AD | Paid collaboration with beans&sparks
Erin loves reading and already has a small library in her bedroom. We encouraged her to look at books right from birth and we make sure we read at bedtime every day. Erin is coming up to 4 and has a lot of questions . We are always looking for books that help with this. bean&sparks are a book subscription service but with a difference. Instead of just being story books, beans&sparks books are personalised books designed to stimulate your child’s development.
We were sent this month’s book which is called The Big Splash. Before you order your book online you can personalise some of the details. These include the child’s name, gender, facial features and things like hair colour. Even the packaging that the book comes in shows off the personalised character.
Inside the front cover of the book it explains what the theme of the book is. In this case, The Big Splash focuses on emotions. Erin often struggles to express how she feels. It’s a lot for a child of her age to deal with. Books can really help to explain different things and I couldn’t wait to read this one with her.
The Big Splash shows the main characters, in this case it is Erin, having a day out near a pool. The other children in the pool are all playing together and looking to be having a really good time. Erin is worried though that the other children won’t like her or want to play with her. I think this is something a lot of children can think at Erin’s age.
The book is really great at getting across the message that people should be themselves and that is what others will like about them. I really liked that all Erin (in the book) had to do was smile and go over to the other children and be friendly. The illustrations throughout are really bright and fun. It really helped Erin to engage with the story and what was happening.
At the end of the book you can see what the book and theme will be next time. I like that you get a sneak peek at the next book and I would be more likely to buy it if I knew what it was in advance.
Sharing books like this with your child can help them to ask questions and to be interested in various stages of actually making a book. Why not use this opportunity to help your child create a book themselves, such as designing the cover with book cover worksheets or writing a story?
If you would like to try beans&sparks you can get your first book for free (£1.99 P&P) and then if you like, you can stay subscribed and you get a new book each month for £12.99 (P&P included).