Magazine Maker Pack

Create a Magazine – Things to think about before you get started ........................................ 2

Choosing Your Subject 1 and 2 – Ideas and Worksheet ............................................................... 3

Magazine Titles – Examples ................................................................................................................... 5

Picking a Title – Ideas and Prompts ..................................................................................................... 6

Inside Your Magazine 1 and 2 – Thinking about content .............................................................. 7

Making Your Flatplan – Plus 8-page, 12-page and 16-page plans to print out and a

sample ﬂatplan .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Making a Moodboard – Get ideas for how your magazine should look ................................. 14

Designing Your Cover 1 and 2 – What needs to go on the cover and top tips ....................... 15

Magazine Cover Templates x 3 ............................................................................................................... 17

Writing Your Magazine 1 and 2 – How to structure and write your magazine ........................ 20

Choosing Your Pictures – Where to look and how to choose, plus visual examples

and guidance ................................................................................................................................................... 22

Storytime

Magazine Maker Pack

Storytime

Teaching Resources

WHAT’S IT ABOUT? There are lots of magazines for all kinds of people, covering many

different subjects or themes. Take a trip to the local newsagents to see what’s on offer –

or show your class a photo of the magazines lined up in the newsagent or supermarket.

See our Choosing Your Subject sheets to help you decide what your magazine is about.

WHAT’S IT CALLED? A snappy title will convince people to read your magazine. See

our Magazine Titles sheet for help. Can you guess what the magazines are about from

the titles? Also see Picking a Title to help you choose your own brilliant magazine title.

WHAT’S INSIDE? What kind of content will be in your magazine? Get some ideas from

our Inside Your Magazine sheets.

HOW WILL IT WORK? Planning your magazine doesn’t take long and it helps you to work

out what goes where. It’s good to mix up short and long sections to make it easier to read.

A ﬂatplan is another word for a page plan. Print out our 8-Page, 12-Page and 16-Page

Flatplans in Making Your Flatplan to help you get started.

HOW WILL IT LOOK? A magazine moodboard can help you to pin down your ideas

or inspire you if you’re not sure what to do. See Making a Moodboard for guidance.

WHAT’S ON THE COVER? Designing the cover is the most important part of making a

new magazine. It needs to be clear and eye-catching so that readers want to pick it up.

Designing Your Cover gives you an example and some tips. Plus we have Magazine

Cover Templates too.

HOW WILL YOU WRITE IT? Get advice on researching your magazine, how to structure

your writing and how to do interviews from our Writing Your Magazine sheets.

WHAT PICTURES WILL YOU USE? Our Choosing Your Pictures sheet explains how

magazines get their pictures, where to look and how to use them.

Making a magazine is great fun,

but before you get started, here

are some things you should

think about.

Storytime magazine maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

CREATE A

MAGAZINE!

Some magazines are for a wide range of people (e.g. women, men, boys or girls) and

cover lots of different subjects or themes, like fashion, beauty, music, ﬁlm, games,

cookery, sport and lots more – all in one magazine.

To put a magazine like this together, you need a big team of different experts to help

you – someone who knows about fashion, someone who reviews ﬁlms, a gaming

expert, a chef, for instance.

When a publisher makes a magazine, they think carefully about who their readers

will be and what they’re interested in. When they make a magazine for a wide range

of people, they hope to sell as many copies as possible.

Other magazines are about one subject, such as football, guitars, recipes, history, dogs

or knitting. These go into a lot of detail about the subject and often have a team of experts

too. For instance, a magazine about football might have a sports writer, manager, coach or

player in its expert team.

When a publisher makes a magazine about one subject, they hope that everyone in the

country who likes football or dogs, for example, will buy it.

There are three ways you can choose what to make a magazine about:

1. Choose a subject you love. Maybe it’s your hobby or something that really interests

you that you’d like to ﬁnd out more about? If you are interested in the subject, you will

enjoy making the magazine, and your readers will enjoy it too.

2. Choose something you know a lot of readers will love. If you can’t think of anything

you feel passionate about, do a survey in your class or year group. What is their favourite

hobby? Maybe it will give you some ideas.

3. Choose something nobody has done before. Is there a gap in the market? Can

you spot a subject nobody has ever done a magazine on before? Maybe it’s time for

a magazine on frogs or Micro Scooters?

Use Choosing Your Subject 2 to help you decide

Storytime magazine maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

CHOOSING YOUR

SUBJECT 1

What kind of magazine

do you want to make?

Write down your magazine ideas here! Cram in as many ideas as you can, then circle the

one that makes you feel most excited. That’s your magazine!

Choosing Your Subject 2

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Things I Love…

Things My Friends Love…

Magazines Nobody Has Done Before…

Before you choose the title for your new magazine, go to the newsagents and have a

look at other magazine titles for some ideas. Some titles tell you what the magazine is

about straight away. Here are some examples:

Some choose one catchy word or phrase:

Can you guess what these magazines are about or which readers they’re for from

their titles?

Which ones do you like best?

MAGAZINE TITLES

Storytime magazine Maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Health &

Fitness

Good Food

Animals

& You

Total Film

Ideal Home

All About

Space

Red

Hello

Match

Toxic

Beano

Sparkle World

Here are some ideas for picking a title for your own magazine.

Keep it short. Using one word means you can make it big and bold on your magazine

cover, so it will really stand out on the newsagent’s shelf.

Give them a clue. You can keep it short and give readers a hint of what it’s about.

The football magazines Kick and Match both give you a clue about what’s inside. See

below for how you can have fun with one-word magazine titles.

OR…

Say what it is! A two or three-word title lets you say clearly what your magazine is

about. For example, Friendship Bracelet Fun and Star Wars World. See more examples

on our Magazine Titles sheet.

