****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This Jonti-Craft book stand is the perfect size for young toddlers, and the books are laid out front-facing to make it easy for little-ones to locate and pick their favorite book. It took my 18 month-old a few tries (and a little parental guidance) to figure out how to remove books from the bookcase, i.e., by lifting the book up and out instead of just yanking it towards her, but she soon got the hang of it. Now, she loves going up to her "big girl" bookshelf and choosing books for us to read together.A major advantage of this book stand is that, like all Jonti-Craft products, it's Greenguard Certified, which means that it doesn't emit any toxic fumes or chemicals that negatively affect indoor air quality. Unfortunately, many so-called "wood" products, like bookshelves, are actually made of particleboard or MDF, which are bonded together with glues & adhesives that contain formaldehyde and other toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Many wood products are coated with finishes that contain these harmful substances as well. Wood products containing these chemicals off-gas toxic fumes (i.e., the "new wood" smell) into the surrounding indoor air, which are then inhaled by occupants. Formaldehyde and VOCs have been linked to a number of medical conditions ranging from asthma to cancer, and small children and pets are considered especially vulnerable to their effects. Fortunately, this Greenguard certified Jonti-Craft book stand is free of these harmful chemicals. When the product arrived and I opened it, I was very pleased to discover that it had no chemical smell whatsoever!A final "plus" with this product is that it arrived fully-constructed. So there was no need for mom/dad to be fiddling around with tools, nails, screws and loose bits of wood while fending off the curious little hands of our toddler!The only reason I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5 is that it doesn't come with anchor straps or hooks to make it easy to anchor to a wall. This was a bit of a safety oversight by Jonti-Craft, especially since this product is specifically geared towards toddlers. The book stand is much longer than it is wide and the base isn't weighted, so it's extremely prone to tipping forward or backward, even when it's full of books. Most young toddlers love to pull up and climb on furniture and other standing objects (bookshelves, TV-stands, tables, etc.) that are easy to grasp, so these items must either be stable enough to withstand the pulling/climbing, or be anchored. This staggered bookcase looks a little bit like stairs/steps, so my daughter couldn't resist trying to "climb" them. Thank goodness we were closely supervising her so we could grab the bookcase before it toppled on top of her! Now we have it up against (and anchored to) a supporting wall so it stays put! It would've been nice if Jonti-Craft had included anchoring hardware with the product, or at least put a warning in the product packaging recommending that the book stand be anchored for safety. Even the product picture on Amazon shows the product free-standing, which is (in my opinion/experience) not a safe way to use the book case.Grade: B+
