"Indestructibles True to Name" Skeptic Claims

As I've said before, I'm fan of books. So much so that my appreciation is hindering my desire to share books with my son. I have a collection worth sharing but I want him to be able to enjoy these books for years to come, even share them with his kids one day perhaps. The problem you see, is that he's a baby and babies and paper are like squirrels and walnuts, crows and alleyway garbage, pigs and mud: the first can't resist the latter and it's always messy.

I have all these wonderful kids' books that I long to share with my kid, but there are only so many times in a day that I can read lying on my back, baby by my side, with a cumbersome 12"x12" Richard Scarry extended overhead, out of reach but still in eyesight for little Oakley.

Someone years ago made the fabric book, next came the board book, followed by the plastic bathtub book - all good concepts and money-makers, but all failing in the same category: they're not paper. They don't sound or feel like paper and they certainly do not resemble credit card bills, magazines, library books, and all other irresistible, off-limits baby fare.

Finally someone has figured this out and applied it to kid's books. Kaaren Paxton (no, not a typo her first name is spelled that way) and Workman Publishing to be precise. Together they are putting out aptly named Indestructibles, 8"x8", 10 page, tyvek books that can be munched, crunched, scrunched, sucked, hucked, chucked, folded, molded, rolled, chewed, stewed, but cannot be food! Better yet, they sound like paper to wee baby ears. After sacrificing a few of my childhood faves to my son's quick, grabby hands (even while under close supervision) and a couple library books (board and otherwise), I am investing in an armload of Indestructibles for every baby-toting parent I know this Christmas.

Fear not dear book lovers, I can still be found with an oversized Richard Scarry book shading me and my son at least once a day.

*Note: This post was written but not posted last fall. I did indeed give Indestructibles to a number of the tots in my life for Christmas. Oakley has since moved on to real paper books and only occasionally tears a page. His little brother, Bennett, is too little to enjoy books as he's still working on focusing on the faces of his family, but I already know what to stuff into his little stocking this holiday season!