Playbook Farm Hardcover – Pop up, September 11, 2012

This was the best popup book ever. Well made and sturdy little hands. This was a hit in our house.

excellent

As a child, my parents kept our most cherished children's books in their private collection. We were always excited when my father took out a title to share with the family. He enjoyed reading them with us and keeping them preserved for future use.Playbook Farm reminds me of my father's old custom, and how it feels to treat a book as a treasure. Now as a mother, I get to share the thrill of seeing my children marvel, yet exercise restraint as they carefully turn the pages.The presentation of Playbook Farm is excellent. The book sits within a thicker book-looking box. Stress on edges is minimized by a thin, red ribbon beneath the book, snaking up at the end. You pull on the end of this to gently lift the book out of the box.There is an envelope affixed to the backside of the box cover. It contains flat characters/vehicles for creative play in pop-up scenes (farmer, tractor, truck, Holstein cow, pig, goat, red rooster, sheep and a Border Collie).*To partially open figures to stand, bend each at the slightly creased side. It would have been helpful to see a note with diagram on this process, since it's not obvious to everyone.Construction of the Box:The inside of binding arrived unglued (like there wasn't enough), but it doesn't affect use. It's a simple fix with my glue gun. ALSO, a corner of inside of box was separated at one seam. Fix? One piece of clear packing tape holds it together perfectly while still looking great.The Actual Book:The pop-ups are made of pliable card stock affixed to heavier, rigid, semi-glossed cardboard. This book is sturdy-not flimsy at all. NO problems with regular use-our family has been opening/closing this to convert from book to a playmat MANY times over the past few days.There's the option of simply turning the "pages" like a regular book, where you can see each individual 3-D structure (chicken coop, pasture with sheep/cat, field of wheat with horse/rabbits, windmill with mouse in grain, chicken coop with rooster/hen, and field of grass/tree with pigs).You can view all the pop-up scenery at once, forming a farm playmat. The mat will lie more flat when you place a few clean rocks on top. It also adds to the whole farm look. There are no tabs in the book to break. You open and close doors/roofs and spin a windmill with your fingers.The main story is simplistic (animal sounds and activities), but I like that there is another "story" on the back with questions for children to think about. Though it's a little bit of a challenge to get to (we do it in sections), I still appreciate it, nonetheless.Ideally, all the writing seems best placed on the side that forms both the lapbook and playmat, so children can think about the questions while playing. Extra visuals would be fine on those "harder to reach" areas.In conclusion, I HIGHLY recommend Playbook Farm. This is an unforgettable book. It will make you want to treat it with care so you can share it with future generations.**The next book in the series, Playbook Pirates, comes out in Sept. 2013.**

This is a fun idea and packaged neatly in a very portable box so it will be great for keeping in the car to get out when the kids need to be entertained. The pop-up book is made in such a way that it can fold out into a sort of play mat, really more of an expanded play area due to the pieces that pop up there really isn't space for someone to sit on it. There are some heavy paper figures for play that are stored in an envelope pouch that is attached to the front flap of the box; I say heavy paper but these won't stand up too long if being roughly handled or getting wet. I wish the envelope was a little more secure but could easily be doctored with a little tape to ensure all the pieces don't get lost in transport. I gave this four stars instead of three because there really isn't a story; the 'book' part just flows through the farm and goes over the various noises the animals make. That being said, there is plenty of opportunity for kids to let their imaginations create all sorts of farm adventures with the figures of animals and people. This is a fun way to keep kids entertained without having them plugged into something and fostering development of their creativity.

I was very impressed with the Playbook farm, but it's most certainly a farm that will become a collectible. Once you open up the box there is an reclosable envelope on the left that has everything a "real" farm needs. There is a truck, tractor, sheep, cow, goat, pig, rooster, sheepdog, and a farmer. Each one of these stand-ups can be folded along the crease so they will stand up independently. There is a cotton ribbon that goes under the farm so it can be removed easily. Paper is a fragile material and as soon as I opened the box the spine separated. No problem as more glue remedied that situation. There is a magnetized cover that stays in place quite nicely."Cock-a-doodle-doo!"It's time to wake up on the busy farm!"Moo, moo, moo!"The cows are ready for morning milking!"Woof, woof, woof!"Barks the sheepdog as he herds the sheep."Baa, baa, baa!"Bleat the woolly sheep in their pen.The farm? Much loved, but if you have a rough-and-tumble youngster you can't supervise you may wish to pass. If you love this one (and you will)  Playbook Pirates  is another one you'll want to add to your list when it comes out in September of 2013. This play mat encourages creative play and best of all it is portable and can be folded up and stored in its box when play time is over. The storyline, which can be read by a confident reader, meanders along the country road. There is a story about the farm that can be read independently of the mat in the manner of a board book. This is a fun book and play mat rolled into one young children will love!

I gave the Playbook Farm to my grandsons, aged 4 and 15 months. I thought they might enjoy reading the story and then playing with the farm. It was a big hit - for a while. The 4 year old enjoyed "reading" (mostly telling the story) to his little brother and helping him discover what was under the flaps. They also had a good time playing with the farm. Unfortunately, the flaps and the farm did not hold up too well. In retrospect, although the story and flaps are great for a toddler, 15 months is probably too young for a child to be gentle enough for this book to survive. After a few times "reading" and playing with the farm, my 4yr old grandson lost interest - the story in Playbook Farm is a little young for him and he's had a lot of "flap books" in his life. This book is beautifully illustrated, and is a cute story and the idea of part of the book becoming a "farm mat" for creative play is very clever. I don't regret ordering the book, but probably a little more supervision is needed, if the book is to withstand more than a few "read and play" sessions.

My daughter loves this book/mat. It's beautifully designed and really can be used as a book or a mat. It took a while for us to work out how the animals stand up, but once we noticed the spilt in the bottom of them, then they could be used to play with in amongst the pop up farm buildings. Also great value compared to book shops.

Hours of fun, fairly durable with a toddler considering its cardboard so handy for travelling

Little one loves it

I ordered this for my 3 year old niece and she loved it! My nephew has the pirate one and he had hours of fun playing with it. Delivery was super speedy too.

Lovely book! Great stocking filler for Christmas !