Category: DK Canada

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur Book Review

Visit the amazing world of dinosaurs in the Utterly Amazing Dinosaur from DK Canada!

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur Book Review

About Utterly Amazing Dinosaur

Packed with pop-ups, flaps, games, activities, and mind-blowing facts, Utterly Amazing Dinosaur explores the prehistoric world of dinosaurs, from the mighty T. rex to the armored Stegosaurus. See the different stages of how fossils are formed, and study the skeletons of different dinosaurs, and get up close to a Velociraptor with a special pop-up.

Learn about the dinosaurs that swam in the sea, stomped on land, or flew in the sky. Find out what different dinosaurs ate, from herbivore to carnivore to omnivore. The colorful illustrations clearly show the different types of dinosaurs, and the pronunciation guide teaches readers how to say those tricky dinosaur names.

From the biggest predators to the discovery of fossils, Utterly Amazing Dinosaur takes children back to an awe-inspiring era of history using innovate paper tricks to create fun and stunning effects.

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur Book Review

Our Thoughts

Dinosaurs have a way of fascinating children and adults alike. They are majestic and beautiful in their own special way. They are powerful and fierce and yet gentle and kind. Movies have sparked the imagination of little ones and it is in books that they find the real good information that makes them want more. Utterly Amazing Dinosaur is an excellent book for children that not only provides information but fascinates and fosters a love of learning of these powerful creatures.

The book is large (roughly letter page sized) with a hard cover and the pages inside are also made up of a stiffer material (so much better for rougher little hands who get excited easily). The book is full of pop ups and flaps that your child can explore – my personal favourite pop up was the long necks (not just because they are my favourite dinosaur!). The hard material of the book helps to ensure the pop ups and flaps wont tear the first few times your little one plays with them because lets face it, kids get far to excite to open flaps and use a stronger force then necessary. The dinosaur facts were age appropriate but still gave enough information to keep us adults interested and it felt natural reading it aloud to our child and easy to make dramatic or silly to help engage our son in the book more. The illustrations are bright and bold that helps to draws you into the story.

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur will be a perfect addition under the Christmas tree this year. I am a firm believer of giving gifts that inspire and educate – Utterly Amazing Dinosaur does this and more. This book will definitely be a hit among the Dinosaur fans in your home. You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review, all opinions expressed are my own.

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DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: South Africa

DK Canada

For the first time in my adult life we are going on a vacation this year.  Our destination? South Africa! My husband if from Southern Africa and has quite a few family members who live in South Africa so we wanted our boys to meet their family and see where their Dad grew up. We couldn’t wait to open DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to get familiar with all that South Africa has to offer.

Eyewitness Travel Guide: South Africa

About DK Eyewitness Travel Guide South Africa

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: South Africa is your in-depth guide to the very best of South Africa. From exploring the Palace of the Lost City to seeing the “Big Five” on safari in Kruger National Park to experiencing the multifaceted culture of a country with 11 official languages, visiting the “Rainbow Nation” is an adventure you will never forget.To help you make the most of your adventure, this guidebook includes a field guide to South Africa’s wildlife and the safari experience with detailed information on safaris, wildlife preserves, and local species.

The guide contains:

  • Detailed itineraries and “don’t-miss” destination highlights at a glance.
  • Illustrated cutaway 3-D drawings of important sights.
  • Floor plans and guided visitor information for major museums.
  • Guided walking tours, local drink and dining specialties to try, things to do, and places to eat, drink, and shop by area.
  • Area maps marked with sights .
  • Insights into history and culture to help you understand the stories behind the sights.
  • Hotel and restaurant listings highlight DK Choice special recommendations.

With hundreds of full-color photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and custom maps that illuminate every page, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: South Africa truly shows you this country as no one else can.

My Thoughts

I am so excited to be going on this adventure with my family this year. I am also super nervous. This is the first time we have travelled as a family of four and the first big trip of my adult life. I am also super anxious and need to know everything before hand. When this guide arrived in the mail, I could not wait to pop it open with the kids.

The guide itself is visually stunning with a slightly harder cover and is easy to hold in the palm of your hand. The visuals are bright and have a combination of large, medium and small-sized photographs. The guide is divided by colours and I have to say I am shocked at how many different areas and regions there are. The guide has sections for how to use the guide, discovering South Africa and its history and then divided into areas. Each area looks at the history of the area, main sites to visit, shopping, entertainment and where to eat and drink.

We quickly went to the areas we are visiting and it had us so excited! We looked through the sections of Kruger and Sun City and already began to make  plans for our visit in Johannesburg. Thank goodness we have family to help us when we are there. We gave them a few of our must see items from the guide and they are already organizing it for us on their side.

The guide is extremely detailed, thorough and will be an excellent travel company for us. This will definitely be in our carry on baggage for our trip.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and DK Canada.

Rating: 5/5

About DK Eyewitnes Travel Guides

For more than two decades, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides have helped travelers experience the world through the history, art, architecture, and culture of their destinations. Expert travel writers and researchers provide independent editorial advice, recommendations, and reviews. With guidebooks to hundreds of places around the globe available in print and digital formats, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides show travelers how they can discover more.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Awaken the Love of Reading with LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens

DK Canada Summer Reading

What happens when two major family favourites come together? You get hours of reading fun in LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens!

Awaken The Love of Reading with LEGO Star Wars The Force AwakensAbout LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

A dark power is rising, and the galaxy is in danger in DK Readers L2: LEGO® Star Wars: The Force Awakens™!

Meet the brave new heroes who must battle to protect the galaxy. Join them in their fight against evil. Can they stop the First Order’s sinister plans?

