Where were you when you read the book?
The book spent a good time jumping between the front room and the kitchen as the children played with the models or curled up to read facts about different vehicles. I often caught both my children seeking off to the read the book or look at the pictures. My daughter enjoyed going through the pages on her own and later showing them off to friends, all seemed to play off different interests in terms of which cars or trains they liked. I enjoyed looking at how well the models were made in the book which seem to vary from the tiny ones that you can make with the book to medium and full scale models.
What did you / your child enjoy about the book?
Lego Amazing Vehicles immediately grabs attention as being a large book, the draw for children (and most adults) is the four mini Lego models that can be made.
For my three year boy playing with the models once his older sister had built them was fantastic fun. Its always great with Lego watching how a child’s imagination plays out, even better as this included a model of a train and a “digger”. My Son also enjoyed flicking through the book looking at the bright pictures and took an interest when we were reading together about what each vehicle did.
The book does a great job of showing vehicles and how they work in Lego form. Each page is littered with facts, break downs and little Lego characters making comments. For those with an interest in Lego its nice to how each model has been made and i’m sure would influence mini builders into creating their own.
My daughter loved building the models and then spotting them in the book, this as good as it encouraged her to read more about each one. We talked about different vehicles and had fun with the pages that explored the future like electric flyers and a teleporter (I think the book did a better job of explaining it then I could). For my self Lego is a guilty pleasure secretly hoping to beat my six year old to build the mini models but ultimately leaving it to her as she doesn’t need daddy’s help. They were easy enough to make and the guides in the back of the book are the usual Lego format instructions, but there are enough pieces to create your own similar vehicles. I enjoyed the meet the builders sections of the book getting a further insight into the minds who put it all together.
Any Surprises / Feedback?
Lego Amazing Vehicles is aimed at 6+ but we also got enjoyment from it with my three year old, and was fun to read as an adult to the kids. Being a factual book with Lego made it more interesting. Each section is short so children will be happy to flick between the pages without losing interest. It would be good to see more Lego books like this, the factual content builds on the interests and imaginations of children which they soon go away and become experts in like dinosaurs and sports.
On a rating out of 5, how likely would you recommend it to other parents?
Both my children really enjoyed the models and reading of the book, they speak highly of it with excitement. Its a great book for at home but also if your traveling, the toys will keep children entertained and the book will deepen their interests in vehicles. Its nice to see the range of vehicles covered like trains, buses to ice cream vans, it keeps it fun and the bright pages come to live capturing both boys and girls attention. Even before having a copy of the book, this has caught my six year old girls attention as something she wanted to read. I enjoyed my time with the children spent with this book and would give it a four out of five purely for my greed of Lego and that my daughter beat me to build the models.