A few months ago we were approached by a small children’s magazine publisher and asked if we’d be interested in receiving a complimentary subscription to The Tessy and Tab Reading Club, their twice-monthly magazine aimed at very beginning readers in the 2-5yo age group. Given that K- is 3 (though she’ll be 4 in January!) we thought we’d give it a whirl.
Three months later I can report that K- just loves the magazine, and she’s thrilled when it comes in the mail every other week. Even better, since they email out a “parents guide” a few days before the magazine arrives, I can seem omniscient because I just know what it’s about each week before we even get to the mailbox!
I’ve been calling this a magazine, but I should clarify that the Tessy and Tab Reading Club magazines are really more like small kids books, printed on thick, glossy cardstock, no advertisements, no corporate logos, and mailed in an envelope so they don’t get damaged in transit.
According to the Tessy and Tab Web Site, the basic design of the magazine is built around the “six skills for early literacy” research, which are: print motivation (showing an interest in books, something our whole family is already deeply into), print awareness (understanding how books work), vocabulary (K- has an extraordinarily large vocabulary for a 3yo, actually, and many people mistake her for 5 or older), narrative skills (being able to tell stories), letter knowledge (recognizing and naming letters) and phonological awareness (knowing about letter sounds, rhyming, etc. Something we have no problem with at our house either with two older siblings who are learning how to read and spell).
What’s interesting is that the style of illustration seems very Australian to me, though when I asked Peggy MacDonald of Blue Lake Publishing, she was rather surprised since they’re actually based in Portland, Oregon. Ah well!
Actually, here’s a sample page from the publication that gives you a sense of the style of illustration and the simplicity of the stories:
Not sure how much you can glean from this single image, but I can only again attest to the fact that my 3yo daughter thinks these are the most wonderful magazines, and she just loves getting mail every two weeks too. All in all, we’re certainly appreciative of the complimentary subscription from the folks at Blue Lake Publishing, but at this point if they decided to stop it, we’d happily pay the $2/issue price for this magazine. It’s a bit spendy, but great fun!
Learn more on their web site or try out a subscription today.
Very cool product! It reminds me of back when my grandma would order us subscriptions to Highlights magazine, and we would spend hours doing all the puzzles, coloring and reading! Pretty sure you just locked down my Christmas present for my niece this year. 🙂
The only thing competing for the ‘neice gift’ is a custom book where you include the person’s name and they print it…she LOVES to say her own name!
Thanks for the tip! It’s nice to get a heads-up on great products for children. 🙂
Parenting can be such a trial, but I would never change anything if I had the opportunity. Thanks for sharing this.