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Friday, December 7, 2012

Hallmark Recordable Storybook Review and Giveaway

How often do you read to your children?  How often do your relatives read to your children?  Do you ever wish you (or someone else) could read to them even when you are not around?  You can with Hallmark's Recordable Storybooks!

I wish I would have recorded a book for my girls when I worked the evening shift.  It would have been nice to "read them a bedtime story" even though I wasn't there to put them to bed.  These books are perfect for those times when you can't be there in person!

This year Hallmark introduces two new Disney books to their awesome collection of recordable storybooks!  Lindsi and I were given the opportunity to review them...

Jamie--I reviewed "The Wish My Heart Makes For You".  I have to admit, I thought it was going to be the story of Cinderella because it had Cinderella's name and picture on the front of the book.  I was surprised to see that it was a completely different story line with Cinderella's photos.  My girls didn't seem to notice though.  They just had fun listening to the book and looking at the photos.  Here's their very first look at the book recorded by my Husband for them.
Though it was a bit annoying to listen to the directions every time you record a new page, we understand why they do it that way.  My Husband got nervous recording the book (I don't know why) and had to do a few pages over again!
Overall, my entire family was impressed with the book and it will be a keepsake for years to come.  Now to find some for the Grandparents to record for the girls...!

Lindsi reviewed "You're a Hero! All the Ways You Save the Day!". My boys thought this was a GREAT book. I am pretty sure we've listened to the story a few dozen times already. What I personally liked about this was that I was in control of how the story was read. I really got into it and added some sound effects while I recorded the story for them. I did a quick Google search for sounds related to Batman, Superman and Aquaman (and let me tell you that I didn't even know Aquaman existed). This made the book really fun for my boys and they really got a kick out of it. We've purchased a few Christmas books in the past from Hallmark and done the same thing. My favorite feature of this book was the "lock" button being safely guarded. I always feared that the kids might push the "record" button and mess up the whole thing, but the book comes with a little latch that hides the lock and unlock button behind it and it is secured with a little screw. SMART THINKING!!!

My boys really liked the story line of this book. They loved that they were encouraged to be hero's in their everyday life. What an encouraging and positive thing to share with them! I'd really encourage you to consider gifting one of these books this year. It's worth the time and effort to make a memory like this.

P.S. On a special note- we had my grandma record one of these books for each one of my children a few months before she passed away and it is something we truly treasure! The kids love being able to hear Grandma Glory's voice whenever they want.

One lucky Toys In The Dryer reader will win a Hallmark Recordable Storybook!

You choose between either "The Wish My Heart Makes for You" or "You're A Hero!"

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Both Lindsi and I received a book for our review.  We received no other compensation.  The thoughts and opinions in this post are 100% our own.

7 comments:

  1. santa clause is coming to town
    http://www.facebook.com/djackson1958/posts/303286649771842

    debbie jackson
    djackson1958 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like Winnie The Pooh's Plan Bee
    Recordable Storybook

    kellywcuATyahooDOTcom

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  3. Wonderful gift for the kids :-)

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  4. I would have to go with the Charlie Brown Christmas as my favorite one that they have on their site.

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  5. They have a great selection of Christmas themed books. I like the Rudolph the best.

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