We were kindly sent a copy of Scoop magazine to review.
The magazine is aimed at 7+, and it is 'a feast of words and pictures for kids.'
First Impressions
Upon opening up the magazine, we were positively surprised with the quality and quantity of content. There is enough content in the magazine to keep a child entertained and busy for a long while.
The best thing about Scoop magazine is, the fact that there aren't any adverts. It is rather frustrating at times, when a children's magazine is full of adverts for days out or toys, not only does it feel like you've paid to see adverts, but they're a distraction and the space can be better used with quality content.
The magazine, contents and structure
Issue 20 of Scoop magazine is all about imagination. What an interesting topic, that is rarely thought or talked about in our house!
I won't bore you with the finer details, but will outline some of the articles little person has enjoyed the most, and what we thought overall.
The opening article 'What is imagination' begins with a great opening sentence, 'Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge' a powerful statement that had little person ponder over how and why? It's great to see the article break down why imagination is important, and little person decided that without imagination we would live like cavemen...interesting points raised...do you agree with him?
The magazine comprises of fictional stories, factual articles, games, quizzes, well known profiles, poetry, comics and book reviews.
From the fictional stories, we thoroughly enjoyed all the reads, and maybe some were more resounding than others. 'Why My Nana buried her sofa' by Elizabeth-Irene Beattie, was a moving story about a boy and his grandma in Ghana. One Saturday morning, the boy is dropped off to stay with his nana whilst his mum goes to work. The little boy, Yeboah, learns his nana is going to bury her sofa. What an interesting concept? We follow the story of grandson, grandma and the sofa, and I won't lie, it was a thought provoking story full of emotions. I definitely enjoyed reading this to my son.
'That's magical' by Sally Grindley was an uplifting read. The short story resonated with little person, as he felt it was a very relatable piece of writing. About a girl feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the task of writing a piece of creative writing, we follow her on an exciting adventure once she unravels her imagination. A great piece, beautifully walking us through the powers of imagination.
'The storyteller of Sura' by Chitra Soundar was an interesting read as little person was happily able to pipe up and state that is what he would envisage the outcome of people would be without imagination and creativity!
Our top favourite non fiction reads were definitely the two profiles, one about Hilma Af Klint, and one about Roald Dahl. In all honesty, I'd never heard of Hilma Af Klint, but our reading and knowledge regarding artists has been lacking, so this was a fab read and opened up a 'new portal' of what we will be looking into more of!
'The master of imagination' we thoroughly enjoyed. It's taken little person some time to start reading and enjoying books, and he's decided after his 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' books he will be moving on to books by Roald Dahl. I loved Roald Dahl books, and this was a lovely insight into his life. Did you know he was one of a selection of boys selected by Cadbury's world to try chocolates ? After reading this piece, we are hoping to visit the museum soon and take a look at his shed, where his ideas flowed and great pieces were penned.
'The power of stories' by Tom Whipple (science editor at 'The Times') opened up a whole new theory of where storytelling began, how it began and the importance of it. I would never have arrived at that conclusion, and little person was totally taken aback after this read!
Have you ever wondered, when reading, whether you've stepped into the imagination of the author? I've always found reading to be one of the greatest pastimes, it really is an escape into another world. Within this issue of Scoop magazine, you will find a brilliant article, 'All mirrors are magic mirrors' by Fiona Waters. The piece of writing brilliantly explores the ideas of imagination.
There are times when you may have wanted to make the decision of how a story should end. 'Portal to Peril' by Jake Hayes, is one of those where you can choose one of the four possible endings. Little person has loved see alternative endings and it has really helped gear his imagination up, we've even talked about alternative endings he would like for some of the books he's read.
It beautifully introduces where the concepts of Greek Gods and mythology may have arisen from. We've read though two comics, taken part in quizzes and looking forward to playing 'The Imagination game'. By far I loved the article "Do you believe in fairies' by Jake Hayes, if you remember Elsie Wright and her cousin Frances Griffiths and the brilliant photos of both playing with fairies, you'll want to read this article.
The magazine is absolutely bursting with such interesting pieces, I would love to list every single article to give the magazine justice, but it may make this a long winded, somewhat mundane read!
...and we think...
...this has been an absolutely fascinating magazine. Little person has enjoyed every article we read, with his 'most favourite' listed above. As an adult, children's magazines are great, but they're aimed at children and so often you don't feel completely encapsulated by them, how different was this? I cannot believe how much I have enjoyed this magazine, in fact, after little person went to bed I continued reading it...
We've never really talked about imagination a lot, except for me telling the kids to stop watching tv and use their imaginations! Scoop magazine has quite honestly been an eye opener, and it's really helped little person feel he does have the creativity to write stories (like Emily from 'That's magical').
You may, by now, know that I like to focus on the quality of products we use. Have you ever had a magazine for the kids, that's torn within 2 minutes of 'sibling sharing'? I can say, with absolute certainty, this magazine is so robust, my 3 year old is amused how she hasn't managed to shred it within seconds!
Overall, exciting, enthralling and a magazine full of exceptionally well written pieces. It is full of content from cover to cover. I would highly recommend this to anyone, even as adults I can assure you, you will enjoy reading tis with your child/ren. Beautiful illustrations, and well presented, it flows with ease and even though there is so much information, you're child won't look at you like you've handed them 'The Independent on Sunday'(!).
We, quite simply, loved it, give it a try and let us know what you think!
