Lovevery Tricky Topic Book Reviews: READ THIS BEFORE BUYING!

Discover how Lovevery's new book line works, the cost, common complaints, and a full review of Lovevery Tricky Topic books in this post.

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What are the Lovevery Tricky Topic Books?

Lovevery recently released a series of books to navigate tricky situations. These are fantastic for parents to read with their children in preparing them or helping them navigate certain situations that can be tough.

Currently the following books are offered:

• Goodbye, Paci! – They suggest for 2 year olds, but most myofunctional therapist will suggest ditching the pacifier by 12 months.
• In My Own Bed – they suggest 2 + years old, with a note that most kids aren't ready to switch from the crib to the bed until 3 years old or older
• Emmer’s Screen Time – 2 years old +
• Felix Goes to Preschool – 3 years old +
• Something’s Wrong With George – 4 years old +

Jump to the individual reviews of each here!

Where to buy Lovevery books?

The Tricky Topics books are available on Lovevery for subscribers in the Subscriber Shop.

However, non-subscribers will be happy to learn these books are officially available on Amazon as standalone products as well!

This is huge news as Lovevery historically limits individual items for sale and only sells their books as part of their subscription play kits.

How much do they cost?

Lovevery's Trick Topic books are the most expensive books they offer at $15 per book on Amazon.

However in the Subscriber Shop they are only $10 – which is right around their historical price of ~$9 per book.

However, after having Lovevery books for over 5 years now with two kids, I can wholeheartedly say they are often the most referred to and read books in our house and most quality kids books cost ~$15 in my experience.

Are Lovevery's Trick Topic Books Worth It?

Yes! Overall I'd say Lovevery's Tricky Topic books are totally worth it; shop on Lovevery here!

Each book follows Lovevery's typical formula of real kids, real situations, gentle parenting scripts/langauge to model for both parents and kids, and a coping skill.

While I wouldn't say all of the books tackle the truly tricky problems parents face in these situations, they provide a loving and thoughtful framework to help with the general transitions. I always love that Lovevery books literally (and figuratively) get the parent and child on the same page. And my kids have been reading these books non-stop since getting them.

Lovevery Tricky Book Complaints:

Historically, I've complained that some Lovevery books included in their toy subscription jump ahead to a tricky situation that could cause a problem for kids. I cover this in my “Things to avoid in books for toddlers and preschoolers.” Where I basically say I wouldn't introduce some of their books until my child is dealing with a particular situation so they wouldn't model the “problem.”

But these new books are different, they aren't being sent in a subscription. They are standalone resources for parents dealing with a tricky situation. Yet it seems like some of them fall short and don't actually deal with the truly tricky part of a situation.

The “Tricky Topic” name is a bit of a misnomer – they are “Transition” books really

A couple of them present as fairly generic transitions you can find in other books or TV shows – of course with the Lovevery flair of real kids and teaching a coping skill which is always my (and my kids) preferred option. While others definitely hit it out of the park.

I'll talk more about this in their individual reviews, but given that these are called “Tricky Topics” I felt like they all were going to tackle the trickiest situation of that topic, not the generic transition.

With expectations managed, I do think they are great and in each individual review I'll note who I think it's best for to help you decide if the price tag is worth it.

Unrealistic language?

One complaint I've seen in the past with Lovevery's books for older kids, is that some of the language in the is “unrealistic” for kids. And I could see that *possibly* being a complaint here.

Regardless, it's not a criticism I agree with or that deters me. I know some toddlers who DO communicate really well because their parents have modeled it for them incessantly and these books provide that same modeling/repetition.

I think the purpose of these books are really to help our children's minds organize new information and experiences while providing tools to work through them.

Lovevery Tricky Topics Books Review

Good-Bye Paci Review:

I had the highest of hopes for this book – but it fell a bit flat for me. I will say this is a tricky book to write in general though. As you want something that prepares your child for the parting, but doesn't freak them out – however I was really hoping for it to address the truly “tricky” parts of saying good-bye to a binky.

Backstory: We had a *really* hard time saying goodbye to the binky in our family. Some of you even may have seen me share the Bye-Bye Binky I wrote myself for my daughter because it was so hard and so few books were helping.

When I got this, I was filled with so much hope for families to not go through what we did… it came in a little box with a special bag to collect pacifiers in even! So thoughtful and cute! My hopes were so high!

I loved the first page – where it mentioned getting rid of the binky for teeth health as no other books do that. However, it just scratches the surface, a tiny mention. Teeth health is something I talked to my daughter about during this transition, and in my experience, you need to go into a lot more detail and repetition to get a 2 year old to understand/care.

In other words: “Teeth health” as the only information isn't going to land with most 2 year olds in understanding how a pacifier relates to their growth. At least in my experience.

Ultimately, it felt like any other good-bye paci book – but with a montessori twist

I wish there was a choose your own adventure option with this book. Like the story as it's written for preparing kids to say good-bye to binky.

And then a special “jump to X page” for kids having a *really* hard time post transition about why it's so important to say good-bye to binky, a realistic look for kids who are having a hard time and WHY that might be.

For instance, a lot of kids with a severe binky attachment have a hard time with sleep disordered breathing. Around ~2 to 4 years old most kids adenoids nearly double in size, combine that with low tongue tone due to pacifier use, it often leads to pediatric sleep apnea. The pacifier actually can act as a splint, keeping the airway open at night. When it's removed, if your child seems like they are having panic attacks in their sleep, it's likely related to this.

