Children's Magazines Month: The End is Near

National Geographic Kids

Although National Geographic Kids has, along with Boys Life, significant advertising content and an abundance of flashy colors and graphics, it's still a magazine that I like very much. "Amazing Animal Friends" is this month's theme, with fun stories (and, of course, great photographs) of unusual interspecies friendships, such as a dog and a goat, a chimp and a dog, a rabbit and a deer, and an orangutan and a cat. Articles about a rescued rhino and 6 strange roadside attractions round out another cool issue. Puzzles, reader contributions, and the like are regular departments.



Ranger Rick

Ranger Rick, published by the National Wildlife Federation in Vienna, is one of the granddaddies of the children's magazine world. Published since 1967, Ranger Rick has educated and entertained readers about nature and wildlife. Honestly, I prefer Ranger Rick a bit more than National Geographic Kids; the one ad in Ranger Rick is for NWF educational products, and the design is much less cluttered, loud, and frantic. Luckily, young nature fans seem to enjoy both. November's issue features an article on pronghorns, with articles on insect hunters, animal houses made from holes, jokes, puzzles, and Q&A round out this issue of a fine magazine.



Spider

Spider (a Cricket publication) is a literary magazine for children too old for Ladybug. Filled with stories, poetry, jokes, and more, readers enjoy a magazine packed with great stories and lovely illustrations. Naturally, October's issue has a Halloween theme.

Sports Illustrated for Kids

Yes, it has significant advertising content, but you really can't beat SI for Kids for its appeal to boys, reluctant readers, and sports fans of all kinds. SI for Kids takes its readers seriously: it's not dumbed down and it's not on visual overload. In this current issue, readers meet Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, an 18 year old motocross champion who happens to be deaf, and get a sneak peak at the upcoming NHL season.



Stone Soup

Stone Soup is another longstanding children's magazine, having been published since 1973. Stone Soup stands out among the other magazines in that everything in the magazine, from stories, illustrations, and book reviews, is contributed by children ages 8-13. Stone Soup has remained the sole publication of the Children's Art Foundation since its first publication. An outstanding magazine!

Your Big Backyard

Your Big Backyard, published by the National Wildlife Federation, is aimed toward children ages 3-7. If you have a young animal fan who's not quite ready for Ranger Rick, try Your Big Backyard. Terrific photography and simple yet engaging text makes this a great magazine for young children. Snow monkeys are the cover girls/guys for the current issue; articles explaining the difference between antlers and horns, a Thanksgiving rebus story, an article about snow monkeys, reader submission features, and games round out the fun.

As you can see, we have a fantastic children's magazines collection. When you visit one of our branches, take a few issues home (current issues cannot be checked out, but back issues are available).