Monday, September 12, 2011

No More Chimes to Turn The Page - Hallmark Review & Giveaway

Do you remember the read along books where you'd hear the bells and it was time to turn the page? I loved them. We had so many different titles and Aunty Penny and I would sit and play them over and over again until I got bored and either pulled her hair or went and played dolls.

The folk at Hallmark sent me a recordable storybook for Tricky and they've come a LONG way since then. With the old ones, the tape would keep going whether you were keeping up or not... with these, the sound is recorded, in your own voice, and is only played when on that page (fancy light sensors).

We had a bit of a play:






Now nothing beats sitting down and spending time reading, sounding out the words and interacting with the story, but these would be good as a 'sometimes' reader (like a sometimes food, ya know?) perhaps when you've left the kids with a babysitter, or if you're on a road trip and the second you look at a book in a moving vehicle you throw up... or something.

The musical introduction for each page is a little long and distracting for someone as young as Tricky, who just wanted to turn the page for more music, so I think it would suit a slightly older child more. So these are going on the shelf for a few months and they'll be brought back down when he's ready.

Thanks to Hallmark I have TWO books to give away and you can choose from one of five titles. To enter leave a comment below telling me what you'd do in the five minutes of free time you would get when the book reads to your children. I'd play on twitter, obviously.

Entry is open to Australian residents only. Entries close at 10pm AEST on Monday 19th September 2011 at which time a winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Make sure you sign in to the comment platform with a valid email address/twitter handle or leave your details as part of your comment so you can be contacted. Winner has one week to reply to notification, failing that, the prize will be redrawn. The prize is provided by Communicado and Hallmark and is not transferable.  
Winner to choose from the following available titles: Winnie The Pooh’s Plan Bee, All The Ways I Love You, My Little Princess, Hey Diddle Diddle, and Lightening McQueen and His Winning Team.

44 comments:

  1. I would sneak into the pantry and eat chocolate without anyone noticing.

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  2. OMG could Tricky BE any cuter?

    Five minutes to myself means five minutes more to eat bacon.  

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  3. Carly @ My Life in ColourSeptember 12, 2011 at 10:35 AM

    What a funky monkey you have jamming to all the music.  Thanks for the vlog review!  x

    5 free minutes.... hmm, I'd probably eat sitting down... at the dining table!  That is, NOT at the kitchen bench behind the protection of a child gate scoffing handy snacks down my throat as fast as I can LOL

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  4. Trickey bops to music the same way my boys do !
    I'd be on Twitter.  Blogging.  Trying to figuring out Tweet Deck :-)

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  5. I'd go to the toilet in peace! OMG imagine that!.

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  6. Tricky is so cute!

    In the five minutes I get I would sit down and have a coffee uninterrupted, ah bliss!

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  7. Tricky is such a little groover!

    5 mins? The three C's - Coffee, chocolate and catalogues.

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  8. Doing household chores as usual

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  9. I'd be blogging, FBing, Tweeting, I wonder if they'd be happy to listen to it a few times, I need longer than five minutes.  Perhaps I could talk really really slowly.

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  10. Five minutes to read the junk mail. Yep, I heart junkmail!

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  11. I was going to say I'd try to catch up on my own reading, but Courtney's idea is better. How great would an uninterrupted toilet visit be?!

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  12. I'd use the 5 minutes to type you a really nice email saying that I think you might have accidentally put the wrong date for the closing of the competition, and if I finshed that with time to spare I'd cruise around the blogosphere a bit

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  13. Oh Glowy this is gorrrrrgeous! I am touched by how this could change things - really change things - with mums' voices immortalized for their kids. Gosh, the possibilities.... *sniff*

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  14. 5 minutes? I would just lie down in bed shut my eyes and just be still...

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  15. Like most of us, I would be on here, blogging or on twitter, jeering at the pile of ironing that is taunting me!

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  16. I'd go and have a quick nap! Some beauty sleep never hurts! 

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  17. In five minutes, I'd get dressed, go to the toilet and start making a cuppa.  Yes I am like lightning when I need to be :)

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  18. R- read my catalogues
    E- eat my lunch in peace
    S- sit on the toilet without a mad witch hunt to find me
    T- take some time for a hot cup if tea!!

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  19. I'd record the book really slowly, include some songs and side stories, so I had half an hour for a shower, a bit to eat and a power nap!

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  20. A nice relaxing shower.  Without a little man staring up an me saying "shower, shower, shower" until I give up and get out!

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  21. I would boil the kettle, have a hot cup of coffee, probably drink it to fast, burn my tounge, swear from here to high water and then have a rum... so lets make my 5 minutes after 5!!

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  22. I would have a hot cup of tea and maybe sneak a little treat.
    I like this book idea.

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  23. In five quiet minutes I would probably go and chat, uninterrupted, with my darling husband. Who knows, we might even manage to squeeze in enough time to make another baby.   ; )

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  24. I cannot believe I have only found you NOW! I can't wait to see more of you and the gorgeous Tricky in more vlogs! 

    With 5 minutes to spare, I think i'd put my feet up and watch more of your vlogs!!!!! :-)

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  25. I'd wash dishes.  I live to wash dishes.  All I ever do is wash dishes.  It's official I have lived 37 years to be a professional dishwasher.  Damn you small kitchen and no room for a fancy machine to wash dishes.

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  26. 5 mins free... a 5 minute bath with a large glass of wine

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  27. id do absolutely nothing. How id love to have nothing to do for five minutes lol.

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  28. My kids are older, so I'd love one to give to my nephew who is 19 months & getting in to books. I'm sure my sister would appreciate 5 minutes in the toilet without her son interrupting her!

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  29. 5 mins all to myself........ i think i'd go sit outside and enjoy the silence 

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  30. 5 minutes away from the 15 month old triplets i would be able to drink my coffee while it was still hot!

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  31. Mmmmm.. a tea and a chocolate biscuit!

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  32. I will go quietly and give my hubby a tight hug and share a bite of chocolate with him....  :)

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  33. In those 5 minutes I will log on to my facebook account and update my status that if you want to have some free time of your own then go and buy Hallmark recordable story books  :)

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  34. Probably unload and reload the dishwasher

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  35. AWESOME!!! we love story time!!!!

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  36. Five minutes of free time would equal 300 seconds of silence, sitting in my sunny lounge room and letting the sunshine warm and inspire me. Alas, book or no book I try to do that every day anyway but depends on generosity of child and whether I'm allowed out of his sight for even a second!

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  37. 5 minutes.. hmm an extra long shower to wash my hair without hurrying!

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  38. 5 mins more to go to sneak chocolate from pantry and not having to share because they don't hear the paper rustle . Haha I just saw Nicole's

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  39. theese new hallmark recordable books are great especially if the kids dont see some family very often and they hear that person speaking to them from a book ist great to see the expression on their face

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  40. I would spend mins looking for more titles to buy as I think this is a fabulous product!

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  41. I would lie in my outdoor lounge and just relish the silence.

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  42. 5 min mmm a litte siesta or rest in the couch closing eyes and recharging  batteries!

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