We paid for a year subscription to this magazine and only received ONE magazine. The company was HORRIBLE to deal with in trying to get them to fix their screw-up and we finally had to cut our losses rather than go through any more aggravation. Our son was very very dissapointed... avoid this publisher like the plague.

We first got this magazine a year ago and enjoyed it very much. Our five year old would have our teenage son read it to her, and she loved the photos.

We became disappointed when they started to make some of the first features we loved available only on the internet, leaving them out of the magazine. That was annoying. I do not allow my children to use the internet most of the time as it diminshes their love for books.

When our son kept wishing that another nature magazine was still around that he had received as a young child, NATURE FRIEND, I started to search and see what happened to it.

After much digging and searching, I finally found it through here at AMAZON.COM and my son was literally thrilled. He is almost 20.

We got our first issue and after having to choose between the two magazines (we can only afford one right now), the kids chose not to renew BIG BACKYARD again and keep the NATURE FRIEND.

BIG BACKYARD is a beautifully done magazine with nice simple features. If they had not taken out some of the more interactive things and put them on internet only, we might have kept subscribing. Our entire family enjoys NATURE FRIEND so much more because of the issues being packed with things to DO and not just read and learn about. It involves everyone in the family- something that is not easily done these days.

It seems that once BIG BACKYARD came in the mail, it was read once or twice and then sat on a table or shelf. NATURE FRIEND seems to be picked up by someone in the family constantly for reading or doing something featured inside.

My niece is 4 and told me other night all about marsupials. They've got pouches, she said, and a lot of them live in Australia. The mother marsupial carries the baby in her pouch. Penguins are another thing she's mastered. The daddy penguin carries the egg between its feet, and you might think they live at the North Pole but you'd be wrong. Penguins live at the South Pole ("that's Antarctica" she says) and POLAR BEARS live at the North Pole (I knew that, really). When reading aloud from Your Big Backyard (which I was never really that into as a child, being a Cricket fan from the start), I often find myself fading away midsentence to go "Huh! How interesting!" only to look over and find the niece tapping her fingers in impatience.

If you have a nature/science oriented little one, or even if you don't, try Your Big Backyard. The pictures are fun, the games are entertaining, the Bonnie and Chester stories allow for an interactive bedtime story (albeit a tiny bit too cheesy), and the animal info is so matter-of-fact, that you'll find yourself with your mouth hanging open as little Ritchie informs Jane the grocery store checkout clerk everything he knows about the life cycle of bats.

Don't feel bad. At least you know how to tie your shoes.

My Big Backyard provides a magical glimpse into the world of nature from a fun and safe perspective, without showering children with concepts they are not old enough to comprehend. The simple games, recipes and rebus stories present in each issue give children a familiar theme to look forward to. The photos are delightful and the information about the animals and nature are perfect for the three to six age group...perhaps even older, as children begin to be able to read the magazine themselves! The magazine makes for wonderful family time, and also offers children a quiet activity for their personal time. This also makes a wonderful gift.

I subscribed to this magazine on impulse, mainly because I was looking for something to satisfy my daughter's interest in animals and her desire to read more about them at her own pace. This magazine is PERFECT for her. It's easy to read, has superb photography and illustrations and the subject matter is absolutely in sync with what an industrious little five-year-old is looking for. Also, the activities are unusually creative and engaging. Instead of the typical yarn and straw yawners, the editors seem to spend a lot of time each issue creating activities that grab kids' attention and hold it--sometimes for an entire rainy afternoon. I strongly encourage parents of animal loving kids to give this great magazine a try. Highly recommended!