My son recently started receiving The Wiggles Magazine via a subscription purchased for him over the summer. The Wiggles Magazine is a monthly periodical aimed at children between the ages of 2-8 yrs of age, who are fans of The Wiggles. Each issue is based around a theme (i.e. Wiggly Safari, Wiggly Circus, Wiggly Bay) and contains various Wiggles-themed activities, games, stories, posters, and more.

The Wiggly, Wiggly Background
If you are not familiar with The Wiggles, they are a group of four Australian grown men with backgrounds in Early Childhood Education who sing and dance around and perform children's tunes. Each member of The Wiggles (Greg, Murray, Anthony, and Jeff) wears their own color (Yellow, Red, Blue, and Purple) and has a distinct performance personality. The Wiggles are joined by a few of their friends which include: a pirate (Captain Feathersword), a dog (Wags the Dog), a green dinosaur (Dorothy the Dinosaur), a purple octopus (Henry the Octopus) and a few other friends - which add to the fun. Their biggest appeal is the 6 and under crowd with a strong toddler contingent making up quite a large fanbase in Australia, US, and Canada.

The Wiggles can be found on Playhouse Disney since the Spring of 2002, where they've gained a lot of US popularity. My family recently had the opportunity to see The Wiggles Live as part of their North American Tour, and will be catching them again in November 2002 during their US Tour. The Wiggles are a class act and enjoyed by the whole family. If you are a parent of a young child, I recommend you check them out. The television program, CDs, videos and DVDs are all top notch in Children's musical edutainment. If interested, I've reviewed many Wiggles items and these are all linked directly from my Epinions profile page.


In Each Wiggly Issue
The Wiggles Magazine is slightly oversized at 9X13 size. But, though its tall - its rather skinny around 30 pages per issue. Each issue opens with a Letter from The Wiggles which talks about the current issue and contents. Listed on that same page is an abbreviated table of contents for some of the highlights of the issue.

Activities & Coloring Pages
What makes this magazine the most fun for little Wigglers are the various different activity and coloring pages that are included in each issue. Each issue has about 10 of these types of pages, which accounts for about 1/3 of the periodicals entire content.

There is usually one big activity per issue that is a spread across 2 pages. One recent issue (#27) had a game which involved matching/association, i.e. draw a line between the specific Wiggle and their instrument that they play. Another issue (#28) had a giant maze.

The remainder of the activity pages are single page activities such as a crossword puzzle, a maze, dot-to-dot, color by number, or a hidden pictures activity like I Spy. A few of these activities (3 or 4 of them) are in the main part of the magazine, and are tied to the theme of the specific issue. The remainder of the activity pages are in the rear of the magazine in a section called Fun and Games.

Among the coloring pages there is always a trace activity which teaches kids how to spell out a word. A simple word is printed in large light grey letters with little arrows on it to indicate which way to push or pull a pen to write the letters. Its important to note that because the coloring pages are glossy, your child may find it easier to use markers or a pen instead of crayons or a pencil. All I can say is its a good thing that Crayola has come out with washable coloring supplies.

Overall, these activity and coloring pages are super for young children either preschool age or slightly older. Most of the activities are educational (i.e. writing, counting, problem-solving, etc) in some way or another.

Songs
This department is not included in every issue. But, when it is..In this section, the lyrics to one Wiggles song are printed in large bold-face across 2 pages. This is perfect for an early reader, or for parents and kids who want to sing along with The Wiggles.

Cut-Out Pages
Each issue contains one or more of these types of pages, or activity page with cut-outs etc. For example, making a mask, or a puzzle. These types of activities are good for children who are learning to manipulate scissors - my son is not to that point yet. The Wiggles always point out 2 things - to ask a grown up for help, and to save these activities for last, otherwise you will cut up the rest of your magazine. We have not done any cutting to our magazines though I am sure on a rainy day down the road (when my son is a bit older) we'll complete some of these activities.

