Why Boomerang?

So why do moms and dads need Boomerang?

Our 30,000 subscribers are generous with letters and email about how Boomerang! has enriched their lives.

Here are the three refrains we hear most:

• "Now our car time is quality time..."
  If your family spends a lot of time in the car, Boomerang! can't be beat. Instead of "are we there yet?" every fifteen minutes, you may have to pause in the driveway when you get there just to finish a story!
  
  Bite-sized segments make even a run down to the store or ballet lesson a treat. And those 5 to 6 hours to Grandma's house will never seem so long again.
  
  It's nice not to have the kids quarreling over seat assignments and who touched who first. In fact when someone says, "Quiet down," it will likely come from a BOOMERANG! listener in the back seat. But the real payoff is all the great stuff everyone is learning along the way. (You too Mom and Dad!)
   
• "...every night before I go to sleep."
  On our annual questionnaire, we ask families how many times the kids listen to each tape. We were hoping for three or four - but the average is up around sixteen! And you wouldn't believe how many kids respond that they listen to a Boomerang! every single night as they fall asleep.
   
• "We like listening to the CD together"
  In the days of our parents, families would huddle together around the radio to listen to important speeches, mysteries and Lone Ranger dramas. We probably aren't headed in that direction, but Boomerang! presents an awesome array of subject matter that inevitably sparks discussion.
  
  This isn't idle advertising copy, folks. On a recent issue, Widget and Whack explored the mechanics of friction, the King of Complicated Stuff dove into power and politics, our time traveling reporter interviewed Vincent Van Gogh and Toby checked in with a pensive audiopostcard from Mackinac Island in Michigan. A mixture of topics such as this has a way of greasing the give and take.

Our Philosophy

Children don't go to school to learn - they LIVE to learn.

The ages between 6 and 12 are children's most important period of individual growth.

The world is coming into focus... they are becoming more independent... their thirst for knowledge is insatiable.

Yet at this crucial stage, children are cut out of the information loop because substantive ideas are seldom presented from a child's perspective and their reading level prevents access to printed matter on these subjects.

Boomerang! takes advantage of the natural synergy and common goals between teacher and parent by:

• Presenting complicated issues and ideas in a format children can understand. Knowledge empowers children with the confidence and self-esteem they will need to prosper in the 21st century.
• Giving children timely access to current events shaping their world. Boomerang! current events coverage - presented from a child's perspective - will help children make a connection between their tiny world and the rest of the universe.
• Propelling children into the world of books. Children don't read to improve their skills - children read because they are curious. Boomerang! feeds and cultivates that curiosity by introducing them to a vast world of ideas and subject matter.
• Reinforcing the concepts of choice and consequence. A seven-year old has long since made the connection between pain and a hot stove. But the relationship between determination and success, or work and achievement, is not quite so apparent. Boomerang! stories demonstrate the cause and effect behind events that shape society.
• Providing our audience with positive role models in their peer group. Children in this age group are entering into a period of intensive peer awareness. The Boomerang! Kids inspire and challenge listeners to excel.

However, it's important to note that we don't describe Boomerang! as an "educational" magazine ... not because it isn't educational, but because the word has picked up some nasty connotations: dry, unimaginative, and boring to name a few. We also avoid the word entertaining -- but for opposite reasons. "Entertaining" suggests empty, content with little or no substance.

We don't think education and entertainment should be mutually exclusive. Quite the contrary. In the world of 6 to 12 year olds, everything is educational. And if subjects like history and geography and current events are boring, we have only ourselves to blame.