Zoobooks magazine

Zoobooks- Children’s magazine

Zoobooks. Wildlife Education, Ltd., 2014. Print.

Summary: Zoobooks is a magazine for children that covers a different animal or animal group in a way children can understand. The issues I reviewed were “Hippos,” “Lions,” “Ducks, Geese & Swans,” and “Insects.” Zoobooks is published ten times a year.

Strength/Weaknesses: Each issue covers the anatomy, habitat, eating habits, & role of a single animal or animal group. It is a full color, glossy magazine that has a combination of photographs and color illustrations. Large pictures of the animals, short paragraphs and captions under the pictures help keep kids interested. The center section of the magazine is a pullout section with activities for kids that relate to the animal of topic. Each issue that I reviewed had drawings by kids and the activities included a crossword puzzle, word search, and scavenger hunt, although they did vary slightly in each issue. The answers for each activity was included in this section as well. There is an online website for the magazine where readers can take a 20 question quiz about the current issue, however most of the online content is for subscribers.  (www.zoobooks.com) 

While the pictures are very colorful, some may be a little scary for younger readers, for example, the Insects issue had quite a few close up photographs of various insects.

Uses: This magazine would supplement an elementary social studies or science curriculum. The publisher offers a subscription rate and allows one to purchase an entire library or single editions. It could also be used in a reading center for children to choose during a free reading time. 

Audience: Zoobooks magazine is recommended for ages 6-12. The company has other magazines for younger readers- Zoobies for ages 0-3 and Zootles for ages 3-6.

Read-alikes: Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids, 

Awards: According to their website, Zoobooks “is the proud winner of the Parents' Choice gold award 8 years in a row.”