The "Tomy Aquadraw Travel Bag" is a toy that I bought for my young nephew this summer. The reason for the purchase was to occupy him in the long car journey that lay ahead, as he was going on his summer travels to Yorkshire on holiday. I discussed with my sister (my nephew's mum of course) beforehand about what toys would keep him suitably occupied during the car journey and I eventually decided on the Aquadraw Travel Bag.

The main reasons for me choosing this particular toy over any other were, firstly, it appeared to be a very lightweight and compact design, which made it ideal for travelling and taking on holiday. Secondly, I was quite sure that the toy would amuse my young nephew no end as he has always had a love of drawing or scribbling with crayons and I was quite sure that the Aquadraw would appeal to our little budding Leonardo..!

To describe the toy in a bit more detail, the idea behind the Aquadraw Travel Bag is to provide a re-usable surface for your child to draw on. As the 'ink' used on the Aquadraw is actually only plain water, the pictures that your child has created can be dried out easily. The 'drawings' can be created on the inside of the Aquadraw Travel Bag, which has two slightly oblong-shaped drawing 'boards' inside the bright red coloured Travel Bag. The boards are covered with a light sort of canvas-like fabric on the inside, which soak up the water from the Aquapen upon it touching the surface, and thus it acts like ink, allowing the child to draw to their heart's content, without any mess or fuss.

The red outer fabric of the Aquadraw Travel Bag is quite soft, but it has a padded feel to it, which provides a satisfactory surface for your child to lean on. This design makes the toy ideal for travelling, and I have seen my young nephew doodling away quite happily on his boards whilst sitting in his car seat. The Bag is double sided and it can be opened and closed easily thanks to the Velcro fastening. I think it is relevant to note how lightweight the toy is as my nephew could quite easily pick it up and carry it by himself at only 18 months old, which is the recommended age for this product.

The idea is a very simple one, and having had a try myself on several occasions, I can fully understand why the toy is so appealing to both youngsters and parents. The Travel Bag provides two generously-sized drawing boards to draw on,(each one is perhaps slightly larger than half an A4 sheet of paper) and the little "Magical" Aquapen that is supplied with the Bag is easy to use and a perfect size for smaller hands to utilise. From an adult's point of view, the need for paper or crayons has been removed altogether, making the Aquadraw Travel Bag a quick and easy alternative, while the plain water being used to create the pictures on the boards is obviously free from any toxins or chemicals, or anything that might stain. All of this, and no messy hands or clothes to clean up afterwards!

In my experience, it doesn't take very long for the Aquadraw Travel Bag to dry out and then it is ready for its next use, perhaps 20 minutes or so. The soft fabric on the drawing boards is absorbent enough to soak up the water efficiently and quickly, although it seems to be very lightweight and so dries quickly enough to stop little ones becoming too impatient.

I have also found the little plastic Aquapen is quite hard-wearing and robust, as it is has survived at least two episodes of it being trodden on by clumsy adults! Also, after more than six months of use, there is very little in the way of wear and tear to the 'nib' or tip of the Aquapen which has a very soft sponge-like feeling to it. There is no fear of the Aquapen becoming lost as there is a little slot to store it inside the Travel Bag which is positioned in between the two drawing boards in the centre of the Bag. To fill the pen with water, all you need to do is unscrew the top of the pen and fill it from a running tap and replace the top quite tightly. The pen is then ready for use on the Aquadraw.

I cannot fault the Tomy Aquadraw Travel Bag at all and on behalf of my nephew and myself, can only award it top marks!

The Tomy Aquadraw Travel Bag can be purchased from branches of Argos, or you can order it online at www.argos.co.uk. The price as @ December 2011 is £10.19, and I believe that it is currently part of Argos's "2 toys for £15" promotion, which offers even better value for money.