About the DK Reader Levels

As children begin to grow in their confidence to read new words, Level 2 DK Readers become a great choice for them. The books are divided into manageable chapters for one reading session. Literacy experts encourage reading a little every day to an adult. Action-packed photographs bring to life the simple narrative, leading the reader to the text. To learn more about the DK readers and find out how to support your child’s reading, check out this great article.

Why We Love It

We are HUGE Star Wars fans in our house and couldn’t wait until The Force Awakens came out so we could enjoy it at home (Star Wars Marathon time woohoo). This book came at the perfect time for us and quickly became a bedtime story favourite.

I am a HUGE fan of the DK reader levels, they are geared to your child’s skill level and really helps to boost their confidence in their reading skills (so important). Reading can be frustrating for a child that is struggling and these reader levels help to eliminate that stress. This level two book has new words for your child but still includes an awesome story line and even better photographs to help bring the story to life. While we had to help him on some of the words, he had a great time reading the story to us and having his brother read the story to him (again and again – he can read this book several times a day literally!).

A fantastic, age appropriate Star Wars and LEGO themed book that your little reader will fall in love with. This book gives us hours of reading fun and is a reading confidence builder for our little man. A win win in our books! You can purchase this book on Amazon and Chapters.

Rating: 5+/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Keep Up Printing Skills With Handwriting Made Easy Printed Writing

Back To School Boutique

All kids look forward to the summer break. How can you blame them? No school, less routine and no homework. But it is so important to not stop practicing important skills even though a teacher isn’t assigning them. One of those skills is printing, especially with the junior grades. Handwriting Made Easy: Printed Writing allows your child to continue to build upon valuable skills learned at school during the summer months.

Keep Up Printing Skills with Handwriting Made Easy Printing

About Handwriting Made Easy Printed Writing

Developed with leading educational experts, this activity book is designed for children ages 6-7 and is full of exercises and activities to strengthen a child’s first skills in handwriting and reinforce the skills taught in school or at home.

This book helps kids learn to write in clear, easy-to-read print. Full of activities, exercises, and supportive illustrations that advance throughout the book from learning upper-case and lower-case letters to months and colours and finally to sentences and story writing, this workbook is perfect for kids who are learning to write.

Why We Love It

Keeping up with literacy skills is so important during the summer months. Although our children may want to skip practicing their printing skills and numbers, this is so important to make the transition back to school in the early fall easier for them. You don’t want them to forget all of those precious skills they learned in the preschool and primary grades! It will only make September harder for them which in turn is frustrating for us as parents.

Printing Made Easy with DK Canada

As parents we fell in love with the simple instructions and the activities in Handwriting Made Easy Printing. We only had to give our son minimal instructions and he was able to work alone which helped to boost his confidence. The printing spaces had lots of room on the lines with dashed lines to help guide him on how tall he should be making his letters. He loved the work book and uses it for ten minutes a day and he enjoys every minute, we have never had to push him to do the work – he pulls it out on his own. He is very proud of his work and loves to show it off to family when they visit.

This is the perfect book for the month of August as you get your children back into school mode. You don’t need to spend hours each day on it but even five minutes a day will help your child get back into school mode and boost their confidence before heading back to school. You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Chapters.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Happy 55th Birthday Sophie la Girafe

Happy 55th Birthday Sophie la Girafe!

The iconic Sophie la Girafe will turn fifty five on May 25th this year. Sophie is a simple giraffe who was born on May 25th, 1961 in France on Saint Sophie’s Day. She has taken the world by storm with her simplicity and gender neutrality and has become a much desired item on baby shower lists around the world.

Who is Sophie la Girafe?

Sophie was first introduced to the world in France as a teething toy at a time when most baby toys consisted of farm animals and pets. Sophie looks exactly the same today as she first did when she was introduced to the world fifty five years ago. Her fame quickly spread across Europe and eventually to North America as she is made from 100% natural rubber from the sap of the Hevea tree and she contains natural materials and toxic free paints making her an ideal teething toy for infants (SophieLaGirafe.Co.UK).

Oh How Sophie la Girafe Has Grown!!

As Sophie’s fame has grown, with over fifty million teethers sold, she has expanded into the world of books with her loveable friends. She now proudly adorns many books geared towards infants and toddlers that will quickly become a cherished family favourite. DK Canada has a large selection of Sophie la Girafe books that can be found in their boutique. From first words and numbers to peekaboos and  touch and feel, the boutique has a wealth of books that cover all the important firsts for your baby.

Happy Birthday Sophie: Pop Up Peekaboo

Happy 55th Birthday Sophie la Girafe

This book stars Sophie and her friends in adorable party scenes, each featuring flaps to flip and lots of colorful surprises.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Sophie and Friends: Touch and Feel

Happy 55th Birthday Sophie La Girafe

In this book, infants and toddlers are introduced to the world of Sophie and her five special friends. They are invited to touch the soft, shiny and bumpy textures and share in all the fun at Sophie’s house.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Both of these books are perfect gifts for parents to be and for young infants and toddlers. If your child loves Sophie la Girafe they will be delighted to see her and her friends come to life in these hard cover books. In Sophie and Friends touch and feel, you can begin to teach your child about textures as they learn to spot and feel the differences. In Pop up Peekaboo, your child will be inspired with the imaginative play as you turn each page. Each page holds a new exciting surprise for your child as they lift the flap. Make reading fun for your little one and watch as they grow with these adorable books featuring one of their favourite characters. I love how the books are in soft, pastel, gender neutral colours that stay true to Sophie la Girafe. The entire book collection will be an important part of your child’s first library. With simple sentences that allow the focus to be on you and your child, both of you will love reading time!

Help celebrate Sophie la Girafe’s birthday online with DK Canada by following the #sophielagirafebirthday hashtag on Twitter.

Disclosure: I received the above books free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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