Encouraging reading with Bookabees

Encouraging reading with Bookabees – review and giveaway

You all know how passionate I am about books and the journey I’ve been on with my 7 year old son as he’s learned to read.  It’s not been an easy journey and even now, my son is very much happier when he’s being read to, rather than having to put the effort in himself.  But we’re getting there slowly but surely and over the holidays I’ve been encouraging reading with Bookabees and their subscription book service.

I know that my son’s reading has improved no end over the last year, and he’s far more receptive of chapter books than he was back in September.  He also seems to have taken on my love of history, so I’ve been tapping into that interest lately, and using books to guide his thirst for knowledge.

Bookabees offer a tailor-made book subscription service applicable to babies right through to 11 year olds.  You can select three different packages, based on the number of books you want to receive each month. It works a little like a postal library service, you get to keep the books for up to two months, then either return them in the packaging provided (postage included), or buy them for 50% of their RRP value. If you want to buy a brand new copy of a particular book you just make a note of it on the order form and your order will be placed with a 30% discount on the RRP.

When placing your order you select the relevant age and sex of the child, and a suggested list of books is provided. You can highlight books that have already been read, and make a note of books that your child doesn’t like too. You can manually select the books you want to receive each month which works for us, as we have so many, or let Bookabees surprise you with a different selection each month.

We opted for the Bigger book selection which offers 5 books per month.  The first month is £5.49 and £10.99 thereafter.  There’s no contract, so you can change your subscription plan at any time.  I really liked the option to be able to pick and mix the books we would receive, tailored exactly to what I know my son would find of interest.  He could get involved with the process too, which also helps encouraging reading with Bookabees.

I don’t know about your kids, but my son loves receiving post, so there was quite a lot of excitement when his personally addressed parcel arrived from Bookabees recently.

Encouraging reading with Bookabees

Not only did he receive the five books we’d selected, but he also received stickers, book marks, a door hanger and activity sheets, all part of the monthly subscription with Bookabees.

Encouraging reading with Bookabees

So which books did we select?  Well I’m a big fan of Usborne books, so I knew the titles we’d selected would work for us now and in the next couple of years ahead.  My son is learning all about boats this half term, so it seemed the perfect time to learn about Titanic in more detail.  He’s been fascinated with The Great Fire of London for a year or two now, so now he can read up on this subject too, with this Series Two Early Reader.

Encouraging reading with Bookabees

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is a story I know well, but is new for my son, it’s a Series Three Early Reader and a book we’ll read together for the time being. I’ve shared my love of all things Egyptian with him, since he was very small, so a book about Tutankhamun was always going to go down well with both of us. The classic tale of King Solomon’s Mines is going to be a hit too, I’m sure.

Encouraging reading with Bookabees

At the back of each book is a book card where children can leave their rating on the book once they’ve read it, which is a nice touch and something for future readers to add to.

Encouraging reading with Bookabees

I certainly like encouraging reading with Bookabees, and it was lovely to see my son get straight into the books as soon as he opened his parcel.  Result.

We’ve certainly been impressed with the selection of books we’ve received and looking at the books for future months, I think they’d have gone down well too. The Bookabees service offers a different way to introduce children to a range of books. I’m pleased to be able to offer my readers a 3 month half price subscription offer with Bookabees for half price – use code over40blog.

disclosure:  we were given one month’s free subscription in return for an honest review of the service.


I’ve teamed up with Bookabees to offer one reader the chance to win a 3 book subscription package for 3 months worth £22.47.  Complete the Gleam form below for your chance to win.  Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

Only the first step of this form is mandatory, all other steps are optional. Only one entry per person is allowed.

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

Once a winner is randomly picked, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within one week, the prize will be allocated to another person.

The giveaway will close on 9th July 2017 at midnight.

Don’t forget to visit my Giveaways page for more great prizes on offer!

Bookabees 3 book subscription package for 3 months worth £22.47

125 thoughts on “Encouraging reading with Bookabees – review and giveaway

  1. My son’s favourite book was gangsta granny by David Walliams, he found it really funny and sad at the end.

  2. We love Inkheart. I think it is the idea of actually being able to visit the worlds of the books that you are reading, The book is so much better than the film.

