kids magazines?

[chicagomom]

When at the library I am utterly confused by the hundreds of kids magazines out there (Highlights, Cricket/Ladybug/etc., etc). Anyone subscribe/regularly read any of these? Any recommendations?

[boycrazy]

:

[GoldBerry]

We really enjoy Ladybug. It's a bit expensive, but I think it is worth it. However, I thought HumptyDumpty sucked. Also, I didn't like the National Geographic for kids- it's full of ads! I decided to just get the regular National Geographic.

[Linda on the move]

We got Click for years and years. I love Click. Each issue has a different topic and all the articles related back to that topic -- non-fiction articles with photos, a fiction story with drawings, a carton, etc. There is always something to cut out at the back (a simple game or puzzle or something). It is perfect for preschool through about grade 1.

We need to find something new now.....

[chel]

My dd really loves Ladybug and is always excited for me to read it with her. We normally read this at the library though I did buy some at a library sale. I highly recommend it. Friends have given us subscriptions to My Big Backyard. It's nice but not something dd wants to re-read that much. Some how I got a free subscription to Seasme Street. I wasn't impressed and dd was never that interested in it.

[mahogny]

DS gets Ladybug and My Big Backyard and loves both of them. He reads and rereads each issue of both magazines until they're in tatters!

[Wilhemina]

My dd1 gets Spider (related to Click and Ladybug - all from Cricket mags.) and Big Backyard. She loves them both, though I definately prefer Spider.
I recently subscribed to Ladybug and a Scholastic magazine (usually sent to school classrooms) for dd2. Haven't received one yet.

DD1 browses through Highlights occassionally at the library or hair salon, but doesn't have much interest in most of the magazine. I agree about Nat'l Geo. Kids - not very good.

I'm interested in an audio magazine, Boomerang, I have read about here. Anyone get it?

[chicagomom]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Here are some available at the library with which I'm not familiar at all. Does anyone have opinions on these? It's truly a bewildering array.

Cousteau kids Publisher: Cousteau Society
Dig. Publisher: Cobblestone Pub. Co.
Cobblestone. Publisher: Cobblestone Pub.
Stone soup. Publisher: Children's Art Foundation.
Owl. Publisher: Young Naturalist Foundation.
Chickadee. Publisher: Young Naturalist Foundation.
The horn book magazine. Publisher: Horn Book
Faces. Publisher: Cobblestone Pub
Creative kids. Publisher: GCT Inc.
Science world. Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Calliope : world history for young people. Publisher: Cobblestone Pub
Familyfun. Publisher: Blue Waters Communications
Odyssey. Publisher: Cobblestone Pub
New moon : the magazine for girls and their dreams. Publisher: New Moon Publishing
The mailbox bookbag. Publisher: Education Center, Inc.

[zinemama]

Anything from the Cricket publishing empire is really wonderful (Babybug, Ladybug, Click, Spider, Cricket)

New Moon is a terrific mag for pre-teen and young teen girls. It's very empowering, no ads.

Stone Soup is a nice literary mag for older kids.

Cobblestone is a history-oriented magazine.

The Horn Book is the premiere (and venerable) mag about children's literature. It's written for adults.

Family Fun is owned by Disney and is very bright and shiny, full of ads and PROJECTS! FUN! CRAFTS! If you can wade through it, there's a good essay section, and a few nifty ideas. (Also they pay$75 for reader crafty/ingenious ideas)

[kroonkles]

my kids LOVE My Big Backyard (dd is 4.5 and ds is turning 2) we reread these over several times and they especially love the songs in the back.

[TiredX2]

Chicagomom---

How old of a child?

For example I find Dig to be really good, but probably not very interesting to many young kids (archeology).

Family Fun is for adults (it has family crafts, info on vacations, etc...).

New Moon is really for pre-adolescent & slightly older girls.

Etc...

Your audience depends a lot!

[IansMommy]

My almost-3-year old loves Wild Animal Baby (National Wildlife Federation publication). Each issue begins with a simple few pages containing facts about an animal, and includes a number rhyme/activity, poem or song about an animal, and a simple story about a brother and sister called "Out and About." The print is large and simple. I think she will really like it when she begins to read. The magazine looks more like a small book (about 5X7 inches), and has thicker pages than a normal book or magazine.

