We started to subscribe to Ladybug after seeing it at a friend's house. My 3 year old loves this magazine and is really happy to get his own mail. It has lots of sweet stories that will appeal to the pre-school set.
WHAT YOU GET IN EACH ISSUE
Each issue of Ladybug is about 35 pages long plus a 4 page pull-out craft section. The magazine has lots of poems, short stories and other works of fiction. There are also many illustrations, drawn rather than photographs, to accompany the fiction.
The subject matter of the fiction seems to be animals, nature and family which seem to be things that my 3 year old enjoys most. There are pictures of people of different races. There isn't a lot of science, which I would prefer, however, we have other magazines and books for that. The stories are all sweet with little conflict or strife so they make great bedtime stories.
I really like that there are no advertisements in the magazine.
Ladybug offers a diverse range of fiction for children. There are:
Short stories of about 5 pages. These stories have only 1-3 lines of text per page and the type is very large. This large text might help young children recognize letters, letter groupings and some words. These stories are very simple since they are only about 10 short lines of text. These stories are generally accompanied by full page illustrations.
Poems. The poems are generally short - only about 10 lines of text and they usually rhyme. Some poems use more complicated words or concepts and are designed to be read to a child. Others are more simple. There is usually a full page illustration to accompany the poem. I really like the poems. They introduce poetry to young children and the rhyming helps the child learn phonics.
Longer Stories of 5 to 7 pages. These stories have around 20 lines of text per page. Since the text takes up at least half the page, the illustrations are smaller. An older child could probably read these stories to themselves. A younger child might enjoy hearing the story being read out loud. These long stories are my 3 year old's least favorite - probably because there is less focus on the illustrations.
Stories where the text is combined with pictures. In these stories, there is simple text, however some of the words are replaced by pictures. For example, each time there should be the word "house" there is a picture of a house where the word should be. About 10% of the words are replaced by pictures. I love this style since it lets my 3 year old feel like he is reading. I read the words and follow along with my finger. When we get a a picture, he says the word. He loves it!
Songs: There are songs with accompanying music. While my 3 year old can't read the notes, it is great that he can see what music looks like. We love singing the songs together and there are cute illustrations around the music for him to look at.
Cartoons: A three page cartoon where the text is integrated into the illustrations. These are a little harder for my 3 year old to follow.
Four page craft pull-out: This is the craft section and is designed to be pulled out of the magazine. There is no guilt in doing this since the craft does not necessarily tie back to the subject matter of the magazine. In one issue of the magazine, the craft was to cut out and make a bird mask.
ILLUSTRATIONS
One of the best aspects of this magazine is the illustrations. They are varied in style and medium. There are woodcuts, watercolors, paintings, cartoons and drawings. The illustrations are all high quality and well-done. I like introducing my child to art in this way.
AGE APPROPRIATENESS
The publisher says this magazine is for ages 2 to 6. I think that age 2 might be a bit young only because the magazine pages are paper and a young child could rip them. Plus, the binding is three staples that could come out and either injure the child or be ingested. As for content, some of the shorter pieces in the magazine are appropriate for a 2 year old, however the longest stories might be too much for a 2 year old's attention span.
On the other end of the spectrum, I think a 6 year old might be too old for this magazine. My 6 year old looks at it occasionally, but gets bored with it quickly. Some of the longer stories are written in simple language that she could use to practice reading, but generally, she thinks this is a babyish magazine.
My 3 year old loves this magazine and it is perfect for him. He loves both the short and long stories and poetry and is old enough to know not to rip the pages.
PRICE
The cover price is $4.95 U.S. and $7.50 CAN. A subscription is 12 issues for $36. Sometimes there are deals and you can get a subscription for around $30.
OUR EXPERIENCE
We got this magazine for our 3 year old. He loves to get mail just for him. He also loves the content. The simple poems are great. The short stories are also geared to the pre-school level.
OTHER INFORMATION
The publisher's web site is www.cricketmag.com.
The magazine's web site is www.ladybugmag.com. This site links back to the publisher's web site.
Toll free phone is 1-800-821-0115
The front and back cover of the magazine are printed on heavy, glossy paper. The inside pages are thick paper but not as nice as the covers. The binding is three staples.
The publisher offers many magazines that appeal to different age groups. These magazines are described on the web site.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
This is a great magazine for fiction and art. Additionally, several pieces can develop early reading skills. I think 3-5 year old children would get the most out of it. The price tag is a bit high, but the magazine is definitely a keeper.
12 issues - Help your children aged two to six discover the delights of reading. Ladybug helps trigger that good habit at an early age, enticing child...More at SuperMagDeals.com
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