Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Putting Indestructibles to the Test

A few years ago, when Baz was a baby, my mom sent us 2 books from a company called Indestructibles. They are, supposedly, immune to the abuse toddlers put books through. By the time we got them, I'd already been working with Baz to be gentle with books so he did not put them through the wringer.

 (tip: start with catalogues. If those get torn, no one cares, and they're more delicate than picture books, so by the time you introduce picture books, the bar has been set.)

Walter got them pretty early - and he's a kid who puts everything in his mouth (Baz, not so much.)


He just can't get enough of the amazing illustrations and the tasty paper. Trust me, he has been known to just gaze at the images, too.


These books have been put through the ringer. On the left - Humpty Dumpty gets some love, but Frere Jacques (about a chef who dreams of food) gets the most love. He crushes, chews, sucks, throws, peruses, and smashes. They are crumpled, but that actually makes them softer. The illustrations are not worse for the wear, either. 
Hey Diddle Diddle was Baz's - he reads it quite often. Note its near-perfect condition. I have a rather fastidious child.


I decided to put them to the ultimate test: ironing. I used the steam, a fairly high heat, and a linen napkin (you should always put something lint-free and color fast between your iron and whatever you're ironing, lest you over-heat the fabric and leave shiny spots or burns. Those are tell-tale wear signs and not acceptable at all....wonder where my 3 year old gets his fastidiousness from? ;-) )


After ironing - flat books again! 


Ok, so I found one chink in the armor of the virtually indestructible books: direct heat from the iron will melt the pages. I found this out when I was ironing and the cord of the iron pulled the napkin away. I do not recommend that. I'm pretty sure you could cut these with scissors, too, but I don't want to try because we enjoy these books!


So there you go - the perfect infant books. I want to make a point of saying these are the perfect car books - they're not hard or heavy like board books, they're not prone to tearing like paperbacks, and the pictures are colorful and inviting. We keep at least one in the seat pocket at all times.

For legal reasons I need to say that this company doesn't know who I am, that I ironed their book, or even that I own their books. They do not care that I melted Frere Jacques because they do not know that I own Frere Jacques (they may care if they ever find out, but who knows if that will happen. 12 people ready my blog.) They also would probably like to know that I HEARTILY recommend these books as gifts for the small ones in your life and that I feel the price (~$5) is well worth it. Find them at your local book store* or amazon.



*why shop local? Here's why. Seriously. Click through and read at least the cover page at the
You'll be amazed.


4 comments:

  1. What a great product! Thank you. So often I am asked how to help children enjoy books and not destroy them, this might just be something to keep in mind!!

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome! The catalogue thing also works - as does just giving them designated "ripping paper" to direct the desire to its proper place:-)

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  2. I found your post through a google image search, I was wondering what Frere Jacques looked like on the inside and now I have a better idea! Thanks.

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  3. I was wondering what happens when you iron these! now I wont :)

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