National Geographic Kids                                                                                                                Published by National Geographic Partners, LLC                                                                           March 2017

National Geographic kids magazine has scientific articles with a pop culture spin that will resonate with a young audience.  The magazine has the ever popular “weird but true” facts, games, puzzles, and in depth articles written in a child friendly manner.  There is even a fill in the blank funny grammar section in Mad-Libs style. A little bit of something for everyone.

• Appropriate target audience: Children ages 6-10

• Strengths: The magazine has many attention grabbing fonts, photos, and illustrations.  It is similar to “reading” a website.  Children who are not fluent readers will still appreciate National Geographic’s amazing photography and easy-to-read captions.  Older more experienced readers will enjoy the photos as well as the informative articles.  

• Weaknesses: As noted earlier, it resembles a website.  This can also be a weakness as readers may feel overstimulated.  The magazine, according to its website, names the target audience as a range up to 14 years old.  With the juvenile fonts and games, it seems unlikely that a middle school age child would want to read this magazine regularly.

• Meaningful/creative uses:  1. To pair with a regular feature, “Mission Animal Rescue” – arrange for a veterinarian who specializes in wildlife rescues to come and talk to the children.  In Chattanooga, this is a resource that is available through the Chattanooga Nature Center.  They may even bring a rescued animal!                                                                   2.  On the cover of the March 2017 edition, there is a feature article about sloths.  Arrange a visit to the zoo to visit the sloth as well as other animals in the rain forest habitat.  Meet a zoologist who can give us more information about the sloth and its neighbors. Create a display of the rain forest and feature rain forest animals made from recycling.

• Awards: 4 time winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award

• Read- a-likes:   Ranger Rick  is published by the National Wildlife Federation                                    It is a nature magazine that has been in publication since 1967. The magazine has science articles about nature, puzzles, activities, and games.  This is appropriate for kids ages 7-12.

Ranger Rick, Jr is similar to its older version but the target audience is for children ages 4-7 years old.