Years ago, my daughter received a subscription to Babybug magazine for her first birthday. It was probably the best gift we ever received! The pages are heavy stock so they don't tear (they are not really board books, but close enough). Essentially, there a number of short books within each magazine. There are also poems and rhymes that are very easy to turn into simple songs. (We've "sung" many of them!). Beautiful pictures too! There are continuing stories with the same characters like Kim and Carrots (a story about a little girl and her stuffed bunny). The makers of this magazine really know kids and families. They celebrate simple things like playing with daddy in the park, tumbling in the grass, making cookies, playing with a big red ball, etc. etc.
On the back of every book/magazine, there are four pictures that are taken from the pages, and my daughter loved this mini "I Spy" game.
Besides all of these wonderful features, you get issues throughout the year! I can't recommend this magazine enough. Beautifully done. We still have the "books", years later. My daughter is now 6 and she won't part with them.
I originally got a year long subscription to Babybug when my older son (now 3 1/2) was about a year old. He absolutely adored it from the first issue. In fact, it was one of the few "books" he would sit still for. When he turned two, I got a Ladybug subscription for him, but I wish I had gotten a second year of Babybug instead. Ladybug should really be for 3 and up (not 2 and up like it suggests). Now we read our old Babybugs to my younger son who is 16 months. They have held up great (a few have been taped because of so much use!) Now that we are reading them again, my older son loves to listen to them too!
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My parents gave my son a subscription to BabyBug as a present for his first birthday, and when the first issue arrived I have to confess I wasn't impressed. Most of the stories were short -some, only a two page spreadand many of the stories & art seemed remarkably bland. Well, what do I know? My son LOVES it! The brevity of the stories suits his tiny attention span, and the "bland" stories about kids falling down or picking flowers or what-have-you fascinate him. He clearly relates to the simplicity of the stories revolving around toddlers.
The magazine itself is nicely put togetherthe pages are sturdy enough to withstand juice spills and rough handling, and the size is just right for a small hands. I appreciate the lack of advertising, too. (Although I should note that each issue is stuffed with subscription cards. Better to pluck these out before you hand it to your kid.)
All in all a terrific magazine for the very young, and a great idea for a shower gift.
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I LOVE this magazine, and more importantly my 2-year-old daughter LOVES this magazine. I agree with all the other rave reviews on this page. This is a GREAT magazine for toddlers!
I do want other parents to be aware of one thing, though. This company sold my daughter's name and address to other companies and we have begun to receive inappropriate consumer catalogs addressed to her. Because no other company has her address, I called customer service and spoke to a rep there. She told me that yes, they did sell my daughter's name and address. She then said she would remove my daughter's name from the list. I appreciated the admission, however, I thought other parents might want to be aware of this.
I wrote a similar review a few years back for Ladybug Magazine and lodged a complaint with the company about selling the addresses of little children. Sadly, their policy remains unchanged and I get even more [inappropriate] junk mail for my younger child.
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**I wrote the following five (!) years ago and things have changed. My youngest, now six, developed a profound and severe developmental disability (called Penelope Syndrome or ESES), so in many cognitive respects he is still a baby / early toddler. We have been getting Babybug magazine for five+ years, and I am so grateful. He LOVES it. He lights up when I say "Kim and Carrots!" (Kim is a toddler and Carrots her stuffed bunny: they have a little story in the beginning of nearly every issue.) For whatever reason my son is fascinated with Kim and Carrots. Additionally, my son really, deeply responds to the melodic, rhythmic nature of the rhymes / brief stories. I find them (stories / rhymes) very easy to read in a sing-songy voice -they are pleasing to the ear, and he giggles and claps and tries to turn the page or prevent me from turning a page so we can reread. For him, I read each page twice, and then the whole story / rhyme all over again, at least one (usually two three) more time. I don't know if the repetition might help him but he certainly likes it, and I do know that the repetition is good for him, allows his brain time to process what we're hearing. I like the different artwork but I don't think it makes a difference to him (hard to tell). This is the only children's mag to which we still subscribe: the others really held no appeal for him. We'll be getting this magazine f-o-r-e-v-e-r, or so it feels. I'm glad it exists because he really loves it, esp. Kim and Carrots.
(old, previous review)
My children (ages 3 and 1) both love books and we're regular library visitors; I thought getting magazines would be a terrific supplement. Well ... thus far I'm the one who's getting the most from the magazines. I don't know if the characters, illustrations, stories, aren't appealing to my children. ??? Of our three subscriptions, the children seem to be most interested in Wild Animal Baby -not this or Click. (and Click is by far the least favorite) I still think Babybug is cute, albeit expensive (seriously, esp. given my children's [lack of] interest). If I'd known my children's reaction(s), I most likely wouldn't have ordered it.
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There was a time when people had names and so did their animals. Everyone felt safe, had common sense, and practiced common courtesy. This magazine is from these people. Lynn Miller,founder,will fascinate you with ideas, a humble attitude, and the truth. The letters section is now my favorite. In this section, people go out of their way to help other people with problems only because they can. It is also very entertaining as it is not edited. Even if you don't farm with horses or ever intend to farm, read this magazine. It is not full of advertisements or people telling you what to buy and why. (My husband and I have attended some farm progress days. The people there are neighbors you would want to live next door to.) Small farmers rock. Don't believe the adverisements. They don't stutter or drool. Our best presidents were not lawyers, but true farmers,stewarts of the land.
