Silver Dolphin Books - Review and Book Giveaway

Glance at the Silver Dolphin Book catalog and you will find a vast array of interactive, educational and entertaining books for children of all ages. Silver Dolphin books are anything but ordinary. From pop-ups to books with kits and components, the hands-on books are all about exploration, ready to please and delight those curious kiddos. Take note, these fine books would make excellent gifts! Thanks to Silver Dolphin we had the chance to try out a couple great books.

Flight Test Lab: Airplanes Silver Dolphin Books (March 2004); 32 pages; ISBN 9781592230242

Ok, I admit I requested this one specifically with my husband in mind. His father is a retired aircraft mechanic so he spent his childhood surrounded by planes. Flight Test Lab: Airplanes is actually a really neat airplane kit which includes a paperback book explaining everything there is to know about airplanes and flight. Part toy, part book -- lots and lots of fun and very educational!

You can build your own airplane with 15 different mix-and-match parts included in the kit allowing for the creation of these 4 rubber-band powered airplanes: a Super Hornet, a private jet, a 747, a WWII Fighter (or create your own design). The fuselage and framing parts are all hard plastic with the wings made of styrofoam. You can use the included battery powered winder to wind the propeller. On the first try our airplane flew the entire distance of our large living room.

The paperback Pilot Handbook by Jackie Kramer and Stuart Arden is jam-packed with all things flight related. The first couple pages include a highly detailed diagram of a plane listing all the major parts, and a cockpit page spread shows the main instruments and monitors pilots need to fly. The book also covers the history and science of flight, explaining thrust, lift, drag and gravity along with the three axes of rotation and airfoils. Plenty to ponder in this book. Children interested in aviation will love this excellently illustrated overview of airplanes and flight. We're prepared for our visit to the EAA.

Happy Snappy: Easter Egg Hunt (Happy Snappy Books) by Derek Matthews. Silver Dolphin Books (January 2006); 10 pages; ISBN 9781592235650

Spring is here. Easter is coming up soon. Want something other than candy for those Easter baskets? The tiny but sophisticated, Easter Egg Hunt with its fancy pop-up pages would be the perfect addition. Both my kids think the book is pretty darn special. We don't own many pop-ups, but after reading this one with the kiddos I'm wondering why. They haven't destroyed it yet. Children will enjoy searching for missing Easter eggs with the all pop up animals - a flapping rooster, fluttering butterfly on a flower, drinking duck, and leaping lamb. Who could have hidden the eggs? My little guy loves to open and shut the colorful pages causing the animals to move. Definitely a daily read right now for him. My daughter likes the cute little Easter bunnies and makes a point to count all the hidden eggs each time she reads the book (she found 17 total). The mini book measures approximately 6 inches tall by 4-1/2 inches wide.


Several Silver Dolphin books have won awards from Parents' Choice, Teacher's Choice, NAPPA, and iParenting Media. The Amazing Baby series is one of the larger Silver Dolphin series and currently includes 27 titles, mostly board books. The Snappy Sounds series is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. I'd personally love to get my hands on one of The World of Inventors books, new this spring. So many options to choose from. This calls for a giveaway!

Win a book, any book! Silver Dolphin has kindly offered to give one Brimful Curiosities reader a book of their choice from the Silver Dolphin catalog.

To enter, visit Silver Dolphin and leave a comment with the title of the book you would choose if you won.

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• Contest ends on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random

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