The Tessy & Tab Fan Club

She's clapping for the new Syllable activity...

From Marisa, Haley's mom:

I wanted to write to tell you that my daughter, Haley (4yrs), just loves the new syllable section! Her dad caught her pulling out all her back issues of Tessy & Tab and looking through to see which ones had syllable pages. She caught on to the "syllable clapping" concept incredibly quickly, and it's now one of her favorite things to do.  (That's what she's doing in the photo below.)

 

And I'm so happy to report that she's now able to read the Tessy & Tab issues herself (largely due to Tessy & Tab!), though she still prefers us to read them to her.

 

Thanks so much, and keep up the great work!

Who's happy now?

From Corie, Carson's mom:

I thought you would like to see a picture of Carson with her Tessy & Tab tote bag.

She LOVES it!   

 

It's her new "go-to" bag! She likes how it fits her Tessy & Tab books perfectly.

"Reading" to her bear...

From Stacy, Gwendolyn's mom:

My daughter Gwendolyn will be 4 in September. She has been a Tessy and Tab subscriber for about 6 months. Several times each week she asks if she has any mail, which she never used to do before Tessy and Tab. She can spot the envelope through all the other mail and has a special spot near our front door where she opens her book. She will not do it anywhere else and mom and dad are not allowed to peek. She also absolutely loves the online portion. We cannot turn the computer on around her without promising to play Tessy and Tab.

Each night we have Gwendi and Mommy time. I lay down in bed with her and we read 3 to 5 stories of her choice. Just recently, she has started 'reading' Tessy and Tab to her Tommy Bear after I leave the room. When I heard her the first night, I thought she was playing and I was getting ready to go in and tell her it's time to go to sleep. But, when I saw her 'reading' the books to her Tommy Bear, I let her be and just watched. She was describing what was in all the pictures to her Tommy Bear. It was adorable. (And by the way, she was soooo excited that in the most recent issue, Tab gets to read 3 books at night like she does and Tessy sleeps with a teddy like she does.)

Last night I took this photo just after she fell asleep. Thanks for such a wonderful tool. Young minds are so full imagination and so eager to absorb new information. It is great to find something that encourages both.

Thanks again!

The gift that keeps on giving...

From Bonnie, Maci's mom:

My 2.5yr old daughter, Maci, loves Tessy & Tab. She has been receiving them for over a year (it was a gift from a family friend).  We read them so much that she can actually read some of the books to me (memorizing them of course). It is really cute. We have saved all of the books and she piles them up in her room. When it is time for bed she picks out a couple for my husband and me to read her.  When I get the mail she always asks me if there is a Tessy & Tab for her.

 

Thank you for providing such a wonderful experience for our family.

Turning off the TV "just like Tessy & Tab"...

From Abby's mom, Sarah:

My 3 year old, Abby, loves Tessy and Tab! Every time a new issue comes, she saves it for her bedtime story and loves to hear it over and over. Her favorite thing to do is find Peek-a-Bug. She's better at it than I am! We recently got the issue about turning off the TV, and Abby really related to this. She loved the outside activities they did instead, and now when I want her to turn off the TV, she says "just like Tessy and Tab"!

Thanks so much for making reading fun.

D-O-O-R, just like my Tessy & Tab

                  ***** Staff Favorite *****

From Adam's mom, Andra:

When I got the last Grown-Up Guide email, I told Adam that his new Tessy and Tab was on its way and that it was about puddles.  Everyday since he has asked "Can we check the mail to see if my Tessy and Tab is here?"  "They are playing in puddles with their boots and playing with boats in the water". 

It really is amazing how much he loves these books! He can already read one of the books all by himself (with a little help on the big words) and he's only 3.5!  I am truly amazed at what a great product these books are.  He is also recognizing words other places from his books.  The other day he was getting out of the car and there is the little child lock button on the inside of the car door and it was labeled "child door lock" and he pointed at the word door and said "D-O-O-R, just like in my Tessy and Tab book".  Sorry to have rambled on, I just wanted you to know how much he loves his books.

Getting to know Tessy & Tab

From Theo's mom, Cathy:

Theo liked looking at the Tessy & Tab magazines immediately but it was after he had received 2 or 3 in the mail that his excitement about it really took off. When a new one arrives he immediately tears open the envelope and lays on his stomach on the floor and pages through it.  The Play in Puddles issue arrived yesterday and we’ve already read it a half dozen times.  We looked for the rain hat, the bench etc. and counted the boats and boots.  We read a lot anyway but it has been really fun to watch him get to know Tessie & Tab and be excited about it.

Rock Star Readers

                  ***** Staff Favorite *****

From Stacey, Kaityn and Colin's mom:

Kaitlyn and Colin are 26 months old and received their Super Starter pack yesterday in the mail and were so excited! We read all four books right away and they each took two of them and carried their books around with them everywhere they went for the entire night.  Then the first thing they asked for in the morning were their Tessy and Tab books.  My husband and I could not believe how much they could bend and mangle their Tessy and Tab books in only 24 hours.

Kaitlyn and Colin enjoy reading the silly things that Tessy and Tab do in the stories and were laughing and talking about them during our dinner conversation that night. Their favorite book so far is when Tessy and Tab go to the grocery store. When we went to the store they asked my husband and I to put bananas on our head just like Tessy did because they thought it was so silly! Thanks for creating such a great book series!  Both my husband and I are in the field of education and we feel that these books are very educational for children and we look forward to Kaitlyn and Colin building their collection of Tessy and Tab books!!!

