OwlCrate Jr is a monthly book subscription box for kids aged 8-12. They send books as well as interesting and educational book related items.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: OwlCrate Jr
The Cost: $27.99 a month, $80.97/3-month pre-pay, $155.94/6-month pre-pay. Plus $6.99 USPS flat-rate shipping, $10.59 shipping to Canada, and $19.99 shipping International.
LIMITED TIME DEAL: Now through 8/1, use coupon code SUMMERFUN to save 20% off a 3 or 6-month OwlCrate JR subscription!
OR
Use coupon code FBGIZMO to save 15% off your first box
The Products: You will receive (1) hardcover middle grade book plus assorted gender neutral book-related items.
Ships to: U.S., Canada, and International
Check out all of our Owl Crate Reviews and the Book Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
An info card was included listing each item in the box as well as the theme for June: Gizmos and Gears.
York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby - Value $10.97 on Amazon (retail price $17.99)
York is based upon such a great premise filled with mystery, puzzles, action, and adventure. I’m loving all three main characters: Tess, Theo and Jaime. This is a large book (476 pages!) that I wouldn’t think many 8-year-olds would tackle, but I think my fifth graders (and up) will be just as entranced with it as I am so far.
From Amazon:
It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before. Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher—a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.
Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
Author, Laura Ruby, included a letter about how this book is filled with some of her favorite things from kitties to robots to butt-kicking heroines! She included an autographed bookplate to be stuck inside the book. There was also a York doorknob hanger with a code to solve and an answer key on the back.
Hexbug Nano - Value $6.82
This Hexbug is a little battery powered bug-like robot. It came with a battery so as soon as we took it out of the packaging we could start playing with it right away. There is a small black on/off switch on the bug’s underside. If you place the robot on a smooth surface such as a table or hardwood floors it takes off! The rubber casing has little legs which vibrate and project it forward. My kids have been having a ball with this very cool toy!
Plus-Plus Tube - Value $7.99
We have MakerSpace time at my library where the students get to be creative and build using different materials. One of their favorite things to use is Plus-Plus. These plastic toys from Denmark are amazing. They are basically the shape of two plus signs put together. They slide together almost like a jigsaw puzzle. You can build flat designs with them or 3-D projects. This tube contains 70 pieces and is a great beginner size pack. My children are just as thrilled to have these as my students.
Puzzling Erasers - Value $2.99
This eraser pack came with two multi-colored eraser puzzles. One eraser is a pyramid and the other is a cube. Once taken apart they are a bit tricky to put back together (at least they were for us!)
Maze Pen - Value $0.42
This ball point pen has two tiny metal spheres that roll around through the plastic maze within the pen shaft. The ink of the pen is black and it writes nicely.
Gizmos and Gears Stickers - Value $1.00?
These cool Gizmos and Gears stickers are OwlCrate Jr. exclusives. I like the mustard, red and mint color palette they used and the robot sticker is my favorite. These stickers perfectly fit with the theme of the book they sent this month.
Owl Button - Value $0.50?
I like this steampunk inspired owl button which is an OwlCrate Jr. exclusive as well. I don’t wear buttons but I like to display book themed buttons on my cork board at work.
SPOILER ALERT!
The July OwlCrate Jr. theme will be: Magical Creatures. It says if you believe in magical creatures this is a box you will love filled with fantasy, friendship and magic.
Verdict: What a great box geared for middle-grade readers. I’m constantly on the hunt for excellent new middle-grade books to promote to my 3rd-5th-grade students and this box will keep me filled with new releases to read and share. I thought the curation was especially good this month. The value this month was about $31 which is more than last month and more than the cost of the box itself ($27.99 a month) but doesn’t fully cover the cost of shipping. I think the extras this month like the Plus-Plus and Hexbug were amazing and fit the theme perfectly. I highly recommend this box!
What did you think of OwlCrate Jr?
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