Guardian Angel Publishing Review

Before the TOS Crew was given the chance to review several e-books from Guardian Angel Publishing, I must admit I had never heard of them.
The short description below if from their website:
"Where our publishing goals are to lovingly create fun, affordable and educational eBook computer experiences, great print books for your preschoolers and primary age children. And to embed positive, loving and worthwhile meaning into these books."

I received three e-books for review, and other TOS Crew members received some of the same books and a selection of a few others. The first book I received was Hamster Holidays.
Hamster Holidays is a cute book that uses the celebratory antics of a cast of 6 mice to introduce and reinforce the ideas of nous and adjectives. The illustrations are serviceable, and I do think the book probably is helpful to learning and reinforcing nouns and verbs. The bonus pages beyond the story are especially useful.

Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair is the second book I received to review. It is a story about a boy who is in a wheelchair but competes with his 4-H club in the horse riding competition at the fair. Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair is the second in a series of three books about Andy and the albino horse he rides named Spirit, and all of them subtly teach that being different does not mean you aren't as good as others, you are just different. Andy receives riding therapy for his condition, and that has opened up many new opportunities for him. The book accurately described our experiences with the fair and 4-H, and was an encouragement to persevere even in difficult circumstances.




Rainbow Sheep is the last book we received to review. I have to admit that this book had me sold from the get-go with it's unique illustrations. The story itself is fine-not stellar, but certainly good, but the illustrations are just too cool. Made from felted wool, these pictures are one of a kind. Even better, the directions for making felted projects like the picture in the book are in the back of the book so anyone can have a try doing it. It is the next "to-do" project for my kids, as we have a friend with a knitting business who has some fun "scraps" we can use.

The bottom line for me on this review is that the books were all okay enough, but none was stellar. I am a huge believer in "living books" , so I admit my bias is not toward this type of book anyway. The books are each available for $5 each to download, or $9.95 plus $5.95 shipping for the book on CD, or $10.95 with $6.95 shipping on hard cover books. A DVD book video is also available for $9.95 plus $5.95 shipping. At those prices, I think they are a little expensive, especially for anything other than the download-able CD. And it's so hard for kids to "cuddle up" to a computer screen like they do with a book. I would have a hard time paying even $5 for any of these (although the Rainbow Sheep on is probably worth it to me for its detailed craft suggestions) especially since I don't even get a tangible version for $5.

To order these books, or to see others they offer, go HERE. TO see what other members of the TOS Crew had to say, go HERE.