Kidsline, one of the most well known brands of crib bedding, is available to customers through many national chains, including Babies R Us, baby specialty stores, and online retailers. Zanzibar crib bedding, introduced by Kidsline in mid-2004, quickly became one of the most popular nursery collections in the industry. Appealing to those interested in the highly popular jungle theme for their nursery dcor, Zanzibar appears to be a reasonable value at between $155 and $180 for a six-piece set.

Zanzibar comes as a six-piece crib set which includes a quilt, bumper, fitted sheet, dust ruffle, diaper stacker, and one valance. The six pieces are available for separate purchase. The collection is made from 65/35 poly/cotton blend fabrics and is machine washable. Zanzibar has a generous assortment of accessories available - from the industry standard musical mobile and wall border to a picture frame, growth chart and night light. There is also a three-piece cradle set available in the Zanzibar pattern. Given the sheer number of accessories, it would be almost impossible for a store to carry all of them. You may need to visit one of the few websites that carry all of the accessories in stock. And take care that a $175 crib set does not evolve into a $500 nursery collection "monster" after buying all of the accessories.

Usually the focus of a crib bedding collection is the quilt. The quilt is where manufacturers add all the "good stuff" such as detailed embroidery and leave the other pieces of the crib set to the plain and/or unadorned fabrics. In Zanzibar's case, nothing is left to the plain fabrics. The quilt is a mixture of textured fabrics, such as corduroy, faux suede, and fleece. It also has some unexpected details that give it special character: the alligator has a little tooth and the elephant's toenails are also stitched to emphasize them. The quilt is a genuine patchwork, in which the individual patches on the quilt are independent of each other. However, the stitching that was added after the fabric shell of the quilt was stuffed wanders frequently and far from the patchwork borders, giving a somewhat sloppy appearance. Fortunately, the details of the quilt and the wide variety of fabrics and textures used tends to make this stitching problem less noticeable.

The details used in Zanzibar go beyond the quilt. The bumper has the same appliqud and embroidered animals, as do the dust ruffle, valance, diaper stacker, and hamper. The bumper is 10.5" tall with top and bottom ties. One minor shortcoming for the bumper is the fact that it is one continuous piece, which makes washing it more of a chore. The dust ruffle has an approximate 10" drop to finish off the look of the set. The diaper stacker measures 26" by 12" and can hold up to two dozen diapers. The valance measures 14" by 88" and is in a rod style. The fitted sheet is made using printed fabrics, with the pattern being printed onto a solid color. While I was a little disappointed to see the printed fabric being used, as it is of a lesser quality than that of a woven fabric, I think that the sheet blends in with the pattern so well, it can be overlooked. I would caution you to be aware of potential color fade in the sheet from multiple washings. However, additional fitted sheets are available that match the Zanzibar pattern as well as assorted solid color sheets.

Unfortunately for Canadian consumers purchasing from a United States online retailer, the Zanzibar bedding collection is manufactured in China. Customers in Canada would be required to pay import duties of as much as 18% of the stated prices.

Given the popularity of the Jungle theme for nursery decorating, it is impractical to list all of the alternatives to Zanzibar that are available. Almost every manufacturer makes at least one. See Jungle Nursery Bedding for many examples. The possibilities in this theme seem almost endless.