Twirl. Turning heads, shaping minds #Giveaway

Pop up books are so much fun.  I remember how much I loved them as a child.  How much the fun the mystery of what would be behind the flap.  Even on my 50th “discovery” of the same flap, I still had a great time.  There is just something to be said for books that really engage a child, and something more to be said about books that engage parents  in the fun too.

Raincoast Books has recently launched a debut collection from Chronicle Book’s new publishing line: Twirl.  Twirl produces interactive books and games for very young readers and are currently available wherever fine books are sold.

We were sent the debut collection to check out, including Presto Change-o! A Book of Animal Magic, The Ultimate Book of Vehicles, Jojo’s First Word Book, A Tree for All Seasons and My First Color Dominoes.

   Keira was quick to grab Presto Change-o! A Book of Animal Magic by Édouard Manceau.  She was absolutely delighted by this book of transformation and squealed when I first turned the hat around on the first page to reveal a bird. “Bird! Bird!”.  This book is a large board book which features swivelling pieces that reveal animals from everyday objects.   The book also features rhymes that give a hint of what is to come, although to be honest, Keira is far more interested in the transformation aspect!  I couldn’t help but fall in love with this book.  There is just something about flipping a salad bowl upside down to reveal a turtle that brings me back to that child-like joy.

  We then moved on to The Ultimate Book of Vehicles by Anne-Sophie Baumann and Didier Balicevic which is meant for ages 4-9.  This book uses flaps, swivelling pieces, sliding pieces and pop-ups to really bring a large variety of vehicles on land, at sea and in the air to life. Playing with book we encountered surprise after surprise such as an articulated crawler excavator demolishing a house, a dump truck swivelling to dump its load and a wheel excavator changing the tool at the end of its boom via a wheel.  And that is just the first page! Everything is carefully labelled and brightly coloured.  Even without the 60+ interactive features in the book, this would have been a real winner based on the layout and illustrations alone. 

  Jojo’s First Word Book by Xavier Deneux is absolutely adorable, fun and a great way to encourage language in Toddlers.  Keira loves the little fabric handle which makes it easy for her to run around with.  This book is pretty special and the cover alone is the first hint at this with a chunky house popping out.  Every other page is tabbed which also makes it easy for little hands to flip through.  These details make it so much more than just a first word book.  Keira is finally starting to vocalize more and really enjoyed pointing at the various objects and body parts to tell me what they were, (all on her own!)

   A Tree for All Seasons by Maryse Guittet is a board book in the shape of a tree that allows the reader to see what seasonal changes occur to the tree.  It also has lift the flap features which reveal the creatures living within the tree.  There is a page for each season with winter being the back cover.

  My First Color Dominoes by Édouard Manceau features both a board book and a domino game.  The book itself simply presents the primary colours plus black and white.  What I really liked about it was that the last page shows how to mix these colours to create new colours.  The Domino game was a little beyond Keira’s understanding which makes sense since this is targeted at ages 4 and up.  It does seem like a lot of fun though and simply involves matching the colours and objects on the cardboard domino pieces included in their own self-contained box.

Connect with Raincoast Books on Twitter as well as Chronicle Kids for updates and more about Twirl and other great books!

Buy it:

These great books from Twirl can be purchased from Amazon and other fine Canadian retailers.

Win it:

 One Canadian Frugal Mom Eh reader will win their own set of Twirl Books including Presto Change-o! A Book of Animal Magic, The Ultimate Book of Vehicles, Jojo’s First Word Book, A Tree for All Seasons and My First Color Dominoes.  Giveaway ends on May 4th at 11:59 pm EST.  See Giveaway Tools form for entry and T&C.

Disclosure:  I received the above mentioned books in order to facilitate this review.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Elizabeth Lampman

Elizabeth Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys travelling, developing easy recipes, crafting, taking on diy projects, travelling and saving money!