When my friend Lola told me about an awesome-sounding children's book she authored, my immediate response was "I want a copy! I want to review it for the blog! This sounds fantastic!" And then I became nervous, what if my kids didn't like it? How awkward. My fears were not alleviated when I told F I received a new book for us to read. Without even glancing at the book in my hand, F declared "um, mom, I'm kind of into picking out my own books now. sorry." So I moved on to my ever-skeptical second child who answered my inquiry by stating, "um, well, I guess. What's it about? Can I play wii instead?"
As you can tell, operation book review was NOT going well. Then, FINALLY, P actually looked at the book. Still hesitant, she stated, "this looks sort of cool, can we read it together?"
Luckily, as soon as we started reading, the MAGIC KICKED IN!! The plot, which involves a zoo kingdom, an animal lover prince, and an arranged marriage with a mall-loving (rather awful) princess is funny in a way that both parents and kids can appreciate (thank you, Lola!!). But here's the really cool part - every few pages the books asks children to draw something mentioned in the story. For example, early in the book the prince discusses a hurt "Snoozfly." And then a blank page asks children to doodle/describe the injured creature.
"But what does a snoozfly look like, mom?", asked P.
"Well, it's up to you," I replied. "How do you think a snoozfly would look?"
Within seconds, P had relocated the markers to our living room and was busy creating a new species.
And so went our afternoon, alternating between reading and arting, as P became both reader and illustrator for "Zoopossible! Royal Kingdom."
I have to admit, I think Lola's whole idea of an interactive book is sort of brilliant. Sometimes when I read to my kids, I wonder "are they even listening?" It can be like talking to a void. But with Zoopossible, kids actively engage with a book. And, more importantly, they WANT to do so.
The book is available on Amazon, click here
to check it out (and/or purchase a copy). *Zoopossible! is somewhat long and contains some large words, so I'd probably recommend it for children over 5.
COOL! totally checking this out!
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