My skeptic meter goes on high alert when I see anything featuring the line, “offers children hours of creative fun.” I’ve taken plenty of these promises on faith before a trip only to have said item hold the little one’s interest for about 15 minutes of a four-hour flight.
I’m happy to say this Julius Pop-up Sticker Activity Kit really delivers on that promise, and then some. Six weeks into our two months on the road I suggested that maybe we didn’t need to hold onto this book anymore and my daughter looked like she was going to break into tears.
This 48-page book is based on Paul Frank’s popular Julius character but it’s the thought that went into the design of this activity book that really makes it a winner. There are pages and pages of stickers—always good—but actually something interesting to do with them too. Outfit stickers to dress up the characters, sunglasses for different faces, fish to put under a glass bottom boat drawing, and a band with instruments to put on stage.
Many of these stick-on pictures require a contribution by the artist/owner though: a puzzle to solve, a cupcake to decorate, or maybe a garden to grow. But wait, there’s more! There’s a whole pop-up scene to put together inside of the cover of the whole affair, then you get to use more stickers to decorate the whole beach!
I made the mistake of showing this to my daughter two days before the plane took off and she was practically foaming at the mouth to get to it by the time we left. I expected this interest to soon wane, but it didn’t.
If you’ve got a flight to Australia or Thailand in your family’s future, or a very long cross-country road trip, pick up this book for your imaginative young child. I’d peg the ideal age at somewhere between “reading well” and “not yet jaded.” The Julius Pop-up Sticker Activity Kit lists for $14.95, but you can usually find it discounted by following the links below.
