Spider-Man 2: All in a Night's Work (Movie Tie-in Sound Book)

Background

The Spider-Man 2 Movie spawned a flood of tie-in books, including two push-button play-a-sound style audio books. Rather than being a matching pair, these two books are more like big brother and little sister. What they do have in common is their relatively high quality digitised sound, and impressively loud speakers.

Story Details

This is the baby sister version. At 8.5" x 8", and featuring only four of the sound buttons from its larger cousin, the Spider-Man 2: Movie Tie-in Sound Book (Meredith) this is a very cut-down model. The story has only eight pages, and only four of those have text. The text is very simple, and features a rhyming couplet. e.g. "He's on the wall, he's overhead. He's at work while we're in bed."

Add another three of those, and you have the whole story. Spidey is out protecting our city while we sleep. No sign of Ock, MJ or anybody else, we get Spidey swinging, defeating some bank robbers, and heading off again. Front cover is photo art, but inside is all drawn art.

The pages are stiff, thick cardboard, this book is definitely suited for toddlers, 1-3 years of age I would guess. The grill on the front of the speaker looks quite dribble-resistant, I'd say the whole book is built to last a good year of rough handling before disintegrating. A perfect gift for a junior Spider-Fan.

Despite its simplicity, there's a certain appeal to this book. It knows exactly what it wanted to achieve, and it does just that. This is a splendid little book. The four sounds that are present are the exact sounds from the big brother version, and they speak out convincingly loud through the tiny speaker. Nice!

General Comments

Like its larger relation, this is a well presented book which fills a niche. Quality tie-in merchandise.

Overall Rating

Just for kids, but hits the spot nicely. Four webs!

Footnote

I think Meredith Books (no relation to guitar/singer Meredith Brooks) seem to have recently lost their founder, E. T. Meredith III (1933-2003). However, that hasn't sapped their spirit. According to their cover page, "All of us at Meredith Books are dedicated to providing you with information and ideas to enhance your life."

Now, isn't that inspiring!