Animals

What sound does the animal

make? Does it have a distinctive

body part?

Do you have to do something

special with your body, or use

special kit or equipment?

Do you use special tools or skills

to do your hobby? Do you do it in

a special place?

Does your school have a crest

with an animal or object on that

could inspire you? Could the

letter in your class name stand

for something?

Hoof for a horse magazine

or Miaow! for a magazine

about cats

Strike for a football magazine

or Leotard for a magazine

about gymnastics

Bricks for a Lego magazine,

The Hut for a magazine about

Cubs or Brownies, Jammin’

for a magazine about music

For example, The School

Scoop, The Buzz (from class

4B… ‘bee’), The Eagle’s Cry.

Types of

Magazines

Think About...

Examples

SPORTS

Hobbies

school

Storytime Magazine Maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

PICKING A TITLE

Look at your favourite magazines. What do you like to read? Which bits of

the magazine do you like most, and which bits do you ﬂick past and ignore?

Which bits do you like most from our list? Circle six that you’ll enjoy putting

together – these can be regular sections in your magazine. You can always

add more or get rid of some later, but six sections is a good starting point.

Remember your readers. Will your magazine keep people interested?

Does it tell them something new or entertaining?

You’ve chosen your subject, picked your title, now you need to think about what’s inside.

We’ve listed the kind of content you might ﬁnd in a magazine. Before you choose, here’s

something to think about…

Posters

Pictures of sporting heroes, cute animals, favourite

celebrities or awesome inventions, machines or

transport – or anything you like!

Puzzles

Puzzles include word searches, crosswords, spot

the difference pictures, follow the trail, quizzes and

odd one out. It’s good if you link them to the subject

of your magazine.

Factfile/All About Page

A feature that teaches you something you didn’t know

about before. It could be about anything from dolphins

to diggers – or it could be a short biography of a famous

person. Factﬁles usually give you ﬁve to ten fun facts.

reviews

What you think of the latest game, song, ﬁlm, toys, book,

TV show or product. Reviews can be long, short or as

simple as giving something marks out of ten. In a dog

magazine, you could review a new dog toy. In a football

magazine, you could review a new footie console game.

Stories or comic Strips

Stories and comic strips are very popular with readers.

Do you know someone arty who can help you with illustrations?

TICK OFF YOUR M EGA GOGO COLLECTION HER E:

Mosh

Nasako

Sato

Okori

Tor i

Helly

Skull

Angiru

Umu

Aiko

Ichiro

Nuclos

Boy

Neko

Hazard

Sun

Hiro

Aka

Molly

Nari

Simi

Codi

Hiraku

Rufus

Tem p

Pibi

Dare

Danko

MC Toy

Gaiji

Lessi

Pop

Imon

Jelly

Sumon

Cho

Raysun

Fist

Zar-Zar

Hayato

Bigu

Ojaru

Speed

Tre mi

B-Boy

Mochi

Popus

Tub e

Cubic

B-King

Croc

Ufus

Egbot

H-83

Ator i

B-Ball

Usuzi

Eco

Oh!

Alkaline

Izumi

Ako

Kami-Kami

Sago

Vampa

Misha

Yuza

Tan C h ia

Kolo

Evi

Awa-Shima

Ghost

Tut

Matsue

Akita

Shizuoka

Miyake

Fujichik

Tsu

Kokubu

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

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65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

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71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

80.

Test your brainpower with our story-themed

puzzles, and get busy with our giant of a game!

Storytime

LUCKY Stars

How many stars did Wynken, Blynken

and Nod catch? Who caught the most

in his net? Write his name in the box!

WORD

Ladder

In The Three Sillies, a woman

makes her cow climb a ladder.

Use our word ladder to get from

COW to EAT in three easy steps.

Change one letter at each step

and see our clues for help!

EAT

Playb

Playb x

COW

Clue: it says Miaow

Clue: a baby sleeps in it

Quick

Quiz

Rapunzel

Rescue

The sorceress has cut off Rapunzel’s

hair! Can you ﬁnd your way to the

top of the tower to save her?

START

FINISH

Milhak

Tea

Rum

Milhak

Tea

Rum

Milhak

Tea

Rum

What does the captain

like to drink in Treasure

Island? Circle the one

you think is correct.

GOGO FILES

1. Mega

MOSH

IMAGINE IF MOSH’S SMILE

WAS EVEN BIGGER? YOU

DON’T HAVE TO... CHECK

OUT MEGA MOSH!

MEGA

MOSH IS A

REAL G IANT:

TWICE THE

SIZE OF REGU LAR

MOSH!

FACT: He’s Mosh – but he’s

eve n bigger an d bette r

wit h a massi ve mega smi le!

SPECIAL ABILITY:

Can mag icall y appear i n more

tha n one place at a t ime – is it

his sup er-powered sm ile?

FAVOURITE GAME:

Roof top Rum ble (see

Comic C razy on p age 6!)

SKILLS:

Christmas for Greta and Gracie

by Yasmeen Ismail is a delightful

celebration of the magic of Christmas

through a child’s eyes. Yasmeen has

perfectly captured the dynamics

between siblings of

different ages in this

tribute to embracing

differences. A true

classic culminating

in a magical encounter

with Father Christmas.

Perfect for reading

on Christmas Eve!

(Nosy Crow.)

Fill up your Christmas stockings with brilliant festive books this

year – your little story-lovers will love you for it!

