The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that St. Martin’s Press LLC of New York City will conduct a voluntary recall of the children’s books “Big Rex and Friends.” More than 200,000 editions of the book are involved in the recall, and both the CPSC and St. Martin’s Press are urging consumers to stop using the popular books immediately and to contact the publisher for more information regarding the recall.
Manufactured in China, “Big Rex and Friends” features cloth pages, bound by a white and black striped border, and has the titular big red dinosaur on the cover. The recall has been declared due to a small plastic red dot that is sewn into each book. Each red dot contains a high amount of lead, which is highly dangerous to both children and adults. Lead is toxic and lead to serious illness and poisoning, as well as harmful long-term health problems, especially in children. St. Martin’s Press and the CPSC have yet to receive any reports of injuries or illnesses caused by the lead agent.
The books are regularly sold at Barnes & Noble bookstores, Toys “R” Us, Amazon.com, and Borders bookstores, among other retail outlets throughout the U.S. The affected copies were sold between May 2004 and October 2009, and they featured an on average price of $9.
Children should no longer be in contact with copies of “Big Rex and Friends” and parents and other consumers are strongly urged to contact St. Martin’s Press immediately for further instructions regarding a return and full refund. Customer service representatives of St. Martin’s Press can be reached at (800) 347-9411 or at the company’s Web site, www.priddybooks.com.
If you or a loved one have been exposed to this product and are experiencing any side effects or symptoms of illness, please feel free to apply for a free case evaluation on this Web site.