If you’ve used other water-based drawing pages, this is not much different. Except it’s significantly less durable. See picture. That happened literally within seconds of our first use! Color still takes a really long time to appear which can be frustrating and confusing for young toddlers. But overall it’s still a great product that keeps kids entertained and I love the hidden pictures which give motivation to color the entire page to find & count whatever is hidden.
Overall I’m glad I bought this but I won’t be buying any more like I had planned. Having a defect almost instantly is not the best impression.
A
Anthony
★★★★★
Strong off-gassing, easily scratch off surface (knockoff Water Wow)
This product is a knockoff Water Wow that uses some sort of inferior white coating that strongly off-gasses and scratches incredibly easily. The smell was so strong to me I set it outside to air out. I don’t trust the chemical makeup of whatever the white coating is because it’s scratching off onto my daughter’s hands and I don’t want it getting in her mouth or eyes. So this is being immediately returned. Look for an authentic Water Wow instead, there’s no off-gassing on those and they don’t scratch as easily.
M
Miles C.
★★★★★
Waste of Money! Trash after a few uses!
This ended up ruined after only a few uses. The pages do not dry without sticking to each other and getting moldy. It’s completely trash. We have used other brands of these water books the exact same way hundreds of times without any of these issues.
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Lauren Shvetsov
★★★★★
It scratches easily
My toddler loves it, no problem with that! But when she pushes too hard, which is often, it scratches the page
S
Shalena
★★★★★
Pens came broken
The pens came broken :( haven’t had a chance to use the book yet but they look cool. Just gotta get some different pens
S
Stephany
★★★★★
Don’t waste your money!
Don’t waste your money on this item! Had it one day and my daughter used it and it scratched. It takes a ton of water and energy for the picture to come up. We have other brands that she uses that are way better!
L
Lois
★★★★★
They don't hold up
Cute books. They are just poor quality. After 5 minutes of first use, the white film comes off and the color is exposed.
J
jennifer karlen
★★★★★
Falling apart after 1 use
One use from my toddler supervised, and the book is already water damaged. Disappointed!
Haticha A. Eisenberg
★★★★★
Does not work at all. Even with different brushes.
the brush doesn’t work. You have to aggressively brush against the page for the water to do anything. I thought maybe it was the water brush so I used a different one and it still didn’t work. Check the video to see the difference between joycat magic book and my toddlers fav the Melissa and Doug WOW water book. Disappointing because I needed a replacement for her current book which she drew on with crayons.
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Kerie
★★★★★
Great Quality
Very satisfied with the quality of this book. The pages are nice and thick, not flimsy at all. The colors are vivid and start to fade after a few minutes as it dries. My 18 month old was entertained by the water pen alone! Just be careful if your child plays rough (like mine). He managed to scratch the color changing material on tone of the pictures while it was wet, so it no longer changes color.
K
Kayla
★★★★★
Cute book and great learning tool!
The only complaint I have about this book is I do not like the marker it came with. It is very small, making it hard for my 1.5 year old to hold and therefore also not able to hold a ton of water. But I decided that was not enough to deduct a star because the book itself is fantastic! (And we are just using a water marker we have that came with a different set) It is a great learning tool for kids that are learning the alphabet, and it is a fun surprise for them to reveal the picture for each letter. (You can actually see what the picture is going to be before revealing it with the water, but it is still fun to see the colors come to life!)
This is a great coloring book for on the go, because there won't be any mess if using in the car because there is no ink just water! And this is also a great alternative to a tablet or screen!
I personally think it is at a great low price point, the other books we have were a bit more expensive but do the same thing and quality of the book itself matches up.
I'm curious to see how the book holds up over time and how the cardboard it is made with will hold up to the water. So we will find out how durable this will be over time.
A
Audrey and Allan Johansson
★★★★★
Nice activity book
This book makes a great travel activity for young kids. It keeps them busy for a really long time. The pages have cute details and are nice and bright. The only negative thing I have to say is that I feel like the pen releases too much water at my child like that way water at once it gets empty pretty quickly. Other than that, it is a great activity book.
J
J/C AZ
★★★★★
Great early letter learning resource
My 3-year-old is just building letter and sound awareness. He's always loved water reveal books. This combines both! My only complaint is that the water pen holds a very small amount. I ended up just getting him a little cup of water to dip into. So keep that in mind if you're planning to travel with it. It's overall great!
