Max And Ivy Enjoy Spending Sharing And Saving – Children’s Story Bank And Money Book Set Review
THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER'S OWN.
Reviewed by Jane Warwick
This children’s toy came in a cardboard box and arrived in perfect condition. The front of the box is very colourful so attracts the age range suggested which is three years plus. Certainly, this is a good time to teach children to spend and save and more importantly share. The centre of the top of the box is made from cellophane so you can immediately see the front of the book. The back of the box shows which book this is – Spending, Sharing and Saving and informs you of what is inside the box and that it is unsuitable for children under threes as may present a choking hazard. On opening the box, you find three large plastic money boxes, each in the shape of a large piece of D**** (editor’s note – brand name removed). Each box is a different colour red or blue or green. On the side of each money box is one word printed in white in Capital letters “SPEND, SAVE and SHARE”. I am disappointed that the words are in capital letters as children learn to read words more easily if the word starts with just a capital letter or all the letters are small case. The slot at the top of the money box is wide enough and easy enough for all children over three to be able to place a coin or two into the box.
The paperback book can be pulled out from between the cardboard and cellophane. The book is easy to read with one or two sentences on each page providing the story together with the colourful pictures. It is a simple story, but my grandchild liked it and he also liked the three money boxes. The story seems geared towards a three-year-old given the picture book style with a few sentences per page yet the concept of pocket money and spending, saving, and sharing money is a concept for older children. I had some coins 2 pence pieces, so I gave my grandchild 20p in in 2 pence coins and talked to him about saving and sharing and spending. He loved putting the coins into the boxes but then wanted to take the coins out again and he was not happy that he was not able to remove them and got a little frustrated by this. Thankfully the circular lock at the bottom of each money box is not easy to open and I did not show him these. They are initially quite hard to open which is a good thing but also made of thin plastic so they could easily be broken if not looked after carefully. I think the minimum age for this toy should be 4 as they are better at sharing generally then and understand more. I think I will put this toy away until he is a little bit older so he can appreciate it as the concept is a very good one. One other thing which would be nice if could be done would be to personalise the story for your child so immediately they have a connection with the book and boxes. It is a nice idea developed by a Mum (Ria Glover), with young children to encourage them to spend, share and save.
Rating: 3/5
RRP: £19.99
This product can be purchased from Amazon here.