Something Special goes extra special with an interactive magazine (review)

There's something universally appealing about Mr Tumble. I don't know if it's his twinkly eyes, his brightly coloured clothes, his madcap antics or the fact that he so clearly enjoys spending time with the children on his shows but whatever it is, he has always been one of Pierre's favourites. He was therefore over the moon to receive the lastest issue of the Something Special magazine to review, particularly as it had some great toys on the front : a Bedtime Tumble Puppet and Mr Tumble Explorer Set.

As with all the best magazines (at least if you ask anyone under the age of 6!), it also has a double page of stickers that you can use to complete the various activities inside the magazine.

It's packed full of things to do, including colouring, drawing, counting, spotting and singing.

The activities really draw the reader in, putting your child as the centre of attention, for example in the story where the final box asks you to draw yourself dancing next to Mr Tumble.

The fun continues off the pages with Mr Tumble encouraging you to get hands on and try out a simple recipe for teddy toast.

Or make a funky moon and stars mobile. As on the TV programme, Mr Tumble uses the Makaton sign language to reinforce the message. 

This issue of the magazine has something extra special though because it has gone interactive. Several pages have a special Blipp icon that allows to bring the fun and games out of the magazine and onto your phone or tablet.

I'd never used Blippar before but it's really simple. After downloading the app, which is free on iOS, Android or Windows, you just need to use the camera function on your smartphone or tablet to hover over the icon and it will open special video content linked in to the magazine, such as watching Mr Tumble painting a picture, singing and signing along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, joining in with the Friends song or even receiving exclusive messages from Mr Tumble direct to you! I thought it was a lovely extra that makes the magazine even better value for money and Pierre was very impressed by the fact that he could bring Mr Tumble to life at will !

This special interactive issue is out today (8th June) and costs £2.99.

Disclosure : We received the magazine in order to write an honest review.

Kids' recipe : Bogie Bites aka Snotcorn !

Earlier in the week, I shared our review of a new educational but above all fun magazine for kids called Amazing ! (Make sure you head over to read it if you haven't already because you also have the chance to win one of ten copies.) The latest issue focuses on the human body and Pierre was delighted to discover the rather gruesom recipe idea for Bogie Bites using popcorn, which we renamed Snotcorn !

It's a simple enough recipe - just melt butter, sugar and marshmallows until they go all gooey.

Add green food colouring and popcorn.

And mix until it resembles bogies !

Pierre was very impressed and intrigued by the stringy, sticky, gooey texture.

It all looks decidedly gross, which is the whole point ! It tastes lovely though, although it is very sweet. 

And Pierre loved the whole idea of eating bogies !

Giveaway #548 : Win 1 of 10 Amazing! kids magazines - closed - winners see below

Amazing! magazine is a new children's magazine based on the primary national curriculum, covering subjects such as Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, Arts, Foreign Languages, Personal Development and lots more. It's designed for boys and girls aged 7+ and all three of the Madhouse kids (aged 6, 11 and 14) have been reading it and making frequent comments and sounds, including "wow", "eurgghhh" and "hey, Mum, did you know ...?".

Each issue has a theme and the two that we received focused on Ancient Romans and The Human Body. The great thing is, it is as fun as it is educational.

I knew they'd have the balance just right when I read their introductory email. "We take things that children actually like reading about such as zombies, aliens, cheesy feet etc and link these in clever and humorous ways back to the national curriculum. In this way, children get to read things of interest to them, and all along they're learning about the things that matter - there's nothing else quite like it on the planet!" It really does deserve the Amazing! title !

As soon as I started flicking through, the illustrations and generally irreverent tone really reminded me of Horrible Histories, a book/TV series that the Madhouse kids all love and that also has the perfect balance of humour, learning and eww-factor. It turns out that Amazing! magazine have recently taken on the ex-editor of Horrible Histories magazine, as well as writers from the Simpsons and Beano comics, and their experience at targetting this age group really shines through.

Each monthly issue has 36 pages but there is so much packed on to each page that it actually seems like a lot more. There are in-depth articles, fun facts, stories, posters, cookery and craft projects, activities such as wordsearches and spot the differences, ...

