Literary Child is a monthly activity guide crammed full of puzzles, games, and more created to accompany a monthly book selection. The issue I received was full of delightful activities to draw my children into the book, Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Jules Verne. Word puzzles, cryptograms, codes to decipher and logic problems awaited us as page after page poured from my printer. There are un-coloring pages; with written captions under framed space waiting for an illustration to be added. There were games, language lessons and simple craft projects which I especially appreciated because every required item was easily found in my home. The recipe section even included some herbal home remedies that I can’t wait to try! Additional activity suggestions, related field trip ideas, and relevant web links rounded out the 24 pages of this monthly issue. At only $5.50 an issue, this has got to be one of the best buys on the web!

Each month, Literary Child alternates between a classic children’s book and a well-loved contemporary literature selection. Aside from the issue I received, activity guides are also available for Pippi Longstocking, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, James and the Giant Peach, and Alice in Wonderland. Literary Child is delivered monthly via email to subscribers and back issues are available for purchase. The ordering process is simple and offers ongoing subscriptions as well as 12 or six month options. The issues are PDF format which makes it simple to preview and print pages as needed for each of your children.

The Literary Child website has a companion blog which I really enjoyed reading. The entries included fun poetry, vocabulary words, book reviews and links to sample pages from new issues.

Literary Child is designed by a homeschooling family but the activities aren't exclusive or specific to homeschoolers so some may be disappointed with book selections or lack of academic depth. These monthly guides are meant to be fun and to encourage children to interact with the literature but should not be mistaken for a comprehension guide. In fact, most of the pages of the activity guide could be completed without even reading the book so you may want to save the pages as a reward or un-motivated readers may be likely to complete the guide without finishing the book.

Our family loves to read, and from our earliest days of using Five-In-A-Row, we’ve come to adore activities that extend good books. Literary Child is a great addition to our literary lifestyle!
-Product Review by Lisa Kjeldgaard, M.S., The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, June, 2006