Books, Books, Everywhere! Part II: Discover the Bugs

Tomorrow is Wednesday and the carpet man cometh -- I am still clearing out the top floor in anticipation of the event. If you told me 20 years ago that I would be Christmas-Eve-excited about getting my carpets cleaned I would have laughed out loud!

The books downstairs are no longer in piles -- my 7 year old (God bless her) hunted through them last night and now they are spread out all over the dining room -- a virtual carpet of books. Scattered within the books, though, I notice the Bug magazines.

When my girls were babies, my mom bought them a subscription to Babybug, a fantastic publication that features short poems, songs and illustrations on tough card-stock paper --custom made for babies and toddlers.

As they moved out of the baby years, they began to receive Ladybug, the next step up in this series of magazines. Ladybug appeals to the slightly older child (and emergent reader), with whimsical illustrations, a continuing series in every issue, crafts and poems.

Now the girls read Spider, the Carus publishing magazine made for 6-9 year olds -- perfect for my kiddos.

Through the years in our house, these magazines have been collected and dragged everywhere from the doctor's office to the beach -- and have been invaluable on long road trips.

When the girls were too young to read the words, these magazines were a great excuse for me to sit down with them for some quiet time. Now they are more inclined to read them on their own, curled up on the sofa or before lights out at bedtime. The best thing about these magazines is that they will grow with your girls -- with first-rate titles all the way through the high school years.

I consider these publications top-knotch -- with consistently quality material -- kind of kiddie literary magazines. And these three titles are just the tip of the iceberg -- check out the Cricket website to preview issues of many others -- including Click and Ask. And don't let the price of a yearly subcription throw you off -- you'll find that any Cricket magazine is worth every penny.

Give these great magazines a try -- and enjoy reading them with your girls!