Compose Your Thoughts With Mead Products Composition Books
Written: May 20 '03 (Updated Jul 30 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Stiff cardboard covers, inexpensive, perfect size for students, schedule grid.
Cons: Stitching comes undone, pages fall out, not perforated.
The Bottom Line: The Mead Composition Book is great for creative writers or as a diary but younger kids can also use this for photo books or practicing their letters and numbers.
|
|
|
| Freak369's Full Review: MEAD PRODUCTS Mead Composition Books |
Most people have flashbacks of school when they see these black and white notebooks, for me they remind of me my oldest son and his love of writing. When he was younger he loved flipping through my old magazines and cutting out pictures of things he was familiar with and pasting them on the pages. As he got older he started to use them for creative writing and as a small stack of them in his bedroom, hidden [or so he thinks] behind the Playstation system. I’d never invade his privacy and sit down and start reading them but a few times he did let me read some of the stories about aliens, how sad he was when his pet fish died and how he hates green beans more than anything else n the world. For him, this is the only notebook he’ll use when writing creatively but he refuses to use them for schoolwork or when on field trips. I have to agree on him about the pages falling out – if you rip out one page, the one connected to it will fall out in short order. I guess that’s why he likes these for his own writings – but you’ll never hear him call them a ‘diary’ – no, that’s just too girlie for him.
The Basics
Most of the time you will see these in the black and white marble design but they have recently started making these in blue, pink, yellow and red. There are also some funky multi colored designs available but chances are you might not be able to find these until the back to school sales start up. You can purchase these individually or in a convenient three pack. Normally my oldest goes through one notebook about every three weeks so I’ve opted to buy them in the larger pack so he will always have them on hand. When you purchase them individually you can expect to pay about $1.25 - $1.50 for them with the three pack costing about $2.99 so you will be saving some money buying them in the multi pack. I have used these in the past to keep track of the boy’s allowances, when we were on field trips and to keep track of money that was spent on homeschooling projects and books.
The Good & Bad
The best part of this composition notebook is the rigid cardboard backing that is used for the front and back cover. This means you can take notes without needing to be at a table. There s a left margin but no right one so this might not be the best pick for a child that is just learning to write correctly or for school assignments unless the teacher designates that this type of notebook should be used. The lines are spaced using the standard rule so if you are looking for the college rule [the smaller of the two] you should check out some of the other Mead notebooks. You’ll be able to do a fair amount of erasing on the paper before it rips or holes appear and you can use pencil or ink on them but markers do tend to seep through to the other pages. Since we are homeschoolers the class schedule and class calendar isn’t something that we use but it would be a nice feature for those who attend a mainstream school. You will also find a multiplication table on the back cover. Some of the newer ones have units, weights and measures on the back cover as well so be sure to look for this feature if it is something that you or your child will be able to take advantage of.
This is best for creative writing or school assignments that won’t need to be handed in since tearing out one page will result in a domino effect – the adjoining page will come loose and fall out. This is due to the threaded or stitched binding that is used. You would think that they would invent some way of keeping the adjoining pages in place or at least perforate them – but I guess it isn’t the big of a deal to Mead. Some people complain about the paper being too thin but to me it feels just as thick as loose leaf paper and hold up just as well.
The Bottom Line
This is a great sturdy notebook for kids or adults to use providing that the pages won’t need to be removed. Since there’s no wire spine on this it is a little safer for kids to use and you won’t have to worry about it getting caught on the inside of a knapsack or backpack. My oldest loves these so until he finds something a little better for his creative writing and stories, we’ll stick with these. There are other Mead notebooks that have flexible covers [Attitude series] or the 5 Star series [metal spine] so if you like the general quality of the Mead products but don’t care for the standard composition books, there are alternatives that you can choose from. You can check out all the notebooks, school supplies, art necessities and specialty products at www.meadweb.com. You can check out new products, get cool school downloads and check out the “School House” for tips on writing and parental advice.
As always, thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2006 Freak369
Related Reviews
Avery Wirebound 1-Subject Notebook
Roaring Spring Composition Notebooks
Grade School Composition Notebooks [Grade Three]
Grade School Composition Notebooks [Grade Two]
Grade School Composition Notebooks [Grade One]
Norcom 3-Hole Quad Pad 4"x 4"
Mead Quad Notebooks
Mead Spiral Bound Single Subject College Rule Notebook
Mead Spiral Bound Single Subject Wide Rule Notebook
Mead Theme Books
Mead Wireless NeatBook
Mead Five Subject NeatBook
Mead Composition Books
Mead Five-Star Notebooks
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.