Follow in these Footsteps

Footsteps: African American Heritage a Cobblestone Publication; September/October 2005 (not the issue shown here).

Got the Blues?  Get this issue of the magazine!  Blues music is covered in great, entertaining detail—from what it is to who’s performing it and where to go listen to it live.  Along with biographies of famous blues artists are the instruments typically used to play the blues—and a song for the children to play.  The short articles are geared more for upper elementary or even middle school aged children, but the images are great at telling the stories of the blues.

I would probably tie this in with a music program, like the jazz program described elsewhere in these reviews.  I think a subscription to this magazine is a necessary addition to the collection in the children’s department of all libraries.

Accessible science is a Click away

Click magazine, Carus Publishing Company, Peru, IL; October 2003 issue reviewed here (January 2008 cover image shown).

Information is presented in a variety of formats in this science-oriented magazine for children.  Comics, photo essays, non-fiction stories, and a two-page spread on the sugar maple all focus on how plants and animals prepare for winter—well, with a story about a trip to the rainforest thrown in for good measure.

This would be a terrific first source of information for younger elementary aged children and I’d tie in a seasonal issue with a display about the season.  It would also be a good resource for science teachers and homeschoolers.  I’d also like to introduce science to reluctant readers and science-challenged kids with this magazine.