A few days ago I was really in the mood to buy a toy for my 1-year-old daughter. Not that she needs any, but it is also true that most toys are hand-me-downs from her brother so they were not specifically bought for her, with her personality in mind. I wanted something appropriate for her age which would manage to keep her interested and still for longer than 30 seconds.
I chose this building blocks set from Haba: sixteen pieces, in lovely bright colours that offer exploratory fun and sensory interaction with the sweet sounding rattle, tinkling bell, shiny mirror, textural variations and bright prism.
It seems to me an adorable introduction to building blocks, and she seems to appreciate them so far. They are available from Amazon (UK or US).

-Michela