Additionally, our tongues are supposed to rest on the roof of our mouth, stimulating our vagus nerve which calms our bodies. Pacifier users usually rest their tongues on the base of their mouth, with the binky on the roof. Getting rid of the binky can dysregulated the nervous system in much deeper ways than “they miss something” as it was a physiological crutch for dropping into the parasympathetic state.

So more techniques to calm, closed mouth breathing, and tongue placement I think would have truly made this a “tricky” situation book as it felt like they just wrote a book about a transition, that wasn't particularly tricky. She literally gave it up in one night!

Get or skip?

I'd say this is best for parents who are looking to get rid of the binky, but haven't tried it yet, and know their kid is particularly attached to it.

While I don't think this book does a particularly great job for the “tricky” part of the bye-bye binky transition, it still is better than any book I came across during my search. It teaches one coping skill and shows a real life child and pacifiers (versus a cartoon), which should in theory connect better with kids going through the same situation.

Personally, even though it seems young, I'd get this book around 10 or 11 months in preparing to say Good-Bye by 1 years old. This is before the adenoids typically enlarge so the two transitions can happen separately.

In My Own Bed Review

I feel like this book is a bit of a misnomer and should really be called “My New Bed” or “My Big Kid Bed” or something; even the resource page is titled “transitioning to a new bed.”

This was the other book I was *most* excited about as it's something we really struggled with.

My daughter was a great sleeper – even during the transition from crib to big bed. But then when we got rid of binky, all bets were off. No sleep… night terrors… basically the works followed.

Ultimately she slept with us for over a year. Which also led my son to sleeping with us for a year + now (and still going strong haha!).

I searched high and low, did all the things, but nothing worked. So I felt BIG hopes again that they would tackle the “tricky” part of sleep and getting kids to sleep in their own bed again – not just the transition from crib to bed.

But alas, this was a pretty basic book about the transition, much like the pacifier book.

It does a good job in teaching kids how to handle the newfound responsibility, but that was never something we struggled with and most families I know use some sort of “wake to rise” clock while kids are still in a crib, where it's not too hard of a transition to keep them in their rooms.

In fact, my daughter was so good about staying in her room, but would wake up in a panic screaming, that we had to teach her to leave her room and come to us so she wouldn't scream and wake up her little brother and so we could all finally just get some sleep.

Get or skip?

This book is best for hyping toddlers up about the move from a crib to their own bed and teaching them how to handle the newfound responsibility of being able to leave their room whenever they want.

It's best for families who haven't used a wake to rise clock since the crib, or are struggling with a child leaving their room in the middle of the night.

While it didn't target our tricky situation(s) directly, I do it's a solid book about the transition from crib to bed. With that said, I think most parents are more nervous about this transition than kids. So for me, this is a “wait and see” book as your kid may surprise you.

Emer's Screen Time Review

My kids LOVE Emmer's Screen Time! I think because it is definitely the thing they deal with daily and the book is incredibly realistic. From “watch the show so I can get some work done” to Emmer's body feeling heavy and sliding off the couch after it ends (seriously, who knew so many kids did that too?!).

I think the story is short, sweet, and validating. I like the simple script for parents to use for gaining confidence in handling the transition.

Get or skip?

This book is best for parents who struggle with the screentime transition and for validating kids who struggle with the transition.

If you don't doubt or struggle with boundaries around the screen, it's likely not for you. But for parents who struggle to find the words, reading this over and over will definitely train you to have more confidence about moving your child along. It's validating and confidence building for everyone.

Felix Goes To Preschool Review

I love this book! I didn't think I'd care for it or have much use for it, as we never had a hard time with our oldest going to preschool and our youngest begs to go with her all the time – even packs a lunch and backpack for himself!

However, the book is so well done that it can easily be applied to other “new” situations as kids get older and is sure to be a book you pull out for quite a long time.

The day we got this book actually, our neighbor (who happens to be one of my daughters teachers at school) was having a bit of a party in the garage/driveaway. Despite the familiar situation and people my daughter hid behind my leg and wanted to leave.

Later we were reading this book and it hit me (and she confirmed) – she felt nervous because of all the new people, and more specifically, didn't know what to do in the situation even though it was a familiar one. Normally she gets there and plays, but people were sitting and it felt different. The book was a great validator and discussion starter, even in a different situation.

Get or skip?

Get! This is great for kids starting preschool, but also for helping kids through nerves around new and overwhelming social situations for years to come.

Something's Wrong With George Review:

Another book I didn't have any hopes/expectations for as we literally just went through a similar situation with a pet named Georgie no less, but alas, it over delivered and is a book that certainly will last for years!

It's a heavy book, written in a very developmentally appropriate way for 4 to 6 year olds who ask a million questions. So much so, that it may even feel uncomfortably honest in some of the language, but it's sure to connect with little minds.

Get or skip?

Get! I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better book that discusses death with your child. Even if you don't have a pet, and no one has died, I think it's a worthwhile book to introduce in preparing them for the inevitable.

I suggest parents read the parent tips at the end of the book before reading it to their kids to understand why certain language is used in the book. Otherwise it may feel a bit blunt for some parents.

Final thoughts on Lovevery Tricky Topic Books

While I don't love ALL the new books for handling the “trickiest” of situations, they do a great job with the transitions.

In fact, if this series was called “Transitions” I probably wouldn't have any complaints. I just went in thinking certain things were going to be something else entirely based on the names.

Putting that misunderstanding aside, you'll be hard pressed to find better books on these topics than Lovevery's. They do a great job of connecting to kids and providing scripts for parents to practice while reading.