My Mommy’s Tote
My Mommy’s Tote is an interactive book from Workman Publishing by author and paper engineer P.H. Hanson.
Recommended for children ages 3 and older (and probably most fun for ages 5-8), My Mommy’s Tote has 30 activities involving lifting flaps, spotting a “hidden” item, unfolding, turning, drawing, and reading!
My 3-year-old son enjoys “reading” this book. There are two removable items: a card stock laptop computer and a cardboard credit card. Jojo enjoys pretending to type on the card stock laptop most of all (he does have a blogging Mama, after all)!
Another neat feature of My Mommy’s Tote is the page with a write-and-wipe surface and the included write-and-wipe pen with an eraser on the cap. Jojo loves to draw on this page. I am probably a bit more uptight than most Mamas in the dry erase department, so I carefully explained to him (before turning him loose with the pen) that the pen would ONLY erase off of the WHITE SQUARE of the page. If he drew on the rest of the book, or on his clothes, I told him, the marks would NOT erase. I had write-and-wipe boards in my classroom, and I will tell you those markers DO stain clothes!
Besides the write-and-wipe fun, there is a clock with movable hands, a maze to navigate, two spin wheels for learning the alphabet and numbers, a key ring attached to the tote strap, photos, a real handkerchief (sticks out of the top of the tote and is not removable), and an intriguing mystery: Can you find the missing red sock?
Since Jojo is 3, I tend to supervise him with pop-up books or otherwise fragile things. He doesn’t MEAN to tear stuff up; it’s just that he is a three year old boy. I was really sad for him when he lifted the flap on the cell phone and forgot that the phone didn’t actually remove. He gave it a slight pull and it was then torn in half. I was sitting right there and saw his face crumple in disappointment. We fixed it with clear packing tape. I say this as a warning, because I have seen My Mommy’s Tote mistakenly recommended for infants and toddlers on other web sites.
The text itself has a bit of humorous appeal for us parents, “My mommy always says, ‘Eat your peas,’ ‘Brush your teeth,’ and ‘Blow your nose.’ My mommy says she sounds just like her mommy.”
In all, I think My Mommy’s Tote is artfully and humorously done. My Mommy’s Tote is a good pick for car trips or other times when you need your child to be quietly engaged in an activity, such as during religious services or doctor’s waiting rooms.
I originally planned to use My Mommy’s Tote as a diversion during airplane travel, but the bulkyness of it prevented me from being able to include it in my carry-on bag.
I’m thrilled to include My Mommy’s Tote in our home library!
My Mommy’s Tote is available for purchase at Amazon.com!
Thanks to Parent Reviewers for giving me the scoop on this great book!
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03 October 2008, 12:52 pm
I love this book, even though I don’t have it. I bought it for my niece’s first birthday last year along with the Grandma’s purse one and she loves it. I’m hoping she’ll pass it on to SoJo, if it’s not too mangled.
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03 October 2008, 4:16 pm
It looks like a cute book and I want to check it out. Although it really seems like Mommy’s Tote should really be called Mommy’s Purse. Doesn’t every mom graduate to a gianormous purse as the kids grow up?
07 October 2008, 1:03 am
[...] Mom Most Traveled - In all, I think My Mommy’s Tote is artfully and humorously done. My Mommy’s Tote is a good pick for car trips or other times when you need your child to be quietly engaged in an activity, such as during religious services or doctor’s waiting rooms. [...]