As an advocate for children’s literacy and thoughtful, creative learning discovery tools, I’m constantly on the lookout for engaging new materials to add to the bookshelf. I’ve been introduced to countless wonderful children’s books this year, but I have also noticed so many beautifully designed, fun, and innovative kids’ magazines popping up lately.
For kids who may find reading intimidating, want a break from long reads, or are simply curious about a specific niche subject, magazines provide a great alternative to full books. They can create a sense of belonging and community. And who doesn’t love discovering a delightful new magazine in the mailbox? Also, from personal experience, magazines are a travel lifesaver!
Below are a few new magazines I’ve found to be an exceptional mix of innovation, appeal, education… and just downright DELICIOUS to leaf through. I’ve also included a couple of family-friendly finds for adults and a few classics that may be older but have totally maintained their quality and are just as beloved. If you have a standout favorite you don’t see on this list, share it in the comments!
Just a quick note before we dive in: none of these recommendations are affiliates or sponsored – just things I’ve run across and fallen in love with!
Our Kids Magazine Top Picks
Anorak and dot Magazines
Anorak is recommended for kids ages 6-12.
Dubbing themselves the “happy magazine for kids,” Anorak’s goal is to encourage children to tap into their imagination, use their creativity to learn, and give them tools to amplify their voices.
With lusciously fun interactive illustrations, articles, stories & comics that entertain and stimulate, it’s easy to see why kids (and adults like me!) are immediately drawn to this magazine. Seriously, stop by their website for an eye-popping preview – their covers alone are suitable for framing!
In addition to the learning benefits, the magazine is printed on recycled paper with vegetable ink, and is intentionally filled with timeless content, intended to be kept and collected rather than tossed out. Gotta be green.
DOT is recommended for kids ages 5 and under.
As the “younger sibling” of Anorak, DOT embraces the same mission and goals, packaged in a way that appeals to younger readers. DOT encourages learning through play and resourcefulness in finding solutions through imagination and fun.
Print subscription and single issues are available through their online shop in the UK, but can be shipped worldwide, and often found at small, independent booksellers in the US.
Lotta Magazine
Recommended for kids ages 5-10.
I found Lotta Magazine through Instagram (isn’t that the best!) and totally fell in love with their amazingly creative arts & craft projects (you have to see their #FamousArtistFridays!). Each issue is based around a theme — Decorating, Nature, Recycling, Animal, The Sea, When I Grow up, Fright, History, Space, Colour, Secrets, Travel, and Story — and packed with ideas for imaginative play and creation.
Lotta makes a point of sharing projects that use basic, affordable supplies, and conveniently offers free printable templates and issue extensions on their site. Looking through the pages and projects, I couldn’t help but wish this had been around when I was a kid.
There wasn’t one single craft I wouldn’t have wanted to put together, and the best part is that the making of something is just the beginning. The finished products are all things that can be played with long after the actual building has ended – creating a full, ongoing experience rather than a short-lived few minutes of toss-away entertainment.
Print subscriptions and single issues or sets can be purchased online through their shop in Australia.
Chop Chop
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
Chop Chop is a fun cooking magazine for kids that shares recipes along with articles and tips on healthy habits. Created as a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire and teach, Chop Chop encourages children and families to find joy in cooking real food together. ChopChop is filled with nutritious, delicious, ethnically diverse, and budget-friendly recipes.
It keeps the attention of young chefs by sharing fun food facts and information through games and puzzles. They maintain a positive attitude-first stance when it comes to food – calorie counts and nutrition content information is not included in articles, but everything is reviewed and approved by medical and nutrition advisors.
This hands-on cookbook alternative is a fantastic way to introduce kids to the joy of cooking and healthy living through fresh food.
Print subscriptions are available in both English and Spanish and can be purchased through their online shop.
Illustoria Magazine
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
Last January, a friend sent me a copy of Illustoria with a note that simply had an enormous smiley face scrawled across the page – which basically sums up how I felt after pouring through the delicious pages, cover-to-cover. Recognized as a magazine for “creative kids & their grownups,” Illustoria celebrates making & storytelling through illustration, stories, comics, and activities.
It’s filled with drawing and writing prompts, coloring pages, and activities created by world-renowned illustrators, designers, and artists, that help kids explore their own abilities, interests, and the idea of artistic collaboration.
Beyond the beautiful graphics, the articles and stories cover important topics that encourage young readers to participate in thoughtful consideration and can initiate important discussions. The total package.
Print subscriptions and single issues are available through their online shop, and often found at small, independent booksellers in the US.
New Moon Girls Magazine
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
This award-winning, ad-free magazine feels especially relevant this year, as it was created with the one main mission of celebrating girls – girls of all backgrounds, from all walks of life, of all shapes and sizes, with diverse interests, personalities, and experiences.
The magazine features creative, courageous, compassionate girls who have wonderfully inspiring, yet relatable stories to share. The editors do a wonderful job of challenging stereotypes, sharing diverse stories, and creating a sense of support and community.
For anyone who has a kid interested in hearing more girl voices (check out this scary video to see how little exposure kids are actually getting…), this is a must-read.
Digital and print subscriptions are available through their online shop.
Teen Breathe
Recommended for kids ages 13-17.
