First and foremost, Spliggle enjoys having a magazine that he can call his own. Although he has a joint-subscription to another magazine, the Cat's name appears on the subscription label alone and the content isn't yet age-appropriate. But "High Five" is exactly what Spliggle wants. He can identify his name, so is pleased to see mail addressed to him, and him only. Spliggle is three and a half years old. "High Five" is aimed at 2-6 year olds.

Spliggle loves stickers. "High Five" knows that kids don't want to just read magazines with their parents. They want to color. They want to play with stickers. They want interactive. Each issue contains interactive games such as "Hidden Pictures" and pull-outs like Valentines in the February issue or a mini-storybook in the March issue. Some stories contain little questions at the end to serve as simple "reading" (listening, story) comprehension. "How-to" pages document fun crafts or activities, like cooking.

Special mailings like sticker pages provide more opportunity for fun. Spliggle absolutely loved the last pack we received. Some stickers were meant to match exactly to icons in the story, but others were more difficult, containing only the outline of the correct sticker, for example. Or, all stickers are square and only the word in the story would cue the correct one to use. Splig loved it when I read the story using his stickers since he "made" the story. As we tackled the more difficult ones, I'd read the word first and he'd pick out the correct sticker to affix to the tale.

The stories in "High Five" are easy to understand. The illustrations and large words help with word-recognition even in kids still in the pre-reading stage. Most of the stories are easy to understand without the words: the pictures themselves tell the story, so kids can "read" their magazine by themselves, even creating the story as the go along. As the Cat reads his books for school, Spliggle "reads" his "High Five." He can "pretend," and yet he is understanding the story.

One feature I really love is the "Spanish-English" story. I've been introducing Spanish to my kids in a variety of different low-pressure ways, and these little stories provide a great way to do this. They come with a pronunciation and translation key. Like the English stories, they are straightforward and include fun illustrations.

The kids depicted in "High Five" are of different colors. The March issue includes an illustration of a young girl in a wheelchair. It sounds cliche, but exposure to different types of people in stories helps prepare kids to meet a variety of people in real life.

The Highlights Family has many products. For those interested in such things, this can be a positive. I must admit, though, that I disliked getting a sales call for a "puzzle club" that was phrased in that slightly-deceptive way of "We'll send you the introductory shipment today! I have your address as 123 Main Street, is that that correct?" Of course an affirmative answer about the address is an affirmative answer to order the initial installment of the puzzle. If I had instead seen an advertisement in the magazine for a puzzle club, perhaps I would have considered it. But I always say "no" to pressured sales calls.

As this review is about High Five" specifically, I will end on the positive note that this is a high-quality magazine that my son adores! Spliggle enjoys "High Five," and I enjoy that he likes something educational!

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The Parent Bloggers Network will be hosting a blog-blast on 3/7 - come check it out, especially if you'd like to win a subscription for your kids to either "Highlights" or "High Five!"