Crate Expectations August 2020 Subscription Box Review + Coupon – POETIC PROTAGONISTS

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Crate Expectations is a monthly kids’ book subscription box that sends a quality book paired with one-of-a-kind Adventure Guide and toys or games. Plans start at $32.99 each month, plus shipping and tax, and they also offer 3-month and 6-month subscriptions. Each box contains their book club pick of the month, 2-4 specially curated toys or games, a book-related STEM activity and supplies, an exclusive author interview, a book-inspired recipe and menu ideas, book club discussion questions, and recommendations for further reading. The box is suited for 8-12 year old kids

DEAL: Get 10% off your first purchase! Use coupon code HELLO10.

There’s a card on top of everything in the box!

The contents are protected by white squiggles.

The theme for August 2020 is POETIC PROTAGONISTS!

The flip side of this month’s info card lists all the contents of the box.

Everything in my box!

Message in a Bottle. Like the crew of a ship, we also got a message inside a corked bottle.

My kids were curious about the message inside the bottle, so we popped the bottle open and took the rolled paper from inside.

It has a message that welcomes us to the subscription, and also listed some activities for our book club meetings!

It also explains how to use the Captain’s log that can be found in the activity guide.

Adventure Guide. Every crate contains an adventure guide. It has information about the month’s featured books, author, activities, discussion questions, and even a recipe.

It also gave us a peek for next month’s box with theme Shine Your Light.

There’s a quote from this month’s book, Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo.

I promise to always turn back to you.

There’s also an author interview included in the guide. This month, it features Kate DiCamillo. They also provided a link to her site to learn more about her and her books.

There are also activities in the guide. The first one is about making a flying squirrel parachute. The box provided materials such as coffee filter, string, and a mini squirrel. From home, you will need a hole punch or a pair of scissors, and tape.  They also included complete instructions and even explained how it works!

This part of the booklet is the Bookaner Log, where kids can paste their photos and list the name of their crew.

Other activities include a page for Port Imagination, where you can make your own poem, and a recipe for Acorn Donuts!

There’s also the Captain’s log where they suggested some food and activites for your book club meeting.

They also included a list of other books that you can read: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, Frazzled by Booki Vivat, Rollergirl by Victoria Jamieson, and Sidekicks by Dan Santat.

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo ($8.49)

Winner of the 2014 Newbery Medal

Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in a genre-breaking novel by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo.

It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting format — a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by artist K. G. Campbell.

The back of the book had a tiny glimpse of what’s in store for the kids! It includes an illustration of all the characters in the story, including Flora and Ulysses.

The dust jacket introduced us to the main characters: Flora, who si a natural-born cynic, and Ulysses, an unassuming squirrel.

My kids love the book’s format! Some of the pages are in comic book style which is easy to read and understand as each dialogue comes with an image.

Other pages have smaller illustrations and full texts. The adventures of the new “superhero” partners Flora and Ulysses are quite fun and endearing!

The illustrations are engaging and add interest to the story. The illustrator is the up-and-coming artist K.G. Campbell! They did a really great job!

Along with the book is a signed plate and a book card with its own envelope that you can stick at the book’s endpaper.

Blank Comic Book. The kids can make their own comic using the provided blank comic book. It’s a great way to get them creative!

The comic book has stencil sheets that feature speech bubbles and effects that make the comics pop. The cover is also blank so the kids can design it themselves.

It contains 64 sheets of archival drawing paper.

The pages also come with panels so kids don’t need to divide them, they just have to add their drawings.

Cheetos Crunchy Cheese Puffs ($0.22) The featured snack is Ulysses-approved! Cheetos is one of the best cheese snacks there is, and who are we to resist it?

Ooly Donut Erasers ($3.50) We also received half a dozen of colorful, vanilla-scented eraser donuts!

Even in eraser-form, the donuts look delicious!

Activity Supplies. Inside this plastic bag are the supplies for this month’s featured activity: the Flying Squirrel Parachute.

It contains a coffee filter, a string, and a mini squirrel.

The orange mini-squirrel looks adorable!

Squirrel Plush. It will be fun to have an adventure if you have a sidekick like Ulysses! It’s a great thing that the box also sent us a cute companion, a squirrel plushie.

The squishy companion looks amazing on top of the table while the kids are reading! The plush will look cute sitting on top of their bedside too after they’re done with the book.

The ship sailed and we’re happy about our maiden voyage! The journey went smoothly, and my kids definitely had so much fun with this new book club box! They loved the story and there were heartful laughs all throughout the journey with Flora and Ulysses. They also enjoyed the activities! This is a nice box for an awesome bonding with the whole family as there are suggestions for other fun activities and discussions. It’s nice to hear what the kids have to say and it also made me feel more connected with them. Overall, it is an outstanding experience! This subscription is great for home learning too!

What do you think of the Crate Expectations box?

Visit Crate Expectations to subscribe or find out more!

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