I Love DK Promotion

It’s the time of the year when DK Canada has a special promotion going on.   To celebrate the I Love DK promo I will tell you a bit more about one – no wait two – no THREE special books that my kids really love to look at at different times in the year.

My love for Lego started when I was five years old while I was in France during the Christmas holidays because my dad was getting trained in Lyon.   Back in 1974, Lego didn’t have a huge market in Canada.  However in Europe that was a different story.   I received my first Lego box that Christmas and – yes I have to admit it – still have the blocks from back then.

As I grew up Lego was a part of my life and I used various books to build new things.   So when I became older I packed these Lego with the hope that one day they would be loved by my own kids.   That plastic container followed me when I moved near my university and followed me when I move for work in the Ottawa region.   Eventually, I had kids of my own and when they were old enough the container came out of its hiding place.

Nowadays, Lego can be found everywhere… Even I have a special box which allowed me to build birds.  But when I have the opportunity to review books related to Lego it is always a love affair in my house.

So today I will be presenting you three beautiful books that would help your kids to expand their imagination when playing and building with Lego.

The first book I had the opportunity to put my hands on was The Lego Ideas Book.  This book is simply amazing and contains numerous ideas where you and your kids can build from.    Not only will it give you building tips but you will find ideas that will spark your own imagination.   The book is divided in six sections full of construction ideas.  

• Planes, Trains & Automobiles cover any vehicles that  you can think off.
• Town & Country will guide you in how to build a building whether it is in town or in the country.
• Out of this World is a section that will present anything from out of space.
• In Days of Old will bring back in time and guide you in building Medieval structures.
• A World of Adventure will bring you into the world of pirates, Vikings, the jungle as well as robots.
• Make & Keep will guide you in building useful items like desk organizers or board games.

Each section always start by presenting some of the bricks you might need to complete the ideas included in it.    Some people might find that it is unfortunate that some pieces are not easy to get and I understands their problem because not having special pieces to build the ideas in this book could be discouraging.

The second book that my kids are enjoying is Lego Play Book.  The book contains numerous ideas for Lego fans – young and old – to develop new skills.  There are five sections in this book that contains ideas based on a specific theme:

• Once Upon a Time – Jack’s Journey, Fairy Tale Cottage, Enchanted Forest, Forest Flora, Fairy Tale Creatures, Quests, Troll Bridge, Castle Siege, Giants, Giant’s Kitchen, Fairy Tales Characters, Undersea Characters, Dragon, Fairy Tale Castle, Meet The King, Castle Comforts, Castle Stables, Castle Entertainment, Castle Ballroom.
• A Small World – Tiny Travel, City Life, Downtown, City Park, Race Track, Vehicles, Cargo Haulers, Oil Platform, On the Sea Floor, Monsters of the Deep, Ocean Life, Micro-Africa, Prehistoric Beasts, Dangerous Dinosaurs, Micro-Castles, Historical Buildings, Metro Skyline, Outer Space, Future Worlds.
• Go Wild – Nature Trail, On Safari, Safari Giants, Safari Truck, Barnyard Beasts, Farm Fowl, Alphabets, Creeping Critters, At the Zoo, Made-Up Creatures, Tropical Fish, Marine Life, At the Poles, Artic Animals.
• Things That Go Bump in the Night – Fright Night, Spooky Circus Train, Nightmare Carnival, Haunted House, Witch’s Hovel, Monster Motors, Monster Race, Sweet Dreams, Something in the Bath, Mad Scientist’s Lab, ‘Bots on the Loose, Robot Rampage, The Mummy’s Tomb, Skeleton, Vampire’s Castle, Graveyard.
• Wish You Were Here – Earth Mission, Beach Nuts, Ice-Cream Stalls, Beach Accessories, Beach Boats, Hotel Pool, Making a Splash, Beneath the Sea, Extreme Sports, Adventures Up High, Mountain Biking, Water Adventures, Skiing, Snow Transports, Ski Hotel, Holiday Postcards.