Teen Breathe is a magazine for teens (generally, written more specifically for a female audience) that encourages mindful practices for a more fulfilled life. With articles on meditation, yoga exercises, healthy emotional habits, and thoughtful giving, this feels like a (literal) breath of fresh air in the “teen girl” magazine category.
I read the YMs, Sixteens, and Sassys (ha!) of my generation with a vague sense of inadequacy and competition. What a welcome, calming, confidence-building alternative this would have been.
Print and digital subscriptions are available through their online shop in the UK but can be shipped worldwide.
XYZA News for Kids
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
Has trying to share the news of our world with kids ever felt this difficult or overwhelming? XYZA News for Kids is a publication I hadn’t heard of until I started doing research for this post, and wow, does it ever feel relevant and important in our current world’s never-ending, story-a-minute news cycle. The mission of XYZA was to create a news experience that shares information (both good and bad) in terms kids can easily understand and relate to, providing a starting point for an important conversation.
It feels like the creators of this innovative newspaper truly understand how to create content that is going to engage and excite kids. For example, their super cool initiative to involve kids through a junior reporters program, allowing kids to submit photos and articles based on sent assignments, is a genius way to create a sense of ownership and interest.
Print and digital subscriptions are available through their online shop…and as a PS, if you are reading this and feel like, as an adult, you need some more balanced news yourself (the kind that doesn’t leave you wanting to set it on fire when you’ve finished it) check out this cool project from illustrator Emily Cox. It’s a fantastically pleasant supplement to the regular grind.
Military Kids Life
Recommended for kids ages 8-13.
Military Kids Life is a magazine meant to highlight the positive points of being a kid with a parent/parents in the military. As someone with family members and close friends who’ve traveled, moved many times, and been on tours of duty, I can tell you firsthand that military life can be a challenging experience for kids. Beyond the day-to-day emotional toil, I’d imagine it can often feel pretty isolating.
This magazine specifically tries to frame some of the challenges kids face in a positive light, addressing the issues but focusing on the fun. Topics for kids of Active, Reserve, Veterans, and National Guard families of ALL branches are covered, providing the perspective that there’s a big supportive community of kids out there going through the same things.
Military kid reporters share stories on everything from interviews with an inspiring wounded vet, to cool things to do in military cities and ways to acclimate after a move.
Print and digital subscriptions can be purchased through their online shop.
Okido Magazine
Recommended for kids ages 3-6.
OKIDO magazine helps children learn through play, and is specifically designed to encourage the fun in scientific discovery. It is chock full of stories, activities, and games that stimulate creativity and inspire scientific interest. They’ve created a fun series of characters to help kids identify activities, and there are pages upon pages of pull-out doodle activities and interactive assignments (as well as a pull-out cardboard game or activity in every issue).
They also have a fantastic resource page full of printables that anyone can visit (even non-subscribers!) that includes fun math worksheets, memory cards, crafts, and word games.
As a bonus, Okido is printed with biodegradable vegetable inks on pages of 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper or FSC paper (paper from responsible sources).
Print subscriptions are available through their online shop in the UK but can be shipped worldwide.
SMORE Magazine
Recommended for kids ages 7+.
Conceptualized as a possible solution to achieve equal representation of women in the sciences, Smore is a magazine geared toward girls, but engaging for anyone interested in science (seriously, I could get into this). Its goal is to inspire girls to develop or continue their interest in STEM by sharing stories of successful women in science and articles that present facts and information in a fun way.
Print subscriptions are available through their online shop.
Magazines Made For Parents
Lunch Lady Magazine
Recommended for parents and adults.
Lunch Lady Magazine is a wonderfully fresh, current, and balanced take on parenting (and is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS to look at!) that features recipes and crafts intended to create experiences shared as a family.
Eye-catching, thoughtful, cheeky, the design and writing style create the warm, relatable feeling of a keepsake journal passed down from a super cool family member, and the stories and recipes are all top-notch!
Print subscriptions and single issues are available through their online shop in Australia but can be shipped worldwide.
Classic Kids Magazines We Still Love
Cricket Media Magazines
Recommended for ages 0-14
When I was a kid I could sit for hours reading the enormous collection of Cricket magazines our school library housed. After all these years, it’s still going strong and has hands-down one of the most beautifully-illustrated kids magazines I’ve ever seen. Their entire family of award-winning kids publications (including Ladybug, Babybug, Spider, and Muse) is available digitally or in print, and continues to delight young readers with creative characters, humorous stories, and lovely pictures.
Print and digital subscriptions in English and Spanish are available through their online shop.
Stone Soup
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
A magazine comprised solely of stories, poems, and illustrations by kids.
National Geographic Kids
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
A must for young explorers, adventurers, and nature lovers.
Ranger Rick
Recommended for kids ages 6-12.
This nature and animal lovers classic is still just as popular as it was when I was a kid.
Do you have any new favorites that I’ve missed? Be sure to leave them in the comments or send me a message!
GETTING READY TO TRY this?
I love seeing all the ways people make these ideas their own! If you're sharing the results of one of our projects, mention or tag me with @barleyandbirch, or share it in the comments of one of our Pinterest project pins.
Wow!!!!!!!! great article
very interesting for parents and teachers.
Keep on writing articles like this.
Surely gonna follow u.
Thanks