Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Colouring and Activity Book product reviews

Miss Five had just had surgery so we needed to keep her quiet - and what better way to do that than to provide her with a colouring book? She is becoming quite adept at staying within the lines; it has been amazing to watch her growing dexterity with pencils since she started school almost a year ago. This publication is good for younger children as the included puzzles are not as challenging as those in similar books; she was able to have a go at nearly all of them without too much assistance. Needless to say, she is independent and likes to have a go on her own first!

One of the creatures in the book was called an Abilisk. This was so funny because Miss Five's name is quite similar so she thought it had been named with her in mind! This was the first one to be coloured in; I am not sure what the "correct" colours might be, but Miss Five's version was decorated with red and green stripes! And very effective - and quite unique - it was too.

She next tried the maze and whizzed through it in 45 seconds flat. It was well within her capabilities, and she was then able to colour the background as well. The next challenge was the Wordsearch. I thought that would be too hard, but she was soon finding the words for herself with occasional assistance from her brother. When she finishes that, her next challenge will be matching the tattoos. I like the way that the puzzles are all different so what one child might find easy, another might find hard, depending on how their thought processes work.

I asked her what she thought of the book overall. She described it as cool and lots of fun! Despite being a little woozy from her recent anaesthetic, she was alert enough to tackle the puzzles. Although she was sitting up in bed (in case she fell asleep) there was no sign of that happening - she was too engrossed in her new book. It seems that it was a good choice for the occasion.

She is looking forward to cutting out the door plate and hanging it on her door handle when she has completed the rest of the pages. I suggested it might be easier to colour them if she left the cover intact, and she agreed with me (for once). Judging by the way she is zipping through the contents, that time may not be too far away.