Where's Wally? activity and colouring books review

With the summer holidays on the way and lots of long journeys on the cards, I'm looking around for activity books to keep the Madhouse kids busy without always resorting to their ipads. We've just received a trio of Where's Wally? activity and colouring books to review and they'll be fabulous for whiling away many an hour in cars, on planes, in the back garden or tucked away in an indoor den on a rainy afternoon.

The Where's Wally? In Outer Space activity book follows Wally, Wenda, Odlaw, Woof and Wizard Whitebeard blasting off for an adventure in the deepest, darkest depths of space.

The book is packed with space-themed activities, including cosmic conundrums, wordsearches, mazes, anagrams, spot the difference, shadow matching, code cracking, ... There's a good variety of activities including some original ones, such as a two player planet hopping game.

Where's Wally? is all about spotting details in a big busy picture and some of the activities reflect this, such as this highly detailed spot the difference game which is sure to have even the adults joining in ! There is also a checklist of things to find at the end of the book.

You also get a page of over 100 stickers featuring Wally and outer space. There are twenty pages of puzzles and, due to their intricate nature, they will take you a while to complete. I would say they would appeal to slightly older children as they are complex, but the sticker sheet opens its appeal up to a younger audience too. You also get solutions to some of the trickier puzzles at the back of the book.

The Where's Wally? Across Lands activity book follows exactly the same format, but this time, Wally and his friends travel through ancient cities and civilisations.

The activities are equally varied and intricate. Again, I would say they are suited to slightly older children, but 6-year-old Pierre has been working his way through with a little help from me, so it's a great way of enjoying some quality downtime with the kids, whatever their ages.

As with the outer space activity book, you also get a page of 100+ stickers and the solutions to the trickiest puzzles.

The colouring book is more like the traditional Where's Wally? books because you have to spot Wally and a few extra items in each of the pictures. Some are located on specific pages but others could be anywhere in the book, making it even harder to find them.

Where's Wally? picture are always eye-bogglingly intricate and detailed but trying to spot Wally in a black and white picture is even harder.

The stress-busting qualities of adult colouring books have been widely lauded in recent times, so it's great to combine the colouring aspect with a test of your observation skills.

Whichever book you choose from the range, there is plenty to keep the whole family busy, at home or on the move, without ever resorting to a screen !

As you can see in the video, it's great as an activity that the whole family can enjoy together.

star rating : 4.5/5

Disclosure : We received the books in order to write an honest review.