Disappointed
Never have I bothered reviewing on Amazon, but this was such a disappointment. I hope National Geographic sees these reviews and get's it together. They do such a great job with other publications. I do not recommended this mag.

Too much advertising!
If you are interested in your kids wanting more stuff, National Geographic kids is just the one for you. I don't bother to tell my kids it came in the mail. I just recycle it. My Big Backyard is a wonderful option for young kids.

They seemed to have removed the ads
I bought one of these from the newstand for my nephews and niece (ages 11, 9, 7, 4) and they loved reading the articles and often had to tell their parents about what they learned. Initially I had resisted getting this because of everyone's negative feedback in terms of too many ads, but after browsing thru a copy at the local bookstore, it really looks like NG cleaned up their advertising act, removing most of the ads. So now the magazine reads a lot cleaner and reminds me of the similar WORLD magazine I had read growing up. The magazine had a good balance and variety of topics, stories, games and activities. It is refreshing to know that NG actually listened and responded well to earlier criticisms, which were true.

If anyone is still skeptical, definitely preview an issue at the bookstore and decide for yourself.

We were shocked... this is really bad
After a year's subscription to National Geographic's "Little Kids" magazine (which is insubstantial, but harmless and adequately nature-oriented) we thought it might be nice for our kid to graduate to the larger-format "Kids" magazine, expecting it to be a long-term stepping stone to the more venerable adult magazine.

Today we got our first issue, and we were utterly shocked at how terrible and completely inappropriate this magazine is. Oh, yeah, sure, they have a banner headline proclaiming a "Green Tips" section, but the magazine is awash in advertising and the exact kinds of mindless consumerism that have destroyed our environment. There are ads for candy, TV shows, trading cards, Pop Tarts, video games and DVDs as well as several pop culture articles that double as product and movie advertisements and even a regular column reviewing video games (!) This is not what we expect from "National Geographic." They have utterly sold their souls and disrespected their audience, and forsaken the core mission of the original magazine. For shame.

What nature-oriented content there is in this "magazine" is poorly written and pitched to the lowest common denominator. Assuming this is a magazine intended for kids ages... 6-12, maybe?... the level of writing is insultingly close to moronic, little more than blurbs and factoids amid garish, slapdash graphic layouts. It's not worth the paper it's printed on.

We immediately called their subscription department and demanded a refund. Unless there is a major editorial overhaul, I would strongly recommend that families avoid this publication" find a good nature book for your kids instead. (ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)

National Geographic, you should be ashamed!
We had the Little Kid version of National Geographic and it was really good, filled with games, articles, and no ads. Then we were gifted this version for older kids.

It is an absolute WASTE of money. And completely unreadable. I guess that 80% or more is ads for junk movies, video games, etc. The rest of it is boring, uneducational, and basically trash.

I can't believe an amazing adult magazine like National Geographic would put their name to this trash. If you let your kids read this garbage they will be watching Showbiz Tonight rather than reading National Geographic as adults. Yes, it is really that bad.

Shame on you National Geographic.