These are very small books in size but I knew that before I bought it. My kids loved it so much they made them themselves just for fun. Even my seventh grader thought it was funny. Ideal for writing practice for all ages. Comes with a handle but 7 bars. We have not had to use a refill so far and have been using it daily for several weeks. Depending on how hard you press the ink, it usually takes 30 minutes for it to go away (more if you press harder and use more ink). I wish there were multiple pens included so more than one child could use the books at the same time, but that's fine. It's really awesome! I hope there will be a cursive book soon. A+ product.