i-SPY with my little eye, something beginning with endless discoveries ! (review)

One of the biggest parenting headaches of modern times is finding ways of getting the kids away from their screens and out into the fresh air having fun. I like to look back at the things I enjoyed during my own childhood, taking the Madhouse kids on nature walks and picnics, making a den or flower petal perfume, paddling in the sea and baking. Another thing I used to love were i-SPY guides, which always combined a fun treasure hunt with lots of interesting facts about the things you found.  Unbelievably, i-SPY are celebrating their 70th anniversary this year. Throughout that time, they have been published by News Chronicle in the 1950s, the Daily Mail until the late 1980s then Michelin. Since then, i-SPY has found a new home at Collins and i-SPY books are co-published by Collins and Michelin. There are currently over 50 i-SPY books, including new guides for 2018 - i-SPY at the shops, i-SPY garden birds, i-SPY butterflies and moths and i-SPY In the city. We were delighted to receive a trio of i-SPY books to help get our holidays off to a great start.

I love the way the books have varying ranges of difficulty - there will be no problem spotting a post box or a litter bin but a traditional red phone box may be slightly trickier.

We always complain about roadworks being carried out over the summer, but the kids will be happy to spot a person directing traffic, a road drill, cement mixer or steamroller.

Other spots will need a trip to a specific place to tick them off, for example a Chinatown arch or fountain.

A trip on a train is always full of excitement for a child who is not used to rail travel, and the On A Train Journey i-SPY book will help to make sure that (s)he doesn't miss any of the interesting things dotted around the station.

There are things to look out for while waiting for the train.

And others to spot once you're on board.

If you have a young nature lover in your midst, the Garden Birds book is perfect for helping to put names to the lesser known birds that you can see from your window.

Whatever your interests and wherever you live, there's bound to be a guide to appeal to you. My all-time favourite book from the collection is the airport one, as it is a great way for staving off boredom as you wait to go on holiday.

The holidays have barely begun and Pierre has already been having fun ticking off things that he's spotted in the books.

To celebrate 70 years of i-SPY Collins are giving away limited editions of i-SPY badges to customers who complete their i-SPY guides. This will be an exclusive limited run of 500 collector’s edition badges so it's a great time to discover the guides. The books are small enough to fit in your handbag or the glovebox of the car for those inevitable "Mum, I'm bored" and "are we nearly there yet?" moments !

i-SPY books are available for £2.99 from collins.co.uk and all good booksellers.

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