Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Woody's Augmented Reality Adventure Book Review (Sent by Carlton Kids)

This month Carlton Kids have sent us Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Woody's Augmented Reality Adventure Book for review. It's aimed at children of all ages 3+ and my boys still enjoy Toy Story despite being 9 and 10, plus we all wanted a sneak peek of the new characters from Toy Story 4, especially Forky!

The Augmented Reality is created via your phone or tablet camera and a free app. which you'll have to download from Play Store or Apple before you start. It's not huge and only took a few seconds.

The app. is ready to go instantly and very intuitive, with good, clear instructions on screen to get you started. There are very few options, so you can find everything easily and it's even ideal for very young children or technophobes.

We particularly liked that this isn't an app. which just plonks the characters into your world, it's interactive. You can press Buzz's buttons to make sounds or shoot his laser. Hamm arrives with coins and you can pick them up and post them into the slot on his back.

Bo Peep isn't alone either, she arrives boxed and you have to let her out to reunite her with her sheep. As you travel through the book, you meet lots of favourite characters and a handful of new ones. Wheezy, Rex, Slinky and the Green Army Men are all there among others, along with information, such as explanations about where they originally came from and what they got up to in previous movies.

Some characters behave like 'rag dolls', including Woody himself. You can pick him up and move him around, and if you let go and leave him for a second, he'll stand himself back up.

The Aliens are movable too, despite there being loads of them, and my son realised you can use the background image in the camera to make it more interesting...

One of the highlights of the book, and the trickiest mini game to play with, is dare devil Duke Caboom. You have to line him up to make his death-defying jump and it's a lot harder than you'd think! You are suitably rewarded if he makes it though. I didn't get a photo, this is another mini game - keep your eyes on which bin Forky is hiding in!

Throughout the book are Sheriff's badges to collect, and each gives you another piece of kit that you need to make Forky, possibly the best movie character ever. I love home made toys - anyone can have their own!

Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Woody's Augmented Reality Adventure is the only product which uses Augmented Reality to bring the Toy Story characters to life, you won't find it anywhere else. They've made a great job and it's a really good book for any young fan, or older fans too. There is AR on every double page and it's nice and varied and interactive, with plenty of rewards for the reader.

Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Woody's Augmented Reality Adventure is written by Jane Kent and distributed by Carlton Kids Books. Available to buy now priced £9.99rrp in hardback with 32 colour pages.

Here's my handy Amazon affiliate link with latest price on Amazon Prime.

We were sent our copy of Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Woody's Augmented Reality Adventure for review. Amazon links are affiliate, which earns me a few pence if you buy through my link, but you never pay a penny extra. It helps keep free children's book reviews on my blog.