Something Special Interactive Magazine

There's one thing that is guaranteed to catch Elliot's eye when we go shopping. Not sweets, not toys....but the magazines! He just can't resist them and I get nagged to death to buy them!

There are so many magazines aimed at pre-schoolers but one of the best ones on the market is Something Special - Mr Tumble is so popular with the little ones and the magazine is just as informative as the Something Special programme.

The latest issue (out on 8th June) has gone interactive and you can watch the characters come to life! All you need to do is download the Blipper App (it's free) and you can access all the extra features in the magazine. Everytime you spot the Blipper symbol, just blip the page using the app and you will find lots of exciting surprises such as videos and even a message from Mr Tumble himself.

Elliot couldn't wait to get to grips with this magazine and the first thing he did was investigate the free gifts. And what brilliant gifts they were! There was an explorer set featuring a notepad, pencil, magnifying glass, binoculars and stickers. The other gift was a make your own Mr Tumble puppet. This little activity was a massive hit and Elliot spent ages sticking on the stickers to make the puppet - he didn't need any help from me and was so excited with his finished result!

The magazine is bursting with activities for little ones and they will recognise all their favourite characters from the Something Special programme. I love that the magazine incorporates Makatron too - on each page you will find pictures of Justin doing the sign for the words used on the page.

One of Elliot's favourite aspects of the magazine is the stickers and he will always look for these first. He enjoys finding the correct page and I think it's a really great way of enhancing his number skills as he is recognising the numbers and matching these up with the page numbers.

The interactive aspect was fun to explore - I've never used Blipper before but it was very simple and even Elliot was able to use it. There were at least 5 Blipper symbols scattered throughout and we had lots of fun spotting these and "blipping" the pages.

One of the things I love about this magazine is that there is plenty for Elliot to do without needing me to help and he is quite happy sat going through the pages and finding activities to do.

The Something Special magazine was a big hit in our house Elliot can't wait for the next issue to see what free gifts there are! 

The new interactive issue is available from 8th June and is £3.99

Disclaimer: We received the magazine for the purpose of this honest review. All views are my own 

First Friends Magazine - Review

We recently got offered a chance to review a brand new magazine called First Friends which is aimed specifically at 2-4 year olds.

First Friends features well known characters such as The Gruffalo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar and has been carefully designed to support children's early learning steps.

Although Elliot is too young to read, he loves magazines - especially the free gifts on the front! We normally buy the CBeebies magazine as I know it's going to be educational, and he likes looking at all the pictures of his favourite characters and presenters. Based on this, I had a funny feeling he would love First Friends! :)

The magazine was an instant hit as soon as he spotted the Gruffalo! It was bright and eye-catching and came with a free gift, a little Hungry Caterpillar tea set. It didn't take long before Elliot was offering me a "cup of tea"!

Inside the magazine there were lots of activities to keep Elliot busy and he was immediately drawn towards the stickers. He spent ages recognising the page numbers and seeing where the stickers should go - he particularly liked sticking the candles on the Hungry Caterpillar's birthday cake!

Other features included short stories, colouring pages, Woolly & Tig spot the difference, craft activities nursery rhymes, competitions and part 1 of a cute Elmer height chart.

First Friends kept Elliot amused far longer than other magazines, we read it together from start to finish and amazingly it held his attention! I loved that it captured his imagination and he was really keen to complete the activities.

First Friends is priced at £2.99 which I think is great value considering all that it offers.  I would definitely buy it again for Elliot and would much prefer him to have this than some of the magazines that are in the newsagents these days!

First Friends is published by Redan Publishing Ltd and the first issue (this very issue!) is on sale from 8th July.

Disclaimer: We received the magazine for the purpose of this honest review. All views are my own


Linking up with...