Though there isn’t Step-by-Step instructions in this book, it is easy to see how the builders made the various ideas presented in it.   In the pages titled Handful of Bricks, each fan builders included in the book were given a handful of common Lego elements and asked to make as many different models as they could using only the pieces provided.  In these two pages, you can see how creative the builders have been in coming up with fun little constructions for the readers.    Even if I am personally not a big fan of the section titled Things That Go Bump in the Night – I am not a big fan of scary monsters and vampires and such – I find the builders are very ingenious.      My most favourite section is definitively the Go Wild one with all the various creatures that can be build with Lego bricks!

 

The latest title that was released last year is Lego Awesome Ideas.  This new book contains new ideas that will unlock the secrets of LEGO building and show your child how to create a world with their imagination.   When

The book is packed with stunning photography and informative text as it demonstrates how entire models are built up.  Also, the reader will obtain step-by-step visual breakdowns and offering alternative ways to build models.   Each chapter can be easily explored as it steadily creates a themed world and ultimately showcases a dynamic diorama of the complete build, showing readers that they too can build up an entire LEGO world from scratch — model by model, brick by brick.

The book covers five worlds:

• Outer Space: mech walker, all-purpose robots, forklift robot, space rover, space equipment, planetary pod, space door, sci-fi doors and walls, gear doorway, research lab, hydroponics bay, lab tools, aliens and alien life, space-plants and scenery, micro-scale spaceship, micro-space fleet, micro-scale space buildings, Zycon shuttle, and outer space diorama.
• Modern Metropolis: basic building, modular buildings, city buildings, city museum, building roofs, tables and chairs, furniture, around the city, making a car, city vehicles, auto bumpers, lights, signs, signals, farmer’s field, crops and vegetables, plants, on the farm, leisure activities, farmhouse, and modern metropolis diorame.
• The Wild West: wagon, wagons roll, western scenery, cavalry fort, jailhouse, around town, Wild West saloon, building signs, tow items, steam train, train carriages, old mine, rolling riverboat, outlaw hideout, and Wild West diorama.
• Fantasy Land: fantasy house, cube village, fantasy roofs, fences and pathways, waterfall, fantasy river, flowers, fantasy creatures, tree slide, tree-house, castle walls, castle tower, fancy towers, castle features, cream-pie catapult, and fantasy land diorama.
• The Real World: cell phone, technology, stationary, kitchen scale, bathroom, science kit, banana, fruit and veg,  gingerbread man, cakes and pastries, popsicle, frozen treats, candies, box of chocolate, and real world diorama.

The book will show how to build the most imaginative world using techniques that will be easy to follow and do for anyone – kids or adults alike.   The images included in the book are bright and will demonstrate what the instructions are explaining.  I really enjoyed looking at all the examples included in this book.   I am speechless to see how the Fantasy river is made – so easy to do…. if only we had all the pieces required.  Another favorite of mine is definitively the butterfly and the flower gallery.  Oh and the adorable crayon box is just the perfect one to build for playing with dolls for my daughter.

These three marvellous books are packed with tips and techniques as well as inspiring ideas that anyone – young and old – could accomplish in their creation.   They are a perfect gift for a Lego fan that desire to have more ideas.

Now dear reader, here’s a special announcement from DK Canada.   DK Canada is asking you to use the hashtag #ILoveDK to nominate your favourite book on DK Canada’s Twitter and/or Facebook or on this page as a comment.  Don’t forget to tell us why you particularly love this DK book as well.   On Valentine's Day the people at DK Canada will select one of the reviews as a "winner" and that reviewer will win a $250 DK shopping spree where they get to choose $250 worth DK books of their choice.  Isn’t it fun?

So don’t wait a minute longer and tell us which book from DK Canada you love and why.   You have until the end of the month to do so!

The three books I have presented are available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

 

 

 Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote I Love DK. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.