Holiday Gift Guide: Dinosaur Train Products: Review and Giveaway

All aboard! It's time to take a ride on the Dinosaur Train!

That's right. My lucky boys and nephews got to review a fun collection of Dinosaur Train products: puzzle, storybook, DVD, and wall decals.  All the boys have watched the show (thanks, Netflix!), so they were familiar with the characters and premise.

They're active little dudes, so they opted to tackle the puzzle with some good old cousin teamwork.  The puzzle is your standard puzzle for this age group, 24 pieces create a 9"x12" picture of the Dinosaur Train characters meeting a new dinosaur. Our puzzle featured "Kenny the Kentrosaurus."  Keeping with the show's goal of dinosaur education, the puzzle came with a fact card about the kentrosaurus dinosaur. Personally, I would have enjoyed more information, but it was probably spot on for the three- and five-year olds.  This puzzle is a great deal for only $4.99 and would make a great Holiday gift.

Next up was the storybook called "Winter Lights." The Pteranodon family celebrates the beginning of winter with a trip to the North Pole! This Little Golden Book retells an episode of the PBS Kids show Dinosaur Train in which Buddy the T. rex and his siblings get to see the amazing Aurora Borealis!  At first, the story seems a bit dull, focusing more on facts than developing an actual story, but the kids didn't seem bored at all, paying attention through the entire thing as I read it aloud to them.  I guess it's tough to balance "education" and "entertainment." And by the end, there was more action on the characters' part.  At a just $3.99, price tag, this is a must have holiday gift!

The third product the kids checked out was the DVD, a collection of several Dinosaur Train episodes and an interactive game. The holiday season is the perfect time of year to reinforce the importance of family. In the new DVD, Dinosaur Train: We are a Dinosaur Family, eight adventures feature prehistoric family fun at its best – the Pteranodon kids visit with their grandma and grandpa; Buddy, Tiny and Mr. Pteranodon join a few other dinos for a dad’s day out; and Buddy and the Pteranodon kids look for flowers to give to mom on her special Mother’s Day.  This is when my eight-year-old nephew decided to join the review team!  He was also the one who pointed out what I think is the greatest weakness of the DVD: Dr. Scott does not appear in the DVD episodes. So, the "weakness" is really a compliment to that element of the show.  The kids missed hearing more about the dinosaur Buddy and his family discovered during the show.  You can, of course, still get Dr. Scott, but it is under a different menu. Maybe if Dr. Scott wasn't so darn interesting, we wouldn't care! :) This would make a great addition for  the holidays retailing for only $9.99.

The final product up for review were some wall decals designed to decorate the room of any dinosaur/Dinosaur Train fan.  The colors are vibrant and the decals of a decent size. Personally, I'm a fan of wall decals because it makes it so easy to decorate and un-decorate a room.  It's also a simple enough process that your kids can do it and take some ownership in making their space their own. Like all RoomMates, these decals are removable and reusable, and can be repositioned over and over again without damage or residue. Decals range in size from 1.1" wide x 1.7" high to 8.5" wide x 11.6" high; 4 Sheets 10" x 18" and retail for $14.99.

All in all, I think the collection of Dinosaur Train products is great. The show has certainly captured the interest of my kids before, so that connection makes the puzzle and book even more engaging for them.  And what kid doesn't like dinosaurs??

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

One Lucky Momsreview4you Reader will win:

·      Winter Lights, an all-new holiday-themed Little Golden Book from Random House Children’s Books (SRP: $3.99)

·      Peel & Stick Wall Decals from RoomMates (SRP: $14.99)

·      Troodon, a 24-piece jigsaw puzzle from Karmin (SRP: $4.99)

·      We are a Dinosaur Family DVD from PBS Distribution (SRP $9.99)

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