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Little Feminist Book Club Ages 4-7 January 2022 Review + Coupon

Carlos Lamborn
ByCarlos LambornJan 30, 2022 | 0 comments

Little Feminist
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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 selected to help diversify your bookshelf for $22.95 per month + $2.95 flat rate shipping. 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 4-7 years.

This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)

First Impressions

 

Little Feminist Book Club comes in a distinctive cardboard holder with drawings on it. This is the first time I have received two books. Both revolve around New Year's Eve and a family tradition.

In addition to the book(s), Little Feminist includes an introduction to the book (which has an activity on the reverse side. See below) and a bookmark with thought-provoking questions.

What's Inside The Box

Freedom Soup by Tami Charles - Retail Value $7.99

 

The story revolves around a girl learning about "Freedom Soup" with her grandmother over New Year's. While the snow piles up outside, the pair dance to Haitian music while making the dish. The story starts with descriptions and details about the ingredients: the way the pumpkin skin melts like butter or the ribbons of steam climb to the ceiling. Then the grandmother begins to tell the granddaughter about why it's called "Freedom Soup." The story of the soup is the story of Haiti's hard-fought independence from France which was declared New Year's Day 1804. Ti Gran tells the story (while dancing of course) and Belle dances along and says she can hear what she's describing. The story and recipe are shared for another generation, with many more to come.

What a colorful book. I love a good story or recipe passed down through generations. I guess this was a recipe WITH a story. I would have to say this book did not quite land with my daughter, but she did enjoy the dancing. I for one loved the fact that it is a true story of both the fight for freedom and the soup itself. In the rear of the book, the author tells of the importance of the history lesson that is "Freedom Soup" in her family via her husband's Ti Gran. And to continue the tradition, she includes the recipe as well. I am certainly interested in trying it, but wish I had a Ti Gran of my own to dance with while making it.

From Candlewick Press:

Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup — Freedom Soup — just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcántara’s lush illustrations bring to life both Belle’s story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles’s lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop.

Join the celebration in the kitchen as a family makes their traditional New Year’s soup — and shares the story of how Haitian independence came to be.

 

A New Year's Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong - Retail Value $7.99

 

This book is also about a New Year's tradition. It takes place in China where a girl and her mother are excited for the Chinese New Year. Not only for the celebration but more importantly the return of the father figure, who works far away for the entire year. When he arrives, the girl is shy, but once the father gets a shave and "looks more the way he used to be" she warms up quickly. For a few days, they get to be a family and the daughter recounts the little details that are significant to her. The father gives his daughter a lucky coin, which she carries around with her everywhere. One day she thinks she lost the coin, but finds it again, much to her glee. When her father must leave again, she gives him the lucky coin and tells him he can give it back to her next year.

We were immediately saddened at the idea of the daughter and father being away from each other for an entire year. To have a child and then barely ever see them because you need money to support them. But just as the girl in the story warms up to her father, so did we. My daughter remembered how different I looked when I shaved my beard and related to the coin because she uses them in the gumball machine she has. I could see the same sort of father-daughter connection, even if I could never be away from my girl for that long.

From Candlewick Press:

Little Maomao's father works in faraway places and comes home just once a year, for Chinese New Year. At first, Maomao barely recognizes him, but before long the family is happily making sticky rice balls, listening to firecrackers, and watching the dragon dance in the streets below. Papa gets a haircut, makes repairs to the house, and hides a lucky coin for Maomao to find. Which she does. But all too soon it is time for Papa to go away again. This poignant, vibrantly illustrated tale, which won the prestigious Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award in 2009, is sure to resonate with every child who misses relatives when they are away — and shows how a family's love is strong enough to endure over time and distance.

What Do You Think Card

 

Each book comes with a 'What Do You Think' card that provides questions that you can ask your little reader about the book. They are nice in the way they help you ask direct questions. Something that might actually get a real answer rather than "It was good" or "I liked it."

Little Feminist In Action: Feel Better Strategies

 

This month's Little Feminist In Action pages is the memory game. Just cut out the squares and play. I thought it was strange they didn't include the "Freedom Soup" story. It would have been very easy to make one of the pages for that story. But at least the recipe for the soup was included in the book, so that's like its own activity.

Verdict

Little Feminist Book Club comes through again with two sweet and colorful stories that my daughter and I enjoyed. I would say I prefer receiving two stories. Even though the big hardback books are nice, I think kids would rather get two than one. Not to mention, both stories were great by me. I could tell the Chinese one was better received by my daughter, but someday she will be more interested in a country's independence. I thought the activity was a little underwhelming this month, especially because it ignored one of the books. I liked that there was a thoughtful theme because I love family traditions ... especially when they have to do with food.

Value - Was This Box Worth It?

Subscribers – current or future – will have to be understanding of the fact that Little Feminist Book Club is not a subscription that saves you money. The cost of the sub will always be a little more than the book itself. This subscription's true value is the quality of the books and the complementary paperwork, which is carefully chosen and sent to your front door. If you are focused on dollar amounts, this subscription may not be for you. The monthly subscription costs $26 (with shipping). These books retail for $8 each. So $16 total for a gap in value of $10. Subscribers will have to make their own decision whether that is worth it to them.

One thing of note: Little Feminist offers four ways to purchase: monthly, three months, six months, and 12 months. They cost $22.95, $21.95, $19.95, and $18.95, respectively. Shipping is always $2.95. So if you were certain you'd like this subscription for a year, it would be $4 cheaper per month and much closer to the book's retail value.

To Wrap Up

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No. You have to order before the 25th to receive that month’s selection. So at this point, you will get next month's. 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.

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist.

Do you subscribe to Little Feminist Book Club Box? Comment below with what you thought.

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Little Feminist is a children’s book and activity subscription that focuses on diversity and gender equality, teaching 0-9 year old girls and boys (yes, boys can be feminists too!) empathy and perseverance. Books-of-the-month are selected by a team of educators, librarians, and parents, who then cre... read more.
Carlos Lamborn
Carlos Lamborn
Carlos is a husband and father of two. He likes coffee, beer, camping, disc golf, a good box cutter, and the accomplishment of even the most menial home-owning task. Carlos is new to the world of subscription boxes and loves the wonderment of receiving them in the new mailbox he just spent all day installing.

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