These are the questions that arrive most often. I have answered them the way I would answer them at a table, which means two of the answers are going to cost me money.
Is it really six things, or is that marketing?
Six. A storybook of twenty-six fables, a fifty-four card deck, twenty-six songs, twenty-six karaoke videos, browser games, and a 168-page colouring book.
Two of those arrive in a box. The rest are downloads, and I go through exactly what is where at length, because it is the thing people misread most.
Do I have to sign up for anything?
No. No account for the games, no subscription for the songs, no monthly fee for anything. You buy it once.
What age?
Four to eight, and the sweet spot is five and six. Under four the fables are too long. Over eight the moral is too visible.
My child will not sit still
Then read one fable, not three, and play the song when the reading fails. Four minutes is the whole ask. If four minutes is not available, the songs work on their own in a car.
Is there anything Romanian about it?
I am Romanian, from Moșteni in Teleorman county in southern Romania, and I live between Montreal in Canada and Florida. The book is in English and there is nothing culturally specific in it. Whether that is a strength or a missed opportunity I genuinely do not know.
Can a teacher use one copy for a whole class?
Yes, and that is deliberate. The songs, karaoke, games and colouring pages are downloads, so one set runs a room. I would rather sell one copy to a school than none.
Why is the colouring book not in the box?
Because printing 168 pages and shipping them would have added more to the price than the pages are worth to most families. It unlocks with a word on the last page of the storybook, you print what you want, and a page can be printed twice when two children want the same fox.
Should I buy this or three ordinary picture books?
Here is the first answer that costs me money. If your child gets through a book a night and wants variety, three books from three authors will serve you better. The set is for a household that wants one thing to last a school year and work at two ages at once.
Is fifty dollars a lot?
Yes, for a book. No, for six things, and I did the arithmetic out loud rather than leave you to guess at it.
What if I want to try it first?
Then do. The twenty-six colouring posters are free, one animal per letter, no charge and no expiry. Print a few, hand over the crayons, and you will know within a week whether these animals hold your child.
The full set is $49.95 during the launch, against a regular $59.95.
Anything I have not answered, write and ask. I answer them myself, slowly, but I answer them.