STORY MAGIC

1. The Snow Beast by Chris Judge – the Beast and

the Snow Beast unite in this madcap winter escapade,

featuring an unexpected friendship and the ultimate

Christmas party. (Andersen Press)

2. The Red Prince by Charlie Roscoe and Tom Clohosy

Cole – an epic tale of courage, which will have readers

on the edge of their seats as a prince in red pjyamas

tries to escape his captors. (Templar Publishing)

3. Penguin’s Way by Johanna Johnston and Leonard

Weisgard – a beautiful exploration of the life of the

emperor penguin. This is perfect for igniting a passion

for the natural world. (Bodleian Children’s Books)

4. The Christmas Eve Tree by Delia Huddy and Emily

Sutton – this compelling and beautifully illustrated story

about a homeless boy and a ﬁ r tree deftly conveys the

true meaning of Christmas. (Walker Books)

4 Festive Books!

CLAUS

COMPETITION!

Emma O’Donovan, who runs the brilliant book blog

booksnifﬁ ngpug.blogspot.co.uk, recommends four

fab books for your Christmas list and our Book of the

Month. Follow Emma on Twitter as @maybeswabey!

in a magical encounter

Book of the Month

WIN!

Follow Santa Claus on

his incredible adventures!

Enter to win one of ﬁ ve copies

of L. Frank Baum’s amazing

book, The Life and Adventures

of Santa Claus! Visit:

storytimemagazine.com/

win

50_ST_15.indd 50 08/10/2015 12:41

Whether you’re buying for an animal lover or building up

your own wish list, here’s our pick of pet-tastic products.

We love this hilarious advert for Wildwash almost as much as

their natural range of pet care products, which contains no yucky

stuff and was developed for dogs and cats. The range includes

shampoos for all types of coats, conditioners and even fragrances,

all developed by a top perfumer. A 300ml shampoo bottle (from

£14.95) is good for 10 washes, so you’ll soon be looking forward

to the smell of wet dog! See the full range at www.wildwash.co.uk.

Lily’s Kitchen pioneers the way

when it comes to wholesome

food for dogs and cats. This

Christmas, look out for their

brilliant Advent Calendar (£9.95)

for dogs, which lets your furry

friend join in the festive fun and

get daily treats. Or give your devoted

doggy a stocking ﬁ ller of hand-baked

Fabulously Festive Christmas Biscuits (£2.99).

Buy them online from www.lilyskitchen.co.uk.

At last! Somebody has designed

a hamster cage that makes a

stylish addition to your home

and allows your hamster to live

in complete luxury. The Qute

Hamster Cage by Omlet (from

£119.99) boasts two ﬂ oors and

can be cleaned in less than a

minute. Find out more about it

at www.omlet.co.uk.

Perfumed To Perfection

Top Nosh

Cool Pad

THE BUNNY BLOG

Rabbit-lover Tamsin reared

her wild rabbit, Scamp, from

hand and does much to

promote good rabbit care

via her informative website

www.therabbithouse.com

and its regularly updated blog.

From choosing the right hutch

for your bunny to foraging for

wild rabbit food, Tamsin’s site

is packed with top tips and is a

must-visit if you’re considering

getting a pet rabbit.

PET

’

Name: Dennis

Breed: Springer

Spaniel

Age: 4 months

Likes: Chicken and

licking ears

Groomed to perfection

Nicknamed

‘Dennis the

Menace’ by his

owners, Glenys

and John

05-07_TC_01.indd 6 04/09/2014 13:19

GRUMPY

The world’s grumpiest feline shot to fame in 2012 when

photos of this cranky cat went viral. But who is Grumpy

Cat and why is she such a sourpuss? We investigate.

GRUMPY

Cat

FAMOUS &

FURRY

Pet Proﬁ le

Real Name:

Tardar Sauce

Date of Birth:

April 12, 2012

Breed:

Moggy, possibly with some

Persian, Ragdoll or Snowshoe genes

Fact:

Has a brother called Pokey

Looks:

Gets her grumpy good looks

from a form of feline dwarﬁ sm

Personality:

Laidback, loves cuddles,

not actually grumpy at all

Hobbies:

Hiding behind curtains

Famous Saying:

“I had fun once…

It was awful.”

All images © Grumpy Cat Limited 2014

20-21_TC_01.indd 20 04/09/2014 14:37

Storytime Magazine Maker: Inside your magazine 1

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Interviews

Questions and answers from someone who is famous or an

expert in the subject you’re writing about. See our Writing

Your Magazine sheet for help with doing interviews.

latest news

The latest news from the subject you’re writing about.

It could be a match report, an update from the animal

world, what happened at a special event, like the school

fete, or what’s happening in the world of your favourite

hobby or toy.

How To Pages

These give readers advice on how to do or make

something. It could be changing a bicycle tyre, baking

a cake, caring for a pet or building a Lego tower, for

example. ‘How to’ pages often have steps (e.g. Step 1,

crack an egg into a large bowl) with illustrations or photos.

It’s best to keep steps short and simple

Colouring or Drawing

A chance to colour in, draw, colour by numbers, d

ot-to-dot or do something creative that’s linked to

the subject of your magazine.

Did you know? trivia page

Weird and wonderful mind-blowing facts about your

subject. This could include world records or crazy things

people have done. They should be fun and easy to read.

It’s always good to add a couple of jokes too.

Design a beautiful dress for Cinderella to wear to the ball!

Add glitter, sequins or gems to make it extra special.

ANSWERS: 1. Hammer Help! – a, d, e; 2. Quick Quiz – Beaver.

Design It!

42-47_ST_03.indd 45 20/10/2014 13:31

Jungle by Numbers

Who is lurking in the jungle undergrowth looking for Mowgli? Follow

our guide to colour in the picture and ﬁ nd the hidden animal.

45-49_ST_05.indd 46 27/11/2014 18:09

Step- by-Step Victoria Sponge

1. Preheat your oven to gas mark 5/190ºC/375ºF

and prepare and line your cake tins (follow the

instructions below).

