Books for Young Children, from ‘Imagine That Publishing’

In order for us to review the following books, we were kindly gifted free copies of them from ‘Imagine That Publishing Ltd.‘ Rest assured though, all the opinions expressed below are entirely our own.

Background

Being a full-time travel family at present, with 3 young children, we aim to always have a bag made up ready that contains a variety of portable activities for our kids to do while we are out and about, like when waiting for food to arrive at a restaurant. Often, in our case, we like to select activities that inspire wanderlust in young children. Another regular in the bag (a long time favourite), has been the ‘Scratch and Draw’ series of books (see below). When ‘Imagine That Publishing‘ saw us mentioning these books on Instagram, they reached out to us with an offer of some different free books of theirs that are intended for younger children, in exchange for us evaluating and publicising them.

We were delighted to accept this offer (who doesn’t love a freebie after all?), so here are our thoughts and our children’s experiences of these books…

Scratch and Draw: Farm Animals

Recommended age: 3+

As our children already using these books is where this process all began, I was very pleased that they sent us another from the series. These colourful and imaginative books have been enjoyed extensively in our family. They comprise of a story narrative that runs through the book, accompanied by a collection of different images, each based on the book’s theme (in this case, farm animals). Each double page contains both a black and white outline image to be coloured in (conventionally), and on the other page, a line image on a black background for scratching. This is where the real fun lies, as by using the attached wooden stylus, the black of the image can be selectively scratched away to reveal a shiny, multi-coloured layer behind. This creates beautiful, dazzling images.

Our children have always enjoyed these books, and this particular one has proven to be no exception. Younger children will enjoy the scratching (but end up with more of a colourful ‘mess’ at the end), while slightly older children are really able to express their creativity and create some lovely pictures.

The Good…

• Great for younger children to entertain themselves.
• Diversity of activity, with both scratching and colouring.
• Contains a story that runs through the book to be read together (or independently by older children).
• Develops literacy and imagination, as includes a page at the back for the child to write and draw their own ending to the story.
• Develops drawing and fine motor skills, with a ‘how to’ section at the back detailing step-by-step instructions for how to draw some of the things featured in the book.

The Bad…

• The black that is removed by scratching does create a debris of fine dust. Be sure to do these books outside or somewhere that can be easily cleaned up (not on your best, white sofa!).

Circle & Square: Let’s Learn Shapes

Written by: Connie Isaacs

Recommended age: 1+

This board book provides a colourful and engaging introduction to shapes for very young children. The pages are stacked full of fun imagery to help keep the book interesting for younger readers. Cutouts and raised sections are also used effectively to create a 3-D effect to define the shapes in question on each page.

My youngest (1) enjoyed having this cute display of shapes read to him.

The Good…

• Helps with the learning of shapes and spacial perception – an important step in the development of toddlers.
• Finger tracing the 3-D shapes adds a touch element, which in my experience always helps to retain a toddler’s interest and engagement with a book.
• The writing is at a level that older children could potentially read the book to their younger siblings, or to other, younger children.

The Bad…

• No bad points here!

Trace the Trails: Follow that Dinosaur! / Follow that Unicorn!

Written by: Georgie Taylor

Recommended age: Not stated (I would say best suited to age 2-5)

These fun and colourful board books again utilise cutouts and 3-D effects throughout. They are from the ‘Trace the Trails’ series, with these 2 books concerned with the subjects of dinosaurs and unicorns. The idea of these books is for the child to be able to trace a route with their finger that meanders through the pages of the book, whilst answering observation based questions along the way.

I was surprised by how much my children seemed to enjoy this concept, especially when my eldest (5) was reading what she could of it to her younger sister and brother (3 & 1).

The Good…

• The book is presented in a very interactive format, with questions throughout.
• Answering the questions helps to develop observation and critical thinking skills, such as size comparison and colour recognition.

The Bad…

• No narrative story-line to speak of.
• The answers to a couple of the questions are a bit ambiguous and could have been better thought out.

Fire Rescue!

Written by: Connie Isaacs

Recommended age: 3+

This board book uses a very innovative structure to create pop-up scenes by using the pages themselves only (with cutouts within them). On the front cover is a cutout fire engine that can be removed entirely, then used to drive through the various scenes throughout the book. This is a great idea, something that I have honestly never come across quite like before (and I’ve seen a lot of children’s books!).

