Come Help Fixit Fay & Steve Spanner Solve The Mystery At Dolphin Bay!
Written: May 13 '04 (Updated Nov 20 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great story, awesome illustrations, great for early readers, inexpensive.
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: Got a Lego lover that’s also a rabid reader? Toss ‘em a treat with “Secret At Dolphin Bay”!
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| Freak369's Full Review: |
Getting kids into reading at an early age is a great way to prepare them for future educational ventures. I have been lucky that my brood have been vicarious readers, they are all avid readers of science, space and fiction and I firmly believe that it is their love of reading that has inspired them in so many other areas of education. Since they all have a passion for construction sets, mainly Lego sets, I couldn’t pass up checking out the series of books published by Dorling Kindersley. The series of books take familiar characters from the themed series from Lego and turn them in to interesting stories that are targeted to specific age ranges. My only regret about purchasing these books is that I didn’t do so earlier, when they would have all had the chance to enjoy them. As it stands now, the only books that they are really interested in are last in the series, level four, created for proficient readers. One of the greatest assets of this series of books is that they are grouped by reading levels and the stories tie in to Lego story lines. If your child is the least bit in to Lego’s then this is definitely a set of books well worth investing in.
Secret At Dolphin Bay
If you are ready for a real adventure on land, in the air and deep beneath the sea then this is the book for you! Join Lifeguard Sally, Fay Fixit and Steve Spanner as they test out the new rescue boat for Lego City Harbor. But that’s just the start of the fun and adventure to be had, Diver Dan helps out when a call comes in from the coast guard requesting help with a boat that’s in trouble. You’ll also meet Tessa, the resident veterinarian that come along to help a dolphin that somehow managed to cut its fin. But how did the poor dolphin get injured? That’s just one of the mysteries of Lego City Harbor and Dolphin Bay. Lifeguard Sally and Diver Dan are more than happy to lend a hand in helping Tessa since it also gives them a chance to test out their new tools. They get to use their new underwater camera to get a better look at the bottom of the bay, then they see something on the screen, but in order to figure out what it is, they need to send Diver Dan down. He has a little help along the way, the same dolphin that Tessa helped leads Diver Dan to a mysterious box. When Diver Dan climbs back on to the boat he tells the rest of the crew what he found and they work out a plan to remove the dangerous box from the bay. It isn’t until they are on their way back to Lego City Harbor that they open the box and see it is filled with gold! About the same time they see the Lego City police waiting for them and they tell them that the gold was stolen from the castle a long time ago. The police plan on taking the gold back to the castle but alas, their boat won’t start. No need to worry, Fixit Fay and Steve Spanner are more than happy to lend a hand and try out all those new tools!
Outside The Story
If you have never seen these books before you are in for a real treat, not only are the stories interesting and completely captivating for kids but the illustrations are top notch. They are computer illustrations so there is a ton of detail to them, when I read a few of them I had a hard time sticking with the story at some points because the illustrations were so intense. That really adds a lot to the reading experience, not only are kids drawn into reading but they have the photos to help them along in the imagination department. That’s the one thing that I tried to get across to people who dismissed the books as too “kid like” or simplistic. Reading, in my opinion, is a gateway for kids. Give them a book that explains every single instance and event and that is all they will get from it but give them something that allows them to think or have a little creative freedom and they are getting so much more from it. At the end of the book there’s a section that sums up the events of the book and what the various people did within the story. This is also a great way to expose kids to different occupations that they might otherwise not know about.
The Series
The series of books carry a lot of different themes, from space to city, dinosaurs to sports. There are four different reading levels to choose from ranging from early readers [series one] to proficient readers [series four]. This book is in the “Beginning To Read” series and would be great for kids four and older. If you check out this book for your child and find that he or she likes it, I highly suggest picking up any of the “Day In The Life” series or Rockets and Spaceships. Most of the books are priced at $3.99 [$5.95 Canadian] but I found them for $2.50 at Wal-Mart. You can find the Dorling Kindersley books at most major retail book chains, online and stores like Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart. Are they worth it? To me they are. They all have great stories, excellent illustrations, thick glossy pages and carry the Lego theme in the stories.
The Bottom Line
I really wish that these books would have been available when my boys were younger because I know they would have all fell in love with them and read them over and over. I picked up as many of the books as I could when I had the chance so I ended up with more than a few that the boys laughed at – they were far too old for them so I tucked them away for gifts or to use when my neighbors daughter would spend the afternoons here. Out of all the first series books from the DK Lego series, this one is one of her favorite since there are two females that she can identify with – Fixit Fay and Sally Lifeguard. She will read the others but really likes the ones with “girlies” in it. A majority of the books are gender neutral so they can be enjoyed by boys or girls however some of the dinosaur and space ones do slant towards little boys. Even so, they are all highly entertaining, educational and provide solid reading skills for kids from kindergarten through fifth grade. You can also check out the complete line of Dorling Kindersley books at their official website at: www.dk.com.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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