Something is happening at the House of M that I have been waiting for ever since I became a mom: we have a budding reading enthusiast on our hands! Darah has been learning to read for quite some time, now, but over the last month, something has clicked inside her, and suddenly she’s consuming books like The Hungry Little Catepillar on his feast day.
In short, this new development is thrilling to me. I am scouring library shelves and bringing home pile after pile of fun reads. We are tracking her progress through the Good Reads app (free!) and slowly but surely, I’m watching my little girl wake up the the world that is waiting for her inside books.
As I am working on finding all sorts of resources for my little bibliophile-in-training, my thoughts have turned to children’s magazine. I very recently learned about a magazine subscription for kids that is published in England but available for U.S. subscribers, too, and it’s called Storytime.
Storytime sent me a copy of their latest issue (#19) and I fully expected to like it. Instead, I absolutely LOVED it. Each issue comes with 6 stories, a few poems or songs and activities to go along with each story. The stories are delightful to read. The illustrations are vibrant and beautiful. And I really appreciate that unlike traditional magazines, Storytime doesn’t contain any advertising. The focus is on the stories and on the kids who are reading them.
I also very quickly noticed a distinct difference in the printing quality as compared with other magazines. Storytime is the same size as a magazine, and it doesn’t have hard covers, so in that sense it’s like a paperback, but the paper quality is significantly thicker than what you would find in a magazine. Simply put, these issues are meant to be read and enjoyed, and then kept to enjoy again later or to pass on. You won’t find dated material in the issues or poor quality paper that rips easily. So it’s really like getting a new book every month, and that book has a collection of stories within.
Bearing all of these great qualities in mind, I think the U.S. yearly subscription price of $70 is more than fair (go through my referral link and pay for a year up front to get 29% off the cover price!). This comes to just $5.83 per issue, which is a little bit less than what you might pay for a children’s paperback chapter book, and significantly less than what you would pay for a hardback picture book. Shipping from England each month is included in the price, as well.
I am extremely impressed with this magazine and I can see it quickly becoming a favorite of my child’s, especially as she gains confidence as a reader and begins to read on her own during her personal time. Maybe she and I can curl up on the couch together with our favorite magazines!
If you have a little reader on your hands and you are looking for a way to introduce them to the world of magazines, or if you are simply looking for some high quality reading material at an affordable price, I think you will be very pleased with Storytime.
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