Nosy Crow’s Fold-Out + Play series turns a chunky board book into a 3D playset. They’re great Christmas for anyone who wants to save space or travel and still take super engaging toys with them.
We tested both books, and they’re really good fun. The idea is simple. You open the book and it stands up as a play scene. Then children press out furniture or equipment, stand up the characters and decorate with stickers. When playtime is over, everything goes back into a drawer built into the book.
Fold-Out + Play: Doll’s House
The Doll’s House opens into a stylish four-room home with a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. Children build the press-out furniture, place the stand-up characters and use the stickers to make each room their own.
It’s had a lot of praise since it launched in September 2025. It appeared on ITV’s This Morning and in Good Housekeeping’s “Best Presents for Children 2025”. Good Housekeeping called it “an ideal space saver”.
Fold-Out + Play: Farm
The new Farm book follows the same idea outdoors. It opens into a big red barn and fields, with stand-up farmers and animals, press-out 3D farm equipment and stickers to decorate the farmyard.
What we like
- Popping out the pieces is half the fun. Pressing out and building every piece was one of the best parts for us. Because everything comes apart and goes back together, you can rebuild the set again and again, so it doesn’t feel finished after the first go.
- Really portable. These are some of the most travel-friendly playsets we’ve tried. They fold flat, the pieces go in the drawer, and you can take them on holiday, on a long car journey or to the grandparents. At home they sit on a shelf like any other book.
- Help with assembly. Each book comes with an instruction sheet and a QR code that links to assembly videos, which helps with the fiddlier pieces.
- Lovely illustrations. Arrhenius is the artist behind the bestselling Peekaboo series and the award-winning Felt Flaps: Where’s Mr/Mrs? books. Her bold, bright style works well at this bigger 3D scale.
Worth knowing
These are cardboard press-out sets, not wooden toys. Younger children may need an adult to help with the first build. At £20 each, they cost more than a typical picture book but a lot less than most traditional doll’s houses or farm playsets.
The verdict
We had a lot of fun with both books. Building the pieces is a big part of the appeal, and you can take it apart and do it all again. They’re a good pick for imaginative 5 to 7 year olds, families short on space, and anyone who wants a playset to take on holiday. They’d also make a great Christmas present that isn’t another big plastic box.
Fold-Out + Play: Doll’s House and Fold-Out + Play: Farm are both available now from Nosy Crow and other book retailers.
