Fill the pen with plain water, hand it over, and watch a black and white page bloom into full color under a toddler's wobbly brushstrokes. When the page dries it fades back to the start, ready to be painted again tomorrow. No ink, no paint, no puddle of regret on the sofa: just water.

Wishy Washy comes from watercolor artist and licensed speech pathologist Tabitha Paige, so the reveal pages double as a first words and colors lesson, with her gentle animal characters doing the teaching. The chunky spiral bound board pages lie flat, the refillable water pen stores in its own sleeve on the cover, and a bonus color and find activity keeps the book interesting long after the first hundred rounds.

This is the book that earns its keep in restaurants, on planes and at the grandparents' house. A genuinely great gift for the one to three crowd, and for whoever is seated next to them.