2. In an electric mixer or using a large bowl and

wooden spoon, cream the butter and

sugar together until they’re light and ﬂuffy.

3. Add one egg at a time, beating well until

the mixture is smooth.

4. Sift in the ﬂour and baking powder and fold it

into the mixture. Add a little milk if it feels dry.

5. Divide the mixture between the two tins and use

an angled palette knife or the back of a spoon

to level the mixture out.

6. Place both tins in the oven and check after

20 minutes. The cakes are ready when you can

insert a skewer into the centre of each one and

it comes out clean.

7. Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack, peel off

the greaseproof papers, turn over and leave to

cool completely before decorating.

How To Prepare Your Cake Tin

A well lined tin will ensure that your sponge has an even surface and doesn’t stick to the pan.

• To line the bottom of your tins, place one on a sheet of greaseproof paper and draw around the base with a pencil (a).

Cut around the inside of the circle to get a snug ﬁt inside the tin.

• To line around the inside edge of your tins, cut a long strip of paper that’s a few centimetres wider than the depth of the tin.

• Fold all the way along one edge of the strip – the fold should be a couple of centimetres wide. Snip from the edge of the paper

up to the fold – do this every few centimetres (b).

• Lightly grease the inside of each tin with a little butter to help the greaseproof paper to stick.

• Place the long strip around the inside edge of the tin, with the snipped edge folding onto the base.

• Pop your greaseproof circle into the base of the tin (c), and repeat the process for your second tin.

Recipe for Success

If your ingredients are too cold, your cake mixture

may curdle. Get everything out of the refrigerator in

advance so that it’s at room temperature before you

start baking.

Classic Recipes

Cake01_09-11_basics.indd 2 30/08/2011 10:50

Step

Step Vanilla Fudge

1. Lightly grease an 18cm (7in) square shallow cake tin with non-stick baking

spray or a flavourless oil.

2. Place the milk, evaporated milk, sugar and butter in a large heavy-based

saucepan. Heat the ingredients gently, stirring with a wooden spoon until the

sugar has completely dissolved and the butter has melted.

3. Bring the mixture slowly to the boil, without stirring. At this stage, place a

sugar thermometer in the pan.

4. Continue boiling the mixture until it reaches 116

C/240

F on the thermometer,

which is the soft ball stage (see Recipe for Success box for more information).

While waiting, stir the mixture frequently with the wooden spoon to prevent it

from sticking to the base of the pan.

5. When the mixture reaches the correct temperature, remove the pan from the

heat and beat in the vanilla extract.

6. Leave the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, then beat thoroughly with the wooden

spoon again until it starts to thicken and has a slightly grainy texture around

the side of the pan.

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, levelling the surface with a

palette knife. Leave for 15 to 20 minutes until almost set.

Ingredients

Makes 25 squares (625g)

Baking spray or flavourless oil

for greasing tin

150ml milk

175ml evaporated milk

500g granulated sugar

100g lightly salted butter, diced

1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

18cm (7in) square shallow cake tin

Heavy-based saucepan

Wooden spoon

Sugar thermometer

Palette knife

Small sharp knife

Chopping board

Class ic

Confectionery

SS01_11-13-Classic.indd 12 28/03/2013 10:53

NEWS

From the best pet products and gift ideas to unmissable events and services,

catch up on all the cutest animal news from our resident newshound.

NEWS

Cute

NEWS

Cute

NEWS

Cute

NEWS

WHAT’S ON

ON NOW!

Paul O’Grady’s heartwarming series For The

Love of Dogs is still airing, so be sure to catch

up with all the cutest canine escapades from

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. This series

travels further aﬁ eld to new sites in Berkshire

and Kent, as well as London, so there are even

more perfect pups to fall in love with. Get your

doggie dose of cuteness on ITV.

NOVEMBER 8 & 9

If you’re thinking of getting a dog but aren’t sure

which breed, then head down to the Discover

Dogs show at Earls Court 1 in London. Over 200

different dog breeds are on display, making it a

one-stop information shop for would-be pooch

owners. With plenty of shopping opportunities and

fun four-legged displays, it also makes a great family

day out. Find out more at www.discoverdogs.org.uk.

NOVEMBER 22

Cat fanciers shouldn’t feel left out. The

Supreme Show is a great opportunity to

coo over fabulous-looking felines. In what

has been dubbed ‘Crufts for cats’, over 1000

cats vie for the title of the ‘Supreme Exhibit’.

But it’s not all about fancy pedigrees, there

are competitions for moggies too. Tickets

are on sale at www.theticketfactory.com.

DECEMBER JANUARY 24 & 25

Over 3,000 teeny cuties will be at the

Burgess Premier Small Animal Show held

at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate.

There’s plenty of opportunity for petting,

as well as getting the lowdown on keeping

small animals from owners and breeders. See

www.thesmallanimalshow.co.uk for tickets.

Zoos countrywide are opening their gates this

season for some amazing displays and events.

Chester Zoo’s animal lanterns make for a

magical experience, while Bristol Zoo offers

kids the chance to feed reindeer and meet

Santa, plus there’s a Christmas market for

adults. Take a walk on the wild side this winter.

05-07_TC_01.indd 5 04/09/2014 17:34

Subscription boxes are all the

rage and give you the chance

to get a brilliant pack of pet

goodies popped through your

postbox every month. Our

current favourites are Top

Collar’s natural doggy treat

boxes (www.topcollar.co.uk),

which come with mouthwatering

dishes like the classic Sunday roast,

Pawpost boxes, which come with a mix of organic

treats and eco-friendly toys (www.pawpost.co.uk),

and the Cat Hampurr (www.cathampurr.co.uk), which

is packed with puss-pleasing products, such as tasty

nibbles, toys and money-off vouchers. Sign up for a

subscription box and your pet will love you for it!

