Has your child ever loved a book so much they wanted to leap into it and be part of the story? Running around with the main characters and exploring the book’s setting?

Well, Miles Kelly Publishers have just made this (pretty much..) possible with their absolutely INCREDIBLE Convertible Playbooks.

What are Convertible Playbooks?

The name really says it all, they are books that can be converted into small world play. The idea is that children enjoy reading/listening to the story, then they get to the final page…(and making use of some very clever folding skills by the book publishers)…can fold out the main building from the story. They can then push out the characters and props and re-enact the story themselves and have fun playing.

What did we like about it?

• Topics to Suit Every Child– Whether they love Fire-engines, Castles, Airplanes, Pets, Farms or Garages..there is a book for each topic- helping you to find one that will be well loved by your child. We’ve been very lucky to try out each of the books and our current favourite is the Airport book that comes complete with a fold out terminal building, check in desk, aeroplanes and even luggage!! Find the range of books on Amazon here or on the Miles Kelly Website here.

• Educational-  Children can learn a vast amount of knowledge through these books, without even realising it themselves. For example, whilst reading the book Castle, the children experienced what a ‘day in the life of’ a knight would be like and learnt key words such as Lord, Lady, Squire, Jester, Knight, Jousting, Shield etc. After listening to the story they were then able to put their knowledge into action, setting up the castle scene themselves and acting out what each person would do in the castle. We found it incredible how much the children learnt about each topic and were able to show us through play.

• Hook to Get Children LOVING books– We are huge fans of books and the important role they play in education and recreation for children and adults alike. However, I’m not naive enough to think that everyone loves books. For some children, for a multitude of reasons, they don’t have positive associations with books. I’d like to think that these Convertible Playbooks, with their fold out buildings and play pieces,  help to shake up children’s opinions of books and really tempt children to love them.

• Imaginative Play– Imaginative play is all about making sense of the world through play, and these books pretty much epitomise this principal. Children read the stories, learn about the topic and then process it all through their own play at the end. Creating the scenes themselves from the story and playing with the characters really helps children consolidate their understanding of the topic…and have lots of fun too! Find out more about the importance of imaginative play here.

• Quality and Durability- We’ve found Miles Kelly Publishers books are always great quality. But, as this book folds out and has small cardboard pieces, I was initially a little skeptical of how well it would cope with a four year old playing with it, opening it out etc. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by their durability! For example, the fold-out sections are sturdy and seem to be able to withstand constant opening and closing.

• Portable Play- What struck me most about these books was how fantastic they are for portable play. You can slip these books easily into a bag and take them anywhere and you’ve got a pop-up small world play setting with play pieces (much easier than taking a bag of toys!) It also means you’ve got toys that fold away neatly into a book- making them fantastic for small spaces at home, minimalistic houses (or those that attempt minimalism with small children!!) and for at grandparent’s houses etc.

Find the books on Amazon Here or Miles Kelly Publisher’s Website here

*Please note, we were sent samples for the purpose of this review and this post is Sponsored. All thoughts and opinions are our own.