The projects only use things that you're likely to have around the house so there's no need to run to the shops to stock up on supplies when you have over-enthusiastic children bouncing around, desperate to get stuck in. I'm looking forward to trying out the recipe for Libum, the Roman version of cheesecake, and Pierre is almost bursting with excitement at the idea of making sticky green bogies from marshmallows and popcorn ! Other projects would appeal to slightly older children, such as building a catapult or an articulated hand. There's certainly plenty to keep us busy during the holidays !

Each magazine sells for £3.99 or an annual subscription costs £49 for 12 issues, with teachers and schools receiving discounts. You can take advantage of a 10% discount on subscriptions by using the code WOW10 at the checkout. Find out more at:

 facebook.com/amazing.org.uk

twitter.com/amazingkidsmag

subscriptions@amazing.org.uk

I'm also delighted to have ten copies of Amazing! magazine to give away to lucky Madhouse Family Reviews readers, so fill in your entries in the Rafflecopter widget below if you'd like to get your hands on one of those.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UK only. Closing date : 13/4/16

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook, twitter and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray !

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

Giveaway #547 : Win £35 to spend at Peach Perfect - closing date 12/4

Lego Nexo Knights Magazine launches today (review)

If you have a Lego fan in your midst, get ready for him (or her) to head down to the local newsagent's clutching their pocket money in their grubby mitts every month, because a new Lego Nexo Knights magazine hits the shelves today !

If you are unfamiliar with Lego Nexus Knights, it is the brand new fantasy-based castle theme from Lego, including elements such as robo horses, catapults, lava launchers and mobile castles. The sets officially launched in the New Year so it's a great way to discover the new characters and the futuristic Kingdom of Knighton. The Nexo Knights, led by Clay and guided by their mentor Merlok 2.0, must journey to defeat Jestro the evil jester, the Book of Monsters and their lava monster army. 

It all sounds very exciting, which is reflected in the magazine, which is brightly coloured and packed full of content. 

Each issue comes with a free Lego Nexo Knights toy - in the first issue, it's a limited edition Lance figure - which is a great way of adding to your collection. There are also competitions inside the magazines, which give you the chance to win Lego sets. (Speaking of competitions, UK Mums TV currently have a competition running where you can win a year's subscription to the magazine.)

The pages are filled with comic strips, activities (mazes, spot the differences, colouring, ...), information about the Nexo Knights and readers' pages, where you can send in your artwork to be featured.

You also get a double page poster to put on your bedroom wall.

The magazine is aimed at children aged between 6 and 11 years old and their target audience within this age range is 90% boys and 10% girls. There's nothing to stop girls reading and enjoying it, but there is a distinct lack of female characters in the stories and features, so it's basically the boy-oriented equivalent of the more girly Lego Friends magazine.

Issue one is out today - normal price is £3.25 and it will be on sale every four weeks.

Disclosure : We received a subscription to the magazine in order to write an honest review.

Puzzler Puzzle Club Key Stage 2 magazine (review & discount code)

Just before we headed off on holiday, Puzzler sent us through some of their Puzzle Club magazines for the Madhouse kids to try out.

The pages are packed with brainteasers and fun puzzles that the kids really enjoyed trying to figure out, but they are also educational, focusing on Key Stage 2 skills. The magazines are produced in association with renowned educational experts Pearson, along with a panel of primary school teachers. The Puzzle Club characters guide readers through English, Maths and Science SATs for Key Stage 2 using crosswords, wordsearches, logic and visual puzzles, and a whole lot more. Science and Maths facts are introduced along the way, with hints and tips for remembering tricky English.

I did recognise some of the activities that Juliette and Pierre sometimes do in class, such as the colour sums magic colouring, but the fact that it was in a puzzle book format meant that they definitely looked at it as fun rather than learning.

The magazine targets children aged 7-11 but 6-year-old Pierre found some activities that he had great fun completing, such as the dot to dots and wordsearches, and 14-year-old Sophie also had fun working through the pages. Juliette, aged 10, is bang in the middle of the target audience and she was in her element too.

