Gifts That Go WILD! Top Picks for Your Little Animal Lovers

As a mom of four animal-loving kids, I'm always looking for toys that not only keep my children entertained, but inspire their curiosity and foster a love of learning as well. I have found that the best way to develop a child’s love of learning is to combine learning with play, and to start really early.

I’m excited to share this gift guide featuring some of our favorite animal-themed toys from LeapFrog and VTech—these are interactive, educational, and sure to bring hours of fun for kids of all ages.

For your shopping ease, I’ve divided this gift guide up into ages, by toddlers and preschoolers. At the bottom of this post, I’ve included 2 gifts that merge nature and science together and are perfect for older kids to foster a love of learning (and keep things FUN)!

Animal Lovers Gift Guide for Toddlers

Introducing concepts early is one of the best ways to help your child learn. It may feel silly to teach your child colors and animal sounds before they can even speak, but it’s definitely not too early! Their brains are like sponges and absorb everything.

VTech has some wonderful toys that will help your little one learn about their animals, as well as keep them entertained for hours! The VTech Animal Rhymes Storytime is an engaging, interactive storybook with light up buttons and delightful beginner rhymes. It introduces your child to animal names and their sounds, along with colors, and classic nursery rhymes. The compact size and handle make this toy a great option to travel with, and it is one of our very favorite toys for road trips with toddlers.

My kids have all loved their LeapFrog My Pal Violet Smarty Paws. The best thing about Violet is that you can personalize her to say your child’s name! My kids have all loved playing with Violet, whether it’s singing along with her or simply snuggling with her as she sings lullabies.

This year, we are sharing the love of animals with my 2-year-old nephew. My kids were beyond excited to choose toys for their cousin, and the first thing they chose was the VTech Gallop & Rock Learning Pony. It’s an interactive, 2 in -in-1 rocking horse that turns into a ride on--on toy. It plays realistic pony sounds and introduces your toddler to colors and animals. My four kids were all unanimous in their decision!

Another VTech toy that is a toddler favorite in our house is the LeapFrog 100 Animals Book. There is just so much to love about this book! Children can tap the pages to hear animal names, the sounds animals make, and even fun animal facts. The book introduces animals from 12 categories, such as the farm, the forest, the ocean, and more.

The VTech Touch & Teach Sea Turtle is an interactive toy that introduces kids to letters, numbers, and sea life through fun activities and songs. It's perfect for curious minds and busy hands. This is a great toy for older toddlers to help them learn the alphabet, in a way that VTech does best- keeping things fun and engaging!

Animal Lovers Gift Guide for Pre-Schoolers

My youngest is preschool age and it is such an exciting age. He is constantly learning new things and is all about exploring nature and animals. I've rounded up his favorite V-Tech toys as well as some new ones that I'm excited to gift to him this holiday season!

The LeapFrog Touch & Learn Dinosaur Book is a huge hit with preschoolers who love prehistoric creatures (and I think that’s all of them!). It’s a fun and interactive book with touch-sensitive pages. Kiddos can tap on the dinosaurs in the book to hear the dinosaur names pronounced correctly, learn what period the dinosaurs lived in, and explore lots of fun dino facts and sounds. It is the perfect gift for the dino lover in your life!

If there’s one thing that preschoolers love just as much as animals and dinosaurs, it’s music. The VTech Zoo Jamz Giraffe Piano is a playful, interactive keyboard in the shape of a giraffe. It has an adorable smiling face, and the keys that light up one by one, showing little ones how to play their favorite songs. There are 20 songs,  and 4 different instrument sounds, and even a microphone to sing along with!

VTech Sandy Snacks-a-Lot is an adorable axolotl that kids love to feed. As you feed Sandy, she will tell you how she feels about the food, expanding your child’s vocabulary, and helping them to have a healthy relationship with food!

The VTech Zoo Jamz Doggy Xylophone is another favorite toy for preschoolers. Kids can make music with the playful puppy themed xylophone, featuring colorful, light up keys that are great for improving hand eye coordination and enhancing your child’s creativity. Kiddos can also take the pup for a walk by giving the mallet a pull.

Keeping the Love of Nature Alive for Older Kids

Now that some of my kids are getting older, it is still important to me to give them gifts that continue to inspire their love for nature and learning. Giving my children the gift of being life-long learners is the most important gift I can give them. The LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe is will be such a big hit with my 10-year-old this holiday season.

Magic Adventures Globe lets kids explore all around the world from the comfort of home with interactive games and immersive, high-quality BBC videos. Children can tap anywhere on the globe with the stylus and videos will pop up to teach them about  cultures, animals, and landmarks in various countries. It makes learning about geography so much FUN!

The gift that I’m most excited to give to my twins is the LeapFrog Magic Adventures Binoculars. These interactive binoculars take exploration to the next level by giving kids the opportunity to see things up close with stunning detail. It has built-in videos and images from the BBC, and I know my girls are going to love discovering all of the wildlife, habitats, and natural wonders.

I hope this gift guide gives you inspiration to find the perfect gift for your animal-loving kiddo!

Caitlin Rogers has blogged about twins and parenting, with a little dash of health and fitness, for years. As she says, "life as a family of five has its struggles, challenges, hardships…. and yes, it does have its joys. It’s chaotic and messy with lots of crying and lots of laughing. I hope to capture and convey those emotions to my readers... my goal is to help your family laugh a little more and cry a little less by sharing my experiences and what’s worked with our crazy little family."