I remember reading Highlights every month as a small child, and I also remember loving it! While Highlights continues to be a terrific publication for its diverse young audience, there are so many other magazines to choose from. Click is intended for children ages 3-7. The Cricket Magazine Group, which publishes Click also publishes eight other periodicals for ages six months and up through high school.
Click focuses on science and the humanities, with a serious focus on animals and the natural world. In fact, in nearly every copy I perused for this post, animals were showcased prominently.
The magazine is a very slim volume, and is only published monthly nine times per year. For the $34.00 price tag on the subscription, I would expect more content in each issue. The magazine follows a theme for each issue, and makes it feel somewhat one-dimensional. However, there are no advertisements, so if a parent is looking for an educational periodical for a child interested in animals, it is a quality publication. The benefit, of course, is that the magazine is not trying to sell anything to the kids, and therefore the parents don't have to hear about it.
Clickmagkids.com launched in 2008, and enhances the experiences of kids who subscribe to Click. The site includes recommendations for books related to each issue's theme, fun and educational games, projects, and additional enrichment for children. Just like the magazine, the website is ad-free, and provides a safe environment that parents can trust for their children to explore and learn.
Click has won numerous awards, including the Parents' Choice Silver and Gold Awards, the Teacher's Choice Awards for the Family, and the Paul A. Witty Short Story Award.
Uses: Depending on the theme of each issue of the magazine, the issues could be assembled together thematically with books on the same subjects to celebrate holidays, countries, animals, or general interests. For example, one issue I read was all about birds. As an elementary librarian, I could assemble a seasonal display for fall or spring, when the majority of migratory birds are traveling for the season. I could include other books about a particular season or publications that have a seasonal theme. Click has also been used as class sets to supplement curriculum in science and the humanities. Per teacher or department request, I could order and assemble class sets for students to use in the classroom environment to enhance curricular material. Click could also be used for students or children looking for information on a particular subject or interest. The thematic issues could be helpful in enticing a struggling reader to explore a topic in shorter articles rather than a larger, more daunting book as well.
Though I am turned off to some degree by the price point of this publication, Click proves itself to be a phenomenal magazine for families and schools. There is no doubt that it is a quality magazine that continues to stand the test of time along with its sister publications at Cricket Magazine Group.
Click: opening windows for young minds
Copyright: January 2012
Read-alikes:
National Geographic Kids
Ask: Art and Science for kids (also a Cricket publication)
Appleseeds
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