Wooden toys · Est. 1795★★★★★ 150 reviews

The toy that actually buys you that quiet hour

£27.22£40.99 Save 33%

or 4 payments of £6.80 with Klarna

🛡️ 30-day full refund, no questions. Fewer than 30 returns from 23,000+ orders.

Express · order today for next-day delivery

Standard · 2-3 working days

Holds focus 40+ mins
Wooden, chunky pieces
Shape sorting built in
Non-toxic paint
Built to survive
Story-led play
30-day returns
Klarna available

Delivery in 2-3 working days · 30-day returns · Est. 1795

as seen in

Real talk

It's 1:58pm. She's already at your elbow.

The Wooden Noah's Ark isn't a distraction tactic. It's a toy that genuinely holds a young child's attention through hands-on play: sorting animals by shape, loading them into the ark, unpacking them again, telling the story differently each time. The chunky wooden pieces invite real concentration, not passive scrolling.

You get your call. Uninterrupted. And she gets an hour of the kind of play that actually builds fine motor skills and spatial thinking, not just passes time.

Joe Jaques, Jaques of London

What's in the box

What arrives at your door

One solid wooden ark, hand-painted, plus a fleet of wooden animal pairs ready for loading.

Wooden Noah's Ark with painted animals and ark boat

In the box

The Ark

Hand-painted solid wood boat with a lifting roof. Sized to sit on the floor or a low table, sturdy enough for real play, light enough for a 2-year-old to help load and unload. The animal pairs live inside until playtime.

✓ Solid wood construction
✓ Non-toxic water-based paint
✓ Large chunky pieces, no choking risk

Play style

Animal pairs and shape sorting

Each animal pair has a different shape: round, square, triangular. Child matches them to the slots on the ark roof, slides them in, then opens up to discover them inside. The sorting element means focus stays locked.

✓ Multiple shapes to match
✓ Repetition builds learning
✓ Encourages shape recognition

Child's hands playing with wooden animals and ark

Play style

Storytelling that loops

The story never ends the same way twice. Load the animals, tell them they're sailing, unload them onto dry land, load them again. Every iteration feels new to a pre-schooler. This is why attention spans stick here.

✓ Open-ended narrative play
✓ Works solo or with you
✓ Grows with your child

Order now and have it ready for your next work call

Was £40.99

Wooden Noahs Ark - Wooden Animal Toy: £27.22

While they play

What quietly happens while you're on that call

Looks like play. Works like a lesson.

🔷

Fine motor strength

Grasping, rotating, and sliding each wooden piece builds the hand control needed for writing and self-feeding. Real work, disguised as play.

🧩

Shape recognition

Matching animal pairs to the right slots on the ark roof teaches spatial logic and problem-solving without instruction.

📖

Language and narrative

Even silent play builds the scaffolding for storytelling. When you ask what happened to the animals, she's already been thinking in scenes.

⏱️

Sustained focus

The multi-step nature of loading, discovering, unloading means attention cycles longer than a video would hold it. That's the 40-minute window you need.

What families say about Jaques of London

Parents who bought it for the same reason

★★★★★

"Excellent quality wood toys, so well made, no sharp edges, all lovely & smooth, very colourful & plenty of choice. Very reasonably priced & so beautifully wrapped you don't want to open them. Highly recommend this company."

Lynda Evans✓ Google review

★★★★★

"Fast delivery, excellent products, extremely good quality and long lasting. My granddaughter loves the toys from here. Good age ranges covered."

Danella Jones✓ Google review

★★★★★

"These toys tick all the boxes, educational, colourful, fun, well made and great service. I just keep buying more and more."

Irene Johnstone✓ Google review

★★★★★

"We love our toys from Jaques of London. The quality is excellent and they're the perfect size for little hands to hold and play with easily. Beautifully made, sturdy wooden toys that will last for years. Highly recommend!"

Tegan✓ Google review

★★★★★

"Harrods grade gifting for a very reasonable price. Not the usual tat from China. Had several hand picked orders fron Jaques, nice to know its a UK business with old school quality."

John A✓ Google review

★★★★★

"I am a real fan of this company. If only I had come across them years ago when my boys were little. It's my go to for beautiful, good quality toys for my granddaughter now and any gift I need to buy. They arrived quickly, prices are reasonable and the special touch is they are beautifully packaged too. I love the heritage of this business!"

Sarah Lardner✓ Google review

★★★★★ 4.8/5 rated by families across Google and Trustpilot: real reviews, quoted word for word

Get ready for life

Why real play matters

Real brain growth comes from real play.

