If you asked me what my favourite programmes were as a child, The Clangers would definitely be up there. Originally broadcast back in the Seventies, it told the story of a family of murine creatures that lived inside a hollow planet. The Clangers consist of Mother Clanger, Major Clanger, Granny Clanger, Tiny Clanger and Small Clanger. Other planet inhabitants included the Froglets, a trio of orange aliens, the scrap metal Iron Chicken, the blue cow-like Sky Moos plus the Soup Dragon and her baby. Speaking only in whistles, they ate green soup, provided by the soup dragon, and blue string pudding!
Last year a new iteration of the show returned, a stop motion animation on the CBeebies TV channel, with Michael Palin as narrator. Tomorrow sees the launch of the brand new Clangers magazine and we got to have a sneaky peek at the bumper first issue which has over 30 activities for children. POD was thrilled it arrived with a whistle so she could speak to the Clangers – the likeness is surprisingly uncanny. It was brilliant fun, all three of us had a go at pulling the handle back and forth to say ‘hello’, ‘how are you’ and ‘goodbye’ in Clanger! Also with the magazine is a Tiny Clanger toy that POD has been happily chatting away to. Her imagination really does know no bounds!
The content of The Clangers magazine is superb in that it’s jam packed with things to read, make and do plus it has an abundance of stickers. There’s also a Clanger Club to join and regular features such as ‘I spy in space’. Like the Andy’s Amazing Adventures magazine we reviewed recently, it too supports the early years curriculum so POD can learn as she reads. We’re huge fans of this approach and it’s wonderful to see POD think independently about the puzzles or ask what she needs to do if she’s not sure. Now she’s five, she’s beginning to read and actually many of the puzzles she’s worked out herself. It’s a perfect fit for her age group.
The Clangers magazine has stories such as The Singing Asteroid and The Metal Bug, there’s the opportunity to colour Mother Clanger’s garden and draw a rocket for the Iron Chicken. Space stickers are used to create an alphabet poster using the likes of f is for Froglets, P is for panpipes and W is for watering can. POD was also able to use stickers to mend The Clangers broken things.
The magazine is full of challenges such as discovering who is hidden under tangled wool, finding different kinds of Froglets, helping Tiny and Small count Eggbots, asteroids and metal bugs as well as space fishing for junk. Regular features include I Spy in Space plus you can make Tiny’s Slide and Music Boat. We need an empty cereal box for this so we’re just hoovering the rest of our Shreddies so we can get cracking!
POD is enjoying her intergalactic journey very much. So much so The Clangers magazine has been a permanent fixture in the car en route to school. The Clangers Magazine is available from Wednesday 27th April in all good supermarkets and independent newsagents.
Disclaimer: We received a copy of the new Clangers magazine (RRP £2.99 as it’s a bumper issue, regular price will be £2.85) for the purpose of this review. Opinions are as always our own.
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