Starting with a sturdy wood tray painted with the arc, the sun and rain, and a bright colored rainbow, children have not only a puzzle to help them sharpen fine motor skills, shape recognition skills and hand-eye coordination, but also a set of 12 chunky figurines for pretend play. The large, easy-to-grasp pieces stand upright to bring this familiar story, or stories from a youngster's imagination, to life.
― “They have a lot of the stuff we need in one source,” Dennis Ronberg, owner of Linden Tree Children's Recordings and Books in Los Altos, Calif., said in early summer 2009 of what makes Melissa & Doug his best-selling puzzle line. 
― “Melissa & Doug does best for 3- to 5-year olds,” Joe Berardoni, owner of Pun's Toy Shop in Bryn Mawr, Pa., told TDmonthly of his best-selling puzzle brands in June 2009.