Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I wanted to find a good set of colored pencils for my 3 and 2 year old. We originally tried a set of Crayola pencils and were so disappointed. The color was great, but the quality was horrible. They constantly broke and once we sharpened them, the colored lead would slip out of the pencil completely. I originally looked to replace them with Prismacolor pencils, but I just couldn't justify the price for preschoolers and toddlers. I still wanted quality and a wide selection of colors, just at a lower price point. My kids love that there are so many colors and so far not a single tip has broken, which is huge since my kids can be pretty rough with their art supplies! I had read on some Prismacolor reviews that its best to stay away from plastic sharpeners and opt for a heavy duty metal sharpener. I think we might get one in an effort to keep these pencils in the best shape possible. They are definitely a great alternative to the high end pencils, especially for younger children. UPDATE (November 2011) These pencils have been used nearly everyday by my 4 and 2 year old. They've held up nicely, but they do wear down fairly quickly. I started off sharpening them with a cheap sharpener with mixed results. Some of the colors sharpen easily and quickly, while others (especially the silver and gold) break quite a bit and it's difficult to get a nice sharp point. Until you've used them awhile its hard to tell which colors are going to act up when sharpening, so it becomes trial and error as you sharpen. With that said, I still think the quality and color selection is superior to Crayola.