beTWEEN the Bookends is the first monthly book and lifestyle box created for kids by a teen herself! Boxes follow a monthly theme and contain age-appropriate books and lifestyle items that have been read and hand tested by Jillian, the 16-year-old creator. Full-sized boxes contain 2-3 books and 6-8 lifestyle items, while mini boxes include 1 book and 3-5 lifestyle items. The new gender-neutral boxes will contain the same 2-3 books as the full-sized boxes but will have only 3-5 gender neutral lifestyle items.
The Cost: $55.00 per month for the full-sized box + free US shipping (on a 12-month subscription). Save with longer subscriptions.
This review is of the beTWEEN the Bookends Early Reader full-sized box.
These boxes were sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
Goodbye January, hello February! With 2024 well underway, we are over here working on our positive mind sets and striving to be our best selves each and every day! As many of you may know, February is "I love to Read" month, and in our school that is a big deal. Not only is Charlie working on his usual AR goal, but he now is tracking minutes to read throughout the month, in hopes of earning an ice cream party during Dr. Seuss week. With books flying off our shelf, we were really excited to see this month's beTWEEN the Bookends box, as he has truly become a reading machine! Filled with awesome new books and fun lifestyle items, this box was perfect for increasing those minutes! Read below to see what we discovered.
First Impressions
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As the full-sized box is curated with girls in mind, this version comes wrapped in bright pink tissue paper featuring a pigtail-donning cartoon sticker. Cute!
Here's What's Inside
Welcome Pamphlet
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To start off the box, we go through the included pamphlet. Describing the month's theme and the contents of every Between the Bookends version, this little book lets us know exactly what the box contains, along with a bookish quote, social media info, and a hint about next month's theme. "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou
Nancy Clancy: Secret Admirer by Jane O'Connor - Retail Value $9.99
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Love is in the air! Nancy and Bree decide to play matchmaker, but nothing works out as planned. Will love conquer all in the end? Fans of Fancy Nancy will delight in joining Nancy Clancy as she takes on love in the second chapter book in the series. Perfect for Valentine’s Day or any day of the year, this story shows the beauty of true friendship.
Charlie is one of the sweetest boys you'll ever meet. While he is the biggest hunter/fisher/builder/sport lover you will ever meet, he also loves baking, crafts, sewing, and gardening. Whereas Hank would turn his nose up at a pink book, Charlie reads it proudly. I really admire these attributes and hope he never changes! That being said, he has read a few Nancy Clancy books in the past and thought they were funny, so picked this one up without any hesitation. Easy to read and worth 1 AR point, he finished it rather quickly and thought it was pretty good. Perfect for Valentine's Day, we have now passed it on to a fellow Nancy Clancy fan, and it made her day. ❤️
Pearl the Proper Unicorn by Sally Odgers - Retail Value $13.99
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Pearl the magical unicorn is back along with her friends Pearl, Olive and Tweet! And this time, they meet another unicorn! His name is Prince Percy and he is positively perfect in every way! But when mean, smelly gobble-uns take over the pond, can Prince Percy’s perfect magic help them? Or will Pearl’s magic be just what they need?
You know how I said Charlie was a pretty equal opportunity book reader? That is mostly true, unless it contains unicorns, then he sort of shies away. After discovering that this book contains ogres he was roped back in, and thought this was pretty entertaining. Reminding him a bit of the "Trolls" production, he enjoyed the subtly colored illustrations, and the fast pace. While he was disappointed to see this book was not AR quizzable, he was happy to earn his 25 minutes.
Heart Paperclip Set
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The boys just mentioned to me the other day that Valentine's Day is fast approaching and we haven't even finished putting our Christmas decorations away. Because we don't have much for Valentine's decor, we were excited to receive these tiny heart paperclips. Great for sprucing up bulletin boards and clipping them on photos and papers, these add some festivity to the daily grind. Contained in a small purple cinch sack, I think I was more excited to receive these than the kids were, but they did pick out the blue and black ones to keep some of his homework together.
Monthly Sticker Pack
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Again, with Valentine's Day in the air, this month's sticker theme focused on pink hearts. While Charlie does love pink, the hearts were a little over the top for him, and he set them aside unsure of what to do with them. Fast forward two days and they found themselves a home on grandma and grandpas Valentine's envelopes! Perfect!
Mini Wall Hanging
What a wonderful quote. "The sky is full of stars and there's room for them all to shine" is such an inspiration. With so many people only looking out for themselves, it is refreshing to be reminded that we all matter and we should all do our best to love and respect one another. Lasered onto a thin wood panel, the ribbon hanger is perfect to drape over a door knob, or hang on a small nail.
Strawberry Bath Salts
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Charlie absolutely loves baths, so he was thrilled to receive this tube of strawberry and raspberry bath salts. After a long weekend of basketball tournaments, Charlie's legs were in desperate need of a good soak, and these salts made them magically feel better. Fun in color, and fruity in scent, this made bath time a lot more fun!
Sticker Doodle I love you! Activity Book - Retail Value $6.99
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With over 200 stickers, Charlie couldn't wait to check this sticker doodle pack out. Filled with fun pages and journaling prompts, this book is geared towards younger kiddos, but was perfect for adults and kids alike. This was a great activity book to bring with to basketball for in between games. He even had some friends engaged! What a great inclusion!
Springy Heart Hair Clip Duo
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You can guess that Charlie wasn't exactly a fan of the hair clips, but this box is geared towards girls, so it's a fun inclusion. When Charlie doesn't like an item, I either get to keep it myself, or put it in the giveaway stash for kiddos at school. This particular item I kept because it matches the dress I'm going to be wearing to school on Valentine's Day. Over the top for a 35 year old? Maybe, but my elementary kids love it!
Fluffy Heart Keychain
Charlie loves keychains, and though pink, fuzzy, and heart shaped, actually put this on his backpack. Great for fidgeting with and just as an accessory, this truly fit the theme this month, and is a great choice for an already great box.
Note Holder Stand
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The last item we received was this note stand. Featuring a small wooden base and metal heart stand, you can put notes and pictures in between the wires to hold them upright. Cute in design, this worked great to add a family picture to the top of Charlie's dresser. Simplistic in design, we could use a few more of these around the house!
Verdict
Like I mentioned above, Charlie is working on multiple reading goals, and blowing right past them! Though we utilize the public library and book-mobile often, the beTWEEN the Bookends Early Reader box is Charlie's favorite. With books he might not choose on his own, this has really opened up his reading lens and helped him learn not to judge a book by its cover. He enjoyed most of the lifestyle items this month, and really enjoyed the book inclusions. Overall, this month's theme was really well received! If you have a kid that loves reading, or is struggling to find books they enjoy, we highly suggest this box, as it makes reading enjoyable and fun.
The beTWEEN the Bookends Early Reader full-sized box costs $55.00 per month, including shipping. Because most items were small shop created specifically for this box, I wasn't able to calculate an accurate value estimate, but dividing it by the items we received equals to about $5.50 a piece. Because of the thoughtful curation, fun theme, and enjoyable products, I feel the $55.00 price range is definitely fair for the quality of this box and the number of items.
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Other Things You Should Know
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? beTWEEN the Bookends tends to ship the first week of each month. Order now to receive the March box.
What did you think of the beTWEEN the Bookends full-sized box?
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