The question is what did they do right?

Always on the lookout for great reading material for my daughter, I was excited to run across National Geographic Kids. I expected it to be similar to the nature and science kids programs on television but I was very wrong! For one thing, it is much shorter than I expected at only 42 pages. The advertising geared towards children is horrendous and over the top! I never would have guessed a National Geographic magazine could turn out to be bad for children! I am sorely disappointed in this magazine geared to children. Of course I was expecting a fun LEARNING type of magazine for my daughter. Many of the pages did not phase her as she has not seen the movies nor knows about the games like PS2 and has no clue what a poptart is. Yes I know, I am an awful parent for depriving her of this junk!

What I enjoyed for my daughter in this magazine:

Weird but true has facts that many people might not know such as bats are the only mammals that fly.

Guiness World Records has three different world records that might interest kids like the 78.5 pound hamburger.

Bet you didn't know 7 feline facts to pounce on has facts about cats.

Bee Mystery is an article about the bees disappearing and different facts about bees.

Signs of the Times has various signs and the child is asked to guess which is real and which is not. This is a fun section.

Various full page illustrations and activities where children have to locate items or go through a maze.

Amazing Animals tells about extraordinary animals around the world and what they did to be recognized with a picture of each.

Funny fill-in is a fun activity that we enjoyed where my daughter placed in words in the blanks and then read it.

Stump your Parents has some science questions and some pop culture and movie questions.

The green list has ways for kids to make a difference such as turning off lights when they leave the room.

Cool inventions has some really cool things that were newly built!

Various sweepstakes and contests geared to children ages 6-14.

The website has way more learning facts and games than the magazine!

What I found distasteful:

The recipe section could go either way....some of the recipes are high in calories and fat and even the chicken recipe has chocolate in it but there are a couple of recipes that look to be fine.

The truth about the new movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the crystal Skull of course is all about a new movie marketed to kids.

Behind the scenes of the Chronicles of Narnia again is to get kids interested in buying a movie.

Video Game Central about various games on the market that will have kids begging their parents for these expensive games.

An advertisement for poptarts has a game for children to find the poptarts hidden under various disguises. Since my daughter has never seen a poptart, she was clueless.

Way too many not-funny jokes like What kind of key can open doors and bananas? A monkey.

Many more advertisements for new movies out for children and foods.

The illustrations are okay I guess but I really expected it to be more real pictures than cartoon pictures as this is the National Geographic! There are some real animal pictures but most pictures are brightly colored cartoons. All in all, I am very disappointed in this magazine for kids. What I thought would be a learning fun experience turned out to be Advertisement City. It felt as it we were watching Saturday morning cartoons all over again! I would recommend against purchasing this magazine and would go with another kids' magazine instead. What did my daughter think about it? She looked at it for all of three minutes and has not picked it up again. Many of the facts she already knew though so she was not interested in the science portions.

Other magazines that I have reviewed:

New Moon: the Magazine for Girls & Their Dreams http://www.epinions.com/content_427714973316
FamilyFun http://www.epinions.com/content_426448424580
Practical Homeschooling Magazine http://www.epinions.com/content_426367684228
Highlights for children http://www.epinions.com/content_427765501572

What is so good about THIS item?

Few science facts, animal facts, kids' contests

What is unique about this item?

Geared towards children ages 6-14 years old, National Geographic.

Is it worth the price?

$15.00 for 10 issues. No, I would not purchase it again.

There has to be some bad to this item, right?

See review. Too much advertisement for junk. Too little of what I expected--science learning

Any warnings people should be aware of?

Your child will be begging for the new games on the market and sugary foods from the advertisements.

Final verdict:

Skip this magazine for your children, I wish we had!

pablo the reader
Children find everything in nothing; men find nothing in everything. Giacomo Leopardi, Zibaldone Scelto