Shine-A-Light Books

Reveal More Reading Fun

You know by now how much I love Usborne books.I’ve raved about them over and over again, and hosted my own party because I believe in their awesomeness. All their books hold up very well to the test of toddler time, and I love the factual material presented in such an appealing way.

If you haven’t seen the light, though, go check out their Shine A Light series. I haven’t seen any other kind of books with this unique feature geared towards preschoolers and elementary aged kids. Each page has a full color picture, and the reverse side of the page is black and white. When you shine a light from behind the page, hidden images appear. The magic works, even for adults. You can find out the contents of the dump truck on the construction site, or who lives in a kapok tree in a rain forest.

They offer a topic for almost any enthusiast, from trains and planes to seashores and cities, and just about anything in between, including inside the human body. Some of the titles include: Secrets of the Seashore, Secrets of Winter, Secrets of Animal Camouflage, On the Space Station, On a Plane, On a Train, On the Construction Site, Secrets of Our Earth, Wonders of the USA, The Human Body, In the City, At the Garage, Secrets of the Vegetable Garden, Secrets of the Apple Tree, and Secrets of the Rainforest.

The thick pages turn easily, and the biggest issue for us is making sure my kids don’t shine the light in my eyes every time we turn a page, rendering me momentarily unable to read the words. Even without any source of light, the books make wonderful reads. The light up features only enhances the material and reading experience. They make great gifts, especially when paired with a light source, like a small flashlight or headlamp.