The Book People - Piccadilly Picture Book Library Review

Anyone who works in an office knows all about The Book People.  That nice man (or sometimes a nice lady, but ours is a man) who comes round every month or so with a random selection of books & you somehow always find something you want.  That's TheBook People.  They also have a website, www.thebookpeople.co.uk, which has a much wider range than your local distributor can carry in their car, with books for all ages & interests.

The nice folk at TheBook People sent Squeaky the PiccadillyMini Picture Book Library to review.  It's aimed at children between 2-5, and contains 10 books covering fairies, mermaids, animals, friendship, and toys.  The books may appear to be slightly more slanted towards girls, with the fairies and mermaids, but I know plenty of boys who'd still enjoy these books (and the rest of the set), as well as a certain Squeaky girl that likes pirates & cars just as much as pink & sparkles.  I'd maybe have liked to have swapped one of the two "girly" books out for a more boy orientated story for balance, but it's not a big issue.

Squeaky spotted the books straight away, before I got them out of the box, and knew they were for her.  The box that the books are stored in is bright and colourful, with pictures of the books' covers, and a snug fit to keep the ten books safe from harm.  I was actually quite surprised how big the books were, considering the name was a Mini Picture Library.  Mini compared to, say, our town library (still closed for renovations, reopening next week according to rumours), so mini in that sense, but when I see Mini in terms of books, I think buggy-book/Little Book of Calm sized.  These are pretty much standard sized books, hardback, but with paper pages, not board books.  That makes the box quite heavy when it's full of the books, as Squeaky discovered when she tried to carry it across the room & she dropped it, right on her foot. Poor mite. That said, 5 minutes of cuddles and Mummy kissing it better, and she was right as rain and demanding "My Books" again, carrying them a bit more carefully second time around.

Squeaky loves trying to read at the moment, or pointing out the pictures to me and telling me what's going on.  She curled up on the sofa quite happily with One Clever Creature, which is definitely our favourite so far, the big print and short length of the story make it ideal for keeping her attention. Some of the stories are a little longer, and they'll engage her more over the coming months, making the set something that will have a long lifespan.

We went through a phase not so long back of not being interested in stories, but we're firmly back in the Bedtime Story Zone at the moment, somewhere I hope we stay.  The Piccadilly Mini Picture Library is already well established in our collection, and gives me a good variety of choices, keeping my attention as well as Squeaky's.

The Piccadilly Mini Picture Book Library is RRP £79.90, but is available from TheBook People for the bargain price of £9.99, and would make a lovely birthday or Easter gift (I'm not thinking about Christmas again for ages!)

Disclosure: I was provided with the Piccadilly Picture Book Library free of charge for the purpose of this review.  I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.