Wooden blocks. One of the most simple kids toys out there. What happens when you try and improve on the age old simplicity? Multiblocks happen, that's what. I love the story of these blocks almost as much as I love the blocks themselves. Designer Brad Singley recounts the origins of the "multiblock".

"I can still remember the frustration of playing with building blocks as a young child," Brad says. "I wanted to build BIG, but it was impossible to make a skyscraper out of triangles, semicircles, cylinders, and small cubes."

Brad's prayers were answered when his father made him a set of wooden square and rectangular cubes in four different lengths. Many years later and with children of his own, Brad recreated his favorite toy, updating it to include numbers and increments to encourage both mathematical and creative thinking.

Multiblock set of 42 available from Uncommon Good for $48.