I have always been a fan of wooden kids toys. They are a lot more durable than plastic ones, and encourage more imagination on the kids part. Automoblox make a nice sort of hybrid wooden toy. It's wooden, but it does have some plastic parts. What I really like about the Automoblox is that you are able to take them apart and put them back together again, which adds a whole new dimension. They come in a variety of different styles, all of which are well designed, and are on the brink of affordable, only $35. That's actually pretty good by wooden toy standards. Someone remind me again why the simple things are more expensive?