Do you remember Cricket magazines/books? Please share!

This month's feature on early literacy is a real passion of mine. I love to read -- always have! Even more, I love encouraging a child to establish their own lifetime love of reading! With countless benefits, it remains one of my top New Year resolutions each year! I'm very pleased this month to have Cricket Magazine Group as our sponsor to help me achieve my goal! Did you receive Cricket as a child? Perhaps you have your own child(ren) subscribed to one of their fourteen publications?

I'd love to have you share your experience! Did you have a favorite Cricket book or character growing up? As a parent, what do you think of these magazines/books for your own children? Weigh in below and invite others to do the same!

If you haven't checked them out in a while, now is the perfect time to do so! Pregnancy.org members can now enjoy an exclusive offer -- $9.00 off any subscription ? that's less than $3.00 per issue! With a wide variety of interests covered for kids 0 - 18, you'll have no trouble finding a good fit! Explore all they have to offer by visiting Cricket now! Enter promotional code N2049 to receive your savings!

I'll share!
At times growing up we got Babybug, Ladybug, Cricket, and Muse. Those are the literary magazines from Cricket group (for 4 age groups, baby through teenager). I loved them. They have cute stories and little cartoons. My mom now gets Babybug for my kids and they enjoy reading it. I just got the kids a subscription to Click for Christmas. It's a science/concept magazine and each issue explores a new concept. The December one was trains and DS2 was thrilled. I also highly, highly recommend Odyssey, which is the teenage science magazine. My parents get it (for my "baby" brother) and I enjoy reading it when I visit. And, *disclaimer* my sister writes for it on occasion. (I am not in any way affiliated with Cricket.)
Also, when I subscribed to Click I noticed they let you change your subscription to another of their magazines at any time. I like having that option because who knows when the kids will be ready to move up to the magazine for the next age bracket.

We'd love to hear more testimonials. Why not share yours today!

Wow this is so interesting that you brought this up! I used to get Cricket as a kid. I LOVED it. I got the magazine for several years and I kept all the issues for ages. I think my dad got rid of them when he moved out of the house that we lived in when I as a kid many years later, well after I had moved out on my own. I remember the look of the magazine was different from anything else that I had experienced; the size and the beautiful illustrations set it apart. I remember waiting each month for the continuation of the serial stories. I definitely think of it very fondly.

Lauren,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Mine was very similar. (Your story reminds me that I may need to raid my parents house and see if I managed to save any copies. I know many were shared with cousins over the years.) I did receive a few other magazines in my youth but recall how Cricket just stood out with the quality both of content and the physical appearance and *feel*.

I was very happy to learn that Cricket was participating as a sponsor of our site this month. Their entire mission is one that has been a true passion of mine for as long as I can remember -- to instill in children a lifetime love of reading!

I was first introduced to Cricket at school in my early primary years. From the moment I received my first subscription and every month thereafter, I recall savoring the magazine from cover to cover. It also inspired me to develop a love for writing -- poetry... short stories (a few that were later published elsewhere)... and more. I had my favorite sections and those that I rolled my eyes at the antics of the characters. The colors were vivid, artwork -- excellent; and the literature held my interest far longer than some of the competition available.

Later, as I volunteered to work with other children on their reading skills, Cricket was a tool that I was able to use to capture and maintain interest. It was one that appealed to many levels and I could count on as being 'commercial free.'

As I've now explored how much they have to offer, (14 different options!), I'm excited to introduce them to my own kids! I believe one of my favorite features is the flexibility to be able to change to one of their other magazines at any time within the subscription period giving me reassurance that when my child is ready to move "up" to the next level or changes interests (like THAT ever happens :roll: ), we can do so without the wait!

LOL -- sorry! I know this may sound a bit like an infomercial. I assure you that I garner no personal benefits outside of the discount pricing available to all of us throughout the remainder of this month. I've worked for more years than I care to admit to inspire a love of reading for kids and simply am an enthusiastic supporter of others that share in that goal.

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Originally Posted by pico83

I also highly, highly recommend Odyssey, which is the teenage science magazine. My parents get it (for my "baby" brother) and I enjoy reading it when I visit. And, *disclaimer* my sister writes for it on occasion. (I am not in any way affiliated with Cricket.)

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Thanks for the Odyssey recommendation! We've been trying to weigh options and one of our boys is begging for that one. (He's trying to lobby votes and had to point out you mentioned! HA!!) I am still trying to decide whether to choose Ladybug or Click for our 3 - 6 yr. old set. They both look great!

Have you explored their additional offerings online for the magazines you have? l need to peek to

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In case others have also procrastinated with me, I'll post this once more:

This is also the final week to take advantage of an exclusive Pregnancy.org discount of $9 off any subscription from Cricket Magazine Group! Share the link with family and friends! At less than $3.00 per issue, don't miss out on this opportunity to enable your child to receive a quality magazine that you can feel good about and that they'll love! With fourteen options to choose from you're able to connect your child's interests with the perfect choice for them. With the Cricket guarantee, you're worry free – as you can change to another at any time! Each subscription also includes access to a companion site as well!

Click now to explore and select the Cricket magazine(s) you wish to order. Enter promotional code N2049 to receive your savings!

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HTH!
~Missy

Missy - try Odyssey, you won't be disappointed. As for Ladybug or Click, my boys are much more "how do things work?" so I got Click. Ladybug is mostly stories, poem and songs. I'd say check out the online example issues. I found one for each magazine on the site when I was looking. Also, if you don't like it I'm pretty sure you can switch to the other at any time.
We just got our newest Click yesterday and it's all about smell and noses and colds. The kids loved reading it, especially since we've had endless colds going through the family.

We just found a Ladybug songbook on the shelf and the kids have been reading it all the time. DS1 is already pitch perfect on a few of the songs. I wasn't familiar with any of the books, but this one is great. It's called "Hop hop hop" but I have no idea how old it is and whether it's still available.