  3. My daughter loves the Rainbow Magic series, she adores books about fairies and friendships x

  4. My favourite children’s book is The Secret Garden,I love the friendship between Mary and Colin and also the garden,I have always wanted a secret garden myself.

  5. The Ugly Duckling 12-18months love it because of the underlying theme -my nephew loves it because it has birds -hes not quite old enough to understand the true meaning quite yet

  6. i love the gruffalo because the language used is easy enough for my 4 year old to remember the story and the words used are playful.

  7. Both my children love Chicken Licken, the fun word play always made us giggle, great book x

  8. I loved all of The Little House on the Prairie books as a child (still do!). They were a brilliant insight into a completely different life that I adored.

  9. Its My Busy Day – I have no idea why but I have lost count on how many times I have read it

  10. My kids favourite book at the moment is the worlds worst children by David Walliams

  11. My favourite book is ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ – for older children but it was one of my favourites when I was young and I’ve read to several of my primary classes who have also loved it.

  12. Love the gruffalo – it is so well written – as are lots of Julia Donaldson books we love them!

  13. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I read it when young and now my son has read it. It’s a great film too.

  14. I always loved the Anne of Green Gables books as a child and enjoyed all the scrapes that Anne got herself involved in.

  15. When I was little my favourite was The Last Noo Noo by Jill Murphy and I still think it’s a great book now!

  16. I am a huge fan of Matilda it was one of the first books that was just so interesting and showed a darker side to children’s books which i loved.

  17. The Jungle Book, I loved the idea it could be me and I cold play with the monkeys which were my favorite animals at the time

  18. My favourite kids book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar – I loved it as a child and love reading it to my children now.

  19. I love the Enid Blyton Collection, the magic far away tree is my favourite

  20. The Railway Children, read over and over and then the film brought everything to life… even loved the remake! 🙂

  21. My fave children’s books were the dark materials trilogy by Philip Pullman but my little girl is 2 1/2 so we enjoy reading room on the broom together x

  22. I loved all books by roald Dahl, Charlie and the chocolate factory was my favourite.

  23. 10 little dinosaurs – my kids find this book funny and it’s a delight to read

  24. My son loves Squash and a Squeeze. He loves the repetition, and he quickly learned to read along.

  25. Matilda by Roald Dahl – love the storyline and characters, especially Mrs Trunchball!

  26. Love The Cat in the Hat! I’d never read it but my son got it as a birthday present and it’s so fun to read because of the rhyming.

  27. We love ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’ by Julia Donaldson. The plot of the giant buying new clothes that he desperately needed then being kind enough to help animals that he meets on his journey home by offering them parts of his new outfit is a lovely thing to teach children.

  28. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved watching her grow up in the books, and I’m sharing them with my 4 year old daughter.

  29. We love the Owl who was a afraid of the dark by Jill Thomlinson. It reminds me of my own childhood and I love reading it to my son

  30. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a long time favourite because the illustrations are brilliant and the children enjoyed reading each page with me.

  31. I love the Julia Donaldson books, think Stick Man is my favorite. The words flow in such a way that keep my children hooked!

  32. It’s Harry Potter in our house. We try and encourage other books and are occasionally successful. This service cou!d be a good way of encouraging diversity when it comes to choosing new boojs to read.

  33. We have just read 100 top food facts from Usbourne. Love learning. We also are reading Gobi and Horrid Henry.

  34. I love “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” as it’s so interactive with being able to use your fingers to eat through all the food.

  35. The story giant is a beautiful amazing book to be read again and again. Also love Wind In The Willows.

  36. Brontorina, the ballet dinosaur because my daughter loves dinosaurs and dancing 🙂

  37. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the children love turning the pages and seeing the wonderful illustrations. Great fun.

  38. I love the narnia collection by C S Lewis. The lion the witch and the wardrobe was my fav. My kids have the collection and now my grandchildren have it! Full of magic and wonder. Such wonderful tales to read. My grandsons favourite book just now is Mr Fox has lost his socks.

  39. My favourite book is Gorilla by Anthony Browne, its a lovely book by this talented illustrator and author. Both my sons love it as do the children I share it with in schools!

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