An Amazing Book for Tween Reluctant Readers is a paid collaboration with Night Zookeeper: Escape from Conform Prison #mynzkhero which is the only create your own adventure story featuring your child own drawn superhero.
Being a mum to a reluctant reader means that I am always on the lookout for ways to encourage children to read and engage them in books and words and that is why I adore the Night Zookeeper range. Your child might already be aware of the amazing books by Joshua Davidson which introduce them to the importance of creativity and friendship
The magic of Night Zookeeper: Escape from Conform Prison is the fact that your child designs a superhero animal who is at the centre of the story. But rather than being a picture book the story is aimed at readers aged six to 12 and is a novel. It really makes your child feel involved in the making of the book and therefore, they have a connection immediately when it arrives.
My best friends youngest is 10 years old and a really creative child, so when I asked him to work with me on this review and project he jumped right in. He has a favourite soft toy (turtle) so decided immediately that his superhero animal would be Terry the Turbo Turtle whose superpower was speed and he was an amazing gamer.
You can either submit your child drawing in a hand-drawn format or you can use Night Zookeepers special online drawing tool. or choose a hero from the library. If you already have a Night Zookeeper account then your children can log in and choose one of the animals they have already created on Nightzookeeper.com
We had a go at both options. Quinn preferred spending time hand drawing his character, but he also really loved the online drawing tool, which was really intuitive using my iPad and apple pencil. The only issue he had was being a leftie he tends to drag his hand on the screen, but he quickly learned how to delete any marks he made. I like that you have the option, so if your child is happier on a screen then this is a great way to engage them. We had a fun hour chatting and talking about why he chose the name, animal and super hero power.
It is super simple to upload your image and superhero animal online, name their hero, choose their skill and add their own name before you order the book. The website talks you right it step by step, it was as easy for a ten year old as it was for this nearly 50 year old!
If you want to give the book as a gift then you can order a voucher ahead of time for the book. It costs £18.99 for softcover and £23.99 for a hardback and I promise you that it will become a treasured book. Quinn’s book arrived within 5 day ( UK shipping is 3-5 days, Worldwide is 5-15 days and last orders should be December
17th to get there for Christmas)
As soon as I gave it to him he started reading it. He has asked for more of the series for Christmas, which is a big win and I know what I am buying him as a thank you for helping me.
You know there is something magical about a book when a child starts reading it and then takes it to bed to continue reading it. The fact that your child character is on the cover and at the heart of the story is the thing that initially grabs them and gets them started, but it is the amazing storyline and format of the book (you have to move to different pages to continue reading rather than just read from the first to the last page) that keeps them immersed.
Often the biggest challenge with a reluctant reader is getting them to open the book and start reading. This is why using your child own character and characters special skill (which actually affects the outcome of the book) is genius. This isn’t a picture book aimed at younger children, but a real storybook aimed at tweens.
No two books will be the same, each is unique so it is perfect to gift to more than one child in the same family. What I love is that when I went for a cuppa to my friends today, her 14 year old had already read the book last night when his younger brother had gone to bed and the 12 year old wants to read it too. It has been a brilliant entry in to the world of NightZookeeper.