Let's Try... A BookieBundle Subscription! ❤️📚 + Other Children's Book Subscription Ideas

Do you have an interest in early childhood literacy or just love good children's books? As an aspiring children's librarian, I'm always looking for new and relevant children's books. As a parent, I'm looking for ways to engage my children with books and ways to extend the learning from those books through art.

I've seen book subscriptions before, especially for babies and toddlers, but none have been like the BookieBundle Subscription (AU). This is our first subscription box and.. wow, I loved it. There is so much more to the subscription box than you initially see. It's not just for the child, as a parent I've learnt a few things too. Our BookieBundle box included:

A gift-wrapped, hardcover, children's picture book. The wrapping paper was gorgeous and worth reusing. The most wonderful part of the subscription box is that I was introduced to a book that I hadn't seen before, and it was so well selected. It will appeal to a wide range of children and the story is lovely. Being introduced to a good book is a true gift.
2 'bookish play' activities inspired by the book. These are described as process art activities and all the materials you need are provided. There are enough materials for two children to do each activity or for one child to do each art activity twice.
A colour-printed activity guide for the parent to guide the bookish play activities.
Language Concepts and Book Interaction ideas. This is so good for parents who aren't sure about what questions to ask the child before, during or after reading the book. This is a great addition and it works much like Teacher's Notes that are provided by publishers.
Digital activities accessed with the QR code provided in the parent guide. There are five additional digital activities provided in this subscription box including two additional, original printable activities relevant to the story.

It needs to be noted that the BookieBoo BookieBundle is only available in Australia and there is a waitlist. I was on the waitlist and only had to wait a couple of weeks.

The book and all materials are neatly packaged in a box. If you are a book lover the BookieBundle Subscription is a good gift idea for the children in your life. There will be many friends, Aunts/Uncles and Grandparents that will find this to be a useful gift idea. It takes the load off parents and primary caregivers, you don't have to do any prep the book is provided with lots of ideas and materials included.

The book in this month's box is Market Day by Carrie Gallasch and Hannah Sommerville (available worldwide here).

"When a girl is given a coin to spend at the market, she thinks carefully about what to buy. She is tempted by the towering stacks of fruit, spinning rides and glass jars filled with sweets.

But it isn’t until a stranger gives something to her, without expecting anything in return, that she knows exactly what to do with her coin." - BookieBoo

This is a lovely book about markets, family, community, and giving.

Above is a peek at the Parent's Guide with prompts and questions we can ask the child about the book.

For the first Bookish Play activity, I set all the materials on a tray. Here Otto is making the Watermelon Stamped Bags. The spoon, paint, sponge and two drawstring bags are provided in the box.

Super cute watermelon print bags, for the child to pop their own coins in and take to the market. You can follow BookieBoo on Instagram and Facebook for book and Bookish Play ideas. The BookieBoo BookieBundle is only available in Australia, let me know if you find similar products elsewhere.

Other children's book subscription services in Australia include: