Ranger Rick is My Hero!

What a wonderful magazine for kids! If you are looking for a magazine that is both interesting to kids and educational at the same time, look no further. “Ranger Rick” should be your magazine of choice. This magazine is produced by the National Wildlife Federation and they employ wonderful photographers to capture the essence of nature. “Ranger Rick” is made for the 7 㪤 years old age group. The Federation also produces magazines for younger kids. For the 3-7 year olds they produce, “Your Big Backyard” and for those younger than 3 they produce, “Animal Babies.” All three magazines are filled with wonderful pictures of natural phenomena and wild life.

So what will you find in a typical issue?
On the second page of each issue is a clear and concise index. I have the December 2003 issue in front of me and the Index lists some of the contents as:

Under The Ice (diving in the Antarctica) this article has about 4 pages of magnificent colored photographs along with an informative, but short, text;

Dear Ranger Rick which are letters from readers to the fictional Ranger Rick;

Reader Riddles Example: What should you do if you hear a mouse squeak? Answer: Oil It!

Some of the articles this month included “Wild Hotels” which were about where animals stay in the wild. “Giant Anteaters” which took a close up look at this strange animal and its habits.

They had an extensive major article this month (there’s one of these chosen to showcase each month) all about, “Dogs To The Rescue.” There were interesting pictures of dog rescues and also some “Rescue Facts” such as, “When rescuing someone buried alive, speed counts. Most people only have 30 minutes to live. Dogs are better rescuers because they are faster and better at finding lost people than humans are.”

There’s some fun and lighthearted fare among the beautiful pictures and informative articles too.

Contest, Who Am I? This is a monthly contest which gives clues about a certain animal and then readers can send in their guesses.

Fun PagesThis is a section in the middle that showcases games and puzzles. There’s usually one word search and then other puzzles and guessing games.

Ranger Rick Adventuresis a cartoon with the mascot, Ranger Rick, as the hero.

Crafts: This month the major craft was about snowflakes. There was a game that readers could duplicate and sample snowflakes to make.

One of the really nice things about this (and all the other Wildlife Federation publications) is that there is NO advertising. The only advertisement in the whole magazine is one that lets you subscribe to “Ranger Rick” or to one of the other age appropriate magazines that they produce.

The only criticism I have of the magazine is that the covers of each issue, while colorful, are not particularly sturdy. These are magazines that you’ll want to keep around the house because so many age readers can enjoy them. But, the covers do not last as long as the content. A sturdier grade paper (more like Zoobooks for example) would be better.

I know that even middle school kids enjoy this magazine. Many of my 13 and 14 year olds will say they are looking at it because it brings back memories but they will also then mention the information so I know they read and learned from it. The writing is easy vocabulary with the only difficult words being those that pertain to whatever article subject there is. That’s okay even for young ones because that’s the way we learn new vocabulary, by context words presented in interesting text.

My final suggestion to any of you that are hesitating is, “Don’t!” Your school-aged kids will love this magazine. It’s one that you, as a parent, will also pick up and enjoy. There are 12 issues a year and the subscription price can be as low as $14.95. If you purchase them by issue, it will cost $27.95. My advice? Get a subscription and enjoy!