Last year at MOCCAfest, the indie comic con in New York, I was drawn to the table of the wickedly funny Idiots' Books. There I met writer Matthew Swanson, who creates the books with his wife, illustrator Robbi Behr. Matthew told me that they were soon releasing a subscription service of children's books. This was exciting news.
Bobbledy Books is that subscription service, and I recommend you sign your kids up immediately. I've received review copies of several of the items that come with the annual $60 subscription, and we're delighted each time a red envelope arrives. GeekMom Melissa has been covering loads of in-a-box subscriptions, and while Bobbledy Books isn't a box of stuff, the envelope is filled with inspiration.
Their picture books are as funny as their books for Idiots' Books, but, you know... for kids. At the end of each picture book is an activity to try based on events that unfolded in the book.
In The Girl With Frogs in Her Ears, a young girl named Vera has frogs in her ears. She can't hear when her mother asks her to wash her hands, and she can't hear when the mayor asks her to defeat an ogre using only a toothbrush and a bent playing card. That's just as well, because she might not have become best friends with the ogre, who liked her minty fresh breath of her just-brushed teeth. The ogre even taught her how to play Simple Jim, a game of balancing a bent playing card on your head. Too bad they can't hear each other, though. You see, the ogre has children in his ears. This book ends with illustrated instructions showing the reader how to play Simple Jim.
The next picture book we received is Bobby and the Robots. Bobby doesn't want to get out of bed. When he gets hungry, he builds a robot to fetch him some toast. When that robot doesn't return, Bobby builds a second robot to go find it. The second robot comes back with only the first robot's arm, so Bobby builds a third robot to go find the first. Young Bobby is quite industrious without leaving his bed. Eventually Mom intervenes and Bobby has to stop building robots so he can go visit his boogery cousin Edgar. This book ends with instructions to build a cool robot out of a tea box, toiled paper tubes, and a variety of other things you might have around the house.
One book we received is a write-your-own-story book, Gorillas in the Kitchen. Page one begins with first person text describing a kid's experience of waking up, going down to the kitchen, and finding gorillas where mom and dad should be. There's a picture of a refrigerator with a prompt to draw the gorillas in the kitchen. The next couple of pages have more pictures and more prompts of what to draw and write next, and then the prompts drop off completely, leaving kids to their own devices. My 7-year-old, who likes to make her own comics, really enjoyed the power of making her own book.
Each of these books can be purchased individually from the Bobbledy Books website, but it's such a fun surprise to have them show up at your door. You also get cool things like the Bobbledy Blob, a five-headed crayon. And an album of kids' music is forthcoming. Though these are picture books, the humor and writing of them ages them up. They'll go a bit over the littlest kids' heads. I'd recommend them for kids ages 4 to 7. And I'd recommend Idiots' Books for all grown-ups with kids.
