Review and Giveaway! - Nana Star book and doll

Yes, you all know that I am raising a little bookworm. I was a little worried about how "preschool" would go for her and whether or not she would participate in any of the other activities, but after spending a morning in her classroom on Tuesday, my mind has been eased. Yes, she spends a fair amount of time in the literacy center, but she also played with the dinosaurs, made two different art projects and served me some pretend pizza. She might just turn out to be more well-rounded than I thought! We are always looking for new books to read to Nadia, so, when the opportunity to read and review the new Nana Star book series came along, I jumped at the chance!

The story behind Nana Star is quite simple. One day after a very pretty girl gets tired of playing, she decides to rest in a pile of picked flowers. All of the sudden, she hears a scared little voice calling out for someone named Nana. The girl discovers a tiny, golden star hiding under a pile of leaves. The girl names herself his Nana Star and vows to care for him until she can return him to his home, high up in the heavens. The story is very sweet, but as an adult who likes a book to have a definite resolution, I'm always somewhat disappointed with the fact that this story sort of leaves you hanging. Luckily, the series continues with the story Nana Star and the Moonman and follows Nana Star on her journey to return the star to it's home.

Nadia who is nearly 3 loves the book. The illustrations, which actually use simple stick figure drawings, are truly beautiful. The book is about generosity and compassion and about helping others. Nadia seems to relate well to the book. The text is simple and easy to understand and the illustrations while beautiful, are also not too busy and good representations of the words on the page. It's a nice, medium-length story perfect for bedtime.

With our book came a beautiful plush Nana Star doll as well. Of course, Nadia adores the doll as much as the book. The doll is soft and bendable and comes with a tiny star and a tree branch that fit on Nana Star's hands using a little elastic band. There is also a Moonman doll which I haven't seen in person, but he does light-up and plays a little lullaby when squeezed. Both dolls are very cute and good representations of the illustrations in the books.

Finally, if a book and doll are not enough, Nana Star comes with a CD to complete your experience as well. On the CD is a a reading of the story. The voice is soothing and pleasant enough to listen to, even as a parent. My husband and I aren't huge fans of the song included on the CD, but it's not for us anyway. Nadia occasionally asks for us to play it in the car, and considering it's short length, we usually oblige. Eventually, I can see her sitting in her room reading along with the story. She's not quite coordinated to run the CD player all on her own yet, though.

We have so many books at our house, and while some are just for fun, some are for teaching life lessons. Nana Star falls in the later category. It's a warm story about having compassion and friendship, and about doing the right thing and helping others. All of this in a simple to understand story that is beautifully illustrated as well. The Nana Star website also makes it very simple to extend your experience with coloring pages you can print off and a Nana Star video to watch. There's also a section with activities which parents and educators can use to extend the story as well. I just know that your child will fall in love with Nana Star just like my Nadia has.



We are giving away a copy of Nana Star along with the award-winning matching plush Nana Star Doll. If you would like the chance to win, leave us a comment about a book that you either read to your children or remember from your childhood that also teaches about friendship or compassion. Your comment will enter you in our giveaway of one Nana Star book and doll. All comments must be received by midnight on Monday, October 27th. You must be 18 or older to win, and please, only 1 entry per household. If you don't leave us your email, please remember to check back here the week of the 27th to see if you won! Thanks for reading and Good Luck!