Review: Meno Books & Giveaway

Summary: GREETINGS EARTHLINGS!

I AM MENO. ELF OF SPACE, HERE TO VISIT HUMAN RACE! -- Simon & Schuster
Summary: GREETINGS, EARTHLINGS!

MENO AND FRIEND YAMAGOO WANT FRIEND TRIO. YES, WE DO! -- Simon & Schuster

Recently, my five year old son and I read the books ADVENTURE OF MENO: BOOK ONE BIG FUN! and ADVENTURE OF MENO: BOOK TWO WET FRIEND! by Tony and Angela Diterlizzi. He was on the end of the recommended age range for these books, but he really appreciated them. He can't stop talking (and laughing) about the first book BIG FUN! -- you can read more about that later!

ADVENTURE OF MENO is a six-book series about Meno, an adorable space-elf and his zany, out-of-this-world adventures. I have only read the first two books in the series, but I can definitely see the appeal for kids and parents. Each book is filled with colorful (almost retro-looking) illustrations, and there are just a few words per page so even the youngest little readers will be able to sit still for an entire book.

In BIG FUN!, Meno and his best friend Yamagoo (a jellyfish) wake up and share breakfast. Then they decide to have "Big Fun!" My son and I had a good time reading the story and trying to figure out the Meno-speak. For example, "sunshine time" meant morning; and "moo juice" meant milk. After the characters finish their "dough with holes," the book took an interesting turn.

Meno and Yamagoo decide to have "big fun," and I wasn't sure what "big fun" would be. It turns out "big fun" means tooting and pooting (if you catch my drift.) The illustrations even had little clouds coming out of the characters' tushes. Needless to say, I was shocked but my son thought it was one of the funniest things he'd ever seen. As a mother, I admit I giggled a bit; but then I stepped back and wondered if it was appropriate for my son to be reading about characters who think it's fun to toot. Lesson learned -- I should read the books before reading them to my kiddos.

In WET FRIEND, Meno and Yamagoo decided that they want another friend. With the help of Wishi the Rainbow Wish Sprite, Meno and Yamagoo get a lot of friends to choose from. I was a little worried about reading this book to my son without first reading it, but I had already told him that we were going to read both books. This time, I had nothing to worry about -- WET FRIEND was adorable! Wishi offers a variety of friend options to Meno and Yamagoo. They are looking to make a "friend trio," and they want a friend who could live in their "happy fun bowl."

The stories are both told in a make-up language which I call Meno-speak. It's definitely not how you would want your kids to talk, but it is fun (or is it Big Fun?) to try to translate the words. I read somewhere that the books read as if they were translated from Meno's Alien language into English. I think that's a very good assessment!

These Meno books are very cute, and I think kids and adults are going to appreciate them. I loved the colorful illustrations (presented in dazzling Meno-Color!) as well as the unique characters. I recommend them for preschoolers and parents who don't mind some potty humor! You can learn more about Meno and his adventures at the Planet Meno website.

I am so excited to be able to giveaway this Meno Prize Pack to one lucky reader. This is an amazing package of signed copies of both BIG FUN! and WET FRIEND! and a custom made Meno or Wishi blanket (the winner can choose!) To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me which blanket you'd prefer -- Meno (boy) or Wishi (girl.) To increase your chances, you can blog and/or tweet about this contest with a link back to this post. This contest will be open until Wednesday, December 16th at 11:59 p.m. EST, and I will notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you in the US and Canada only -- no p.o. boxes please. Good luck!

If you'd like a sneak peek at BIG FUN!, you can watch the authors read the story in this video clip:



Thanks to Media Masters Publicity for sending me review copies of these books.