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Children’s Magazines
Marianne Carus
IntroductionAccording to a recent survey, 48 million children (ages 2–17) in the USA and Canada
read magazines. Of course, children would not just read the quality magazines described
in this article, but also comics and other mass magazines, and also religious and school
periodicals, none of which are discussed here. Still, an amazing 75 per cent of all
children in the USA and Canada read periodicals. There is no doubt that children’s
magazines, with their immense variety of content, seem to be the one form of reading
best suited for our fast-paced times. The word ‘magazine’, derived from the Arabic
makhazin, literally means ‘a storehouse for various goods’—a great selection of different
literary genres, fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, poetry, activities, puzzles, crafts,
illustrations, and photographs. The relatively short selections, the lively variety of
subject matter and format attract children to reading, children who have many different
interests and tastes, and who may shy away from reading longer and more forbidding
books.
The variety of reading levels in most magazines suits different age groups of readers.
Beautiful illustrations and/or colour photographs make magazines attractive even to
reluctant or non-readers. Indeed, magazines are the best vehicles of introducing children
to the worlds of literature and art, nature, science and history, and for helping a great
majority of children develop into enthusiastic, lifelong readers. Magazines are bridges to
books, bridges to literacy.
Textbooks and other books that inform and teach cannot cope with the speed of
changes and developments in today’s technology and all other sciences. Magazines can
publish the latest discoveries in their pages, and explain them in the context of existing
research.
Another important role magazines play for children everywhere is that they build a
community of readers. Children who read magazines are in touch with the world as well
as with each other and with the editors of their magazines. Most children’s periodicals
publish and answer their readers’ letters and encourage a constant stream of feedback
from their audience. Because of this interaction with children, this close reader-editor
relationship, magazines are never fixed or static. They are ‘alive’, ready for change,
expansion, dialogue, communication, and adjustment to their readers’ wishes. And
because of this intimate relationship with their audience, magazine editors have