As our quest for still more activities for the young toddler has continued, we suddenly had a flashback to these paint with water books we used to love as a child. So, we started our search to see if they were still around...
It turns out we're not the only ones who've looked for them, and they're just not that easy to find these days. Crayola's "Color Wonder" has apparently taken over this market niche. But we did find a few here and there. We found a few on Amazon including a Care Bears book and Spot's Busy Day.
From perusing other blogs, it seems they're often spotted in dollar stores or the dollar section at Target.
Still, it's a relatively mess-free activity young toddlers and toddlers will enjoy. And here's a little tip, if you want to avoid too much water saturation, give your toddler a Q-tip to paint the water on with rather than a paintbrush.
(Image: Unplug Your Kids)
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awwww, you're taking me back, ohdeedoh! I remember i didn't have water once and used my spit... LOL, i was a bit special as a child.
You know what I've noticed - You can't find good coloring books anymore. All they have are stupid licenced character activity books instead of actual coloring books. I remember my parents buying us phone book sized books that were just dinosaurs, various fuzzy animals and ice cream cones to color. Those were the best
Oh man I remember these!! Too bad the ones out there aren't wonder and "vintage" like this Babar one. Hope someone sees this and brings them back!
Unbelievably, my children are out on the patio doing this very activity as I read this post!!! For Australian users, these books are readily available in Australia Post shops.
....and yes the Q tips work fabulously, thanks for that :)
I've seen them consistently in the coloring book section at Target. Such a great, low maintenance activity for little ones!
powwlita, Dover coloring books are a great alternative to licensed character books. Lots of generic subjects and titles and some great historical and educational subjects, too. They also have awesome paper dolls.
Thanks for the tip for "Dover" coloring books. I'll try and track them down. It is a hard living in a world of licensed junk.
I had totally forgotten about these. I loved them. I'm going to go out and try to find some pronto for toddler I take care of. Thanks.
Awhile back I bookmarked this site, which has instructions to make your own:
http://inspiredideasmag.blogspot.com/2008/12/just-add-water-mini-paintings-do-you.html
the color wonder books work with water, too, as my pen-down-the-back-of-the-chair kids have recently forced me to discover. paintbrush and water works great. Tho I will have to make my own now, I can't stand bad licensed character art, and the knock-offs are even worse.
Thanks for the link to the little mini paintings! I did a similar project last year for the Lunar New Year with my toddler. I used a sharpie to draw the face and tail of a dragon puppet we made. I used some of her washable markers to fill in dots and lines that she then "painted" with water. It turned out really great, and was like a nice low-maintenance pet for a while.
Wow. I LOVE this site. I check it all the time and am constantly lurking in the comments but this post just forced me to register! I loved paint with water as a child and will look out for these for my daughter. I live in the UK now but have asked my mom the check the Target aisles for me!
These "Water Wow Doodle Books" kept my 2 1/2 year old busy for an entire 4 hour flight. We didn't even break out the DVD player. She LOVES them. You can use them again and again and again. We've used the brush that's included, or our own paintbrushes.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=water wow doodle book&x=0&y=0
I have used the same tutorial as Hollyrh linked above to make water painting cards for my son. He absolutely loves them. A sharpie marker, some watercolor paper, and watercolor pencils are all you need to be in business.
Oh yea, I remember these! Great activity for kids!! Must pick some up for kid-sitting tomorrow. I love the Babar :)
I just found these books a few months ago! If you are in Canada, check out Dollarama stores. They have Little People "paint" books. My 2 1/2 year old LOVES them.
what a trip down memory lane! will have to hit target and dollar stores in the area tomorrow.