Literati is a monthly book subscription box for children that works similar to Stitch Fix. For a monthly fee of $9.95, you’ll receive 5 books to try out for a week. You can purchase the ones you love and return the rest (in totally new condition) in the enclosed prepaid mailer (shipping is free in both directions).
You can get 5% off when you decide to keep all the books! There are also categories for each age bracket: Club Neo is for newborn to 1 year; Club Sprout is for children ages 2-3; Club Nova is for kids 4-6, and Club Sage is for those 7-8 years old.
This is a review of the Club Phoenix box for kids 9-12.
DEAL: Get $25 in account credit to put towards books when you sign up! USE THIS LINK to get the deal.
There are lots of books in store for us!
The contents are all neatly packaged.
There’s no longer a padded mailer. Instead, you can use the teal box itself if you want to return some of the books. You’ll also receive a tape and a prepaid postage label for the box.
The featured illustrator creates new artwork for the monthly themes. This month’s illustrator is Steve Adams.
A full-size print comes with the box, along with free shipping. Although I don’t love that the fee doesn’t apply to a full box purchase, this high-quality print makes it more worth it. Also, the theme for this month is Around The Campfire!
They included a sheet to help us label the books, and let others know that they’re ours when we decide to keep them. They’re really adorable!
There’s also a listing of the book prices. If you decide to keep everything, you’ll get 5% off. The subscription has a $9.95 non-refundable fee.
According to Literati “it covers shipping both ways, allows the curators to invite a new world-renowned illustrator each month to draw personalized bookplates and a unique print for members, and covers other themed surprises that are included in the box.” Since the print is now full size and high quality, we are digging that change. It includes the shipping back and forth too.
There’s a cute note from Team Literati.
There’s also an activity that we’ll do called Geocaching. And they also included a logbook for the activity.
Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.
The note tells us more about the excitement of telling and listening to campfire stories!
There’s also an info card about the five books sent to us this month. The card lists the titles with a brief description for each.
Everything in the box!
Extreme DotToDot Legends & Lore ($12.49)
With MindWare’ss Extreme Dot to Dot books, every page is a mystery! As your little one solves each puzzle, the hidden images are revealed. Whether it’s a unicorn or dragon there’s a world of fun pictures waiting to be discovered.
Dot to dot books helps exercise both sides of the brain!
Aside from the instructions, the book also lists other Dot to Dot puzzle books that we can try!
At first, they look complicated but once you get the hang of it, it becomes fun and enjoyable.
There are even bigger dot puzzles, and they occupy a full spread of the book!
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool ($9.99)
From the author of Newbery Medal winner Moon Over Manifest comes the odyssey-like adventure of two boys’ incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail.
When Jack Baker’s father sends him from his home in Kansas to attend a boys’ boarding school in Maine, Jack doesn’t know what to expect. Certainly not Early Auden, the strangest of boys. Early keeps to himself, reads the number pi as a story, and refuses to accept truths others take for granted. Jack, feeling lonely and out of place, connects with Early, and the two become friends.
During a break from school, the boys set out for the Appalachian Trail on a quest for a great black bear. As Jack and Early travel deeper into the mountains, they meet peculiar and dangerous characters, and they make some shocking discoveries. But their adventure is only just beginning. Will Jack’s and Early’s friendship last the journey? Can the boys make it home alive?
Reading the synopsis got us really excited. We’re in for an adventure!
On the surface, it’s a story about a great friendship but it goes deeper as we go further into the story.
It’s a well-crafted tale with notable heartwarming moments! We loved it for sure!
Al Capone Does Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko ($6.69)
The Newbery Honor Book and New York Times Bestseller that is historical fiction with a hint of mystery about living at Alcatraz not as a prisoner, but as a kid meeting some of the most famous criminals in our history. Al Capone Does My Shirts has become an instant classic for all kids to read!
Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I’m not the only kid who lives here. There are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their dads work as guards or cooks or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. And then there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don’t want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you’re me. I came here because my mother said I had to.
Since Al Capone’s name is in the title, we’re expecting his full participation in this fiction novel!
However, the story focuses on Goose Flanagan’s family who recently moved to Alcatraz as his father became a prison guard/electrician. With them is his mom, and his disabled sister whom he’s taking care of. It’s a coming of age story, and it’s a nice read for kids and even for adults.
The Miscalculations Of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnaulty ($10.87)
“A lightning strike gave Lucy genius-level intelligence, but she still needs to work on her friendship skills. Going to middle school for the first time is hard, no matter how smart you are, but facing her fears leads Lucy to unexpected joy and exciting new discoveries.” – Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
A lightning strike gave her a super power…but even a super genius can’t solve the problem of middle school. This smart and funny novel is perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Rain Reign, and Counting by Sevens.
Lucy Callahan was struck by lightning. She doesn’t remember it, but it changed her life forever. The zap gave her genius-level math skills, and ever since, Lucy has been homeschooled. Now, at 12 years old, she’s technically ready for college. She just has to pass 1 more test–middle school!
Lucy’s grandma insists: Go to middle school for 1 year. Make 1 friend. Join 1 activity. And read 1 book (that’s not a math textbook!). Lucy’s not sure what a girl who does calculus homework for fun can possibly learn in 7th grade. She has everything she needs at home, where nobody can make fun of her rigid routines or her superpowered brain. The equation of Lucy’s life has already been solved. Unless there’s been a miscalculation?
A celebration of friendship, Stacy McAnulty’s smart and thoughtful middle-grade debut reminds us all to get out of our comfort zones and embrace what makes us different.
“An engaging story, full of heart and hope. Readers of all ages will root for Lucy, aka Lightning Girl. No miscalculations here!” –Kate Beasley, author of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness
The story is about Lucy Callahan who was struck by lightning, turning her into a genius-leveled math wiz. The back of the book also features some brief reviews on how amazing the story is!
Lucy, at age 12, is ready to go to college. And since she got homeschooled, she needed to pass middle-school first. Her grandma insisted that she goes to middle school for a year, make a friend, and read a book which is other than math textbooks!
It was written in a fun and engaging way, plus the characters are endearing!
It’s another interesting coming of age story! We loved the beautiful friendships and bonds that were formed. Lucy’s life was definitely miscalculated!
Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly ($13.16)
Winner of the Newbery Medal
Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe is a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships.
Told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero). “Readers will be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood adventure and its eclectic cast of misfits.”—Booklist
In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate on basketball.
They aren’t friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.
The acclaimed and award-winning author of Blackbird Fly and The Land of Forgotten Girls writes with an authentic, humorous, and irresistible tween voice that will appeal to fans of Thanhha Lai and Rita Williams-Garcia.
I have to agree on what was written on the back of the book:
It doesn’t take many words to turn your life around.
The book flap presented to us some brief information about the characters in the story: Virgil Salinas, Valencia Somerset, Kaori Tanaka, and Chet “The Bull” Bullens!
At first, these four aren’t really friends, but a certain incident happened that draws all of them together!
We also like that there are handwritten parts! This is another story about a great friendship that was formed under a certain circumstance, even with their evident differences. We already had this one – lucky us, we could send it back!
It’s another delightful selection for middle-grade kids! As always, Club Phoenix sent us award-winning, age-appropriate, and well-written novels. This month, they also included an activity book, which is great for kids who love solving puzzles. Everyone got curious about life in Alcatraz, so Al Capone Does My Shirts became a favorite. We also like the story about the lightning-struck math wiz and how her life was changed by spending a year in middle school! Every book has something for us to think about, and the kids definitely love them! We’re looking forward to the next set of books and we’re hoping that they’re as awesome as this one!
What do you think of this month’s Literati Club Phoenix selections?
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