Weigl Publishers

Our family never tires of receiving new books to review. Whether we're reading aloud together or individually poring over the pages, we focus our education on books and lots of them. That's why we're pleased to be introduced to new titles and companies.

Weigl Publishers offers increased learning with their media enhanced AV² books. This "added value, audio visual" experience pairs printed books with online content. The integrated digital learning  (which can be accessed using a code found in each book) supplements the stories and brings the books to life. The AV² series incorporate a wide range of books, including science, social studies, visuals, biographies, and much more. We were able to experience books from various collections:  

• There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant
• A Lion's World
• Glaciers

There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant is a fiction book that was geared toward grades K-2. This cute story is a western version of the original one about swallowing a fly. And just like its counterpart, this one is as ridiculously silly. It's sure to make your little one giggle as the cowpoke frantically tries to stop the fiery ant from burning his stomach. Roadrunner, armadillo, boar, and longhorn are a few of the desert animals that he tries before he decides to take matters into his own hands and the story gets even sillier. "If I want it done right, I'll do it myself."

The illustrations are colorful and whimsical which complements the story well and makes it fun to read. Accessing the digital content to the book allows the child to read it by himself on the screen or listen to it read to him. The narrator has a pleasant voice and uses good intonation. The cowpoke is voiced by another person who uses an appropriate cowpoke twang.   

A Lion's World is part of the EyeDiscover set. This book is filled with beautiful, full-page photographs of lions. Each two-page spread gives a fact about lions, including how they look, where they live, what they do, how far their roars can be heard, and more. The end of the book lists a handful of additional facts. This simple book appeals to grades K-2.

The online content enhances the book with an optic readalong. Each page is brought to life as the picture from the book is changed to a video. The text is read aloud as the video clip repeats. You can watch a lion run, hear one roar, observe them as they play, and be amazed by their power and beauty.
 

Glaciers is part of the Earth's Water series and is a much more advanced book than the other two. It gives much information about studying glaciers, their size, location, movement, icebergs, and more. Astonishing photographs along with illustrations and charts fill the pages.

Because this book is for the 3-6 grade crowd, the media enhanced portion includes greater learning options. Along with the audio aspect of each page, there are additional features embedded throughout. You can go through page by page and discover which resources are included or you can click on each type in the beginning which highlights each page that utilizes that kind. There are videos, printable activities, web links, slideshows, transparencies, interactive maps, and quizzes. You could easily spend days studying glaciers with this book.

My kids and I have enjoyed reading these books. They are all very different, which gave us a glimpse of the variety of books produced by Weigl Publishers. The books themselves are fun, but the digital enhancements really added a fun new learning aspect. With over 1,800 media enhanced AV² books, there's sure to be something for everyone. 


You can read more reviews of these books on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.