National Geographic Kids
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National Geographic Kids is a very good children's magazine
Not perfect by any means, but very good.
Let's start with the good. N.G. Kids has:
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- fun, playful pictures and activities
- a decent amount of text in the articles
- a wide range of material and topics
- lots of pages. It's a decent value.
Ready to move on to the not so great? This children's magazine also has:
- lots of ads, some of them on such unrelated subjects as Nintendo
You know, it's probably easiest to compare National Geographic Kids to Kids Discover, another children's magazine (and also reviewed on this site).
Kids Discover has much more of a text orientation. Whereas Nat'l Geographic Kids puts the focus on pictures, short items and activities, Kids Discover devotes an entire issue to a single subject.
So, to some extent, a choice between the two magazines would likely come down to age and the depth of your child's interest in science. The more sophisticated and older your child, the more I'd lean toward Kids Discover.
Conversely, if your child still likes his/her books with a lot of pictures in them, N.G. Kids is probably the children's magazine to go with.
National Geographic has more than twice as many pages, but most of that can be attributed to all the advertising.
(Aside from the ads, I saw nothing inappropriate in the magazine. In the issue I read, one article covered the subject of a go-getting young person with no legs. It was a very positive article, but if you wouldn't want your child exposed to such pictures, this is not your magazine.)
To my mind, the most important thing to consider here is how perfectly children's magazines support a regular reading habit.
That's really the most important thing. Toward that end, National Geographic Kids Magazine would be an important step in your child's reading career.
Oh, and guess what? Now there's National Geographic Little Kids Magazine for 3 to 6 year olds too!
Best Children's Books home.