[G&B'sMama]

We get a lot of kid magazines at our house because my mom just can’t resist buying stuff for the kids. DD is going to be five and her favorites are Ladybug and Your Big Backyard. I think she has outgrown YBB a bit and may be ready for the Ranger Rick magazines (they are the same publisher) when it is time to renew. She also gets ZooBooks- which are suitable for kids who really like to know a lot about a certain animal or type of animal. When she was a toddler she really liked Baby Animals and Baby Bug. We get Highlights magazine and she likes it well enough, but they send tons of junk mail for other kid products. All vaguely educational, advertisement free stuff- but I hate getting so much junk mail. I asked to be taken off that list and they complied, but they still send it to my mom and she is a sucker and buys lots of it. When I was an older kid I always thought they pushed Christianity in highlights magazine, but I don’t see that as much in what we get now.

Plus, I really have to warn everyone against National Geographic for Kids. I know a pp mentioned it- but it is a horrible magazine. My mom bought it for the kids after receiving a sample in the mail. The sample did not have any advertising. However, when the first issue arrived it was filled with advertising for junkfood, videogames, and other stuff that is not good for kids! I was suprised there wasn't a joe camel ad in there! Plus, half the articles were barely disguised advertisements for movie or TV shows. I was disgusted by this and wrote them a letter. I did get a refund, but I still think it is pretty sneaky to send a sample magazine that did not have advertising in it.

[annakiss]

I really really really wanna get All Round for my kids, but they're too young yet. I saw it advertised on the back of Brain, Child and it looks so cool!!! The art is gorgeous too.

[Mere]

Originally Posted by annakiss

I really really really wanna get All Round for my kids, but they're too young yet. I saw it advertised on the back of Brain, Child and it looks so cool!!! The art is gorgeous too.

Wow, that looks really cool! I wonder what an appropriate age would be...5 or 6 maybe?

[ceilydhmama]

Originally Posted by kroonkles

my kids LOVE My Big Backyard (dd is 4.5 and ds is turning 2) we reread these over several times and they especially love the songs in the back.

We LOVE LOVE "Your Big Backyard" (a Canadian/National Wildlife Federation magazine). They have several options for different ages and they're both affordable and support a good cause.

[delicious]

i love, love, love! your big backyard. ok, well, the kids love it, too. there are usually lots of mama animals nursing babies in it. dd loves to point them out. we love the photos and dd hangs up the posters after we read it. awesome magazine.

the nat'l geographic kids magazine wasn't all that great...

we also get highlights and love reading the stories.

[GoldBerry]

Originally Posted by G&B'sMama

Plus, I really have to warn everyone against National Geographic for Kids. I know a pp mentioned it- but it is a horrible magazine. My mom bought it for the kids after receiving a sample in the mail. The sample did not have any advertising. However, when the first issue arrived it was filled with advertising for junkfood, videogames, and other stuff that is not good for kids! I was suprised there wasn't a joe camel ad in there! Plus, half the articles were barely disguised advertisements for movie or TV shows. I was disgusted by this and wrote them a letter. I did get a refund, but I still think it is pretty sneaky to send a sample magazine that did not have advertising in it.

: Same exact thing happened to me. The sample they send is very misleading!

[peacenlove]

Chickadee. Publisher: Young Naturalist Foundation

My seven year old has had a subscription to this for a year and loves it! He will re-read it a hundred times. There are not adds in it. He just loves checking the mail to see if his magazine has arrived!

We recently got a few Owls by the same company and it had a lot of adds in it But Chick a dee is very good!

[AnnR33]

We get:
Click- really like it-good stories and factual info. Good for my 4 yr old and 6 yr old.

Big Back Yard-my son likes this but it doesn't hold his attention as much as I thought it would. If he happens to be interested in the animals highlighted then it's great, otherwise he looks at it for 15 min then it goes into the magazine box.

Family Fun-lots of ads as mentioned above and the crafts are geared towards older kids overall IMO-maybe 5-6 yrs and up. I only get this since it was a gift otherwise probably would not buy it myself. They have a lot of their info on line for free

The mailbox-this is a great resource for parents/teachers. My mom has been a preschool teacher for 20+ yrs and loves this magazine. It has different editions for different age groups-preschool, K-1, 2-3
Lots of hands on activities and easy to copy pages-definitely worth buying if you need this type of resource

Ann