beTWEEN the Bookends is the first monthly book and lifestyle box created for kids by a teen herself! Boxes follow a monthly theme and contain age-appropriate books and lifestyle items that have been read and hand tested by Jillian, the 16-year-old creator. Full-sized boxes contain 2-3 books and 6-8 lifestyle items, while mini boxes include 1 book and 3-5 lifestyle items. The new gender-neutral boxes will contain the same 2-3 books as the full boxes but will have only 3-5 gender neutral lifestyle items.
The Cost: $55.00 per month for the full-sized box + free US shipping (on a 12-month subscription). Save with longer subscriptions.
This review is of the beTWEEN the Bookends Early Reader Full-sized box.
These boxes were sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
Hello 2024! The new year is here, and I am so ready to get off to a fresh start! With a few resolutions in place, our main one is to read more books, so this month's beTWEEN the Bookends box came at the perfect time! Filled with awesome new books and fun lifestyle items, this box was perfect for kicking off the New Year! Read below to see what we discovered.
First Impressions
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As the full-sized box is curated with girls in mind, this version comes wrapped in bright pink tissue paper featuring a pigtail-donning cartoon sticker. Cute!
Here's What's Inside
Welcome Pamphlet
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To start off the box, we go through the included pamphlet. Describing the month's theme and the contents of every Between the Bookends version, this little book lets us know exactly what the box contains, along with a bookish quote, social media info, and a hint about next month's theme. "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." -Helen Keller
Gooney the Fabulous by Lois Lowry - Retail Value $7.99
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Gooney Bird Greene has a fabulous idea after her teacher reads fables to the class. The children learn that fables are stories with animal characters that teach something important. Gooney’s fabulous idea is that each student create their own fable and tell it to the class! Everyone but Nicholas is excited about their stories and costumes. Can Gooney Bird find out why Nicholas is unhappy and get him to join in the fun? Now that would be truly fabulous!
Great for kids 6-10, this book reminded me a little of the Junie B. Jones series when it started out. Charlie loves Junie B., so we had really high hopes for Gooney Bird Greene. Turns out, Charlie found a new series he likes, and blew through this book! Really cute, and hitting on educational topics like fables, this book is well written, engaging, and funny. There are quite a few books in this series, and they each are worth 2 AR points! A great read, we are very happy this one was included in this month's box!
The Adventures of Sophie Mouse "The Great Bake Off" by Poppy Green - Retail Value $17.99
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When Sophie helps her mom bake all sorts of sweets, they realize there’s plenty to share with the nearby village. Can they find their way there before the sweets go bad?With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Adventures of Sophie Mouse chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.
Geared for kids 5-9 years of age, Charlie wasn't quite sure what to think of this book. We were really excited that it was a hardcover copy, but with all the pink and flowers, he raised his eyebrow at me. Because we always say "you can't judge a book by its cover," he gave it a try and ended up liking the story. With large print and easy vocabulary, this definitely was written at an earlier reader level, but that didn't stop us. A sweet story about a mom and child mouse that enter a bake-off, this was a really quick read and a heartwarming story. Charlie liked it fine, and was happy to add another AR point onto his January total!
Enamel Pin
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What a cute pin! These enamel accessories are really coming back into style, and I personally love this design. Fitting with the "Legendary Adventure" theme perfectly, this is not only cute, but stylish as well. The "Adventure" wording and mountain design was done really nicely, and the quality is quite good. While I liked this inclusion, Charlie wasn't quite sure what to do with this, and sweetly let me have it.
Page Holder
Honestly, I have never seen an item like this before, and had to check out the content list to see what it was. At first, I thought it was a fidget, and while fun, knew that couldn't be its main purpose. Turns out, this blue item is a page holder. Slip it through your thumb and place in the spine of the open book, and voila, your thumb won't get sore AND your pages stay open wider. Neat! Made of plastic, the opening for your thumb is smooth and comfortable to use. Charlie loved this inclusion and has used it non-stop since it arrived!
Door Hanger
What a cute design! Another item that fits in well with the monthly theme, this door hanger is cute and functional. Charlie has placed it on his door to keep his big brother out, and is really trying to decide whether he should color it or not. What do you think?
Monthly Sticker Pack
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Stickers are always a fun inclusion, and this month's set is one of our favorites. With a mythical creature reading, a mountain scene, and a stack of books with fun quotes, these not only fit the theme, but are usable and cute. Charlie placed the mythical creature on his homework folder, and I added the mountain scene to my laptop. Fun!
Trail Mix
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Charlie is one of the snackiest kids I know, so this bag of trail mix was spot on for him. Packed with Omega-3 and protein, this pouch of trail mix is absolutely essential for any adventure. Charlie loved the mix of peanuts, cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, and walnuts, and has asked where we can get more of this particular version. Another hit!!
Cloud Hair Clip
We know this box is geared towards girls, and Charlie always lovingly gives me the girly items that he doesn't want, so this cloud clip came my way. With two acrylic smiley face clouds, this sweet little clip is adorable, but not quite my style. When I come across items like this, I bring them to school and give them out to my students when they need a little pick me up. Combined with a small note, I stuck this clip in one of my 3rd grade girls lockers, and she was absolutely thrilled to find it there. Yay!
Bath Soak
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Now this is an item Charlie absolutely wouldn't give up. He loves his baths, and for that I am grateful!!! This Lemon Mint Bath Salt is a fun light green color and smells divine. He loved adding it to his bath and as we are just getting over being sick, said it helped him feel much better. A fun inclusion, we will take this every month!
Lip Balm
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The last item we received was in combination with the bath salts, and was a Lemon Mint Lip Balm. Smooth and creamy in formula, this has a wonderful scent and flavor and keeps lips hydrated. Charlie placed it in his backpack to keep his lips from becoming chapped, and while not overly excited about this inclusion, liked it well enough.
Verdict
With the first week of January under our belts, our reading resolution is underway, and going pretty well! This month of the beTWEEN the Bookends Early Reader box Charlie loved the book inclusions, and blew through them in record time -checking off his reading goal, and adding 3 more AR points to his total! While not all of the lifestyle items were his jam this month, he did appreciate the page holder, door hanger, stickers, trail mix, and bath soak. Overall, this month's theme was really well-received, and the extra goodies that weren't our favorite, were passed on to students that really appreciated them. If you have a kid that loves reading, or is struggling to find books they enjoy, we highly suggest this box, as it makes reading enjoyable and fun.
The beTWEEN the Bookends Early Reader full-sized box costs $55.00 per month, including shipping. Because most items were small shop created specifically for this box, I wasn't able to calculate an accurate value estimate, but dividing it by the items we received equals to about $5.50 a piece. Because of the thoughtful curation, fun theme, and enjoyable products, I feel the $55.00 price range is definitely fair for the quality of this box and the number of items.
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Other Things You Should Know
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? beTWEEN the Bookends tends to ship the first week of each month. Order now to receive the February box.
What did you think of the beTWEEN the Bookends full-sized box?
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