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About us

The Book and Toy Company was created in 2006 by Julie Godfrey to expose Costa Rica to the best of the best English picture books for children, at a time when almost none existed. Since then, the range has been extended to cover books for all of childhood from babies to young adults and we continue to introduce new authors and titles to the local market.We carry the widest range of children’s English language books available in Costa Rica. All are carefully hand picked to include the best from the United Kingdom anfd other countries that make learning fun and help every child realize their potential. English books are our speciality, but we also stock Spanish titles and are proud to promote local authors (Talento Nacional) in our shop.

We also import Montessori materials, wooden toys, puzzles and related toys. Our products are carefully vetted and we personally meet with all our suppliers. Our Design Lab range is based on STEM education with brands such as SamLabs and MakeDo.

Due to requests from schools and teachers, as well as stocking a range of fiction books for all ages, we offer excellent classroom resources in all subjects. We are especially strong in materials and non fiction for Pre-School and Primary Schools. At High School level, we can provide the textbooks required for the iGCSE (International General Certificate of Education) and all levels of the International Baccalaureate (IB).


Learning to Read

Reading is the foundation of academic success as well as helping children to better understand what is going on, to be more articulate and this have increased self confidence. To achieve confidence in reading and develop a love of reading, we work closely with Letterland from the UK. Letterland is a phonetic based system with 50 years of experience that uses characters to bring the letters to life. Used as a reading system in the UK, US and Australia, it is also excellent for helping non native English speakers learn correct pronunciation as well as the basics of reading. It is highly audiovisual and an excellent resource for getting children started with English. Currently it is used to teach English in more than 100 countriese including Costa Rica. Although developed for ages 3 years and beyond, the initial stages can be used with children as young as 2 years old. Materials for the system include CDs, games, workbooks, picture books, flash cards, basic reading books and very comprehensive teaching guides containing lesson plans, activity ideas and templates. See http://www.letterland.com/what-is-letterland and http://www.letterland.com/teachers for more details. Phone for an appointment if you would like to see samples of the materials. We are also introducing a special Letterland tecahing pack for MEP teachers in public schools which incorporates the MEP phonetics curriculum.

Services

If you have not seen us at your kinder/preschool/school, but think that parents would like the opportunity to 'see before they buy' and to take advantage of our expert advice, then please contact us. We will work with you to find a suitable date to run a book Fair. Those who run such an event benefit by receiving free books. Please note that Book Fair activities work best when combined with an activity such as report card day and/or during book week. The school gains a percentage of sales in free books that they may choose from inventory.

School Wish Lists - Many schools and preschools request that parents donate a book to the library. The Book and Toy Company offers a Booklist Service which allows parents to buy their book with the minimum of effort and the school to receive the range and type of books that it needs.

You can contact us at admin@thebookandtoycompany.com or telephone 2203 4380 for details on how the scheme works.

Personal Wish Lists – Any customer can create their own wish list which can then be sent to friends and family. This is particularly good for birthdays and Christmas and other gift occasions. Remember that individuals living overseas can also use this service to send presents to Costa Rica based friends and family.