National Geographic Kids Magazine - Summer Issue

My kids always are excited and get a big smile on their face when an issue of our NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS MAGAZINE subscription arrives in the mail.  We just received our Summer Edition of this entertaining and educational publication for children 6 to 12 years old which includes a feature article about Jaguars along with being filled with eye-catching kids-oriented photography by National Geographic photographers, interesting trivia, plus fun games and puzzles.

My son has had a fascination with jaguars ever since he was a toddler watching "Dora the Explorer" and took a liking to the "Baby Jaguar" character on the show. So he was thrilled by the magazine's in-depth article which highlight's how these animals' one-of-a-kind features make them stand out from other wild cats.  This four page spread is filled with up-close photographs and informative facts.  Did you know for being a "small" wild cat that jaguars can grow to be 6 feet long and weigh 300 pounds?  One of these cats can grow to be bigger than I am!  This section also has a fun game challenging readers to match a fur pattern to the wild cat it belongs to.

Catering to a child audience, the issue is full of wacky and goofy facts, jokes, trivia and other things kids delight in.  "Weird but true!" trivia, Guinness World Records, out-of-this world facts, and Extreme Weirdness Photographs are just a few segments that have kids learning while they enjoy flipping through the magazine.  With the Summer Olympic Games coming up there is also a great tie-in article about the host country, "30 Cool Things About Brazil."

There are also of fun games and puzzles to keep a child's attention including a "Backyard BBQ" word puzzle and a swimming themed Funny Fill-In.

Also included are pull-out Animal Trivia Cards that provide True & False questions that kids can challenge their friends to answer and trade among themselves.

I've just highlighted a few key items included in the Summer Edition of National Geographic Kids Magazine but there is plenty more to check out included within it.  Each issue is filled with content that will encourage readers to learn more about adventurous activities, geography, science, wildlife and the lifestyles of other children from around the world.  An annual subscription is for 10 issues and costs $15 for a print version or $12 for a digital edition.  CLICK HERE for more information about subscribing to National Geographic Kids Magazine.

A Geek Daddy is a member of the National Geographic Kids Insider blogger program. Insiders get a behind-the-scenes look at National Geographic’s resources, activities, content and projects for kids and families. They also review copies of books, magazines and toys, and are offered interviews with authors, explorers and editors. I do not receive any financial compensation for my participation as a National Geographic Kids Insider.

National Geographic Kids Magazine

We were recently at parent-teacher conferences at my children's school when my son's teacher commented on how remarkable it is that we've taught him all these great animal and geography facts that he shares all the time in class.  She then mentioned asking him how he knew all this trivia and my son told her "from reading National Geographic with my dad."  We have an annual subscription to National Geographic KIDS Magazine and when a new issue arrives in the mail my 6 year old son is always quick to grab it and spend hours flipping through it enjoying the activities, pictures, trivia, and the special extra things they often include like posters or collectible trading cards.  After he's spent some time perusing the magazine, I'll read the more in-depth articles to him and his sister that are still a bit beyond their independent reading level.

The December issue of National Geographic KIDS Magazine included a Funny Fill-In activity page with a "Fast and Flurry-ous" snow theme, 30 Cool Things About Reptiles trivia page, Awesome Animals trading cards, photos of a squirrel snowball fight, and a survey of America's favorite holiday kids' television shows and movies, among other things. The magazine also lets its readers contribute its content with an Art Zone that lets kids send in drawings to be included in the magazine, My Shot section that displays submitted photographs, and Tell Us What You Think which allows children to answer surveys that are used for special segments in future editions of National Geographic KIDS Magazine.

National Geographic KIDS' December issue also included  an overview of 5 smart toys that provide both an entertaining and educational play experience, a story about three orphaned black bear cubs that are being reintroduced to the wild, a profile of Turkey's "Ice" Castle, and the issue's feature article about Snow Leopards. My kids were really awed by the great photos of these big cats from Central Asia that were included in the magazine.

To share our family's enjoyment of National Geographic KIDS magazine, A Geek Daddy has a year long 2016 print subscription of the magazine to giveaway to one lucky reader.  For your chance to win a 10  issue subscription to National Geographic KIDS complete one or both of the following entries by Wednesday, December 23, 2015 before 11:59 pm EST.  Must be a US resident over 18 years old to win.

UPDATE: Congrats to Angela from Springfield Missouri who won our Nat Geo KIDS Magazine giveaway.

E-MAIL (1 ENTRY)

Follow @Geekdad248 on Twitter. E-mail thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com your name, mailing address, and twitter handle. Must be following our account on Twitter at the time winner is selected to be eligible to win. Email subject line should be Nat Geo Kids.

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Visit our Facebook page , LIKE the contest post, and leave a COMMENT telling us what your favorite cold weather animal is.

 All valid entries will be assigned a number in the order they are received and one number will be  selected to determine the winner using random.org.  E-mails will only be used to contact the winner and deleted following the selection of a winner.

National Geographic KIDS Magazine is recommended for children 6 years old and up who want to find out more about the world around them.  The magazine contains a super blend of photos, fun facts, jokes, games, activities and articles presented in a cheery style, making it perfect for keeping kids' attention. Subscribers receive 10 issues per year filled with content to inspire readers to learn about their world with amazing information about animals, science, technology, archaeology, geography and pop culture. Frequent appearances of animal posters can be found within the pages, as well as high-quality photographs sprinkled throughout the magazine. The addition of games and jokes, alongside other activities such as puzzles and competitions, keeps the subjects light, while still getting across the important facts.

For children under six years old, there is also National Geographic Little Kids Magazine.  This publication is aimed for preschoolers 3 to 6 years old and an annual subscription is 6 issues.  National Geographic Little Kids Magazine features lively pictures, engaging stories, large text, and fun activities with each issue providing parents with imaginative teaching tools.

