Daniel is train mad as some of you will know, we seem to be slowly being taken over by a certain blue train and his friends. I never got why he was so popular before but now I do. Next on Daniel’s list is this Thomas & Friends Pop up Book and Playmat. My mum has an old Thomas pop up book that she got from a market stall for 50p which has been played with by all three of mine and now he pesters them so much to read and play it again and again that they have to hide it when they’ve had enough! He loves this new version, even more so because it folds out into a large train track adventure play mat.
It’s reversible, one side is a picture story book and then the other side works as a pop up book, then you can fold it out on the floor as pictured above. It comes with Thomas and all his friends in little cardboard cutouts, even the fat controller (or Sir Topham hat, whichever you prefer), which Daniel likes to make him ride the trains. They can then drive around the track by folding out their wheels, and cross the bridge as Daniel likes to do, saying ‘Stairs’ as he does so.
Making the fat controller ride the train
When we finish the end of the book he says ‘Again,’ ad infinitum – I’ve taken to saying all gone once I’ve done it for the nth time and then hiding it. If he catches sight of it he says ‘Train – Book!’ and there we go again. He’s almost 2 now, he’ll be 2 in December, and he loves books which I’m really pleased about. Even looking at the pictures and following a simple story lays the foundations for reading and writing in the future, and the colourful characters encourage imaginative and role play. I like the fact that it keeps him so absorbed in play, it makes him so happy whilst getting him engaged in books. There’s lots of detail in all the pages, meaning we are discovering new things like the little ducks on the pond or children waving each time.
We made a little video of us enjoying the book which I hope you will enjoy. Phoebe likes to play Mum and she also enjoys the book and trains.
Now here’s your chance to win your own Thomas’ Big Pop-Up Journey fold out play book, perfect for Christmas (and birthdays, if like mine they’re around the same time!) Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below, UK Entry only.
Disclosure: we received the book and were compensated for our time, all opinions are my own and honest
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2 Comments
Oh drat I missed the giveaway. My eldest loves the little blue train too having discovered him while on holiday.
November 12, 2016 at 3:02 pmShame, hopefully I’ll be doing something similar soon, the Thomas craze is going nowhere in our house!
November 12, 2016 at 4:29 pm