Do you have a little one who loves board books and interactive books? Today we are sharing four new ones! Three of which are being released today!! One of them is about a Netflix movie that came out this summer, Swapped. We will start with that one. It is Ollie's Big Adventure by Maggie Testa. It is recommended for ages 2 to 5.
Publisher's Summary:
Based on Skydance Animation and Netflix’s upcoming feature Swapped, coming in 2026 and sure to be a beloved children’s movie for years to come, Ollie’s Big Adventure is a gorgeous and fun-filled board book!Meet Ollie and Ivy. Ollie is a Pookoo, the smallest and most vulnerable creature in the valley. Ivy is a Javan, a beautiful bird species that eats the Pookoo’s main food source.
When they magically switch bodies, these two natural competitors have to learn to work together to survive in a world that is both awe-inspiring and very dangerous. In fact, both of their species’ survival depends on it. Come along for a soaring adventure that will delight readers and fans of the film.
From Me:
Have you discovered the movie Swapped yet? Has your little one? I will admit I have not seen it but watching the trailer and reading this book it looks very cute and fun for the younger kids. This book seems to tell the tale of the movie, so it is perfect to read right before watching the movie or letting little ones live the story over and over again without always on a screen!
This book is perfect for the child who fell in love with the movie. It is also perfect for the parent of the child who fell in love with the movie since it will not require watching the movie millions of times for the child to be able to know the movie and story! The illustrations are from the movie and it seems to have the same story!
Our next book is from the STEAMWORKS series so at the end there are some pages with STEAM related activities to go with the book. This one is all about colors and mixing colors! The book is A Party of Colors by Aya Khalil and Bayan Lahham and illustrated by Olivia Aserr. It is recommended for ages 0 to 3.
Publisher's Summary:
Yalla, let's go to the car wash.It’s Salem’s first car wash with Baba! As they move from the prewash rinse to the windy dryer, Salem excitedly watches colors mix—red and blue bubbles turn purple, and yellow and blue foam turns green. The car wash is a party of colors!
Extend the learning beyond the story with expertly crafted back matter, including additional information about sequencing, color mixing and fun STEAM activities.
STEAMWORKS features children of all backgrounds and abilities using scientific and mathematical thinking to solve everyday problems and answer questions that matter to them. Playful stories and extension activities ignite excitement for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) and empower children as thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators.
From Me:
This is a fun book that introduces the idea of colors mixing to be the secondary colors in a unique way. The soaps and foams of the car wash are the primary colors and when two mix Salem sees the new color. It also has the thrill of the carwash for a young child or perhaps allows them to see what it is like so they will not be afraid of it.
At the end of the book are ideas to think about from mixing colors to sequencing and floating versus sinking objects in water. I remember doing many activities with Hazel when she was young on colors, color mixing and more! We also made-up stories about the different parts of the carwash so she wouldn't be afraid. One part was an octopus and another a whale spraying water on us. This book combines it all and is a great introduction book to colors and carwashes!
Our next book is a fun one with a sort of pop-up pictures meant to be like Polaroid pictures coming out of the camera. It is My First Camera: On the Farm by Laurence Jammes and illustrated by Marc Clamens. It is recommended for ages 0 to 3.
Publisher's Summary:
Smile! It's time to take a pic!This innovative and interactive book invites curious little explorers to use the cheerful pretend camera on a playful photo adventure around the farm. As children turn each page, a “photo” magically slides out, revealing a friendly farm animal—or two! And what's more, each appearance comes with the delightful sound of a picture sliding out from the camera! Charming illustrations and simple text encourage hands-on play and early word recognition.
Key Features:
•Interactive format provides a multi-sensory experience
•Kids love animals!
•Fun family read-aloud book
•Encourages pretend play and storytelling
•Perfect for children aged 0 to 3
From Me:
This is a fun book that introduces farm animals and noises they make as well as the idea of a camera and taking photographs. There are six pages of pop-up photos each featuring a type of animal including a dog for herding the sheep. Most of the photos have sounds written on the like cock-a-doodle-doo for the chicken and rooster.
It is a fun book to introduce farm animals and their sounds or some sounds of them to young ones as well as the idea of photos. Of course, it is a book that you may want to keep for times with an adult since the pop-ups could be ripped. It is perfect for the younger reader! The last page is a bunch of photos from the farm of different animals besides the six photos that pop-up. For more farm animal resources check out these posts.
Our final book is a board book but is more an activity book. The book is Lost in Space! by Ben Newman. It is recommended for ages 4 to 6 which I think is appropriate for the activity.
Publisher's Summary:
Calling all space adventurers!Let's journey to outer space, where five mysterious missions await. Your task is to find the right groups of objects—stars, planets, rocket parts, and even space beings!—using the die-cut card included in the book. Flipping and turning the card will reveal the objects and solve the puzzles. An interactive book that helps children develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills while improving hand-eye coordination.
Key Features:
•Space-themed puzzles
•Engaging games with varying levels of difficulty
•Helps develop problem solving and critical thinking skills
•Improves hand-eye coordination and focus
•Perfect for children aged 4 to 6
From Me:
The idea of this book is to take the removable piece from the inside cover and turn it, flip it and move it to have only showing one of the shapes featured on the right side. There are three lines of shapes on the right side and thus three puzzles on each page. In the photo below you can see the piece that comes out. The cut-outs in it allow three pictures or parts of pictures show through depending on the puzzle one is workign on.
Each page is space themed and the puzzles get harder the further in the book. The puzzle above is the first page of puzzles which are relatively easy to find. The one below is the last page of puzzles that has parts of pictures in the three cut-outs when solved.
This book is perfect for building visual skills as well as some eye-hand coordination. The child can just play and keep flipping and turning the piece or they can try to plan out what they need to see. The pictures in the instructions are not in any specific order so the shapes next to each other may not be in the same cut-out. What a fun book for kids to play and learn with!