THE IN

THING

LOL PETS!

Dog owners rejoice! Dogs Hanging

Out of Windows, out later this

month, (£12.99, Orion), is a book

that captures the joyous, nose-

twitching expressions of dogs as

they hang their heads out of car

windows. With over 90 beautiful

portraits of mutts in motion,

what’s not to love? Add to the fun

by posting your own dog-out-of-

window snaps on Twitter, using

the hashtag #dogshangingout.

CHARITY CHOICE

Did you know that for just £1 a week you can sponsor a

guide dog puppy and change the life of someone who is

blind or partially sighted? Choose from a heart-melting

selection of pups to sponsor and you’ll get more than the

feel-good factor – you’ll also receive regular ‘pupdates’

on how your puppy is doing, photos, a certiﬁ cate and an

annual calendar. Find out more at www.guidedogs.org.uk.

Let your pooch tuck into its very own turkey

dinner this Christmas! The kind folk over at

Top Collar are offering lucky readers the

chance to get a free sample worth £4.49.

Just visit www.topcollar.co.uk and type in the

pack password TOPDOG for a trial goodie bag!

SPECIAL OFFER

05-07_TC_01.indd 7 11/09/2014 11:22

Storytime Magazine Maker: Inside your magazine 2

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Don’t forget your Contents page! This is at the front of your magazine

and tells readers what to look for on each page. This page usually has

Credits at the side or bottom, saying who worked on the magazine and

what they did.

TIP!

Make sure you have the sections you’ve chosen close by so they are easy to refer

to. When you have a lot to think about, it can be easy to forget what they are.

In shorter magazines, one or two pages for each section is just right. You could even

make one or two of your sections half a page.

Use a pencil to ﬁll in your plan and have an eraser close by. Even experienced

magazine editors change their ﬂatplans several times.

Open your magazine with something entertaining that will make readers say ‘wow’.

As you plan out your magazine, think about what your sections could be called to

make them more appealing. What about Cool Pics! instead of Posters, Awesome Stuff

for Reviews, or Fact-Tastic! for your Factﬁle? Have fun with your section names.

Posters, puzzles and colouring give readers a break from reading. They work well

after long sections with lots of words, or at the back of the magazine.

Don’t forget your back cover. You could put a poster on it or let your readers know

what’s coming in the next issue of your magazine.

We have three ﬂatplans for you to choose from: 8 page, 12 page and 16 page.

Download and print them to get started. Or look at our sample ﬂatplan to give you ideas.

Use our ready-designed ﬂatplans to plan

out what goes where on your magazine and

to decided how many pages long it will be.

Before you begin, here are some tips.

Storytime Magazine Maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Making Your

Flatplan

Did you know?

The number of pages in a magazine is always a multiple of four. That’s

because printers use big pieces of paper on the printing press, then fold

them in half - just like folding a sheet of A4 paper in half to make four sides.

Storytime Magazine Maker Resource Pack: 8-page Flatplan

Front cover

Contents

and credits

1 2 3

6 7

Back cover

Two pages together

are called a ‘spread’

Storytime Magazine Maker Resource Pack: 12-page Flatplan

Front cover

Contents

and credits

1 2 3

4 5

6 7

8 9

10 11

Back cover

Two pages together

are called a ‘spread’

Storytime Magazine Maker Resource Pack: 16-page Flatplan

Front cover

Contents

and credits

1 2 3

8 9

10 11

12 13 14

Back cover

Two pages together

are called a ‘spread’

Storytime Magazine Maker Resource Pack: Example 16-page Flatplan

Front cover

CONTENTS

with page numbers

You could also have an

editor’s letter here to

welcome your readers!

1 2 3

8 9

10 11

12 13 14

Back cover

Two pages together

are called a ‘spread’

TITLE HERE

Big picture

Exciting Cover Line!

Credits

LATEST NEWS!

Break

things up

with a box

DID YOU KNOW?/TRIVIA

Make this all about your subject to get

people interested. Aim to give ve to six

bits of trivia across the spread. Add some

jokes about your subject to make it more

fun! Don’t forget, you need lots of pictures

to go with your words too!

You could put

another poster here

or tell your readers

what’s in the next

issue

COLOURING

This could be

drawing, colouring,

doodling, designing

something, or a

dot-to-dot

POSTER

This is a good

place for a poster

too.

PUZZLES

Try to give a mixture of word puzzles,

number puzzles and picture puzzles.

You could put some jokes in here too!

FACTFILE/ALL ABOUT

Tell your readers interesting facts about

your subject. For example, if you’re doing

a magazine about dogs, you could write

about one breed. If it’s Star Wars, you

could choose one character or vehicle.

HOW TO

Why not teach

your readers how

to make or do

something cool in

easy steps?

POSTER

You could put a big

picture here with a

fun Did You Know

fact, linked to your

Trivia page.

STORY OR

COMIC STRIP

You could tell your

readers a story or

mini comic strip

about your subject

to break things up.

REVIEWS

You could review

things here - or put

an interview here

instead. Or your

HOW TO page

could be a whole

spread.

Use a sheet of A4 paper or bigger, a glue stick and some scissors.

Start looking through old magazines, comics, catalogues or newspapers for inspiration.

Tear out or cut out anything you really like the look of – especially anything that’s related

to the subject of your magazine. You might like a colour, the way something is designed

or the words somebody uses.

Stick everything you’ve found down on your board. If you change your mind about

something before you stick it down, that’s ﬁne, just throw it away.

Your moodboard doesn’t need to be neat and perfect. It’s a collection of ideas.