Take a look at Scoop magazine website here
Instagram page here
The magazine is aimed at 7+, and it is 'a feast of words and pictures for kids.'
First Impressions
Upon opening up the magazine, we were positively surprised with the quality and quantity of content. There is enough content in the magazine to keep a child entertained and busy for a long while.
The best thing about Scoop magazine is, the fact that there aren't any adverts. It is rather frustrating at times, when a children's magazine is full of adverts for days out or toys, not only does it feel like you've paid to see adverts, but they're a distraction and the space can be better used with quality content.
The magazine, contents and structure
Issue 20 of Scoop magazine is all about imagination. What an interesting topic, that is rarely thought or talked about in our house!
I won't bore you with the finer details, but will outline some of the articles little person has enjoyed the most, and what we thought overall.
The opening article 'What is imagination' begins with a great opening sentence, 'Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge' a powerful statement that had little person ponder over how and why? It's great to see the article break down why imagination is important, and little person decided that without imagination we would live like cavemen...interesting points raised...do you agree with him?
The magazine comprises of fictional stories, factual articles, games, quizzes, well known profiles, poetry, comics and book reviews.
From the fictional stories, we thoroughly enjoyed all the reads, and maybe some were more resounding than others. 'Why My Nana buried her sofa' by Elizabeth-Irene Beattie, was a moving story about a boy and his grandma in Ghana. One Saturday morning, the boy is dropped off to stay with his nana whilst his mum goes to work. The little boy, Yeboah, learns his nana is going to bury her sofa. What an interesting concept? We follow the story of grandson, grandma and the sofa, and I won't lie, it was a thought provoking story full of emotions. I definitely enjoyed reading this to my son.
'That's magical' by Sally Grindley was an uplifting read. The short story resonated with little person, as he felt it was a very relatable piece of writing. About a girl feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the task of writing a piece of creative writing, we follow her on an exciting adventure once she unravels her imagination. A great piece, beautifully walking us through the powers of imagination.
'The storyteller of Sura' by Chitra Soundar was an interesting read as little person was happily able to pipe up and state that is what he would envisage the outcome of people would be without imagination and creativity!
Our top favourite non fiction reads were definitely the two profiles, one about Hilma Af Klint, and one about Roald Dahl. In all honesty, I'd never heard of Hilma Af Klint, but our reading and knowledge regarding artists has been lacking, so this was a fab read and opened up a 'new portal' of what we will be looking into more of!
'The master of imagination' we thoroughly enjoyed. It's taken little person some time to start reading and enjoying books, and he's decided after his 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' books he will be moving on to books by Roald Dahl. I loved Roald Dahl books, and this was a lovely insight into his life. Did you know he was one of a selection of boys selected by Cadbury's world to try chocolates ? After reading this piece, we are hoping to visit the museum soon and take a look at his shed, where his ideas flowed and great pieces were penned.
'The power of stories' by Tom Whipple (science editor at 'The Times') opened up a whole new theory of where storytelling began, how it began and the importance of it. I would never have arrived at that conclusion, and little person was totally taken aback after this read!
Have you ever wondered, when reading, whether you've stepped into the imagination of the author? I've always found reading to be one of the greatest pastimes, it really is an escape into another world. Within this issue of Scoop magazine, you will find a brilliant article, 'All mirrors are magic mirrors' by Fiona Waters. The piece of writing brilliantly explores the ideas of imagination.
There are times when you may have wanted to make the decision of how a story should end. 'Portal to Peril' by Jake Hayes, is one of those where you can choose one of the four possible endings. Little person has loved see alternative endings and it has really helped gear his imagination up, we've even talked about alternative endings he would like for some of the books he's read.
It beautifully introduces where the concepts of Greek Gods and mythology may have arisen from. We've read though two comics, taken part in quizzes and looking forward to playing 'The Imagination game'. By far I loved the article "Do you believe in fairies' by Jake Hayes, if you remember Elsie Wright and her cousin Frances Griffiths and the brilliant photos of both playing with fairies, you'll want to read this article.
The magazine is absolutely bursting with such interesting pieces, I would love to list every single article to give the magazine justice, but it may make this a long winded, somewhat mundane read!
...and we think...
...this has been an absolutely fascinating magazine. Little person has enjoyed every article we read, with his 'most favourite' listed above. As an adult, children's magazines are great, but they're aimed at children and so often you don't feel completely encapsulated by them, how different was this? I cannot believe how much I have enjoyed this magazine, in fact, after little person went to bed I continued reading it...
We've never really talked about imagination a lot, except for me telling the kids to stop watching tv and use their imaginations! Scoop magazine has quite honestly been an eye opener, and it's really helped little person feel he does have the creativity to write stories (like Emily from 'That's magical').
You may, by now, know that I like to focus on the quality of products we use. Have you ever had a magazine for the kids, that's torn within 2 minutes of 'sibling sharing'? I can say, with absolute certainty, this magazine is so robust, my 3 year old is amused how she hasn't managed to shred it within seconds!
Overall, exciting, enthralling and a magazine full of exceptionally well written pieces. It is full of content from cover to cover. I would highly recommend this to anyone, even as adults I can assure you, you will enjoy reading tis with your child/ren. Beautiful illustrations, and well presented, it flows with ease and even though there is so much information, you're child won't look at you like you've handed them 'The Independent on Sunday'(!).
We, quite simply, loved it, give it a try and let us know what you think!
Take a look at Scoop magazine website here
Instagram page here
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