I often see ads on social media directing me towards the Penwizard site. The ads are for making a LEGO® search and find book featuring a custom Minifigure. I admit I was curious. Then the LEGO® Group and Penwizard offered me the chance to make one for free. Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity. Therefore, today I have a different type of review for you as we delve into the Penwizard Search and Find Book.
The first thing you notice upon arriving at the Penwizard site is the three book options. You can make a customized Harry Potter, City, or Ninjago book. Once you select your theme, the next choice is to make a hardcover or softcover book. The hardcover costs $44.99 CAD while the softcover sets you back $34.99 CAD. My first thought was ‘that is a bit expensive.’ However, after looking up the competition, I think the price is fair. I compared to a customized search and find by Wonderbly. Their softcover version starts at $42.99 CAD, while the hardcover is $65.99 CAD.
You can insert your sig fig into a custom Harry Potter, City, or Ninjago Book.
For my LEGO® book, I selected the Harry Potter version. It contains 24 pages. Comparatively, The Wonderbly book has 32 pages. Therefore, you get less pages if you opt for the LEGO® route. However, you get to design your own sig fig to appear in this book. Wonderbly offers a limited selection of pre-made characters. The Minifigure design process adds an element of fun. While the customization is better in the LEGO® book, I still found the part selection a little limited. Additionally, the skin tones are lacking, and you cannot make a classic yellow Minifigure in the Harry Potter book. Ultimately, you choose a male or female character. Additionally, the character can be an adult or child and you can select a hairstyle and color, as well as a facial expression. Finally, you can choose your Hogwarts house.
Once I placed my order, it took nine days for the book to process and ship. Therefore, for a custom book, the turnaround was not bad in my opinion. However, the book ships from Britain. As such, give yourself time for delivery. My book arrived two weeks after the shipment notification came. Consequently, the whole process from making the book until I had it in my hands was 23 days. It is important to note that I ordered my book during the height of the Christmas shopping season. Additionally, we are still in a global pandemic. As such, it may have taken longer than usual to get the shipment. However, even at 23 days, I do not think the shipping speed was bad. Again, you get a customized book and printing one probably takes a little more time.
Check it out, I’m Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s new best friend 🙂
In terms of the content, the book was amusing. Adult fans are not the target audience though. Finding your sig fig is not incredibly difficult from page to page. However, the book suggests several characters to find on each spread. Additionally, the image quality is nice and there is a lot to look at in each scene. I did find the printing on my sig fig to be a little off at times though. When the character faces head on, there are no issues. However, if the character faces sideways at all, the face printing appears off. That happens on a few spreads. I posted one example below.
Overall, the Penwizard LEGO® Search and Find book was fun. I think little kids will enjoy the process of designing a character and then anticipating the book’s arrival. Finding your sig fig is not difficult, so older readers might finish with the book quickly. However, for the right age group, I think the book is a fun activity. What are your thoughts? Comment below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
p.s. to make your own LEGO® Search and Find book, visit Penwizard. Meanwhile, for more LEGO® Harry Potter content from True North Bricks, click here.
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