Spring has sprung, and it’s time for a new crop of magazines! From a trip to the city to a day on the farm to a journey back in time, there’s so much you can see and do without leaving your own home. Here are the details on this month’s issues!
“I See You!”
From BABYBUG Magazine (ages 0-3)
Cover art by Katie Kath
Come down to the farm for a day full of imaginative play! Help search for little chicks, play tag with ducklings, and start a game of “Hide and Seek!” Join Kim and Carrots as they sculpt a little farm out of clay, or make clay creations of your own! Explore animals’ ears of all shapes and sizes as you learn more about the parts of your own face. And don’t forget to look for the four special items on the back cover hidden in sight among the pages!
These sweet rhymes and stories for the youngest children also come with a guide for caregivers, complete for suggestions about learning activities like creating homemade clay or identifying parts of the body.
This issue of BABYBUG is just what every toddler needs to spring into creative play this spring!
“Super Sniffers”
From CLICK Magazine (ages 3-6)
We use our noses every day, but how much do you really know about the sense of smell? This issue of CLICK is the answer to all of your nose-related questions! Get an up-close look at animal noses around the world, from pigs that dig with their snouts to elephants that use their trunks to grab onto tree branches. Meet a real working dog named Eba who uses his sensitive sniffer to help scientists learn about orca whales… by smelling whale scat!
What makes your nose so special? It’s more than just the sense of smell! Without noses, germs would have a much easier time getting into our bodies– and a much harder time getting out! Your voice would sound different and you wouldn’t be able to taste your food! Find out why in “Your Fabulous Nose” and “Noses Are for Smelling!”
How do you feel when you have a cold? How about “Sleepy, Sneezy and Grumpy?” Follow a boy named Jamil as he comes down with a cold and see how his nose fights to help him get better soon! And join Click & Jane and friends as they search for the source of a mysterious smell. This issue of CLICK is scent-sational!
“Rolling Through Spring”
From LADYBUG Magazine (ages 3-6)
Cover art by Matthew Rivera
What could be better than a gentle bike ride on a beautiful spring day? This issue of LADYBUG Magazine is all about the great outdoors– even just sitting on the porch or playing in the backyard!
Help a family of birds build the perfect nest, share a blackberry feast with a fairy, take your favorite doll for a hike, dance in a fairy ring, and admire the apple blossoms!
All that Poppy the bike wants is for a child to take her for a ride, but she’s been all alone since her last owner outgrew her. Will she ever get to go for a spin again? Find out in a sweet story by Nancy E. Walker-Guye.
Dream up silly new modes of transportation, watch a mouse rodeo, and create your very own paper campsite in the take-out pages! Plus, join Max and Kate for an evening on the porch and see how Molly and Emmett celebrate April Fool’s Day!
“Before the Dinosaurs”
From ASK Magazine (ages 6-9)
We’ve all heard about T. Rex and Triceratops, but what about Anomalocaris, Pentecopterus, and Dunkleosteus? What are those? They’re creatures who lived on Earth before the dinosaurs! Travel through millions of years of history with this issue of ASK and see some of the coolest life forms that you never knew existed!
Follow a timeline of life on Earth and meet some famous firsts in animal evolution, from the first sharks to the first four-legged land creatures. Find out what your arms and legs have in common with animals’ flippers and wings and discover how cockroaches have survived for 350 million years!
Could an impostor be hiding in your toy dinosaur collection? Learn how to tell a dinosaur from a non-dino– and why pterodactyls don’t count! Meet crazy critters that have stumped scientists and imagine how future alien scientists might be confused about human bodies!
Encounter hot-foot ants and shouty birds in the ‘Nosy News” section, hunt for fossils in “Nestor’s Dock,” flip through family albums in “Marvin and Friends,” and solve the mystery of who invented shoes in “Ask ASK!” This issue of ASK is a blast from the very distant past!
“Animals at Work and Play”
From SPIDER Magazine (ages 6-9)
Cover art by Roger Chouinard
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd and SPIDER Magazine is throwing a celebration all around the world! Even the animals are getting on on the fun.
Wake up early to the rooster’s crow, experience a performance by the Amazing Chickens of Madame Frissette, and meet a bird with a sweet job: leading people to honey! Find out why spiders sneak through the grass where people can’t see them in a folktale from Ghana and join a festive party hosted by bees!
