Honestly I wasn't expecting much when I ordered this and when I opened the box it certainly exceeded my expectations. All wooden pieces nicely polished so there is no way of getting a splinter and all the plastic letters and signs are smooth without any sharp edges, they are made of quality plastic that won't break if you bent. Letter fit snugly in the frame and don't fall out when it's shaken. All the letters and signs come attached to plastic and you would need sharp scissors and lots of pacience to cut them as they don't snap.
I bought this mainly for my 6.5 yo in preparation for 1 st grade. I thought this would make it more fun for her to spell things and make short sentences instead of writing them down and empjis made things even more fun for her. She loved it. The very first thing she spelled out was "I love you Daddy and Mommy" Aww