Bring your kids books to life with Incredebooks. #giveaway

Fuel your child’s love of learning with rhyme, rhythm and language!

Featuring stunning illustrated artwork and rhyming verse, Olaf Wants a Birthday and Mickey and Donald’s Rhyme Time offer a traditional book experience, which can then be enhanced digitally with augmented reality technology.

Using their smartphone, children can scan specially marked pages to trigger an augmented reality experience – bringing the printed page to life in 3D and allowing them to interact with their favorite characters!

During play, children can:

· Take a photo with Olaf or Mickey

· Change viewpoints by zooming in and out — and rotating the 3D story scenes 360 degrees

· Explore four digital experiences reinforcing early language skills

· Tap objects to trigger animations and funny rhymes

· Engage in playful rhyming games and activities

In Olaf Wants a Birthday, the loveable Disney snowman discovers all the fun things that he could do if he celebrated birthdays like his friends Elsa and Anna. He imagines skating parties, games of tag, birthday flowers, walks with friends, songs and even a day at the beach. In the end, he decides he likes birthdays so much that he wants one every day.

And in Mickey and Donald’s Rhyme Time, which has arrived just in time for Mickey Mouse’s birthday on November 18, Mickey and his Clubhouse friends help Donald write a lovely poem for Daisy. Even the talented Toddles cannot provide the right rhyming words so Donald has to solve the problem himself through perseverance and hard work. 

You’ll be amazed at the learning power of this new generation of “connected storytelling books.” As part of Disney Imagicademy’sinnovative suite of products, Incredebooks: Disney Imagicademy Edition books help children explore reading foundation skills and concepts by:

● Recognizing rhymes and non-rhymes

● Listening to and matching rhyming word pairs

● Reading and matching rhyming word pairs

Here’s how it works!

Ø  Just download the included Apple or Android companion app through iTunes or Google Play.
Ø  Find the special symbols on the special book pages.
Ø  Activate the special pages in 3D with your mobile device!

The full augmented reality experience is INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE with the purchase of the hardcover storybooks, available exclusively at Target.?

If you don’t have the book, you can sample the 3D experience by downloading a sample augmented reality page (PDF file) using the app; or an in-app purchase enables the downloading of two additional augmented reality pages.? In-app purchases are located behind a gated parents screen.

Here’s a great video which shows you how it works!

Now available exclusively at Target retail stores across the US and at Target.com (SRP: $14.99), the books, for children ages 3–8, are created by Mercury Connects and published by Mercury InPress, and developed with Disney Imagicademy, a division of Disney Learning.

And for even more fun…check out other Incredebooks from Mercury Connects!

The Funny Fables book series is based on iconic children’s fables, including Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocksand The Three Little Pigs. Featuring delightful and original illustrations with reimagined story lines for today’s young readers, Mercury Connects has transformed these timeless classics into fully immersive experiences.?? (Available at Target.com in specially priced 2-Packs). ?

Plus, there’s a next-generation coloring and activity book for Mindy Candy’s Moshi Monsters. The Moshi Monsters: 3D coloring ?book series transforms the everyday coloring book into a fully customizable, augmented reality action game, bringing children’s creations to life in their world. (Available at target.com in specially priced 2-Packs). 

Holiday gift-giving season has never been this much fun with Incredebooks from Mercury Connects!

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My Thoughts

This was really neat! It really brought the stories to life, I couldn't believe it. As an adult, I was very entertained as I read the story with the app on the phone. It made the story much more animated and entertaining, that I enjoyed reading time and following along. My daughter also enjoyed it a lot too.

It was super easy to use. Once I had the app downloaded on my iPad, I opened it and chose the book we were reading. On the pages of the book, here are symbols. When you put the tablet over the symbol so the camera catches it, the app on the tablet takes over. You can then play learning games with the characters, such as rhyming.

This is a great gift for a child of any age. Whether they can read or not, I can't think of a kid who wouldn't enjoy to get one of these this holiday season. 

Giveaway

One lucky winner is going to win two Incredebooks - Mickey Mouse and Olaf. To enter, simply fill out the giveaway tools form below. This giveaway will end on December 11th, 2015. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply. Open to US only. Thanks again to the sponsor for offering this fantastic prize.

Entry-Form

Book Review: Fred Pinsocket Loves Bananas

Fred Pinsocket is a little spaceman who just can't get enough of his favorite food! Children and their grown-ups can sing along with Fred as he flies across the galaxy, gathers bananas by the bunch and loads them into his blue and silver rocket.  Fred's adventure comes to life in sturdy, colorful, board book format. Playful illustrations activate children's imaginations and are designed to leave room for exploration and conversation between parents and children.

