Immedium: inspiring a world of imagination

Nicole graciously asked me to be involved with another review - and as a mother of a 2 and 4 year old, I was eager to help her out on this one. She forwarded me copies of books from a publishing company called "Immedium." Just from their description of themselves on their website, I knew these were not going to be your ordinary children's books. And I was not disappointed.

The first book we (my children and I) reviewed was the first one they published: Wonderbaby from A to Z by Oliver Chin, Illustrated by Joe Chiodo. Right away, this was not your ordinary board book. The first four pages, which introduced "WonderBaby," kind of lost me a bit. We've read this book several times now, and I'm still not sure what a "loco" mole is supposed to be! However, the alphabet section is one of the best I have ever seen. Each page not only has a noun corresponding to the letter, but a verb as well. So instead of "A is for Apple," you have "Acts like an Animal." Masterful! And bonus? Each page of the book has a ladybug "hidden" on it which my 2 year old discovered (before I did!) and loves to look for on each page. This book is engaging and educating. A real keeper.

The second and third books we looked at were The Year of the Dog: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac and The Year of the Pig: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac which are the first and second books from their annual series Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. These two were my favorite and also the favorite of my 4 year old. We didn't have print copies so he sat on my lap while we read them as .pdf files. The characters were enchanting, the stories engrossing, at least, to my 4 year old. He eagerly "turned the pages" to see what was going to happen. And I liked how educational the books are, both of which have a description at the end of what it means to be born in the Year of the Dog (or Year of the Pig). The illustrations are extraordinary pieces of art. I can't wait to get each of the books in this series.

The fourth and final book was the only disappointment to us. I couldn't even get either child to sit and "read" the entire book. The Octonauts & The Only Lonely Monster has so many illustrations all squeezed in on the pages that they were lost. I confess, it was hard for me, as an adult, to keep track of where the story was going. It was the furthest from a linear story line I had ever seen; it is too busy.

So overall, Immedium is doing a great job. I love the multi-cultural aspects of their books and the uniqueness of their products. I will definitely be looking for some of these on our next shopping trip to the book store.

*NOTE: I was not paid for this review but I was given this product, at no cost to me, to try it out and express my opinion.*