10 months+

From first grasp to complex play

Safe chunky pieces from the start. Shape sorting arrives when motor skills catch up. One toy, three years of different ways to play.

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Sustainable wood

Built to last, built to hand on

No batteries, no plastic fatigue, no electronic guts to fail. A wooden toy that survives pre-schooler intensity and is still intact for the next child.

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30-day promise

Your call time back or your money back

If it doesn't work for your 2pm slot, we'll take it back, no questions. You're buying peace of mind, not guessing.

Why this matters right now

40+ Quiet minutes per session Shape sorting and animal play loop naturally. That's enough for your call, your coffee, your breath.

1795 Year Jaques started making toys We've been building toys for children, not algorithms. The Wooden Noah's Ark sits in a 229-year line of play that actually teaches something.

Zero Batteries, screens, or noise Wood, paint, focus. The physics of play that works the same way every time, no software updates, no digital distraction arms race.

230 yrs of making things worth keeping Jaques of London has been crafting games and toys since 1795. This one is built to be handed down, not thrown out.

We really are different

Why this one, not the others

	Jaques Wooden Noahs Ark - Wooden Animal Toy	Cheap Alternatives
Holds focus without screens	✅	❌ Plastic toys lose novelty fast
Teaches shape and motor skills	✅	⚠️ Entertainment toys teach nothing
Safe chunky pieces from 10m	✅	❌ Small-part toys limit age range
No batteries or reset buttons	✅	⚠️ Electronic toys need supervision
Wooden, sturdy, handmade feel	✅	❌ Plastic wears and yellows
Open-ended storytelling play	✅	❌ Scripted toys limit imagination
Survives being passed down	✅	⚠️ Plastic toys become scrap

Jaques

✅ No screens
✅ Motor + maths skills
✅ Safe from 10 months
✅ No batteries needed
✅ Solid wood build
✅ Open-ended play
✅ Lasts for siblings

Cheap alternatives

❌ Plastic toys distract
❌ Entertainment only
❌ Unsafe for younger
⚠️ Needs supervision always
❌ Plastic wears out
❌ Toys limit play
⚠️ Plastic breaks easily

Order now and have it ready for your next work call

Was £40.99

Wooden Noahs Ark - Wooden Animal Toy: £27.22

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Not right? Return it within 30 days. Full refund, no questions.

Questions & answers

Questions from WFH parents just like you

Will it actually hold her for 40 minutes?

It depends on age and the child, but the shape-sorting element plus the open-ended storytelling loop means most kids 2-4 will cycle through it for at least 30-45 minutes. That's the call window. If it doesn't work for you, 30-day returns.

What happens when she gets bored?

The play grows with her. At 10 months it's grasping and exploration. At 18 months, shape sorting locks in. By 3, she's narrating full stories. You're not replacing it in 6 months. It changes shape as her play changes.

Is it safe? Any sharp bits or paint concerns?

Solid wood, non-toxic water-based paint, chunky pieces sized to prevent choking from 10 months up. No small parts, no batteries, nothing to break off. Built for the hand-in-mouth phase and beyond.

Can I actually hand this down to a younger sibling?

Yes. The chunky wooden pieces last. No plastic fatigue, no electronic guts. Parents have handed down Jaques toys for generations. This one will still be intact and still hold a toddler's attention in 3-4 years.

How much does it cost?

The Wooden Noahs Ark - Wooden Animal Toy is £27.22 today (down from £40.99). Klarna is available at checkout if you prefer to spread the cost.

What's your returns policy?

30 days, full refund, no conditions. Return it for any reason and we refund in full. We've been standing behind what we make since 1795.

Order now and have it ready for your next work call

Was £40.99

Wooden Noahs Ark - Wooden Animal Toy: £27.22

Our story

Making toys worth keeping since 1795.

Jaques of London was founded in 1795. We invented croquet, table tennis, and the Staunton chess set. For 230 years, we've been making things that pull children away from passive entertainment and into active, curious, hands-on play.

Jaques has been making toys since 1795, and we've never chased the quick trend. The Wooden Noah's Ark carries that same logic: solid wood, thoughtful design, play that teaches something real. We built it for the parent who needs focus time and the child who needs to develop motor skills, shape recognition, and the kind of deep play that actually builds brains. No batteries, no hype, no reset button. Just a toy that works the same way every day, year after year.

Toys and games that leave something behind: a skill, a memory, a piece of play that gets passed on.
Joe, Jaques of London

Ready when you are