When you’ve ﬁnished, look at your moodboard. Is there anything that jumps out at you?

What are your favourite bits? Are there any colours you think look brilliant together, like

red and black or pink and lilac? Use the best bits as inspiration for your own magazine.

Vintage Tea Party

Collection

Storytime magazine maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

A moodboard is a collection of pictures or words (or both!)

all about one theme or subject – it’s a bit like a collage

or scrapbook. Making a magazine moodboard can help

you get ideas for what colours you should use on your

magazine cover, what pictures you should use inside

and any words you could use too. Here’s how to put a

moodboard together.

Making a

Moodboard

A big bold magazine title with a big picture will help get your magazine off

to a ﬂying start! A typical magazine cover has…

TITLE: this needs to stand out more than any

other words on the cover. Choose a font and

colour that will get your magazine noticed.

MAIN COVER

PHOTO OR

ILLUSTRATION:

This tells

readers what

the magazine

is about

this time

MAIN COVER LINE: Cover lines tell

you about what’s inside. Make sure

your main cover line matches the

main cover photo or illustration

DATE AND PRICE: these

are usually near the top.

SELLING LINE:

Optional! Not

all magazines

have these. It

tells you why

the magazine

is special or

great

MORE COVER

LINES: Optional!

Short lines or

single words

to tell readers

what else

is inside the

magazine

PICTURES:

Optional!

These can be

used down the

side to make

the magazine

look packed

with features

and fun.

Get some tips

for making a

great cover on

Designing Your

Cover 2!

Storytime magazine maker: Designing Your Cover 1

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Here are some top tips to help you when you’re working on your cover.

Now look at our

Magazine Cover

Templates for

more help!

Magazine title

Make sure it’s big, bold and eye-catching. Look at fonts and colours that look strong

from far away. Can you see your magazine title when you’re on the other side of the

room? Lots of magazine titles use red, black or white, as these colours really stand out.

Main Photo or Illustration

Can you see clearly what it is? Does it say what your magazine is about? If you’re going

to use it over the whole cover, can you put your title on top of it and still read it clearly?

If not, you might need to put your photo or illustration in a frame and put a background

colour around it.

Main Cover Line

Is it exciting? Is it short and snappy? It needs to be easy to read and in a colour that

matches your title and main photo. It’s better to choose just two fonts and two or three

font colours for your magazine cover so that it doesn’t look too messy.

date and price

If your magazine is free, shout about it! People love getting things for free!

Storytime magazine maker: Designing Your Cover 2

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Storytime

Stig of the Dump, Mouse Deer and the Tiger,

Ra's Secret Name, DINING DOGS & MORE!

“I wish I lived here.”

977 2055 639009

Issue 22

£3.99

ancing Princesses

For reading superstars!

A greedy tiger

meets his match!

Jacks sets out to

seek his fortune

The Diners in

the Kitchen

ur dog Fred

Et the bread.

American poet James

Whitcomb Riley loved to

have fun with words and

would often write them as

they sounded to him, which

is why he used ‘Et’ instead

of ‘Ate’. Can you write

down ﬁve words

ending in ‘ate’?

Write It!

By James Whitcomb Riley

Our dog Dash

Et the hash.

Our dog Pete

Et the meat.

Our dog Davy

Et the gravy.

Our dog Toffy

Et the coffee.

Our dog Jake

Et the cake.

Our dog Trip

Et the dip,

And – the worst,

From the ﬁrst –

Our dog Fido

Et the pie dough!

Poems and Rhymes

www.storytimemagazine.com

For free printables and fun :

Whatever you do, don't let

the dogs in the kitchen!

WIN

Brilliant

Books!

Storytime

PLUS The Golden

Bird, The Laughing

Pixie, A Walking

Whale & Puzzles!

9 77205 5 63 9009

ISSN 2055-6390

Issue 23

£3.99

xxxxxxxxxxx!

TBC

THE HOME OF STORIES :

www.storytimemagazine.com

Sing-a-long now! “She’ll Be

Coming Round the Mountain...”

WIN

Brilliant

Books!

Anniversary

Issue

A summer Special full

of blah blah blah blah

blahb la blah blah

blah blahb la

ADVERTS

INSIDE!

Storytime

“I wish i lived here.”

The Twelve

FEATHERED FABLE!

A proud

peacock struts his stu !

Coming

in issue

Read

appily

Ever

fter!

FCBC_ST_22.indd 1 11/05/2016 13:48

The complete cricket encyclopedia in fortnightly parts

4 Sample

pages

included

Introducing the Indian edition of…

Cricket Boost 16pp p01 cover v.1.indd 1 23/10/2009 10:32

THE CLASSIC

LADYBIRD

BOOK COLLECTION

BEYOND THE PAGE

The fascinating stories behind

two favourite fairy tales

ICONIC IMAGES

Take a trip around the world

with our vintage illustrations

LADY04_p01_FC.indd 1 11/09/2015 10:47

Use our templates to help you create your ﬁrst cover design.

Storytime magazine maker: Cover Template 1

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Use our templates to help you create your ﬁrst cover design.

Storytime magazine maker: Cover Template 2

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Use our templates to help you create your ﬁrst cover design.

Storytime magazine maker: Cover Template 3

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Before you can start thinking about how the inside of your magazine looks or what

pictures you’ll use, you need to research it and write it. Here are some tips to help you.

You can research the subject of your magazine by looking at books, encyclopaedias,

other magazines and trustworthy websites. Your local library is a good place to visit.

When you’ve got all the facts you need, you can start writing. Remember: don’t copy

what other people say, you need to write it in your own style and own way.

