A guide to the 15 best Children’s Magazines for toddlers, preschoolers, big kids & tweens!
When my kids were young, I loved to take them to the library.
We would search the shelves for our favorite books and attend storytime sessions.
And sometimes we would explore a new area of the library — which is how we found the children’s periodical section on one cold and snowy Tuesday.
It’s kind of hidden at our library, tucked back behind the non-fiction books in the corner. But once you know where to look, there’s so much to see!
So on that first day, we checked out a copy of Ladybug Magazine for Kids. We read the short stories, enjoyed poems, sang songs and challenged ourselves with the puzzles.
And we put the magazine shelf on our weekly list of places to explore!
A Guide to the Best Children’s Magazines
What do we love about children’s magazines?
They offer a wonderful variety of literature for kids!
You’ll find poems, stories, word games and music all in one issue. Plus a beautiful array of illustrations included on almost every page. Sometimes kids are more drawn to the pictures than the text.
And most periodicals are published every month or two so you’ll find seasonal and holiday related reading material that allow kids to explore the changes they see going on in their world.
We really love the idea that it’s easy to pick up and put down a magazine. We will often take them in the car when running errands. While standing in a check-out line, I can easily read through a poem or two.
And as our kids have gotten older, it’s great for them to have magazines in the car — they can read a short story or two on the way to activities and not feel compelled to “keep reading” 🙂
Plus, magazines are SUPER easy to pack!
They are perfect for plane trips and long car rides.
Here’s a list of the magazines we have read and LOVED over the years. I’ve included affiliate links along with information on any *free* sample publications that are available.
Our best advice when choosing magazines — just like books, look for periodicals that capture your child’s interests! If they enjoy science, go for a periodical that shares STEM articles. If they enjoy fiction stories, look for a magazine that shares stories and poetry.
Babybug & Ladybug Magazine for Toddlers
For younger kids, our favorites are Babybug
The illustrations are GORGEOUS! And there’s always seasonal material. Kids will love the short stories, poems and picture puzzles. And we have kept ours for years — I would store them with our other holiday books and we would re-read them each year.
Read a free issue of Ladybug or flip through the pages of Babybug.
Both magazines come in English or Spanish and you can also get digital copies if you don’t like to store paper.
Science & History Magazines for Children Ages 5 – 10
The kids also loved reading National Geographic Little Kids and National Geographic Kids.
National Geographic Little Kids introduces toddlers & preschoolers to the world of animals with beautiful color photos, matching games and rhymes. We love the details of the close-up pictures! Older animal lovers will enjoy National Geographic Kids which includes both fiction and nonfiction stories, jokes, puzzles and fun facts! Each issue also includes cool crafts or science experiments that kids and parents can do together.
Ask
Each issue is focused around a theme, and helps to answer all those questions that kids love to ‘ask’! Also a great balance of text and pictures on each page. Here’s an awesome look inside the magazine!
Click
My kids absolutely LOVED this magazine — not only the content but all the great photography too. It’s perfect for kids ages 3 – 7 years old. Read a sample issue
Another of our most favorite in-depth magazines is Kids Discover. They have such awesome topics (ancient civiliations, in-depth STEM ideas) along with puzzles and activities. This is a great non-fiction read and I’m sure you’ll find at least one issue that your kids will obsess about 😉
We never had a yearly subscription — instead I would pick up the issues that included a topic my kids were crazy over. And now they are putting all their issues into apps for the iPad — AWESOME ones!
Check out their sneak peek into Ancient Egypt!
If you have kids who love puzzles, jokes, comics and hidden picture challenges than this is the magazine for them! Highlights For Children
There are still some old favorites (the Timbertoes) and lots of new activities, nature and craft ideas. This is a very dense magazine with TONS to read and do each month.
Ranger Rick 
We love the photos, puzzles, activities and great facts about animals. I also like that there’s an online version available with monthly activities, parent and teacher sections and sneak previews for upcoming month.
Magazines for Middle School Kids
If you’re looking for a magazine that will introduce your kids to cultures around the world, you’ll really enjoy Faces. Kids ages 9 and up will enjoy reading about daily life along with traditions and history of people and places from around the globe. There are really nice photos in each issue too! Enjoy reading a free issue of Faces online.
When kids get into the tween years, they begin to gravitate to stories about kids like them (and by like them, I mean the same gender — both of my kids went through the “I don’t like girls/boys” stage and their reading habits followed suit for a while 😉
My daughter really likes the American Girl
My son enjoyed reading Boys Life
Kids who love to explore ancient societies will really love the stories and in-depth details in Dig Into History
The magazine focuses on archeology, ancient civilizations & new discoveries and includes activities and maps. Dig into an issue of Dig for a preview.
Cricket
Muse
Odyssey 
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