I recently purchased this magazine for my 3 year old daughter and she loves it. Every night she exclaims, "Mommy please read my turtle!" The stories in it are just right for her. I think it is a great magazine for little ones.
This magazine is so great- ignore the bad reviews!!!
My 5 and 7 year-old boys love this magazine. It has wonderful stories and activities! I'm going to get Jack and Jill for my 7 year-old.
For the younger kids
My son got this magazine for the past year. He is 5 and was hardly interested in it. There was very little in it he could look at on his own, mostly cartoon pictures with few photographs. He enjoys Your Big Back Yard much more.
My child loves it, but it's rather expensive for the length
First, for the review that says something about the ads--what ads? The reason it is so expensive is the lack of ads.
It is short, sweet, and has fun activities that my 3-year old enjoys. She especially likes the stories and poems. Sometimes they even have recipes, which are generally somewhat healthy (with fruit, nuts, etc.). The only reason we will not renew is the price.
Not worth the money
I purchased this subscription for my now 4 year old boy. He loves the idea that he gets a magazine, but as a parent I am disappointed in content. There are very few activities and too many adds for a young childs magazine.
Hardly Worth It
I bought this magazine for my 2 1/2 year old. She was not very interested in it. It is mostly full of ads. The activities are okay I thought but there are too few of them.
Not worth the time or money
One story, some activities, seemed to be a really short magazine. Many of the activities seemed inappropriate and the hidden picture drawings were not very well drawn to find stuff. With just one story, which was an "ok" story, and activities to do that I don't really have time for, I wouldn't waste the money, my girls under the age of 5 were pretty disappointed, especially after getting a great mag like In My BigBackyard.
Glorified coloring book
Disclosure: I'm writing this review on the basis of one issue only, but I don't imagine that the magazine is typically any better than this.
Turtle magazine is a fairly typical length for preschoolers, 36 pages including the covers. But then this includes ads. And a two page "Ask Dr. Cory" feature, clearly aimed at parents. Plus a two page "Turtle's Favorite Books" section, which will tantalize your child with pictures from a selected book along with a short blurb, so this is either an ad aimed at your child or a recommendation aimed at parents.
Much of the remaining pages are coloring activities, connect-the-dots, and the like. If your child likes these, you'd be better off getting a coloring/activity book from your local dollar store. If you want a higher quality magazine for your child, try Ladybug, Click or Your Big Backyard.
Not a Good Choice
My 3-year and I are not impressed with this magazine. There are no bright colors or fun activities to keep her attention. It is way overpriced for the length and content. I agree with a reviewer below...it is basically the content of the dollar store puzzle books, but a lot less...just pick up a couple of dollar store preschool books and save the money.