Here they are reading their books! They think they are Super Star Readers as you can tell by the picture of them with the sunglasses:)

Really making a difference...

                  ***** Staff Favorite *****

From Bobby and Katie's mom, Theresa:

We just subscribed to the Tessy and Tab Reading Club and we LOVE it! We ordered the magazines for our kids, Bobby, age 5, and Katie, age 3 1/2. They already read lots of books and we visit the library often, but the reading club seemed like such a neat idea since the magazines came right to them every two weeks, so much better than the other monthly magazines they receive. They are so excited to get the next issue that we ended up ordering the starter pack after we ordered the annual subscription, just so that they would have several magazines to look at--since they actually fight over the magazines!

Bobby is in Kindergarten and likes books, but this magazine really has made a difference in a short time. He is reading them all by himself, with some help on new and big words, and he is super proud of himself (and we are too). Katie loves the stories, as well as the fun activities at the back of the magazine. She also enjoys having her big brother read the story to her.

In this picture, you only see Bobby with the first two issues because he did not want to share "his" magazines with his sister. My husband and I love books and we read daily, but this magazine has done a lot to encourage our kids to love to read!

Sounding out words at 3 years old...

                  ***** Staff Favorite *****

From Haley's mom, Marisa:

My daughter, Haley, is 3 1/2 years old.  She has received Tessy & Tab for one year now, and I'm amazed that she's actually starting to read them to me!  Not only does she explain the pictures, she will actually try to sound out some words, and always sounds out the words on the "Find These Words" portion at the end.  Tessy & Tab has not only given her practice at reading skills, it has given her a desire to read.

And of course, she just loves to get mail of her very own, and the frequency (every two weeks) is perfect.  She thinks that Tessy and Tab actually send her mail personally.  Nothing can compare to the joy this magazine brings to her!

Not a big fan at first...

From Shantell:

My mother ordered Tessy and Tab for my 4yrs old daughter. When we first received the books she wasn't that excited about them. Now that we have received and read 13 books she wants us to read one every night before bed. She looks forward to receiving them in the mail. Now that she is 5yrs old, she tries to read them by herself first. I love the books because they help her count and learn new words.

Reading under the table?!

From her mother, Camie:

This is a picture of my three year old daughter Kacey reading her latest Tessy & Tab book. She is thrilled when they arrive in the mail and even has to open the envelope herself. Then of course she wants to read it right away! In this case, Kacey took her new Tessy & Tab to a cozy little reading spot under her craft table. I couldn't believe how cute it was and I snapped it in this photo.

Almost canceled her subscription...

From Connie's mom, Corina:

I had canceled our subscription, due to complete lack of interest by my daughter. You encouraged us to continue receiving the Tessy and Tab books to see if Connie would be drawn into the receiving of mail and eventually the reading. You were absolutely right! She loves them now, as does my star 5 year old reader! Elena, the 5 year old has started asking Connie (almost 4 years old) to read her a bedtime story now. Connie is always very pleased to comply. It is adorable. Connie has become very possessive of her collection and often won't let her older sister read or touch any. We love to hear and watch Connie tell the stories on the pages without even reading it to her first. She is just starting to pick out and recognize the letters as words and it is fun watching her be so curious and creative with the language and text. She is so proud of herself!!! Thank you.

 

Tessy & Tab are a mirror for Bea...

From her mom, Erin:

Beatrice, our almost-3 year old, happens to fall into a unique category: her Auntie Shonna works at Blue Lake Children's Publishing . Thus, one day, Bea received a little booklet in the mail with a special message that said "Happy Reading from Auntie Shonna & Uncle David." And so began her/our relationship with Tessy & Tab.

Most of Bea's little life experiences are mirrored through the magazines and consequently she can soundly relate to the characters. This summer Bea was ill, and so was Tessy. It made it much easier to negotiate taking Bea's temperature and giving her Tylenol when she saw Tessy doing the same. Likewise, this month is Bea's 3rd birthday and voila, it is also Tessy's birthday this month. Bea certainly has a kinship with Tessy and Tab. More importantly, I have seen how the magazines have fostered her desire to "read," count and learn.

As parents we are thrilled to have discovered this tool, it is far superior to any of the other children's subscriptions we have seen (and chose not to bother with). It is simple and manages to capture the spirit and developmental learning curve of its intended audience. We certainly look forward to many more issues of Tessy & Tab. Further, Bea has been hounding me to "take a picture" of Tessy and Tab  when I visit her Auntie Shonna this month. Happy reading!!

A Co-Founder's Story...

My story begins when I had two kids under 3 years old. Judy (my sister) and Rosie decided it was time to get serious about an idea they had been dreaming of for over 10 years -- to launch a magazine that a preschooler would be able to read independently (more info). My older kids were both an inspiration for our story ideas as well as beta testers for all things Tessy & Tab.

I now have a third child who is almost 3. He began getting Tessy & Tab addressed to him in the mail when he was just over 2. I worried that perhaps he would not experience the same magic that many of our customers tell us about. You can decide for yourself by watching the short (and sweet!) video I created when Tessy's Birthday issue arrived:

I'm looking forward to the upcoming years of Tessy & Tab -- I love that I get to discover the world all over again through the eyes of a preschooler!