Little Feminist Book Club is a monthly book subscription box for kids ages newborn to nine years old. Each month you will receive one to two books to help diversify your bookshelf. Plus, you will also receive hands-on activities and tools to help your book come to life. Subscriptions are offered for ages 0-2, 2-4, 4-7, and 7-9. From Little Feminist:
Only 31% of children's books feature a female character, and only 13% feature a person of color.
This review is of the Book Club for ages 7-9 years.
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Little Feminist Book Club
The Subscription Box: Little Feminist Book Club
The Cost: $22.95 per month + $2.95 shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: At least one book (sometimes more) and hands-on activities and tools to help bring your book to life.
Ships to: The U.S. for $2.95. Shipping costs may vary for international orders.
Little Feminist Book Club Ages 7-9 February 2021 Review
Little Feminist offers book clubs for all ages, and each of them has a different focus depending on age. This club for older children is geared towards encouraging children to explore the world around them. Each month you'll receive one hardcover book or 2 paperback books to help with this goal.
We received this card from Little Feminist which explains a little bit about why they chose this month's book.
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This month we received a recipe for Rainbow Cake which is something very special from our book. I love the way this tied into the story and it really did feel like a special inclusion because it played such a big role in the book.
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Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai - Retail value $21.99 (found on sale here for $14.49)
From Amazon:
When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he’s landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn’t speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.
To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.
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Oh Jingwen, as someone who moved to a foreign country (Thailand) when I was 8, I could certainly relate to a lot of the feelings he was experiencing! It is so difficult moving away from everything you've known, and when you move to another country where another language is spoken, it can definitely feel like you're on Mars. This book was so creative and clever with the way the story was told. It almost felt like it had pieces of a graphic novel interspersed throughout with the fun illustrations and the scenes of dialogue. While I've only read a little bit of it to them so far, this made it such an interesting read for my kids who are a bit younger. It was a great way to break up the text and I found that it held their interest a bit more.
There's a lot to love in this book, the writing is clever and funny, Jingwen's relationship with his brother is relatable with all of the insults they sling at each other, and the way the author describes Jingwen's thought process throughout the story makes it believable as being from a child's perspective.
In addition to Jingwen's move, he is also struggling with his father's somewhat recent death and getting used to the idea that they aren't able to do all of the things they dreamed of doing together. He can't help but feel like life would be easier in this new place if he had his father with him.
I thought the author did a great job of really causing the reader to think about what it would be like to be Jingwen, to be a kid in a new place where you don't know anyone and have no idea what they're thinking or saying. It would be awkward and uncomfortable, and incredibly lonely. This would be a great book for a discussion about empathy and trying to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
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Discussion Question Cards
This little bookmark contains questions that encourage discussion by asking your child what they think. On one side they talked about relationships with family and friends and feeling out of place, while the other side discussed the idea of change. These are all big themes, but they are presented in a thought-provoking way that I think gets kids thinking and asks them to dig deep without making the topics seem too heavy. You could easily alter these for any child and make it as simple or as in-depth of a discussion as you'd like.
Verdict: This month's Little Feminist Book Club shipment was such a cute one! My kids and I are really enjoying the book so far and I love the unique style. All of the detailed illustrations and the fun dialogue throughout made it so engaging! I thought it was also a great touch to include the rainbow cake recipe, which tied in so nicely with the story. I had really been starting to doubt this subscription for its value, but this month felt like a step up. Our book this month retails for $21.99 ($14.49 with sale prices) and this box costs $25.90 ($22.95 + $2.95 shipping). While it is still not exactly what I'd like to see value-wise, I do think that this month was much closer!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? If you order today, your first box will be the March box. From Little Feminist:
Once you purchase a book subscription your first box will be shipped within a week. From then on, your book box will be sent the first week of every month.
Check out all of our Little Feminist reviews and our list of the best book clubs for kids!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
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