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.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About OwlCrate Jr
The Subscription Box: OwlCrate Jr
The Cost: $27.99 a month + shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first order
CODE: JRMSA2021
The Products: You will receive (1) hardcover middle-grade book plus assorted, gender-neutral, book-related items.
Ships to: The US for $7.99, Canada for $9.99, and International for $19.99
OwlCrate Jr March 2020 "Code Breakers" Review
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This month's theme is "Code Breakers" and we received this magazine which highlights all of our items. It also includes an interview with the author, a creativity corner with a code to crack and some information on their monthly photo challenge.
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City Spies by James Ponti - Retail Value $17.99 (found here for $13.74)
This month's book was a fun one and it came signed by the author with a cute "Top Secret" stamped above it. The book opens with Sara who is speaking with her lawyer about what consequences she might face after hacking into the New York foster system account when they are interrupted by a man named Mother who manages to help Sara escape under the guise that she will be under supervision for the next several years while attending a strict school. Instead, he gives her several options, one being that she can attend a boarding school in Scotland while another, much more exciting choice, is that she can join him and five other children with similar backgrounds to hers that are currently receiving extensive training to become spies. Sara could be valuable to them since she is an excellent hacker, and she is intrigued by the possibilities.
We get to meet all of the other kids and see how they came to be students of Mother's in between the pages where they are actively on a mission. This book is easy to read and very easy to get engaged with. I think kids will love the idea of being a spy and receiving training in counterintelligence, self-defense, and code-breaking!
I do feel like some of the material at the beginning may be a bit heavy for some kids to understand, with the idea of children being mistreated by their foster parents and a court system that's shipped Sara around to six different families and nine schools. It may open the door to some great discussion, though!
From Amazon:
"Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency.
Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.
Before she knows what she’s doing, Sarah is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team.
No one said saving the world was easy…"
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In each box, there is a letter from the author which is something I love and find to be very special!
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OwlCrate Jr Exclusive Bat in a Flap Game Instructions
These game instructions are really unique and come on a very sturdy piece of cardboard. They direct you to the Scratch website and provide some simple instructions for coding.
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I was so impressed with this coding program! They had us drag the little code pieces over and then we could run our program. We started by making a bat fly and then got him to eat oranges with a nice wooded background. It was so easy and it really helped make sense of coding to those who aren't familiar with it. It was a kid-friendly program and I'm sure there are endless hours of fun to be had on the website itself.
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OwlCrate Jr Exclusive Notebook
This notebook is a nice quality, as per usual with their exclusive items, and it has a fun design with a quote from Ada Lovelace, who is one of the world's first computer programmers. You can never have enough notebooks and I love that the thick hardcover will protect the pages inside, making this a great book to throw in your backpack!
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Iota Card Game - Retail Value $7.99
This little card game is for 2-4 players, ages 8 and up. The cards are tiny and the directions fit right inside the box. The idea is that you form a grid and build on to it paying attention to the color, number or shape.
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My husband and I haven't had a chance to play this one yet (my kids are too young), but I am excited to have such a small game to take with us the next time we travel or go out to a restaurant to kill some time!
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Usborne Brain Games Book - Retail Value $5.99
I always loved brain games as a kid (I still love them!) so I can imagine this book will be a hit with subscribers. There is such a variety of games in here too, some involving math, some with riddles, and some that are purely visual. It's a great way to exercise your brain and definitely a great way to stay busy and occupied! There are over 50 games in this little book, which is also the perfect size for traveling with, too.
My daughter loved the Spot the Difference page. Since she's only five, there weren't many activities she could do just yet!
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Cat Hacker Sticker
Each box includes a collectible sticker that fits with the monthly theme, and this cute design was created by Shafer Brown.
Verdict: This was another fun month of goodies from OwlCrate Jr! The book was a great concept and I like that we received both a book of games and a game that we could play with others. The notebook is perfect for writing down our spy secrets and I thought the online coding game was great and taught coding in such an easy to understand manner. Overall, a fun box! The total retail value of the books and game was $31.97 and we still have a few exclusive items that aren't taken into account like the sticker or notebook. I think that's a pretty good value for a $35.98 ($27.99 + $7.99 shipping) box, although I think I would have liked to see one more exclusive item since you'll probably only use those coding directions once!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will start with the May box!
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first order
CODE: JRMSA2021
Value Breakdown: This box costs $27.99 + $7.99 shipping. We received 6 items, meaning each item has an average value of about $6.00.
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