Alphabeasts: Alphabet Learning Plush Giveaway and Review~ 3/14

Momma Told Me: Learning can be fun!

When I was a kid- Okay, that made me feel a little old; but, in my defense, I'm still young enough to have grown up in the 'educational computing' generation. In any case, with a stay at home mother hovering over me each summer and vacation, I was never left to 'entertain myself' for too long. In fact, Momma believed that much of that free 'playtime' could easily be turned into fun learning time. I can recall many wayward shopping trips to various craft and homeschooling stores, Momma filling her cart with flashcards, notebooks, and PC programs. And, as an adult, I still believe the individual who first conceived learning could be bundled with moving cartoons and images on computers, was a complete genius. After all, in the 80s, a black and white (okay green) pixelated image of spelling lines was as close to a video game as one got!

And, while you should never tell any kid this, learning can be fun, and it's never too soon to start (covertly) teaching your children to explore and question. Today's featured product, the Alphabeasts, are much more than a collection of witty child's characters, songs, or stories. The brand itself has done quite the impressive job of marketing a comprehensive world and unique educational outlook that appeals to many age groups, and can easily grow with your child. At their core the Alphabeasts are a set of 26 'beasts', each representing a letter of the alphabet. Each character is multi-colored, for visual engagement, and intriguingly shaped, to reflect the letter (and Beast's) unique personality and traits. Dadlidoit (D) is much more than Dadlidoit the 'D' Beast; he is a Red and Yellow character with wavy 'hair' design that reflects his unique 'fire breathing' ability, and 'Do It' mentality.

It probably comes as no surprise that the Alphabeasts all live in their own fictional land, a cleverly illustrated tree (with branches of letters), called Alphaland. The Alphabeasts all work together each day to solve various puzzles and life challenges. Essentially this story serves to encourage children to play with letters to create words. Kind of like a spelling riddle. For example, if the Alphabeasts were having a big feast and had a table full of ingredients they would come together to spell 'C-O-O-K', and their magical powers would whip up something tasty. I'll admit, I'm an adult and this little game does get quite addictive. My personal downside? While the Alphabeasts product line includes stand alone books, the plush characters are singular in size (at this time), with a 15" Beast retailing for $15.99. The best most children can hope for is 4-5, or perhaps the Beast of their namesake. I'd love to see a more affordable option to encourage a collection of the whole group (maybe a smaller beanbag size?).

In any case, we received a few of the 15" plush for review some time back, and I should also note that the $15.99 asking price for these large plush critters is reasonable. The quality certainly matches the tag, but is still a bummer for a collection of 26! Each of these 15" plush are somewhat flat in stature, but feature many unique angles and curves, made from a soft fleece material. One side of the Beast is predominantly one color, while the opposite side bears the minor (accent color) from the other. On the stomach of each side is a neatly embroidered letter. The faces, and even physical features, of each Best vary greatly with each character, adding to the learning opportunities. Our girls loved describing the differences between each beast through counting, shapes, and colors- as well as working on spelling those words! And, each Alphabeast has their own tag, complete with name and story, to truly bring the character to life.

Rachel (5) immediately took to these guys, creating her own names and stories long before learning their background. Johnea (9) was a little more interested in playing with them as dolls, but inquired about the unique name pronunciations and attempted to read their individual stories. For some reason 'Q', Quatto was the favorite and did not leave Rachel's arms all day. Ironically enough, one of the most difficult letters for her to write became her best buddy in plush.

What Daughter Says: Enjoy exploring the alphabet with Alphabeasts!

One Momma Told Me follower will win 2 Alphabeasts 15" plush characters!

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