Hi Netters,
I got more requests for ideas than responses to my TARGET about magazines
for elementary age students. Here's what I received:
Hi Joanne-
I'm in a 4-5 grade school. I just added Girls Discover and it's been
popular. Also, Pack o Fun is definitely for kids. We don't get the others
you asked about.
--Jackie
I order Pack o' Fun for my professional collection and have many teachers
use it. I can't comment on the other magazines you mentioned. I just added
Moto Kids last year and I'm going to look into Dogs for Kids.
-Maria
From Joanne:
I was hoping to get a bit more input. It is a challenge trying to order
QUALITY magazines that kids want to read. I have a bunch of old ratty
Nickelodeon magazines that seem to be devoid of any educational merit (my
opinion and others I've heard from agree - I canceled the subscription but
these still circulate frequently!) yet the kids just love them while the
Cricket, Spider, and Stone Soup seem to sit collecting dust. I am dropping
those 3 this year, at least temporarily. National Geographic also changed
its format and title several years back from World to Kids. Kids now
resembles Nickelodeon and kids check it out a lot, but the "geographical"
aspect seems to be running very slim compared to a lot of "look at" stuff
versus really reading stuff. I canceled that one too and got Ranger Rick in
its place. Not as popular as Kids, but it does circulate and has good
articles geared to animals that our kids can use for reports.
Here are others I can personally recommend:
Ask - arts and sciences - takes a while to catch on but it does circulate.
Good articles for the more intellectually adept.
Boys Life - published by the Boy Scouts. Great magazine (recommended) but
not as popular as Sports Ill for Kids. I am suspending it for one year as I
have lots of back issues.
Click is a very LOW level magazine aimed at young readers - the pictures are
geared to Kinders through perhaps 2nd grade but at my school I have older
kids check it out because of its ease to read (my guess). It has two
sections - one with regular size print and one with large size print and low
level vocabulary. I'm continuing that one. Useful for kinder and primary
teachers too. (themes like farm, weather, etc.)
I canceled my subscription to Crinkles. It is an excellent magazine but
better suited to a home subscriber as many of the pages require cut-out,
etc. Order for your own kids or nieces and nephews. It did circulate
occasionally - geared to sharper/brighter kids, 5th/6th grade, maybe older.
Dogs For Kids - Can't keep this on the rack! Just right for kids.
Recommended. For some reason it is not in Ebsco's catalog but they can get
it.
I have heard there is a Cats for Kids but haven't tried it yet. I may try it
for a year and see. I would like a general pets magazine. We are not a rural
school so horse, hunting, country life-type magazines don't relate to most
of my urban kids.
Boys Quest, Hopscotch and Fun 4 Kids (all same publisher) - these do
circulate but not like wildfire. Takes a while for kids to pick up on them.
Each bi-monthly issue is based on 1 theme (Dinosaurs, baseball, butterflies,
etc.). Nice magazines (& have won awards) but not the trendiest in looks.
Lots of puzzles, and activities, etc. Appeals to my 2nd & 3rd graders. I am
suspending my subscription for a year as I have plenty of back issues.
Highlights is very popular. Unfortunately we had a rash of "Hidden Picture"
circlers this year and now I have to check each copy as it comes in. Sigh.
MotoKids - Boys love this one too! Flies off the rack. Recommended for those
reluctant readers!
Odyssey (5th/6th up) science and technology is gaining traction among my
older, more inquisitive students. I'm continuing it, but I monitor each
issue closely. Some stories/articles are not suitable for our conservative
area (stories about kids actually using drugs, etc. - I pulled one Boys Life
for the same reason) and/or age level.
Sports Illustrated for Kids - Flies off the rack. I may go for 2
subscriptions next year because of demand.
Ones I'm adding this year: DIG (archeology for kids). Our 6th graders learn
about ancient Egypt, Greece, etc., and 2nd grade learns about fossils, so
this will be of interest. Pack-O-Fun - kids love crafts and so do their
parents. Zootles - younger magazine from publishers of ZooBooks.
Discovery Girls has been recommended. I'm trying it for one year - geared
toward our 5th/6th grade girls.
New Moon has been recommended. I may try it next year if I don't like
Discovery Girls.
Magazines I am considering - please send your feedback:
Creative Kids - kids can send in their contributions. Kids Castle - from
Smithsonian..
Iguana - Spanish language magazine
Dolphin Log - from the Cousteau Society
Kid Zone - ?
American Girls - used to subscribe years ago for my daughter. However, the
books don't seem to circulate much now at my current site so I'm leery about
the magazine.
Is there a magazine for ACTIVE girls that focuses on dancing, archery,
cheerleading, etc. - sports - for girls? I subscribed to Young Dancer and
just as it caught on the publisher quit.
There are several fine-looking magazines that are for Canadian readers -
since I am in California, I didn't add any of these to my list.
Joanne Ladewig (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Library Media Tech
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD
Garden Grove, California
shatz@verizon.net
Comments are my own and may not represent the views of GGUSD
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