Magazine Subscriptions

With Christmas around the corner, I've been trying to find a magazine that might be appropriate for both my nieces. While they're very close in age, they're two very different girls and different phases of their lives. At 9, Bailey is still into Barbies, and toys. At 11, Hannah is a tween and wants to do more grown-up things.

As I began searching for age-appropriate magazines, I found that while a 'tween' magazine seemed too mature for Bailey, other mags seemed like they'd be too young for Hannah. I started to realize that one magazine might not be appropriate for both of them.

Here's what I found in my research:

American Girl: Yes they still have American Girl Magazine! And it's just as you remember it from back in the day. I picked up a copy of the December 2011 issue and it's full of recipes, crafts and activities that I think are perfect for Bailey's creative side. I love that they featured art submitted by readers. A great feature in this issue is: "My Life on the Road," written by a 13 year-old girl who spent a year traveling Europe in an R.V. with her parents. The story of her family's adventures was complete with a map showing their route and the countries they visited.
I think this magazine is perfect for girls in the 7-12 range, though tween girls may find it "babyish."

Discovery Girls: I had heard of Discovery Girls but wanted to check it out for myself. I love that it features Real girls - there are no models - all over the mag including their: "Meet the Discovery Girls" section and "I'm in DG!" Readers will see girls, just like them, featured in Discovery Girls. The mag has an advice column, embarrassing moments, and fun quizzes just like teen magazines that might be appealing to girls, but that are more age-appropriate for tweens. This particular issue (October/November 2011) featured a lot about friendship, something that's very important to tween girls. I loved the "Be your Own Best Friend" article that advises girls on ways to stop putting themselves down.
Discovery Girls says for ages 8 and up, I think it will appeal most to tween girls.

Girls Life: The suggested age for Girls Life is 10-15. It has a similar look to teen magazines with fashion and beauty, and talk about guys. This magazine seems to have a more celebrity and appearance based focus, and seems more fitting for tweens and teens. Because of this I focused my attention on mags geared toward a slightly younger audience.








My first impression was that American Girl and Discover Girls were a bit thin, but for a good reason: NO advertisements! I like that both American Girl and Discovery Girls feature REAL girls and have a more down-to-earth feel. I think these are two magazines that my nieces will enjoy. I think there will be an overlap in appeal to both magazines, so that Hannah might appreciate American Girl and Bailey might find things she enjoys in Discovery Girls so that perhaps the girls will share with one another.

A magazine subscription is great gift that your nieces or nephews can enjoy all year 'round!

Three Women Win Nobel Peace Prize

Congratulations to all three women who won the Nobel Peace Prize. I wanted to share this story as it has only appeared briefly on the news and I love to share good news.

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to three women - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen. They were recognized for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".

"We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society," said Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland in Oslo.

The Committee said it hoped the three-way award "will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realize the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent."

Only a dozen other women have received the Nobel Peace Prize among 85 men, as well as a number of organizations, who have won the prize over its 110-year history.

This is a victory for women's rights all over the world. Let's applaud these women for their achievements!

IlluStory

My niece Bailey is turning 9. This weekend is her birthday party, and I won't be there to celebrate. I won't be able to watch her open gifts or blow out the candles on her cake. Instead I will mail her a card, ship some gifts and call her afterward to find out how it all went. Birthdays aren't an easy time to be a long-distance aunt.

I've been searching for the right gift for her birthday. BarnesandNoble.com has a nice feature that allows you to search for toys, games and books by age. As I was searching for gifts online I stumbled upon Illustory -its a way for kids to write and illustrate their own story. It comes with the pages to write the story with room to draw the photos, markers for the artwork and a postage paid envelope to mail the manuscript.

The bound and finished book is returned within a few weeks, a professionally published version of your child's story! What a great way to express creativity and have a memorable gift. Bailey loves to tell stories, I think this is a great way to preserve one of them in a nicely bound book! I thought this was a nice gift idea and wanted to share. 

I hope she likes it!

Back to School

It's that time of year, back to school. Both my nieces are going to new schools this year, my eldest nice will be in middle school! I can't believe it...

I sent both the girls an email wishing them luck on their first day and reminding them not to be afraid to say "hi" to someone they don't know and try to make new friends.

My sister sent me photos of the girls leaving for their first day - they're so grown up! I spoke with Hannah tonight to find out how her first day of middle school went. She told me all about finding her classes in a much bigger school than she's used to, what her schedule is like and that she's taking Spanish for the first half of the year, then she'll be taking French.

I remember middle school as game changing. Suddenly there were cliques and the desire to fit in - making that adjustment isn't easy. I look back at my own junior high experience and hope that Hannah's is better than mine was. I know its all part of growing up, I just hope she will be strong and confident and that she'll remember: no matter what, remember who you are!

If you're far away from your niece or nephew on their first day, have mom or dad send you a picture as they leave for school in the morning! Send them a care package for back to school! It doesn't have to be packaged in a nice gift basket, just pick up a flat rate box from your local post office and fill it with the school supplies they'll need and a note for your favorite niece/nephew!

Here's to Tenacity, Resolve or just plain Stubbornness

Talk about a woman who never gives up. I recently read the novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The novel, which became a bestseller was also made into a movie, which did a great job of representing the book.

I was shocked when a friend shared with me this article in which Stockett herself writes about how her novel was rejected sixty times before finally getting published - sixty! Can you imagine getting sixty rejection letters stating that your book - that you poured your heart into - isn't good enough to be published. And can you imagine each time deciding not to give up, editing the manuscript yet again determined to make it better and sending it back to yet another literary agent only to face more rejections.

Kathryn writes: "In the end, I received 60 rejections for The Help. But letter number 61 was the one that accepted me. After my five years of writing and three and a half years of rejection, an agent named Susan Ramer took pity on me. What if I had given up at 15? Or 40? Or even 60? Three weeks later, Susan sold The Help to Amy Einhorn Books."

I'm always encouraged by people who try and try, even when the odds seem to be against them. This just shows that it pays to never give up on what you believe in!

As a reader, I'm so glad Kathryn Stockett didn't give up!

 

The Help, Movie Trailer

Soul Surfer: Bethany Hamilton

I love to share inspirational stories with my nieces - stories about girls and women overcoming the odds and exhibiting strength and courage. If you're looking for a good role model, look no further Bethany Hamilton.

During my nieces' visit, we watched the movie Soul Surfer, based on the true story of a young surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack.

Her dedication and bravery are inspiring. My nieces and I were rooting for Bethany, cheering her on as if we were there on the beach watching her surf.

I visited her website and discovered that Bethany not only overcame her fears to become a pro surfer, she is a humble and charitable person with extreme faith. And she has a Blog!  She shares her experiences as she travels, telling her story as well as health tips and healthy recipes. 

This is a blog worth sharing with my nieces!

Back to Long Distance

Yesterday was my last day with the girls on their visit in NY. Last night I dropped them off with my aunt, who will spoil them for another day or two before driving them back home.

I loved getting to spend some quality time with them. We got to play mini-golf, we spent a day at the beach, played board games and watched movies together and spent some time with their great-grandparents.

Yet our time together is also bittersweet. It only reminds me that I don't get to do these things with them nearly as often as like I'd like to. Just seeing them requires time off from work and an eight hour drive. Being a long-distance auntie requires a little extra effort.

I think I'd like to make a scrapbook of their visit. This way they can look back and remember all the things we did together. And while I'm putting the scrapbook together I'll get to feel close to them and remember the fun times we had.