Emma is frightened of bees, but will she be able to scare away a raccoon that tries to steal honey from her mother’s beehive? Find out in “The Honey Thief!” Visit towns named after animals all around the country, create bird shapes with a ‘magic egg,’ and bake your very own special Earth Day cookies! You’ve never celebrated Earth Day like this before!
“Feet First”
From MUSE Magazine (ages 9-14)
Every journey starts with a single step– and every step starts with a foot! This issue of MUSE is all about the highly under-appreciated, surprisingly important body part that carries us through life!
Meet two kids who started their own foundation to save their favorite bird– the rare blue-footed booby– and sell some cool blue socks in the process! Discover the unique ways that birds’ feet have adapted to help them survive and learn how scientists use fossilized toes to track the evolution of horses! Can putting pressure on the feet help other parts of the body feel better, too? Learn about the ancient practice of reflexology.
Discover the forbidden tradition of foot-binding and the challenging art of dancing “en pointe.” Get to know a real designer of prosthetic legs and a costume historian, explore shoe-perstitions from around the world, and compare your feet to all kinds of different animals!
As always, MUSE is packed with exciting regular features and opportunities for reader submissions! Spot the fake news story in MUSE News, read wild letters from readers, see the gang at Parallel U test out some boots with surprising results, and imagine the ideal adaptations for the human body! Start your day on the right foot with the April issue of MUSE!
“Down to Business”
From CRICKET Magazine (ages 9-14)
Cover art by Nicole Wong
We may all be spending the springtime at home, but a good story can take you all over the world! Travel around the globe with this issue of CRICKET.
Join Eri as she starts her own business at a summer festival in Japan, visit the famous temple of Kalibari in India, celebrate a kite festival, experience a Passover Seder in 1930’s Iraq, and spend the night in an amusement park in Singapore! Can you imagine hearing with your feet? That was reality for Laura Bridgman, the first deaf-blind woman to learn to read and write.
Plus, create your own Babylonian serpent seals, learn CRICKET readers’ favorite first sentences, solve April Fool’s Day riddles, and celebrate National Poetry Month with Cricket and friends in Cricket Country! And don’t miss the winners of the January 2020 short story contest!
“It’s Tax History Time!”
From COBBLESTONE Magazine (ages 9-14)
April is the time of year for blossoms, baby animals… and taxes. You might wonder why anyone would want to read about the history of taxes in America– but remember that taxes are one of the reasons behind American independence in the first place! Join COBBLESTONE Magazine on a surprising trip through tax history.
From the Stamp Act to the Tea Act, discover why taxation in the American colonies created such an outrage. You may know Alexander Hamilton’s many accomplishments from the hit musical based on his life, but one of his most famously controversial decisions never made it onto the stage. Imposing taxes on citizens led to two historical rebellions that threatened the stability of George Washington’s Presidency and this new country! Find out why tax laws keep changing, discover the different types of taxes, and explore some wacky taxes from hot air balloons to belt buckles. Why is cow flatulence responsible for a tax law in Denmark? Find out here!
Taxes can be helpful but are often controversial. What are the pros and cons? Albert Einstein once said, ” The hardest thing in the world to understand is the Income Tax.” Readers of this issue of COBBLESTONE may be able to teach Einstein a lesson!
“New York! New York!”
From FACES Magazine (ages 9-14)
The “Big Apple” is quieter at the moment, but this issue of FACES lets readers explore the unparalleled sights, sounds, cultures and traditions of New York City from their own homes!
You might be surprised to learn that some of your favorite foods were “born” in New York City– and other popular foods from around the world made a splash here! Meet dogs who have starred on Broadway and their famous trainer, and get to know the classic example of a tough, resilient, hard-working New Yorker: the oyster!
Explore the five fascinating boroughs of New York and take a tour of the iconic Grand Central Terminal! Learn everything you need to know about riding the Subway and take a trip through the vibrant African-American history of Staten Island.
Create a mini Broadway in your own home by putting on the reader’s theatre play “Wampum,” based on a Lenape legend, then set up your own art exhibition! Soon, you’ll feel right at home in America’s largest city!