FTC Disclosure: I am part of the National Geographic KIDS Insider blogger program. In partnership with the National Geographic Society, I receive free products and promotional information to review. I am not required to blog about them or write any positive reviews.

DISCLAIMER:  A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but National Geographic is responsible for fulfillment and delivery of the prize.  By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion.  If you win this prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.  A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive any financial compensation but did receive free products for the blog to review and the prize that is being awarded to one of our readers for this contest.  A Geek Daddy Blog is hosting this contest as a benefit to our readers. Any opinions in this post are my own.  #NGKINSIDER

Marvel to give out free magazines previewing its new comic book universe on July 1, 2015

DC Comics just launched a new creative direction for its titles dubbed DCYOU and Marvel is following suit by refreshing the makeup of its comic book universe later this year.  To provide fans a preview of these changes, comic book stores across the United States will be distributing a FREE 64-page full color magazine on July 1, 2015.  ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL PREVIEW will provide a peek at what the comic book publisher has planned for when its Secret Wars special event ends in the Fall and the "new Marvel Universe begins." This magazine will provide the first look at Marvel's new comic book lineup and what changes it presents for the super heroes that live within it and the creative teams who bring this fictional universe to life.

“This is a great way to reward fans who visit their local comic shops,” noted Marvel Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, David Gabriel in a press release received by A Geek Daddy Blog. “The comic industry has undergone a renaissance this past year, starting with the launch of the new THOR #1 last fall. Comic shops have reported increased traffic, new customers, and higher sales. Free Comic Book Day 2015 was the biggest and best it’s ever been! We’re thrilled to say thank you by officially revealing the All-New, All-Different Marvel directly to those customers found in comic shops.”

It is nice to see Marvel rewarding its existing base of comic book store customers with an exclusive first look at how things will be changing especially when many of the changes are not primarily meant for their benefit but rather to bring a new younger and more diverse audience into comic book stores to join existing fans in reading the medium.  Hopefully the changes by both DC and Marvel will be balanced so that there will be products that are enjoyable for both the current base of primarily middle aged white men like myself whose spending is making these publishers profitable now and the younger female and racially diverse group of consumers the industry wants to attract to keep them viable into the future.  Hopefully DC and Marvel will be able to provide comic books that cater to the interests of a wide variety of people and make everyone happy.  It would be great to see the industry become rejuvinated and thrive! Otherwise the next generation of customers may skip comic books as an entertainment option all together with movies, television shows, and video games replacing the medium's niche.  So there will be a lot of eyes looking out for the ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL PREVIEW on July 1 including mine. 

“This is going to be an absolute game changer for Marvel,” Gabriel added in the press release. “Similar to the most successful comics industry program of this century – Marvel NOW!, All-New All-Different Marvel is going to be presenting fans new #1’s for every title coming out during this event. This is a brand new beginning that honors our past 76 years, yet takes a bold step with daring, and accessible, entry points. Simply stated - this is Marvel!”

Marvel also released the teaser images we've included in this post showing some of the characters as they will be appearing in their "new universe".  In three more weeks, we'll have a more defined understanding of what changes will be occurring in the publisher's comic books when the free preview magazine hits comic book stores on the first new comic book day in July (7/1/2015).  Fingers crossed that we all like what we see!

Horton and the Kwuggerbug - the Video Game

Seussville.com is featuring a brand new video game to celebrate the publication of Dr. Seuss's newest book: HORTON AND THE KWUGGERBUG.  While Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991, Random House is still publishing new books that are compilations of short stories that were originally published in the magazine REDBOOK between 1950 and 1955 and than were never seen again.  The newest of these books, HORTON AND THE KWUGGERBUG, was released this month featuring 4 short stories with original writings and artwork by Dr. Seuss.  One of these short stories, "Horton and the Kwuggerbug,"  which is also the title of the newest book, tells the tale of how Dr. Seuss's popular elephant character, Horton, confronts a crafty and manipulative insect known as the Kwuggerbug.  These two characters are also highlighted in a video game bearing their names that is embedded in the official Doctor Seuss website and is playable on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones.

I often find that games embedded in websites don't work well on my iPhone or iPad and really need to have their own independent apps to download for the games to work well so my kids and I tried out this Horton and the Kwuggerbug game on all three platforms to see how well it worked.  I have to give the game a lot of credit in that it worked very well on all three and there was seamless integration when accessing the website from my iPad and iPhone on Internet browsers (we used Chrome and Safari) to play the game.  Thumbs up to the development team that is managing the Seussville.com website for doing an exceptional job.

This game is designed for preschoolers with a focus on helping with color identification, counting and sorting skills.  Players must shoot over to both Horton and the Kwuggerbug equal amounts of the same colored beezlenuts through the spring loaded sling shot on the screen so they must sort out and count the appropriate number to give each character to win a level.  While this game was way too simplistic for my 5 (soon to be 6) year old twins to have much interest in and enjoy when we were monkeying around with it, I'm sure they would have loved it when they were younger.  I would recommend this game for children 2 to 4 years old who will enjoy the Dr. Seuss theme and get some benefit from the basic skills incorporated in the game that assist with dexterity (players have to aim the sling shot), problem solving (players have to sort and think out how they are going to deliver the beezlenuts to finish each level) and math (players must count out the appropriate number of beezlenuts to deliver to both Horton and the Kwuggerbug).

CLICK HERE to play HORTON AND THE KWUGGERBUG on SEUSSVILLE.COM

This website also has an overview of the catalog of Dr. Seuss's work, an interactive gallery that lets you explore Dr. Seuss' office to learn more about the author, a hall of characters to explore, and a variety of other activities and games to play with.  If you haven't made a trip to Seussville, A Geek Daddy recommends you give it a visit.