This was actually the biggest hit out of all the books with my 1 year old. Although the story may be just a touch advanced, he loved being able to drive the fire engine through the book. My 5 year old also enjoyed reading it to him.

The Good…

• Commendable to have come up with a new idea (new to me, in any case) for an interactive book for toddlers, in what is a cluttered market.
• Some of the words used are deliberately repeated through the book to help with learning and comprehension.
• Good use of onomatopoeia, using words such as ‘whoosh’ that have familiarity for little ears.
• A clearly laid out, easy to follow story and pictures.

The Bad…

• Having a completely removable part (the fire engine) runs the risk of it getting lost easily.
• The recommended age of 3+ is perhaps more to do with the removable part, rather than the story itself, which is arguably equally suited to younger children.

Pop Out & Play: Cook’s Baking Set

Written by: Robyn Gale

Recommended age: 3+ (with small parts warning for children under 3)

This very interactive board book is based around cooking and baking. Each page contains a different cutout item of kitchen equipment that can be popped right out of the page, to be used for pretending to carry out the specified kitchen task for that page, such as whisking, stirring etc. A simple story-line follows the cooks through the book as they complete their tasks.

Whilst I must confess that on the face of it, this idea seemed a little gimmicky and lacking substance to me, never underestimate how much small children love to get hands on with things. Pretending to copy grown up activities is what they love doing best! Therefore, needless to say, mine all enjoyed reading this book, with its chance to play at baking.

The Good…

• Interactive throughout with new pieces on each page, so very engaging.
• Good introduction to different verbs on each page.

The Bad…

• Lots of pop-out pieces to lose or get damaged – good luck keeping hold of all of these in the long run!
• Choking warning for children under 3 (though in reality none of the pieces are particularly small). This is a shame, as it is probably these very children who would most enjoy this book.

Little Fox and the Fairy

Written by: J.S. Betts

Recommended age: Not stated (I would say best suited to age 3-7)

This charming paperback is a magical little story about a fox and a fairy, that includes large, black and white line drawing illustrations on a lot of the pages. The book is nicely divided into manageable chapters, making it perfect for reading as a bedtime story.

My eldest (5) absolutely loved reading this book. She was immediately asking if we could get more from the series, as soon as we’d finished it. She was also able to read some independently by herself, just as any child reading at a level of around 10 or above on the Oxford Reading Tree should be able to do.

The Good…

• Fun and engaging story.
• Well pitched for its target audience, with a suitable use of vocabulary that is not too challenging.
• Includes questions at the back of the book for checking and helping to develop comprehension of the story.
• Spaces to write answers to these questions, encouraging practising writing skills.

The Bad…

• No bad points here!

Conclusion

We always love getting free stuff (who doesn’t?), especially when it is something that we may have bought ourselves anyway, such as books. In an age of technology, books remain a great way for encouraging development in children. These particular books all met the grade, so have all gratefully been adopted into our permanent collection.

We loved the ‘scratch and draw’ picture books already, and this latest one is just as good as any of the others. Just be sure to use them somewhere where you don’t mind making a mess! The ‘Little Fox and the Fairy’ is a cute story book, perfect for bedtime reading together, or for reading alone for young readers as they begin to grow older and their skills develop.

All of the various board books that we received we found fun for young children. These books could present an interactive way to introduce books to younger children who may have perhaps had less exposure to them in the past. If I had to pick a favourite from amongst these that we were sent, despite the possibility of losing the pop-out fire engine, I’d go for ‘Fire Rescue!’, due to its enjoyable story and innovative design idea. My only real criticism of some of these board books is that the removable parts have necessitated an age rating that is perhaps above the age of the children who could most appreciate reading them.

In summary, this selection of books were all very much appreciated and, along with all their others, should provide our children with hours of learning and fun for years to come. Judging by the evidence from this selection, ‘Imagine that Publishing‘ seem to be releasing a good range of colourful and engaging books for younger children. If you’ve not come across them before, go check out their selection for yourself.

On the lookout for great books for kids? Check out this roundup of some more beautiful children’s books.

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