With Half Term on the doorstep it’s great news that there is a new girls’ magazine on the market called Blossom- for girls who love to learn. Magazines are perfect for taking on long journeys, to restaurants, or to keep my girls occupied for a couple of hours whilst I try to get things done. I always stock up on magazines before we go on holiday as they are light, easy to pack and offer hours of entertainment.
Though the Girls, when given free reign, chose the magazine with the most interesting toy on the front, I prefer to chose magazines that have some educational benefit too. This is why Blossom is great. Published by Immediate Media, who produce a range of BBC titles for both adults and children, it supports all seven areas of the Early Years Curriculum. And each monthly edition comes with a high quality, age appropriate gift and is packed with activities such as arts, crafts and cookery, which pretty much makes my two girls, who are 4 and almost-6, the perfect target audience.
February’s edition, available now, has launched a story-writing competition in association with World Book Day to inspire children to put pencil to paper and write an imaginative story for the magazine.
The winning story will be printed in the magazine illustrated by the Blossom artist. The winner will also receive a visit to their school or nursery from the hugely successful Princess Poppy author, Janey Louise Jones; a bundle of books for them and their school library from Random House; and a special keepsake bound version of their story.
Andrea Turton, Blossom editor, says: “We’re hoping that little ones will be inspired to pick up a pencil and write an imaginative story that will entertain our readers! The story could take the Blossom Girls anywhere, doing anything – the possibilities are endless!”
The entries should be a maximum of 500 words and feature the four Blossom Girls characters – Lily, Rose, Daisy and Violet – who appear in each issue of the magazine. The winning entry will be by judged by a panel of industry experts for its imagination and creativity.
Janey Louise Jones, author of the Princess Poppy books, says: “It was always my dream as a little girl to be a writer, so I am really pleased to be involved with Blossom Magazine in their search for a young story-teller. I would loved to have had a story illustrated and published at such a young age and I’m sure the competition will be a source of inspiration for budding writers everywhere… dreams can come true!”
The competition is open from 5th February to 8th March 2014, full details can be found in Blossom Magazine issue 10
Disclosure: we were offered a year’s edition of the above magazine for the purposes of writing this post. We were sadly unable to attend the fabulous promotional event.
Blossom magazine is priced at £2.75 and available at all major retailers and independents throughout the UK.
Go on! You know you want to tell me what you think!