Holly
★★★★★
Nice book, bad pen
This is a well-made water pen book that's also educational. It has a hard cover with a Velcro closure, and it has pages to color with the included water pen. The pages consist of letters of the alphabet and associated images.
I took off a star because of the quality of the water pen. The pen looks nice and has a paintbrush-like tip, but it doesn't color very well. You have to be exceptionally deliberate as you color with it, yet the tip of the pen is too soft and weak for coloring alongside the lines. I recommend purchasing an alternate water pen if your child doesn't already have one.
Renee
★★★★★
Heavy Duty
This water coloring book is really heavy duty and made to last. The colors in it are pretty vibrant from what I can tell. A little Ziploc bag is attached to put the brush in. There is also a handle to carry it around with it. I did not use it because I'm going to have my grandson play with it when he visits this summer. I hope it's as fun as it looks.
ordershewrote
★★★★★
Nice water reveal book!
This is super fun and works well, love the letter practice! Colors revealed are bright and images are nice. It dries fast but not too fast to be frustrating. Only thing is, I don’t love the included water pen. It doesn’t hold a lot of water so it has to be refilled often, and it has a brush type tip that my five year old quickly destroyed. We might steal the water pens from the other brand that we have, and then it will be great! Overall still really like this and would recommend!
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Sarah
★★★★★
Good tracing book, not sure how long will last
We really like this water letter tracing book! We’ve had the cheap versions of this before and this book is more heavy duty—we haven’t used it long enough yet to know for sure—but the pages are thick and the water evaporates fairly quickly after using it. The book has Velcro circles on the front flap to help it stay shut, but I’m not really sure why. It isn’t really necessary and the Velcro part doesn’t work that well lol.
I like the little water brush pen, easy enough to refill. Nice that the water is in the brush pen for using on the go/in the car, etc. I like the attached plastic holder bag for the pen!
Some of the pictures and colors are visible before water but vague enough to still make it fun to reveal. The pictures and colors are cute and vibrant, the letters have numbers and lines to make tracing easier. One page has a letter matching game. Keeps my four year old interested and he really enjoys revealing the bright colors and images.
The only con so far is after a couple days of using it the pages (which are still mostly in good condition) have seemed to warp just a little bit, maybe from the water. The edges of the pages have some nicks and dents as well. This isn’t a huge deal but we also haven’t had it an entire week yet. Also the brush has gotten pretty frizzy but still works fine.
Fun and educational, overall good quality. I say this a lot in reviews though—good product, slightly overpriced. I know it has the benefit of being reusable and more durable than the cheap ones—but still seems a little high for me considering it’s already showing some wear.
Goodie
★★★★★
Great Learning Tool, But Could Be More Durable
This water reveal alphabet book is a fun and engaging way for kids to practice letters and phonics. The hidden letters and matching objects or animals make it very interactive, and the large letters are great for tracing. The water pen works well, though it does feel a bit flimsy. My only real complaint is the book’s cover, because it ripped when I first opened it because I didn’t realize it had Velcro tabs and I pulled from the middle. A sturdier cardboard cover would help, and make for a better handle to carry too. Overall, it’s a great learning activity with just a few small flaws.
Breanna Marina
★★★★★
Perfect Mess-Free Alphabet Fun for Toddlers
As a mom of 3 (ages 5, 2.5, and 7 months), I love mess-free activities like this for toddlers and so does my 2.5-year-old! So I really love these sort of mess free water coloring (or those crayola markers that don’t color on anything else except the paper it’s meant for).
We do have several water activities like this, but not quite this large of a scale. My 2.5 yr old likes coloring this sort of stuff and she does want to color, but she is a menace with the crayons so I give her stuff like this instead. I haven’t tested this specific book out yet, but I do know she will absolutely love it and enjoy coloring this. The pen is easy to fill and I appreciate that it has an attached enclosed storage bag, so it doesn’t get lost and thrown about. I also really like the spiral design as that is super easy for toddlers to be able to turn the pages. The pages feel like a sturdy cardboard, but I wouldn’t overdo it (if possible) with the water per page to avoid soaking it too much. It’s brightly colored, making it a fun attractive activity.
