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Each month, StoryCaptain pairs books with a themed activity guide that offers craft and game ideas designed to reinforce the concepts in the books, provide hours of entertainment, and make books even more fun, especially for reluctant readers.
There is a subscription for ages 0-3 and for ages 4-7. Each box will include 2-3 children's books, a "Books in the Box" monthly digest, play-along activity guides, and fun freebies & giveaways!
ACTIVE DEAL: Get 50% off your first box with code MSA50!
CODE: MSA50
This review is of the StoryCaptain July 2023 box for kids ages 0-3.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes).
First Impressions
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Maddie and I were so excited to have the opportunity to try out StoryCaptain Books! Maddie just turned 1 back in June, and I had been looking for just the right book subscription for her age. I also wanted to commit to a book subscription box that would send us books for the next several years, and StoryCaptain offered exactly what we needed.
Maddie found the red box quite appealing and was happy to explore its contents. While she might be too young to talk in full sentences or read right now, I think she's starting to understand a few more words as she picked up Eat Your Colors and proceeded to taste it for herself.
We both loved how vibrant each of the books was and I thought it was cute how each book was themed around human health. While she certainly liked checking out each book, I think Eat Your Colors was her favorite with its simple design, large pictures, and grooved edges.
What's Inside This Box
Book and Activity Guide
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When first opening her monthly book box, we were greeted with an informational sheet that contain an overview of the books we were given along with an activity guide. I thought it was cute of them to include ideas for playtime and also provide a QR code for additional resources.
Future Doctor by Lori Alexander - Retail Value $8.99
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Maddie definitely doesn't have a book like this in her collection currently, so she was curious to check it out. It came with 20 pages and gave her a glimpse of what it's like to be a doctor. It also showed her that she too could practice being a doctor right at home with her stuffed bears and scribble notes.
Eat Your Colors by Amanda Miller - Retail Value $6.95
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This was our favorite book in this month's box! The design was simple which I think is perfect for a 1-year-old. There were only 12 pages, 1-2 sentences per page, large, colorful images, and grooved pages to encourage reading.
The book explained to Maddie the different fruits and vegetables along with their respective colors. There was even a cute Find It! challenge where she was encouraged to find 5 hidden forks throughout the book.
All of Baby, Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler - Retail Value $7.99
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This was a bit of a longer read than the others as it had 30 pages total. But, I think once Maddie learns how to read a bit better once she's 2 or older she's going to really enjoy this book.
It will certainly help her learn the different parts of the body with ease and had several images per body part to help explain their function.
Stickers
And, of course, you can't forget about the stickers! Maddie is still a little too young to understand what stickers are, but I thought they were oh-so-fun!
The Verdict
StoryCaptain Books is helping us build Maddie's collection of books, 3 books at a time each month. We both loved how colorful each of the books was and I thought the overall theme of health was wonderful for Maddie to learn about more. I'm so excited to see what we get next month, but in the meantime, she and I are going to show these new books some love!
Value Breakdown: This month's box has a retail value of $23.93 for the books plus the additional cost for stickers (probably $1-2). So, it's right around the same cost as the box if you pay month-to-month ($24.95). But, if you make a longer commitment, let's say for 6 or 12 months, then you'll end up saving a few extra dollars compared to purchasing the books online or in-store. And, you can't help but appreciate saving some extra money by not driving to the bookstore, right?
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