full line of FurReal Friends products, which includes a vast variety of different types of animals, visit Hasbro.com . You can find FurReal Friends at most local and online toy retailers of Hasbro products.
Thank you to Hasbro for sending us three sample toys free of charge to base this review upon.