My thoughts;

My two year old niece loves this book.  We sing the song as we read it.  This is a very colorful board book that will hold a little one's attention, and it isn't very long.  The artwork throughout is adorable.  My eight year old has even took out his crayons and paper to draw the spaceship and like spaceman.  So small children of all ages would love this.  

After all who doesn't love bananas.  After reading this, my two year old niece asked for a banana for a snack and started singing the little spaceman's song "I love bananas".  So not only is this a cute book, it also may have your little one eating a snack that is good for them, like the little spaceman does.  I can see us reading this many more times. 

Book Review : The Things I Love About Friends

There are so many things to love about friends — sharing ideas, interests, feelings, and fun times. It’s important to learn how to be a good friend.

My thoughts:

Such a cute book.  The pictures throughout this book of all the bunny friends are so adorably colorful.  The words are bold black, which makes it easy for smaller kids to read.  

While reading this book to a small group of four year olds, they sat still the whole time.  They also loved the pictures, and commented on many of them, and some even said they like to do what was pictured with their friends.   Such as sleepovers, playing outside and even getting ice cream together.

This is definitely a great book for pre- schoolers and even children in first or second grade. 

Book Review: Operation Bumpkin Birthday

It’s not easy being a rat. Three brothers, Snitch, Snatch and Sketch, are tired of scavenging for scraps of food down in the subway where they live. One night, they go on an adventure through the city so that they will never go hungry again.

After arriving at a large house, they discover that the next day, a children’s birthday party is planned for young Horatio Bumpkin. The brothers hatch a clever plot to break into the house during the festivities and steal as much food as possible—without getting caught. But one greedy brother spoils the plan with a plan of his own.

My thoughts:

This is a really good children's book.  It's about three rat brothers:  Snitch, who was the small white rat, that stuttered due to a crooked front tooth.  Sketch, who was not nice and had a temper.  He was black and also wore a patch over one eye.  And than there was Snatch, the oldest of the three brothers.  He was gray and  was always wanting to eat.  That is what made him happy.

Since there wasn't enough food to eat, Sketch had made a decision that it was time for them to move on.  So off the three brother rats went, following Sketch's lead.  They ended up at the Bumpkin family home. They hit the jack pot.  They just knew they would never grow hungry again.

Just so happened there was going to be a birthday party for young Horatio Bumpkin.  The three rat brothers were to go inside, fill there bags and head back out.  But Snatch had his own plan to eat as much as he could in the Bumpkin home.  Well, all three rat brothers get caught in the Bumpkin home. Two rats are able to escape, although one had his tail cut off by Mrs. Bumpkin.  But the rat brother that got caught in the birthday cake did not escape, only to end up in a cage.  Where he will never go hungry again, but will never see his two brothers again that he loved and missed.  

This book has detailed colored pictures throughout the book.  My seven year old son and ten year old daughter enjoyed reading this book along with me. My son was a little sad at the end when the three rat brothers are separated.  It is a really good read, with an important lesson to learn.

Where to Buy

Full Cycle Publications

Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste Review

Children’s Book Teaches Children the Magic and Enjoyment of Yoga

Seattle-based yoga teacher Susanna Stratford has written Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste--an enchanting, colorful and fun-filled children’s picture book that encourages children and their parents to get up and move, stretch and build strong bodies and develop sweet minds together.

Kids can grab your grown-up and join Mama Yoga for a Playful Family Yoga Class!  Intended for children ages 5-9 and one adult per child.  Have a blast moving your bodies into yoga poses.  You'll glide from calm to silly and back to calm with a yoga story, partner poses, surprises, meditation, and a peaceful rest at the end.  No yoga experience necessary, but loads of fun and bonding guaranteed!

Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste is both a fun picture book and a resource guide for parents, teachers and kids. Get Up! Move! 

Our Thoughts

This book is completely cute! I love doing yoga, I just don't keep up on it often, but ever since my youngest daughter was two years old she has shown interest in yoga. I remember being at a water park one day and she climbed up on top of the table and started doing sun salutation unprovoked! Any time I do get some yoga in, she is right there with me doing the poses too!

With this book I can incorporate her into the practice as well. We can read the story together and practice the poses together too! She enjoys seeing the pictures of the kids doing them, it gives her a boost of confidence that she can do it too. The book isn't just about yoga either, it's also about treating yourself and others kindly and has some fun geography in it too, as well as an understanding of cultural differences in the way we speak!

Her new favorite word is, "namaste" and I enjoy that she knows what it means!

Buy yours here!

Reviewed by Jackie