Each new feature or section in a magazine starts with a header – this is like the title of

a story and tells the reader what it’s all about. Here are some examples:

In your Factﬁle/All About section, you could have the header: All About… Guinea Pigs

or Darth Vader Factﬁle.

In your Interview section, you could have the name of the person you’ve interviewed,

e.g. The Big Interview: The Head Teacher or The Big Interview: Ronaldo!

In your How To section, you could have: How To… Bake Chocolate Cupcakes.

Posters don’t really need headers, unless you want to add some funny or cute words

to make your readers smile.

Below the header is an intro. This is short for introduction. The intro is a short summary

of what you’ll be writing about. You don’t always need these, but they can help get your

readers excited. For example:

Follow our easy step-by-step guide to bake the most delicious chocolate cupcakes ever!

Exclusive! Rooney reveals the secret exercises that make him the king of football.

Here’s an example of a header and intro for a magazine about cute ﬂuffy pets.

MUMMY

& me

A mother’s love is hard to beat – pure, unconditional, patient and everlasting.

Oh and full of snuggles… Coo over our sweet selection of mummies and babies.

Puppy Love

32-41_TC_01.indd 32 04/09/2014 15:46

Storytime magazine maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Writing Your

Magazine 1

If you’re writing something with lots of facts, you can stop it from looking too boring by

breaking it up into smaller sections, and giving each small section a short header. These

short headers are called subheadings or crossheads and they tell you what’s coming

next in your writing. They are in a smaller font than the main header.

You can also make a section look more interesting by adding boxes with interesting

facts in them – these can be any shape you like. Boxes are good if you can’t ﬁt all the

interesting facts you’ve discovered into what you’re writing.

If you’re writing a review, make it look more interesting by giving it a star rating at the

end or marks out of 10.

If you’re doing an interview in your magazine, here are some helpful do’s and don’ts…

The best advice of all is to look at what other magazines do, as it will give you lots of

guidance and ideas!

A GOLDEN AGE

Perfect Patriots

The opening pages of your London book suggest a time of patriotic ﬂ ag-waving, when

the Royal Family were not just at the heart of tourism, but a reason to visit the capital.

These were times of great popularity for the monarchy.

In the ﬁ nal years of World War II, the Windsors

faced a challenge – how to modernise their image

and maintain popularity while all around them felt

the strain of rationing. Princess Elizabeth played a

vital role and, in her teens, broadcasted uplifting

messages to young evacuees on Children’s Hour.

In 1945, she won respect by contributing more

directly to the war effort, and training for the

Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Post-war, her marriage to Phillip Mountbatten

in 1947 (in a gown made from ration coupon

fabric) brought some light relief. The ceremony

was heard by an estimated 200 million radio

listeners worldwide. By the time of her accession

in February 1952, the nation was excited by the

prospect of a glamorous young princess becoming

its Queen. Her coronation on 2 June 1953 was the

cause of celebrations up and down the country.

Advancing Happiness

The new Queen took her responsibilities seriously,

vowing, “I shall always work... to advance the

happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as

they are all the world over.” She quickly dedicated

herself to public duties, meeting heads of state

from around the world. Some of these journeys

were undertaken on the new royal yacht, Britannia

– its name a potent symbol of Britain’s optimism in

the aftermath of war.

1961

LADY05_p13-14_Golden.indd 13 22/09/2015 14:40

CATHERINE’S HALO

Sensational speculation prevailed before the

marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

on April 29th, 2011, and her tiara choice was hotly

debated. Her mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana,

had worn for her own wedding the Swarovski

Spencer tiara, a piece from her own family with

elaborately stylised diamond flowers. This was one

of Catherine’s options, but though many believed

that she would break with convention, she surprised

everybody. It was not to be the Swarovski tiara,

nor, indeed, was it the Garrard Cambridge Lover’s

Knot tiara, which had been the Queen’s wedding

gift to Diana. In true ‘something borrowed’ tradition,

Catherine wore the sophisticated Cartier Halo tiara

(shown right), crafted as a band of 16 graduated

scrolls and set with 888 glittering diamonds. It was

loaned to her by her soon-to-be grandmother-in-

law, Queen Elizabeth II.

It was made in 1936 and originally purchased by the

Duke of York (later King George VI), who had given

it to his wife Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. In

turn, the Queen Mother had given the Halo to her

daughter, Princess Elizabeth, for her 18th birthday.

Although several royals had worn the Halo before

Catherine’s big day, this was the first time a royal

bride had worn the tiara. This handing-down of a

traditional, but reasonably understated, tiara was a

very personal gesture between the Queen and Kate,

and also showed the young bride to be the new

‘people’s princess’.

The Royal Tiara Collection

Queen Elizabeth II is thought to have the world’s

largest tiara collection – heirlooms and gifts bestowed

upon her throughout her reign. When she attends

formal events, the Queen will often wear one of the

tiaras picked from her personal collection.

For her own wedding in 1947, the then Princess

Elizabeth was lent the famous Russian Fringe tiara

(also known as the King George III tiara) by the

Queen Mother. This piece was originally made

into a tiara (which could also be worn as a necklace)

in 1919 by Queen Mary. The Queen Mother also

loaned this tiara to her granddaughter, Anne – the

Princess Royal – for her marriage to Captain Mark

Phillips in 1973.

The Greek Key tiara, notable for its large brilliant cut

diamond in the centre, belonged to Princess Alice

of Battenburg (mother of Prince Philip, Duke of

Edinburgh), and was a wedding gift to her future

daughter-in-law. The Queen passed it on to Princess

Anne, who wore it during her engagement to

Mark Phillips. More

recently, Anne

loaned it to her

daughter, Zara,

for her wedding

on July 30, 2011.

Zara Phillips wearing

the Greek Key tiara.

