Indestructibles — books for babies (and their big siblings!)

Don’t you love it when your books or toys get a new lease on life? I think this is why I am drawn to quality items that last year after year and have multi purposes. And now we have realised that a book series that I loved for Beatrice has a new use I had never considered before…

A few years ago I read a post from Esther, about a book series called Indestructibles. I purchased a few, then a few more, and ended up collecting a dozen of them, as well as giving them as gifts because they are such a brilliant concept. Beautifully illustrated and totally practical, these books are waterproof, tear-resistant, chew-resistant (as you can see) and completely machine washable! The paper of the book is a lightweight soft material which is nontoxic. The books are so resilient that you can fold, roll, or squish them! It was a staple item in my handbag until my eldest was about 2.5 years old, I would always have 1 or 2 of these books on hand and rotate them every week or so.

We also loaned our Indestructibles to friends who traveled the globe — Ethiopia, Australia, America and every time, parents were impressed by how the books were truly indestructible and also the endless possibilities these wordless books provided. Counting games, naming colours, guessing games, finding shapes, and of course telling stories.

And now these books have another new use in our family. They are perfect for siblings to ‘read’ to one another, even if they can’t read yet!  Our 3-year-old daughter loves to create and tell stories — for hours at a time. I love her big imagination and find her storytelling skills to be fascinating. (Often they are narrated in song, so we live in a musical.)  I treasure her stories, and know that she needs to express herself, but sometimes I also need to write an email or make a call. But I realised the other day that we can all benefit from Indestructibles. She can use them as a tool to invent her stories. I can get some work done on the sidelines. And Joseph can get a cuddle and share a story with his big sister. Attention spans vary for both of them on different occasions, but it is so sweet to see him engage with her, and to see her bond with him. And if he gets a bit tired of her story, he always seems to enjoy that he can give the book a good chew or two! No need to worry about him ripping pages, or crinkling the corner of one of her ‘big girl books’ either.

And hopefully this is just the beginning of them sharing a lifetime of great stories!

Lara xx

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