Lastest Articles
NEW sibling special Zooboo storybook: Save The Beach!
We have an exciting announcement! A brand new Zooboo storybook has just launched called – Save The Beach. This storybook can be customized 4 ways like our sibling special books and is great of 7-8 year olds (or younger/older depending on your kids interests & reading levels). This book is a heartwarming tale about two siblings who set out to clean the local beach. It is a perfect example of the saying, ‘Every little tale has an impact’. When a small family visits a coastal town of India they are shocked to see the state of the beach. Will they be able to encourage the citizens to clean the beach? What ideas will they put into restoring their beach? Read this book here to find out! It is available in 5.5” as well as 8” sizes in hardcover & softcover format. You can customize it to suit all sibling relationships like Elder brother-younger sister, Elder sister-younger brother, Elder sister- younger sister, Elder brother – younger brother This book will show the kids names and character (boy/girl) on the cover & throughout the story. If you want to encourage your kids to think about the environment and become conscious citizens then 'Save the beach' is for YOU. Your kids will learn many complex new words, build their imagination skills and will be motivated to actively work towards saving Mother Earth. This book is a good option if looking for Birthday gifts, birthday return gifts, party favours, Raksha bandhan gifts, back-to-school gifts & more. Check out our other sibling special books here: A1 Summer and Play I spy Customize your Zooboo storybook at a special discount today! Use code MERRY30 For FLAT 30% off on your order!
5 tips to teach kids about ‘originality’ & ‘authenticity’
The latest Zooboo story book ‘Finds a story’ is all about a little child trying to write a story for their school project. The child asks around at home, neighborhood as well as looks to the TV for inspiration for their story. The plot and ending of this book led us thinking about a few issues such as ‘original thinking’ and ‘authenticity’. How many times do we come across children who are more than willing to mimic ideas from the internet/society? Are we also guilty of consciously or unconsciously guiding kids to follow a pre-planned path with no creativity of their own? Research has shown that when parents focus on ‘teaching values’ v/s ‘rules’ and encourage kids to take ‘sensible risks’ that will allow them to try new things – such children grow up to be great contributors in the society. Here are 5 simple things that YOU can do to try and inculcate the importance of original thinking, creativity, and authenticity in your young ones: Tip #1 Encourage them to always read & remember the name of the author & the illustrator This is something you can start even when kids are a few months old. Always make it a habit to read the name of the author & illustrator of the book before you begin reading it. This allows kids to understand that there is someone who has taken the effort to write and illustrate this book for them. That not all books are the same and there is a person is who thinking original ideas & is creatively presenting it for them. Tip #2 Seek books with a moral Along with picture books, try to also read out stories that have some moral attached to it. Doing this from an early age encourages kids to think about the values and consequences of their actions. Tip #3 Encourage creativity in all forms It is upto us what rules and conditioning we raise our kids with. Instead of giving them the rules of society, life and your personal set of rules, teach them the values behind it. Let them know what your family believes it and the reason behind it. For example if you want them to clean their room, rather than saying ‘Clean your room’, say ‘This is why we as a family believe in a clean and neat environment. And this is why it’s a core value to keep our belongings neat.’ Tip #4 Guide with relativity rather than absolutes If your child is drawing or painting an image of the sky, let them pick out the colours rather than giving it to them. And now if they happen to paint it pink & purple, will you tell them – The sky is blue, not pink. OR will you tell them – The sky can be blue, sometimes it can also be orange and at twilight, it can even be pink or purple! Rather than saying ‘This is a stone’, say ‘This could be a stone, or it could be Y, or it could be Z, what do you think it is?’. This allows them to let their mind run free and fosters creative thinking. It helps ‘out of the box’ ideas. Tip #5 Model ‘authenticity’ yourself If you want to raise an honest citizen who is true to their self and stands against borrowed ideas and pirated/copied work then YOU need to model this behaviour too. Show them the importance of being original by being original yourself. Don’t download that song from the internet/unofficial source. Don’t buy a book unless its author is getting their due credit. Don’t quote an idea or phrase without mentioning the source you got it from. There are small ways that kids are observing us & what we say, do & talk makes an impact. If you want your kids to be inspired to write their own story or do some original thinking then try this NEW personalized storybook by Zooboo called ‘Finds a story’. Personalize it with your kids name & character & enjoy Rs. 300 off. Use code STORY
6 Tips to make family reading time more fun!
Reading together with family is very good for kids of all ages. Right from inspiring a love of reading books in young children to helping you connect as a family. Most of all, it’s also really fun! But we know that it’s not always easy to plan a family reading time in advance. So forget thinking about reading as something you need to tick off your list and instead imagine storytime as an amazing show that’s about to begin and the excitement in the kids will naturally follow. Here are 6 tips by Team Zooboo to help make family reading time easier to plan and a lot more fun! Read outdoors Make a picnic out of it or carry your books during garden time. A change of scenery adds some excitement to reading time. You can also spot your favourite natural elements around you while reading. Add a game like – Act it out Adding a game gives a fun twist to reading. Give the entire family a few roles to enact. Let kids get into the character and act it out. They will gain confidence + work on their language skills too. Personalize a storybook Personalizing a storybook in your kids name boosts their curiosity while reading it. Studies have shown higher language skill development, vocabulary development and confidence level in kids who read personalized books. Click here to check out personalized storybooks for your kids. Involve every one Sometimes it is good to let someone else take over the lead while reading. Invite an older cousin, neighbour or grandparent to read stories with you. The diversity in voice modulation and creativity piques a kids interest and involvement. Set up a schedule Make a reading schedule. Pin it up at a place where it is visible to all. Try to add a star chart or some reward upon finishing the required reading time. P.S: Making the reading chart can be a fun art activity too! Reading corner A cute cozy dedicated reading corner helps calm them and sets a routine. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. A few curtains and pillows with easily accessible books and good light does the trick. Mind buzzing with new ideas to try out? We hope so! If you’re looking for some books to get you started, browse our bestselling personalised books on a wide range of topics and that too for all age-groups! Explore all the 16 book titles here!