All three of the Madhouse kids packed the magazines in their hand luggage to help while away the time at the airport, but they couldn't resist trying out a few of the pages before we'd even left the house ! They were very impressed that there is a competition to win a Nikon camera and backpack in this issue, just like in the grown up Puzzler magazines, and the fact that the magazine came with a retractable pencil with eraser earned it another Brownie point.

The magazine retails for £3.99 but I have a fabulous subscription discount code for you - you can take advantage of a 3 issues for £3 trial offer when paid by Direct Debit (UK only) and a credit card offer discounted at 15% for a year subscription to Puzzle Club with the code MADFAM.

There are 7 issues a year and each one contains 65+ puzzles.

For more information and to subscribe : http://www.puzzler.com/magazines/children/puzzle-club

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.

The CBeebies Furchester Hotel magazine has launched today (review)

The BBC's newest CBeebies magazine has just hit the shelves today and Pierre was delighted to get the first issue to check out. It features popular show The Furchester Hotel but even if you and your little ones haven't seen the programme before, you and they are bound to recognise some of the familiar faces including Elmo and the Cookie Monster.

If you're already rolling your eyes thinking that your little one will be hanging off your leg every time you push the trolley past the magazine aisle in the supermarket, rest assured - there's a new issue out every four weeks, so your wallet will get a rest in between ! It costs £2.75 and is actually quite good value, when you look at the content.

Each issue contains lots of puzzles and colouring pages, as well as two stories and the ever-popular sticker activities (with 60 stickers in this issue). It also has a 6-page activity book and this month's magazine (and, I would guess, every issue) comes with a fun free gift - this time it's a Make Your Own Portraits kit which looks great fun and much better than the plastic tat that many magazines come with ! (You also get a kids-go-free voucher for Sea Life centres too, which could be a great money saver if you had a trip on the cards already.)

What I always love about CBeebies magazines is that they support the Early Years Curriculum so, while your pre-schooler is having fun completing the pages, they are actually practising their simple maths, writing, observation and problem-solving skills without even realising it. Genius !

It's full of bright colours, cute characters and simple tasks that Pierre proudly managed to complete with very little input from me - writing over letters, completing mazes and finding the right pages for the stickers because they are clearly marked on the sticker sheet all made him feel very independent and clever ! The story time pages and more complex instructions (finding out what you need to draw in the white box, for example) do offer some lovely quality parent-child time though too.

If you like the look of the new Furchester Hotel magazine, make sure you head over to the UKMums.TV website which has gone Furchester crazy this week. They have a competition with ten annual subscriptions for the magazine up for grabs, as well as more Furchester themed activities and features over the next two weeks.

Disclosure : I received a copy of the new magazine in order to write an honest review, as well as a subscription as a thank you.

It's a great month for Jacqueline Wilson fans

This month sees the release of The Butterfly Club, which is - believe it or not - the 101st title from Jacqueline Wilson. She hasn't lost her touch - even 13-year-old Sophie, who is too old to be in the target audience any more really, couldn't resist picking it up for a nostalgic literary blast from the past and 9-year-old Juliette is waiting patiently to read it afterwards !

The story follows Tina, the most frail and lacking-in-confidence of triplets, who tends to rely on her sisters to look out for her. When she is asked to sit next to school bully Selma in class, it looks like a recipe for disaster, but as the two girls work together to create a butterfly garden, friendship blossoms in the most unlikely of places. It's a lovely story about looking beneath the surface and watching Tina evolve from vulnerable and helpless caterpillar to confident, free-flying butterfly is heartwarming.

Have a quick look at the trailer to get a feel for the book. The traditional illustrations by Nick Sharratt complement the text and, as usual, Jacqueline Wilson manages to create characters that teens and tweens can really relate to. Fans of Jacqueline's other books are in for a treat because a couple of the characters from a past story put in a cameo appearance - it's lovely to see them all grown up !

As well as receiving a copy of The Butterfly Club, we also received an issue of The Official Jacqueline Wilson Magazine to review, along with a Tracy Beaker tote bag which was a lovely surprise, as she is still the girls' favourite Jacqueline Wilson character of all time (and there have been many !) 

