smiles33's Full Review: Aquadoodle Thomas The Tank Engine See N' Color Min...
Does your child love to draw? Are you tired of doing multiple loads of laundry due to paint splotches? Do you need a travel toy that doesn't make a mess? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have been excited when you first learned about Aquadoodle.
For parents familiar with the Aquadoodle line of toys, you may skip the next 2 paragraphs. For those new to the product, as I was, this is one company's attempt to solve the age-old problem of keeping children clean while painting and to create a portable travel toy that involves "drawing." On paper, it sounds ingenious. What better solution can you think of than to use water as the medium? It doesn't stain, it's freely available, and it eventually dries/evaporates.
How does it work? Special paper is used so pre-printed illustrations become colorful once water is applied. It basically looks like a faded illustration with a white overlay (and some dark black ink lines) until you use some water. Once wet, the colors are revealed as the white layer disappears and the illustration emerges.
About the Thomas the Tank Engine set
Measuring 6.5" long and 7" wide (not including the white clasp at the top that holds all the pages together), this mini mat set has 5 pages. There are two thicker "glossy" pages serving as the cover and back cover of the booklet. Each of the sheets has two holes punched so that a plastic "clasp" holds them together, along with the included water "pen" that snaps into the clasp. The pen (about 3.75" long) has an absorbent sponge tip and once it's filled with water, then your child can go to town.
I believe there are 3 pages inside, but am uncertain as my daughter pulled the pages off the open-ended white plastic clasp and only has 3 pages left so it's possible it might have had 4 at one point. I can't find any manufacturer website that confirms the number of pages but an Elmo See N' Color set only has 3 pages.
Once wet, you can see on these 3 pages: 1) Thomas and friends on the tracks in the train yard, 2) Thomas at a station with a man in a top hat and suitcase waiting nearby, and 3) Thomas traveling under a bridge with sheep nearby.
Amazon.com says the product is intended for children 2 up to 6, but I imagine it might be too simplistic/limited for anyone older than 4.
Our experience
When we first purchased this for a road trip, I was excited as it sounded like a great way to keep a toddler occupied without minimal mess. I was quickly disappointed, as my daughter didn't find the act of "water-painting" very fun. Yes, the colors became bolder and more details of the illustration are revealed, but it's not enough to keep my daughter's interest.
While my daughter will often "scribble" with the water pen a little bit, I have found she enjoys playing with the pen itself much more. Once we got to our destination on that initial road trip and now 3 months later at home, she LOVES filling the pen under the faucet herself. She unscrews the red top, insists on holding it while I turn on the faucet, and after I screw the top back on, she "draws" all over herself.
Given the $16.50 price, I really don't think this was worthwhile for our family. Once you reveal that Thomas has a friend (sorry I don't know their names) on the next track or the helicopter in the air, there's nothing left to do. I much prefer the Sesame Street Aquadoodle set my husband bought at the same time as it has more interactive features like a maze and prompts (e.g., find the purple, blue, and red kites).
Thus, I don't recommend this toy unless you find it on clearance or are really desperate for something to occupy your child while traveling that doesn't involve electronics or a DVD player.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 16.50 Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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