You Otter Order This Beautiful Magazine

"What’s that?" asks Chester Chipmunk. That’s the back of Your Big Backyard cover with a photo or drawing of an animal on it and Bonnie Bluebird telling us some facts about the animal. This is just one of the features in my four and a half-year-old grandson’s very favorite magazine. Published by National Wildlife Federation Your Big Backyard is a fun and educational nature magazine chock-full of gorgeous up-close photos, activities, stories, drawings sent in by readers, science, magic, puzzles, mazes and even simple recipes that come out looking like little critters. There’s much more.

Chester Chipmunk and Bonnie Bluebird always have a cute saying at the bottom of the contents page. They tell the child which page to turn to in captions. An example in the July issue is Chester Chipmunk saying: ” Hi there! I’m going on a treasure hunt with my friend Pete the Pirate Parrot. Do you want to come along? Turn to page 23 to help us find the treasure.” The magazine also contains a place on the bottom of the index page for the child to write their name This magazine belongs to:_________

“Nature in My Neighborhood” is a section for children to send in stories and photos about anything that interests them about things they do around the yard. An example is about a little boy who wrote about how he and his sister lived on a big farm and spent much time outdoors. One particular very hot day the little guy remembered reading a story about how elephants in Africa keep cool during the heat…they cover themselves with mud. So they dug a small hole and filled it with water then pushed the dirt back in and pretended they were elephants then they painted each other with the mud and made mud pies in the process. After the mud dried, the little guy wrote that they had to have a long bath to get the mud off.

Another issue was about a boy who had a Swallowtail caterpillar as a little pet and told how it turned into a beautiful butterfly and he had to release it to the world as no work of nature should be kept in captivity..

“Backyard Buddies” is on the back cover. The child can send in photos and drawings concerning nature. On that page also is Bonnie Bluebird giving an idea of the month in a caption. Sometimes the idea pertains to the photo of the animal on the cover, other times it’s about one of the topics. An example in the May 2001 magazine is a Panda on the cover but Bonnie uses “ears” as an idea of the month.

Animal’s ears are a 3-page fun topic in the magazine identifying the ears of a jackrabbit, frog, impala and cassoway. Don’t know what the latter two are? You can order back issues through the company by calling 1-800-611-1599. The cost of each issue is $3.00 including shipping and handling. Or you can look up the words in the dictionary.

Your Big Backyard has 32 exciting chapters that will interest a child between the ages of 3 and 7. The adorable pictures and simple text will help develop reading skills. I believe that even a younger child would enjoy looking at the colorful pictures of animals. At the end of the magazine there is always a “Read to Me” section and grown-ups will love reading these stories to a child.

Your Big Backyard magazine is made of chlorine-free paper to better protect the environment. Some big bookstores (but not all) like Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks may sell these magazines separately. However, my grandson has a year’s subscription and the price was $15 for 12 issues.

Oh and the mailing label peels off very easily. Some kids like to save their magazines and my grandson is one of them, he just peels that darn label off without any fuss. His little sister retrieves it and sticks it back on any page because she’s a tease but she too loves this magazine.

“Why Do Moths Flutter Around Lights?” Just call the toll-free number above and ask for the back issue of the June 2001 Your Big Backyard and find out.

Other magazines by the national Wildlife Federation that would be of great interest to children are Ranger Rick best for children ages 7 and up and their newest magazine Wild Animal Baby for toddlers 1 to 3 years old.