Children’s Magazine Review

National Geographic Kids (March and April 2022 Issues), Published by the National Geographic Society, 2022

Summary – This vibrant, true-to-life magazine focuses on everything from animals and science to world culture, history and mythology. It is chock full of stunning photography and its fact-filled articles are punctuated by many thematic graphics, including maps, graphs, charts, and even games and comics!
Target Audience – The target audience range for this book is ages 8-12. The content is colorful and eye-catching, but also rather busy and overlapping so it may be more difficult for younger readers or those who typically require large print. The movies and fiction it promotes tend to also be in a middle grade school level (for example: Turning Red from Disney & Pixar and Zeus the Mighty by Crispin Boyer and Andy Elkerton), and the puzzles and games are of an intermediate difficulty that requires some critical thinking and comprehension skills that older kids will be ready to tackle.
Strengths and Weaknesses– The biggest strength with this magazine is its interactivity. There are places to write, read, draw, and lots of high-resolution images and external content readers will be left with long after they’re done reading. To prove my point, just check the National Geographic Kids Website they feature and mention throughout their volumes: (https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/). There’s just so much content packed into a single issue that it was a bit hard to process two issues back to back. Tilted typography, small font, and other stylistic choices when it comes to formatting don’t lend themselves to universal accessibility. You could say I suppose that one of the aspects that serve as the magazines greatest appeal are also part of its greatest weakness.
Creative Uses– Animal facts and “Believe it Or Not’s” galore are present in this magazine, so why not put those fun facts to good use? Try hosting a True or False Fun Fact trivia game or Animal Species bingo – those who’ve brushed up on their facts will certainly be a bit more prepared! You could also make a country-continent matching game with cities, world landmarks, or other cultural aspects like those that are discussed in the magazine (i.e. Stonehenge is in England – pg. 20 of March’s Issue). That way you can pair up an issue of the magazine with players if they need to look something up.