Flexible Parenting Reviews

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Thursday, August 2, 2007

ImagiTales Review

I have to confess that I'm not always very good at picking out presents for my kids. The things are very much hit or miss with them. I've been surprised at the things that they like. Sometimes a really great gift, in my opinion anyways, is ignored while great attention is paid to the wrapping paper and ribbons. For example, my one-year old younger son (YS) has spent a good 10 minutes during each of the last two days putting tissue paper in and out of a gift bag that someone gave me.

YS and my three-and-a-half-year old older son (OS) both have stories that include their names. Since they like them, I thought that they would probably like the ImagiTales which Parent Bloggers was reviewing. Not only are their names included in the books, but their pictures are on every page. Not their full pictures. Photos of their heads (which I uploaded and cropped from a regular picture of each boy) sit atop an illustrated body. It is incredibly easy to do. Basically you pick out a book from the Titles Library. Then you upload a picture. Finally you pick out (or perhaps indicate) gender and skin tone. You get to preview the book and confirm it. An email copy costs $2.95 a book and you get it in minutes. Family and friends can also view the book in your personal library and print it out. You can also order a paperback book which is shipped out to you. That costs $9.95. The books are stored in your account so you can order additional copies at a later point.

I picked out three different books: one for my older son, one for my younger son, and one where I was able to include both boys' names and pictures. I ordered You're Growing Up Too, Featuring YS, Things That Go, Featuring OS, and Nature Things, Featuring YS (but OS was also included as the second character of the story). They provide sample copies of the books in the Titles Library to make it easy to choose. That's how I knew that Nature Things featured two characters.

It turns out my instinct was right. The boys loved the books. Anything that makes them happy and is safe and not messy gets high ratings in my book. They've taken great delight in pointing out their own and each other's pictures. OS likes to talk about what he's doing in the pictures and likes to inform YS what he's doing in his own book. These books are frequently picked at naptime, bedtime and to flip through throughout the day.

So what didn't I like? My biggest complaint is that they are not hardcover. After a few weeks, they really showed the wear and tear. They are advertised as being tear and spill resistant and saddle-stitch bound. While I do think without question that are more durable than if I had printed them out myself, they show how well loved they are much quicker than I anticipated; particularly YS's copy because he just turned a year. OS knows how to be gentle when turning pages. That being said, his book always falls on the floor and gets shoved under couches and his bed just like any other book or toy that he owns. I would have been happy to pay a bit more for a board book. Particularly because some of these books are marketed toward babies, I think that they need to be stronger. At the very least, I think they need to be hard bound.

I also am not a huge fan of the way that the pictures look. Admittedly I should have used photos that were sized better. They remind me of something you would get at a fair because they have photo heads and cartoon bodies. However, I am also neither 3 nor 1 year old (although I am 31 interestingly enough) and again what do I really know about what types of toys kids like?

I think these books would make fun presents from extended family or close friends. They are definitely fun and a good way to spend some quality time with the gift recipient.

posted by Alex Elliot @ 11:50 PM 0 comments

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Name:	Alex Elliot
Home:	MA, United States
About Me:	Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 4 year old and a 1 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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