National Geographic Little Kids: the Magazine for Young Explorers by the National Geographic Society. ISSN 1934-8363
Reader's Annotation: With articles like "Hanging with Fruit Bats", "Jaguars Grow Up", and "The Moon up Close", children will experience a learning adventure with each issue's arrival.
Summary: A magazine for the very youngest nature explorers filled with spectacular photographs and short informational articles about subjects of interest to children. Interspersed among the articles are activities such as naming games, seek-and-find challenges, jokes, and matching fun.
Each issue also includes removable Wild Cards that feature images of animals, insects, and sea life on one side, with fun facts on the reverse side. The wonders of nature, space, and science are presented in a dynamic format and small size perfect for curious preschoolers.
Critical Evaluation: The National Geographic Society continues its long tradition of quality educational publications with this title for the very young. Preschool children are inherently curious about the world around them, and Little Kids provides age-appropriate informational articles about nature and science in a format that supports both learning and entertainment.
The factual articles are enlivened with many photographs and the text placed on the page in such a way to allow the pictures to figure prominently. Additionally, colored headings, varying sizes of type, and easily understood design layouts encourage reading and browsing by the very young.
The only drawback to this publication is the cost: a yearly subscription of six bimonthly issues costs $15. Each issue averages just 24 pages, and young families may find the subscription price prohibitive when it is weighed against the frequency of issue delivery and quantity of content.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 3 to 6
Awards: Parent's Choice Gold Award
Why Included? I have been a lifelong fan of National Geographic Magazine, and Little Kids is a perfect introduction to this wonderful educational organization and its many publications.
Click Magazine: Opening Windows for Young Minds by the publishers of Cricket. ISSN 1094-4273, $24.95
Reader's Annotation: Cartoons, activities, information! There is something here for every child, especially those who enjoy learning about science and nature.
Summary: Click presents science-based articles, stories, and activities for children ages 4 to 6. With informational text, as well as stories that feature returning characters from previous issues, Click appeals to children who enjoy factual accounts as well as story narratives. The text is accompanied by a mix of cartoon-like illustrations, comic strip formats, and photographs.
Each issue focuses on a theme such as snow, the sea, going to the doctor, or insects, with content specifically selected to expand on the given theme. The magazine is approximately 36 pages in length, and is published nine times each year. A complimentary digital subscription is also available with the purchase of a print subscription.
Critical Evaluation: A member of the Cricket family of publications, Click offers informational articles about nature and science at a level appropriate for preschool and kindergarten-aged children. The narrative is clearly worded with a friendly tone that does not talk down to the reader. With recurring characters, such as Click the Mouse and Beatrice Black Bear, and a similar design layout and overall order of content in each issue, children will grow comfortable with the publication, and look forward to their favorite features with each new issue.
Many of the articles offer multiple levels of information that can suit the literacy levels of the young readers. The size of the text indicates the complexity of the content, with the largest text including simpler concepts and the smaller text requiring more complex comprehension skills. This design also encourages co-reading where an early reader could tackle the sections written in the larger typeface, while a parent or teacher could participate by reading the more challenging segments.
There is a great deal of information included in each issue that could prepare children for a STEM focused curriculum, once they begin elementary school. Additionally, the featured activities and interesting concepts that inspire further learning can establish a pattern of inquisitive information seeking that will serve young people well throughout their academic lives.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 4 to 6
Awards: A 2013, 2012, and 2010 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Winner,
2011 Teachers' Choice Awards for the Family
Why Included? This is a wonderful magazine to offer to children who prefer informational texts to fictional narratives.
Spring is here written and illustrated by Taro Gomi. Chronicle Books, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8118-2331-9 (board book)
Reader's Annotation: The cycle of the seasons is explored with simple text and beautifully designed illustrations which center around a calf growing up.
Summary: Gomi's story begins in spring with a new calf. As the snow melts, and plants begin to grow, the season changes to summer with green, green grass and thunderstorms. Summer turns into fall and harvest time, which leads into winter and snow. As winter fades into spring, the young calf reappears, but has changed and grown over the course of a year.
With cheerful artwork and very simple text, Gomi has captured the beauty of each of the four seasons, and has included many small details in the illustrations that are worthy of examination and discussion.
Critical Evaluation: Gomi's art can be appreciated on multiple levels. For babies who are still working on focusing and color perception, the bold swaths of highly contrasting colors will capture their attention. For toddlers, the movement depicted in the artwork as well as the vibrant coloring of the illustrations will draw them in. Additionally, the children, adults, and animals that are depicted in each two-page spread will help young readers develop a more personal connection to the passage of the seasons.
As toddlers develop into pre-schoolers, they may notice another level of possibility in the illustrations. Are all of these scenes of landscapes and individuals taking place on the back of the calf? Is that waving grass and ripening grain actually the calf's fur? Gomi encourages creative imagining with the open-ended nature of his artwork.
The pattern of cycling back to where the story began, in spring, can be very reassuring to young children, especially during repeat readings. Knowing where the story is going, and arriving at a familiar place is soothing, and can be very beneficial when incorporated into a bedtime routine.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 0 to 4
Awards: Bologna Graphic Prize Winner
Why Included? Gomi's illustrations are lovely from a graphic design perspective, and can be appreciated by people of all ages.
Weeds find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher. Beach Lane Books, 2014. ISBN 978-1-4424-1260-6
Reader's Annotation: "Weeds find a way to live where other plants can't grow". This is an eye-opening read that will have you not only looking for weeds, but appreciating them as well.
Summary: A little girl and her dog explore the outdoors together and encounter weeds growing in the most unlikely of places. From sticky burrs that get stuck in socks and fur, to weeds growing in sidewalk cracks, to sprouting seeds in a birds nest, weeds are everywhere!
The text follows the girl and her faithful companion throughout the seasons, and readers will learn how weed seeds are carried by rain and wind, how they defend themselves, why they flower, and how they wait out the winter. At the end of the narrative, the author has included an in-depth explanation about native and invasive plants, and how they reproduce and spread, as well as an illustrated listing of the weeds featured in the text with additional information about each plant.
Critical Evaluation: This book is a marvelous introduction to plant reproductive strategies which is written at a level that can be easily understood by preschoolers, yet the inclusion of more detailed information about each featured weed species will appeal to first and second graders.
The light-hearted approach to describing the weeds in the narrative, such as "Weeds find a way [by]...surprising hungry insects with sap so tart, it could turn a tongue inside out", makes nature approachable, and gives the plants personalities. Each two-page spread contains just enough text to keep the attention of the youngest readers, and the even pacing would make this a fine read-aloud.
Fisher's digital collage illustrations are vividly colored, and are filled with movement. The textures in the artwork are highly variable and range from strong paintbrush stokes in the fur of the dog to fuzzy chalk lines and wispy clouds, but always add depth and interest to the somewhat naive style of illustrating.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Lexile Level: 910L
Awards:ALA Notable Children's Books; Eureka Nonfiction Honor Book
Why Included? This accessible guide to the world of weeds will give children an appreciation of plants that many adults love to hate.
