Beaver annuals

 

Scouting used to have a good number of annual publications both official and unofficial before they were discontinued in the early 2000's and we have over the years covered a number for Cubs/Wolf Cubs, Scouts and the odd Girl Guiding one.

Beavers was established within the Scout Association in 1986, although the BP-SA had had them for longer for 6 to 8 year olds so had less time in print than many of others.

The cover is bright,cheerful and appealing designed more to appeal to that age group than the more formal look of many cub annuals although it does show things you can do in Beavers and has sections about them inside.

An increasing concern was percieved value as while the internet was less established and E-Books had yet to take off, books had to tackle such calls on a young childs attention as toys and television so stressing the number of pages mattered to persuade adults to buy the Beaver the annual.

Given in the UK the annual remains a popular gift for children, I do feel it's unfortunate that rather than being redesigned for greater appeal, such publications were just dropped.