Highlights for ChildrenCritiques

This entertaining collection of jokes about Hanukkah, plus other favorite Jewish festivals, will make kids laugh throughout the year. Perfect for kids 6-12, this clever humor collection features over 500 rib-tickling jokes about Hanukkah and other Jewish holidays, plus lots of hilarious black-and-white illustrations to round out the fun.

$10-28usd sept 22

.This was so entertaining to me as a kid! I read it at least twice, back then. I was curious about what I'd think of it as an adult. I'm not the intended audience. Kids nowadays will probably still love it, though. It's a mix of contemporary (as of the 90s) teens going through silly things, and fantasy-inspired little fables. I was glad I got ahold of it now, and reading it once is enough.

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This magazine is fun and interactive for children. The illustrations are bright and have a variety of children in it!.

over 90 pictured crafts and dozens of other ideas

This magazine is made for kid and deals with the problems that they go through. They have games to deal with the topic of the different issues, This issue is about valentine's day. So they have valentine ideas in here. Also, they have jokes, art and crafts, poem, and survey.

Early-childhood readers
"Catch this" cover
The adventures of spot
"Warm" poem
Bert and Beth and the Kite
HIdden Pictures "Where's my spoon?"
That's Silly Time To Be Thankful
Take a Bow!
Downy Woopecker informational page

The magazine has a different artistic style on each page. There are watercolors, cartoons, and digital art mixed with other mediums. The art is alternately realistic, humorous, and multicultural, and suitable for a young child's understanding. The stories range from silly poems, to stories about being kind and getting along, as well as the classic hidden object searches. One story included Spanish words in the text, with pronunciation and definition. The stories provide effective instruction in appropriate behavior as well as in beginning reading. The range of different stories and mediums makes the magazine accessible to a larger assortment of children. Older children will be able to read the stories themselves and younger children will enjoy listening to them, while both will be able to participate in the crafts and activities.

Every issue of Highlights High Five features four sections including, reading, puzzles, activities and bonus pages. The content is aimed at early childhood, approximately ages 3-7. The reading section comes first, every issue beginning with a comic strip titled “The Adventures of Spot.” The reading selections incorporate a variety of difficulties, intended for independent reading or one on one read alouds. Each issue features a combined Spanish and English reading selection. A variety of puzzles are included which mostly feature illustration, most notably the hidden pictures puzzle. Most activities included require the help of an adult except for the fingerplay or dance activities. The bonus material included involves removing the back flap of the magazine and would not be available to patrons accessing this magazine as circulating material. If the magazine would be included in circulating material it is suggested that photocopies of the bonus material be kept on file. Applications for this magazine include individual family use, teacher ideas or librarian programming activities. This magazine is strongly recommended for purchase as an addition to a public or school library magazine selection. (Ages 3-7)

I struggled to pick which magazine for youth to review. I wanted to choose a magazine for teens, but I couldn't settle on a popular title (not much is moving on my shelves). Finally, I ended up choosing Highlights because I order it for my own children and they really like it. The more I study it, the more I appreciate the design that goes in to it. The magazine moves quickly from one activity to another to keep short attention spans. The Hidden Picture Puzzles and Find What is Silly pages are very popular in my house. I'm happy to see my pre-school age son flipping through the magazine by himself in terms of building early literacy skills. My only complaint is the American bias in terms of the focus on Spanish, American money, etc.

With a broad array of images, stories, and activities focused on early childhood development, this magazine effectively promotes creativity and problem solving while fostering authentic interactions with diverse textual formats. Assisted by an adult reader, children encounter written language through multiple representations including descriptive paragraphs, comic strip sentence segments, and explicit directions for games and puzzles. Each edition reflects a particular theme based upon the time of year and corresponding holidays (e.g. Thanksgiving for the November issue). Vividly colored cartoon-like pictures and soft photographs complement the various tales recounted throughout the pages and illustrate action rhymes, child-centered recipes, and an array of other elements. No advertisements are included in the publication. As the counterpart to the traditional Highlights series, High Five appeals to the youngest of readers by supporting their natural curiosity, wonder, and imagination.

The Timbertoes ABC Alphabet Book features the Timbertoes family from the Highlights for Children magazine. These Pinocchio-like characters are drawn in black and white with very round heads and long limbs. The pages do feature color, however, accenting the object/subject corresponding to the letter in the alphabet. The contrast of black and white and color on the page is intriguing and makes the letter/words and the object really stand out. Each page has the upper and low case letter and the word of the object/subject that represents the letter on the page. While the Timbertoes are simple drawings, the object/subject drawings are very detailed. This book will be best enjoyed by preschoolers. However, when comparing this to Dr. Seuss’s A B C: An Amazing Alphabet Book! there really is no comparison. The entertainment value in the Dr. Seuss book far exceeds that of this book.

My kids love these. Very few special materials required, and the techniques are not difficult (unlike most crafts books, where only a fraction of the projects are actually feasible).

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K-5
for classroom