Games
For children who like playing board type games, each issue has a Wiggles based game that can be removed from the magazine and played like a board game. For example,
Issue #27 has a game that is a Wiggly Safari adaptation of a Chutes & Ladders type game. On a separate page there are game pieces that need to be cut out with scissors. Issue #28's game looks somewhat like Candyland but is called Wiggly Circus Race
The games are really cute, and if your child likes them you might consider mounting them onto posterboard with some glue in order to give them a longer shelf life.

Center-Folds
Even better than the games though, are the Wiggles Centerfolds. I'm not kidding, here... In the center of each issue of The Wiggles Magazine is a pull-out poster suitable for hanging up!

Stories
Printed in large bold letters for early readers, or for storytime is a quick story about The Wiggles with colorful illustrations. Though the story takes up usually around 3 pages, it can be read aloud in around 5 minutes to your child. I do enjoy reading to my son and look forward to sharing each months Wiggly adventure.

Contest
There is a contest in each issue to win Wiggles merchandise, free magazine subscriptions and more. The contests are random drawings that are open only to participants from Australia and New Zealand. Too Bad for little American Wigglers who can't play in the sweepstakes!

Dorothy's Mailbox
Children can send in photos, artwork, and letters for submission to this section. If your child's entry is chosen they will receive different Wiggles merchandise, like patches or bubble bath - it changes each month.

Wiggles World News
Last but not least, a 2 page spread with photos of The Wiggles and captions showcasing what they've been up to, where their travels have taken them, and more.

Wiggly Magazine Facts
Quantity of Ads
I am very pleased that there are no advertisements within the magazine itself. I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am that my son's magazine is Ad-Free, as a child's magazine should be.

The only advertising in the magazine is on the inside of the front cover, back of the last page, and on the back cover where you will find ads for other similar magazines from the same publisher (NEXT). I must admit that Bear in the Big Blue House Magazine looks quite interesting (we are also fans of Bear) as does Play Time Magazine (I might have to check that one out too!). I think we'll skip the Banana in Pajamas Magazine though!

Subscription Info
The Wiggles Magazine is put out monthly - 12 times a year. In Australia it may be purchased by the issue for around $4 AU per issue or by annual subscription of $32.95 AU for a single issue subscription or $56 AU if you need two copies delivered to the same residence. Subscription prices outside of Australia vary based on where you need it delivered to (New Zealand - $44AU, Asia - $70AU, or anyplace else $80AU). So, being in the US that means our subscription set us back $80 Australian. Now, before your jaw hits the ground you need to do a bit of currency conversion. The annual subscription rate in the United States is actually $43.80 per year (using today 9/7/02 exchange rate). That's really not too bad, and doing the math that breaks down the cost per issue at $3.65 which is in fact, quite reasonable. This magazine cannot be purchased by the single issue in the US, though. I think that they would probably have more Americans subscribing to the magazine if they allowed you to purchase a single copy of the magazine via the Wiggles Online Store.

Delivery
After we had subscribed, it was taking a longer than normal time to receive our first issue I emailed them and they sent me out a new copy via airmail. Talk about great service! Issues are normally delivered via surface mail but do arrive in a timely manner. The magazine is in a plastic baggie so it doesn't get damaged, which is better than I can say for many other of the publications that I receive on a regular basis.

Is The Wiggles Magazine worth it?
You betcha! Compared to other children's magazines like Sesame Street or Highlights, we choose The Wiggles hands down. I have nothing negative to say about the content, other than it might be nice to add 10-15 more pages per issue. Though, I do think that the current length is just fine for a children's publication - we'd just like more of it. If your child is a fan of The Wiggles, consider this as a birthday or holiday gift. Kids love to get things in the mail, and getting something every month from Australia and The Wiggles is something special.


Direct Link to Subscribe in the USA
https://bne039v.webcentral.com.au/vs3985_secure/thewiggles_order_usa.htm

Visit the Wiggles Website
http://www.thewiggles.com.au





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