My daughter is wanting to learn her letters so this is a fun way to foster that learning. I also really appreciate the carrying handle. I’m also familiar with joycat brand, I have their wooden magnet color sorting set, which my 2.5 yr old also loves! So I knew this book would probably be just as great and I was right. This book would be a great at home activity but also a travel activity. Since it just requires the pen and water, it would be easy to take along. My daughter will definitely love it and she’ll feel included when her big sissy is coloring with the crayons!
Happy Mama
★★★★★
If scratched color stays revealed in scratches
I absolutely love this book for water painting for toddlers. It was first of its kind for my little one. I loved how vibrant colors have appeared after brushing with water. The book is excellent however the brush that is fillable with water needs improvement. It doesn’t hold too much water. You need to squeeze the part with water so it comes out and paints the pictures. If you scratch surface with the brush it will not hide color again. My toddler painted with water and than when pressed the brush hard it scratched the surface and the layer that hides colors got scratched and now the colors are revealed at all times in place of scratches. I still love the book and highly recommend it to anyone.
Lizette
★★★★★
Awesome gift for a creative toddler
Initial review: This book entertained all of my girls from ages 3-9. The older ones complained that it dried very quickly but it was perfect for my toddler. I like that it's a book about the alphabet so it's not just fun but educational. It's super easy to use and mess free since it comes with a brush that can be filled by squeezing it into a cup of water (while on the go) or under a faucet. It's an added bonus that the brush can be stored in a small plastic pouch attached to the book. I wasn't really a fan of the way it smelled (like a beach ball) but it really wasn't a big deal. I do wish it had multiple pens so siblings could use it together or have a couple pre-filled with water for a car ride. I believe this book would make an awesome gift that doesn't take up much space, is mobile, clean, and engaging.
Update: The pages started disintegrating after two weeks of use. It's a huge let down because now it's trash.
Denis
★★★★★
Great Water Paint Book for my toddler !
My toddler loves water paint and this alphabet book is on her favorite shelf. It has vibrant colors, nice big alphabet letters with directional dotted lines to follow along. It’s a great way to get your toddler to learn how to write the letters - educational by giving insight how to draw the letters.
Like the extra details after water painting the entire page. Has a variety of nature, animals and insect revealed after water painted.
Very nice they included a small ziplock attached to the spiral for storing the water 💧 pen 🖊️ - absolutely worth it.
The water pen is easily squeezed and lots of water could come out - it’s important to explain your toddler not to Squeeze too much 😆
Good quality made, think pages and vibrant colors.
Overall is a great way to keep them busy. Perfect water paint book for a 2 years old.
M&M
★★★★★
Must have for travel
Perfect for travel. No mess. I really like that it has a clear bag attached to the book to store the water marker. This will keep toddler busy during travel or even to keep them occupied during dinner instead of electronics. It’s fun and engaging. Bright colors and educational. Must have!
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Nicole Webb
★★★★★
Bright colors, cardboard pages can get soaked
For the price? Absolutely worth it, had two kids 5 and 3 "painting" this at the same time, utterly enthralled.
Only problem is that the paint brush is a bit tough to work with, it seemed to be the case that it was releasing water too slow or unevenly, so I gave my kids alternative brushes, at which point they immediately began soaking the pages more than I expected them to.
The pages themselves, like underneath the color layers, appears to be a type of cardboard, and doesn't take a soaking very well. Keep that in mind if you want to use this dozens of times instead of just several times.
Jonathan
★★★★★
Adorable and Practical Mess-Free Toddler Craft Book
This water book is a big win for mess-free toddler fun. The artwork is bright and engaging, and the magic of watching colors appear with just water never gets old. I especially appreciate that it has a real book format with lots of double-sided pages -- way more content than other similar kits we’ve tried, which means it holds our toddler’s attention much longer.
The pen is easy to fill, though it doesn’t hold a ton of water. It can run a bit dry with heavy use, but a light squeeze usually gets it going again. That said, it’s miles better than other brands with harder-to-use pens that frustrate little hands. The sturdy spiral binding and secure flap closure are nice design touches, and I love that there’s built-in pen storage so it doesn’t disappear into the depths of a backpack or toy bin. Also great for learning letters without pressure. A really sweet and useful activity book for travel, quiet time, or just everyday creative play.
