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Indestructibles Baby Books {Review}

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I have an 11 month old baby on the move. She is trouble on four limbs.  She puts everything in her mouth and attempts to chew and swallow it.  She is far more destructive then her older sister ever was.  I have to keep a constant eye on her, and  I have to keep books, all books, the heck out of her reach.  Reading aloud to her is a challenge, as she squirms around on my lap and tries her darndest to eat the book I am trying to read her. Even the sturdiest board books need to be kept up and out of her reach. The only books I can safely let her touch are cloth ones.  Now personally, I think cloth books are a great baby toy…. but they don’t recreate the experience of reading a book. A cloth baby book is 3 or 4 pages max, with chew toys and squeakers built in.  They are designed to entice babies to chew on them. They can be a great distraction, but they are not books.  I feel badly, because I want to foster the same love of reading in her that I’ve managed to spark off in her older sister.

A few weeks back I won a set of Indestructibles books from a giveaway hosted over at Baby Brandon’s Adventures.  I intermediately thought, perhaps here is a book that can stand up to the terrors of Baby-G. Once the books arrived I instantly fell in love with them.  These are simple books, with no words, just pictures. Some are nursery rhymes that we all already know the words to, like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Humpty Dumpty, each with a spin. For example; Mary and her lamb live in Africa, and the wall Humpty Dumpty falls off of is the Great Wall of China.  Others are books showing pictures of jungle creatures and pond animals. The illustrations are bright, colourful, and adorable. Kaaren Pixton’s illustrations are reminiscent of Eric Carle, they remind me of stained glass pictures, only softened. My favourite from the bunch I received is Plip-Plop Pond. I love that it features different animals, such as

salamanders and a raccoon.  It’s not just your standard fuzzy yellow duck and a frog.  I also love that the animals are realistic looking. While there is a picture of a duck in this book, it looks like a duck and not a bath toy.

So they’re cute. I like the art. I like the “story” choices. But the exciting part about these books? The part that has me seriously wanting to tell everyone in the world about them is that They Are Really Indestructible.

Indestructibles are printed on the same material used in shipping envelopes, an amazing paperlike material that can’t be ripped, torn, or punctured.  They are chew proof, rip proof, nontoxic and 100% washable. The books are sturdily stitched together. The printing ink is non-toxic, and won’t bleed. If you have a baby you want these, they are awesome!

 

This is my daughter’s idea of reading.

Baby-G has played with and thoroughly enjoyed these books. She really seems to enjoy them, as she returns to them constantly. She has done pretty much anything you can imagine to them, and they’ve stood the test.   She sits on them. She tries to turn the pages while sitting on them.  She starts crawling while still on top of the book and it ends up getting dragged all over the floor. She turns the pages, tears at the pages. She crinkles them up. She puts the books on her head, she rams it into her mouth.  The worst she’s managed to do in bend or crease them, and even then, they just smooth right out.  She has been playing with these books every day for the past three weeks and they are still intact.  Not just intact, they are still perfect.  I haven’t had cause to try it yet, but apparently you can even run them through the dishwasher or washing machine. Simply put, these books are amazing.

My favourite part – she’s actually reading them.  Here finally are books I can leave low on the shelf, in her reach. In between trying to devour them, she sits and turns the pages and points at pictures and babbles.  She will grab one and crumple it up in her hand and turn and hand it to me to ask me to “read” it to her. There it is.  That love of reading thing I was worrying about. Achieved.

Baby-G loves her Indestructibles.

Want to get your own Indestructibles books? They are available at most major book stores. Amazon.ca carries them, as does Chapters. You can also order directly off the Workman Publishing website. The price is really reasonably. They retail for $4.95US.

EDIT: I later revisted this item. Check out my review recap here to discover how this item did over the long haul.

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Comments

  3. RC says

    OMG! I need these books! I went to the Workman Publishing website, but I have to say that these Indestructibles are my fave product!

    Reply

  97. Swedish says

    I visited the Workman Publishing website and discovered a lot of lovely Fiction and Non-Fiction children's books, including '365 Simple Science Experiments With Everyday Materials' which my young nephew would LOVE. Thank you!Aliya D.aliyadaya(at)shaw(dot)ca

    Reply

  132. Elsie says

    I am an email subscriber, love this review of the books,…looking forward to more visits to this site!pumpkinlady430@yahoo.com

    Reply

  148. Anonymous says

    I'd love to check out the "Ad Hoc at Home" cookbook.Thanks for the chance to win!–Lizaejm6x (at) yahoo (dot) com

    Reply

  168. Anonymous says

    You're right,the books look sensational! I would choose 50 STATES fro my daughter in middle school. Thanks for the chance to win!Zoe0825@verizon.net

    Reply

  264. AGum says

    I have a 7 month old that seems to performs magic the way she get things into her little hands…and then to her mouth. These books would be wonderful! I am a FB liker!

    Reply

  294. Selmada says

    I love books, all and any so there is much to chose from at Workman Pub. But one that caught my eye I've never seen before is Knit Your Own Dog. It sounds like fun (and work)homejunk at shaw dot ca

    Reply

  311. Katie A says

    From workman I love the Sandra Boynton books, they are always a hit around our houseKatie Acouponkatie at hotmail dot com

    Reply

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