The magazine promises to be full of inspirational and creative content designed to fire imaginations, as well as lots of useful and useable gifts. Our issue (number 83, on sale now) ties in with the release of the new Butterfly Club novel and it comes with 5 free gifts - a stationery set, pop-up pencil pot, notebook, page holders and surprise gift - we got funky magnetic Tracy Beaker bookmarks. 

You also get lots of interesting content, such as the A-Z of The Butterfly Club, a guide to drawing the two heroines of the book, Tina and Selma, by the official illustrator Nick Sharratt and - something that is sure to get the hardcore Jacqueline Wilson fans very excited - you get the chance to ask her your questions and have them answered in the magazine.

It's not just reading and writing though - young readers are also encouraged to get creative and the project in this issue is - you guessed it ! - a beautiful butterfly garden. Each issue also has a giveaway - this month's is for butterfly goodies. There's a lot packed inside each magazine and the bright colours are really appealing to its target audience of 7-12 year old girls.

The monthly magazine costs £4.99 for one issue but you can get a much cheaper deal if you subscribe - 16 issues for the price of 10 plus free gifts/only £10 every 3 months by direct debit. For more details, check out the Official Jacqueline Wilson Magazine website.

Disclosure : We received the book and the magazine in order to write an honest review.

The Phoenix comics review

The Phoenix is a weekly comic for boys and girls aged 6-12 years (and beyond). Launched in 2012 by celebrated publisher, David Fickling, it is packed full of original stories - from epic serial adventures to one-off adventures – plus non-fiction and puzzles, all from some of the comic world’s most celebrated story creators.

The first new British comic in 40 years to have celebrated its 100th issue, The Phoenix was recently voted No.2 in Time Magazine’s global list of ‘Top Comics and Graphic Novels’.

It is printed on high quality glossy paper and is really bright and colourful. The stories are designed to appeal to both sexes and there is no advertising at all in the comics, which makes a nice change !

The comic strips are varied and include Tales of Fayt The Crooked Imp, Sky Drifters, Long Gone Don, Mega Robo Bros, Corpse Talk and Bunny Vs Monkey.

As well as the comic strip stories, there are other features such as How To Draw guides and fan pages where you can send in your drawings.

This summer, The Phoenix has expanded into its first major new series of comic books for children: The Phoenix Presents series, published by David Fickling Books. Eight comic book titles will be released throughout 2014 and they have already won unprecedented acclaim among child literacy experts. The first two, Von Doogan and the Curse of the Golden Monkey by Lorenzo Etherington and Bunny Vs Monkey by Jamie Smart have been selected for The Reading Agency’s respected Summer Reading Challenge - this is the first time comic books have featured on the list of books.

The Madhouse Mini Testers were instantly drawn to the cute, funny illustration on the cover of Bunny Vs Monkey.

This story takes place in a wacky world full of chicken zeppelins, the pig-o-tron 5000, the indestructible action beaver, a squirrel with a passion for baking and much more. Illustrated in Jamie Smart’s inimitable style, it's perfect for children who want to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge but find novels off-putting.

Von Doogan and the Curse of the Golden Monkey by Lorenzo Etherington is described as a super puzzle adventure comic.

Featuring intrepid explorer Von Doogan, this book puts control firmly in the hands of the reader as they uncover the mysterious secrets at the heart of Javasu Island.

The puzzles will appeal to older readers  and will stretch the mental muscles of all ages. I guarantee the parents will be called in as reinforcements and I bet they won't mind one bit !

The third title, Corpse Talk, is slightly darker and will appeal to slightly older readers.

It's not really scary though, with cartoonish monsters and a fun story.

If you want to get the kids away from their screens over the holidays, these are an ideal way to get them into enjoying books, especially if they are reluctant readers.

The Phoenix weekly comic costs £2.99 and theThe Phoenix Presents ... comic books cost £6.99. You can also download a free digital issue on their website to see what you think.

For more information : http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/

Disclosure : We received the products in order to write an honest review.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Children's book review : The Story of World War One - Richard Brassey

Children's book review : The Apple Tart of Hope - Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Children's book review : The School for Good & Evil - Soman Chainani