Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
As regular followers of TheBoyandMe will know, we recently redecorated the spare room for The Boy, moving him from his 'nursery' to his big boy bedroom. The room is decorated in shades of blue, and he now has a high bed with a play space underneath. One thing I was keen for him to have was a bookshelf up high so that he can easily reach his books in the morning, or if he needs a drink then he can easily access that.
Tidy Books came to my rescue with the 'Bunk Bed Buddy'.
Books are an essential aspect of our home, and as I was sorting out The Boy's books after Christmas time I realised that he has very distinctly moved into a new phase of story books. Hardback books are long gone, the amount of text on a page has increased and the font is smaller, and the subject matter is more detailed.
We've also had to find space on his book shelves for his own reading books, those which I've bought him to practise and develop his reading skills. I have in the past tried to keep his books constrained to just the dining room, but when I was sent a new book box to review, it was the perfect excuse to gather all of his reading books together in one place and bring them into the living room.
With an advertised space for up to 40 books and four sections of two different heights, it's the perfect size to sit in the corner of our living room and appeal to The Boy to sit down and flick through a book and have a go at reading it by himself. In reality we actually have a lot more books in the book caddy than that, with over 120 small reading scheme style books in there, we've definitely got something to suit The Boy's moods and improving reading ability.
I set the book caddy up for The Boy one afternoon to explore after school and he found it really enticing. The fact that the books are forward facing is incredibly useful, because actually children do judge a book by its cover, especially if they can't read the title!
The Tidy Books' book box measures 34 cm (h) x 54 cm (w) x 28cm (d) and had a lovely play clock which can be attached at one end (although it can also be removed when children are older) with moving hands for The Boy to practise reading the time on. Assembly was simple, the book box arrives flat-packed in a carry box, and it took me less than five minutes to put it together with the provided alan key. Made from sustainable wood, not MDF, the book box is also finished in a water-based lacquer which is a safe, virtually odour free lacquer which is better for the environment and is ideal for children and allergy sufferers.
I find it very reassuring that the product has been made in a very responsible manner with sustainable resources and harmless paints. The finish and quality of the product is amazing, there are no sharp edges or splinters of wood on the screw holes, and it's the type of book box which will be used for longer than a few years; I can see it being passed down through the family.
The Tidy Books Book Box is available in a dark petrol blue, white or natural finish, and is priced at £69.00. While that may seem a little more expensive than some cheap high-street alternatives, the comparative quality is indisputable and this is one of those cases where it's worth spending a little more for something that will last years.
However, I am very fortunate to be able to offer a Tidy Books Book Box to one lucky reader of TheBoyandMe. Simply fill in the Rafflecopter form below for the chance to win one.
I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.
I'm pretty sure that our home is like many other young families' homes all over Britain in that the vast majority of the children's toys and books are stored in a large, cuboid, storage system from a well-known Scandinavian company. It's efficient, cheap and it works.
Only it doesn't.
It doesn't work for books.
Granted they fit, and you can actually get a lot of them in the sections, but the problem that I've discovered is that The Boy forgets that they're there. For the vast majority of the time he does not remember about his fifty or so books in the dining room storage unit because he can't see them.