ROY01_p12-14_Traditions.indd 2 25/04/2012 16:38

“Thanks for asking, Brer Bear. I’m

doing pretty well,” said Brer Rabbit.

“What are you doing up there in

the heavens, Brer Rabbit?” asked

Brer Bear.

“Brer Fox is paying me a dollar a

minute to guard his pea patch from

the birds,” said Brer Rabbit. “In fact,

he said if Brer Bear comes along,

you should ask him if he wants

to do it instead, as he has a big

family to care for and would

be even better at

scaring away the

pesky birds.”

“Wow! A dollar a

minute!” thought

Brer Bear. “That

sounds like

easy money

to me!” And

he jumped at

Brer Rabbit’s

sneaky

job offer.

Brer Rabbit asked his bear friend to

untie the knot around his back legs,

and made his escape from the trap.

In just a few minutes, poor Brer Bear

was swinging from the top of the tree

in Brer Rabbit’s place.

Brer Rabbit waved goodbye to Brer

Bear, then he hopped all the way over

to Brer Fox’s place as quickly as he

could and cried out, “Brer Fox!

Brer Fox! Come right away

and see the thief who’s

been stealing from

your pea patch!”

Brer Fox dashed

out of his house

and ran up the

lane with Brer

Rabbit.

WORD

WISE

The word ‘brer’

is a short way of

saying ‘brother’, and

is used in lots of Brer

Rabbit tales, which

come from

America.

10-15_ST_19.indd 13 05/02/2016 15:51

Rabbit mums only feed their

babies once or twice a day, usually

overnight. The baby bunnies –

called kits or kittens – lie on

their backs and mum stands

over them while they have

a milky midnight feast!

Did you know?

Mummy I can do

handstands too, you

know. I’m just a bit

sleepy right now.

Bundles

of fluff!

Some bunny loves you!

I know my love –

show me later.

Let’s have a snoozy

cuddle ﬁ rst.

32-41_TC_01.indd 35 04/09/2014 15:47

DO DON’T

Ask open-ended questions that start with Why,

How, Where, What?

Ask close-ended questions that can be

answered with yes or no. They start with

Do you, Did you, Will you, Are you?

Ask what life was like for them at school –

your readers might be interested to hear this.

(What were they good at, bad at, who was their

favourite teacher and why?)

Ask their favourite colour unless they’re an

artist! (And if you do, also ask ‘why’.)

Prepare some questions before the interview. Stick to them like a script. Listen to what your

interviewee is saying and you might get ideas

for even better questions.

Storytime magazine maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Writing Your

Magazine 2

IMAGE LIBRARIES: on the internet own thousands of pictures on almost every subject

you can think of. You have to search for them, like you search for things on Google,

and you have to pay the library each time you use one of their pictures.

PHOTO SHOOTS: big magazines arrange their own photo shoots in studios, homes

or outdoors using professional photographers. For a fashion shoot, you might have

a photographer, a photographer’s assistant, models, a make-up artist, a hair stylist, a

fashion stylist and some of the people who work on the magazine there! It takes a lot

of people and a lot of hard to work to create nice photos for a magazine.

COMMISSIONED ART: this is when you pay an artist to create an illustration for

you that works with the words you’ve written.

For your magazine, you could use images from:

Other magazines, if you cut them out carefully.

Google image search – and print out the images.

Your own photos.

http://www.freeimages.co.uk or https://pixabay.com – but ask an adult for help!

Make sure any pictures you choose are clear and look good – do they make you go

‘wow!’ or ‘awww!’ or ‘cool!’? Do they make what you’ve written about clearer?

Remember, a few big pictures will break things up and stop pages looking too wordy.

Some pictures look great when they’re big, but you can’t tell what they are when

they’re small, so look out for this in your magazine.

AND FRIENDS

Megan, Booboo’s owner, claims that she is

the perfect model – cooperative, patient and

very laidback! She’s a bit of a prima donna

and likes to be carried around a lot, but this

means she’ll sit perfectly still and happily

pose for her portraits! However, she can be

quite spirited in the company of other guinea

pigs – Booboo knows what she wants!

BOOBOO BONUS

Booboo’s Buddies

Booboo isn’t the only posing pet in her house. Her

ﬂ atmate Teddy (also a female) is very photogenic

too. She also has regular visits from Titi, who used

to live with Booboo, but now lives with Megan’s

sister. Teddy and Titi are both two years old.

TEDDY has a distinctive chocolate brown

patch around her left eye and is a big cuddly

guinea who loves nothing more than being

stroked and petted – and nibbling carrots!

TITI pops round for regular visits and

loves to run around the house. Titi is famous for

her super-cute squeak whenever she wants food.

Booboo

See more beautiful Booboo photos here:

http://boobooandfriends.nl

Or check out Booboo on Instragram:

http://instagram.com/boobooandfriends

Teddy

Titi

70-71_TC_01.indd 71 04/09/2014 17:04

Henny Penny

nce upon a time on a sunny spring morning, Henny Penny

the chicken was scratching around the farmyard looking

for some tasty corn to eat.

She was clucking away, when Plop! Something hard hit her on the head.

“Goodness gracious me!” she cried. “The sky’s falling down! I must go and

tell the queen!”

Off she strutted as quickly as she could, leaving the henhouse behind her.

At the corner of the barn, she bumped into Cocky Locky who had just been

cock-a-doodle-dooing at the top of his voice.

Favourite Fairy Tales

25-31_ST_19.indd 25 05/02/2016 16:03

As soon as you know what the words say in

your magazine, you can start thinking about the

pictures that go with them. People who work in

magazines use three main ways to get pictures:

Storytime Magazine Maker

Storytime

Teaching Resources

Choosing Your

Pictures