Have you ever encountered a book that has taught you things like how to cross a road or emphasised the importance of road signs? Disney Playtime Stories does just that, that too in a fun way.

It is not just a collection of stories featuring Disney characters but a book with eight fun-filled stories to share and treasure. You cannot just meet your favourite Disney Junior characters in these stories, but learn a few things from them that you would otherwise not be taught until later.

Instead of featuring solo characters from the Disney universe, author Melinda LaRose and illustrator Alan Batson chose to come up with adventures featuring multiple characters; the Jungle Junction crew and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse members are here. Special Agent Oso also finds himself in two of the adventures, where the readers guide him in such a way that he both completes a mission and learns a new thing or two.

The first two adventures feature the Jungle Junction crew who first become part of the circus in The Circus Comes to Town and later wander around in the unknown in Toadhog’s Trouble.

In the first story, each character from the popular animated series finds out how they would fit in a circus, while in the latter, they realise how important road signs are, even if we don’t consider them important.

Then Special Agent Oso features in Redfinger and You Always Look Twice, adventures through which you and your friends are told important lessons. In the former story, Oso stops the bleeding from a young boy’s fingers the right way, while in the latter, he helps a young girl cross the road, the way it should be crossed.

Join Mickey and his friends at the clubhouse for some playtime fun in the last three adventures of the book. In Space Adventures, Mickey and the gang take a trip to outer space where they befriend Martian Mickey, Moon Man Chip, and Dale besides foiling Space Pirate Pete’s plans to beat them in a treasure hunt.

In Goofy Goes to the Doctor, Mickey, and his friends use every trick in the book to convince Goofy that going to a doctor for a check-up is good, not bad.

Look Before You Leap is more about a wandering frog than the members of the clubhouse who are on the receiving end for a change. The way important lessons are spread across this book makes it a must-read for you, your friends, and even your parents.

The illustrations are appropriate to the text and colourful to the liking of young readers, making it a fun read for all ages. If you want to meet Special Agent Oso, explore Jungle Junction, and be a part of Mickey Mouse’s gang, then this book will take you to them. Enjoy!

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 1st, 2024