32 Of The Best Magazines For Kids
This post is part of our archived content. While we’ve shifted focus, it still may be useful.
The best magazines for kids will teach and entertain and, most importantly, distract them from needing your attention 24/7!
Kids magazines are a popular educational resource for children around the world.
These magazines are specifically designed to cater to the interests and reading levels of young learners.
They often contain a wide range of content, including stories, articles, puzzles, and games, all carefully curated to engage and entertain children while fostering their language development.
The best kids’ magazines provide an interactive and immersive learning experience, promoting reading comprehension, vocabulary expansion, and critical thinking skills.
With colourful illustrations and age-appropriate topics, these magazines encourage children to explore various subjects, ranging from science and nature to history and arts.
They often feature interviews with inspiring individuals, interesting facts, and educational projects, empowering children to become curious and engaged learners.
Kids magazines can also play a vital role in promoting literacy and language fluency among young readers, making them an invaluable tool in a child’s educational journey.
We’ve rounded up our favourite kids magazines for young people of various ages; both hard copy and digital.
Launched in 2020, the bi-monthly Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy magazines contain inspiring and empowering content for young girls and boys aged 7-11 years old, which teaches children about black culture whilst profiling black role models.
Written for children of all races, by children, about black history and culture.
Good old Justin Fletcher and his many personalities, our favourite of which is Mr Tumble.
If you have young kids, you probably know the theme song and a little bit of Makaton off by heart!
The monthly magazine helps younger readers learn communication and language skills in a fun and exciting way with the help of Makaton.
We love all things Horrible Histories – the CBBC show, the theatre, the boat ride – so the idea of continuing the fun and education at home and away from a screen is a win-win.
Primary and secondary school-aged kids will enjoy it – even adults won’t be able to resist a quick flip-through!
If you’re looking to buy magazine subscriptions for kids, we wholeheartedly suggest Horrible Histories.
Whizz Pop Bang is an independent, gender-neutral magazine aimed at encouraging more children to enjoy science.
Packed full of experiments to try at home, fascinating facts, interviews, puzzles and jokes, it makes science accessible and fun.
Nat Geo Kids think it’s never been more important to get younger children engaged with the natural world and their mission is to inspire the next generation to protect this beautiful planet.
Their articles teach kids about the environment, animals, science, history and cultures.
The Week Junior is a current affairs magazine for children aged between 8 and 14.
It explains the news and events in safe, accessible ways that children understand.
They are Britain’s fastest-growing children’s magazine covering a wide array of topics from around the world.
The Week Junior discusses nature, science, technology, films, recipes, puzzles, geography, sport and books in ways to educate and entertain.
Journalist Jon Snow says:
‘The Week Junior is the best thing since Rubik invented his cube.’
Kids can also access the magazine via the brilliant The Week Junior podcast.
This is one of the best selling educational magazines for kids.
DOT is a quarterly magazine, ad-free and printed on recycled paper using vegetable ink.
Aimed at under preschool kids under five years old, DOT is filled with activities and games to encourage imagination and creativity.
You can buy single issues for £5.50 or an annual subscription.
Anorak – aka the ‘happy mag for kids’ – is aimed at children aged between 6 and 12 years old.
Its content is a general knowledge magazine, designed to be enjoyed by everyone, including adults.
Anorak has launched a digital edition for the first time so your kids can read the magazine, wherever they are.
It is downloadable from Anorak’s shop here.
Brilliant Brainz is a monthly print magazine for 6 to 12 year olds.
It’s multi-subject, with content written by teachers and educators, and includes; science and nature, philosophy, wellbeing, health, art, food, music, food, sport, books and more.
Packed full of creative, colourful, inspiring and educational activities it will keep their brain cells buzzing.
Brilliant Brainz is gender neutral and is free from adverts and plastic.
You get a free back issue with every annual subscription.
- £3.99 per issue
- £39.99 for a 12 month subscription
LEGO® Life Magazine is for kids aged 5 to 9 years and is packed with comics, activities, posters and much more, all delivered right to your home four times a year.
Sign up for your free copy via the LEGO website.
CUBiC magazine was started during the May 2020 lockdown by a team with over 40 years combined experience in private tuition in England and South Korea.
The magazine’s aim is to help children learn how to think for themselves.
Each issue centres around a subject – e.g. astronomy, sports, animals, and money – and contains articles, word searches, questions and mazes to spark a child’s imagination.
- Single issue – £5.95
- subscription offer – £29.95 for six months (including delivery)
An award-winning, girl-powered print magazine, Kookie gives girls age 7 to 12 a bigger and brighter view of their place in the world.
Magazines for girls tend to stick to topics such as fashion, beauty, health, and lifestyle. Not so here!
In a market that often drums just one (very pink) message about being a girl, Kookie stands apart.
With no advertising, fashion or beauty, each issue celebrates remarkable women role models and covers a lively range of subjects.
The mag has had exclusive reader interviews (dancer Darcey Bussell, space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, author Liz Pichon) illustrated profiles of remarkable women from history, to fun ideas (how to hold an awesome sleepover, how to be an inventor, how to plant a pizza garden).
They’ve covered challenging environmental issues (from how to solve the problem of plastic in the ocean to bee conservation) to topical debate (should mobile phones be allowed in school?)
There’s also content on sport and science, activism and art, technology, craft, food, nature, original fiction and comics, quizzes, puzzles and competitions.
- Single issue: £6.50
- Subscription: £26/ year (four issues)
A must-read for footy-mad boys and girls aged 6 to 13.
With interactive quizzes, puzzles and competitions, a new issue is released every month.
Kick Off is not just one of the most popular magazines for boys. Girls love it too.
Launched in March 2021, The YoungStock is aimed at any budding young farmer, or child interested in farming and the countryside.
Packed full of stories and activities, the 32-page publication celebrates the environment, food production and seasonality.
Founded by cattle farmer Emma Smith to help dispel farming myths, and engage children from a non-farming background, this monthly publication has a strong vision to inform and collaborate with the industry.
- Single issue: £3.99
- 12 month subscription: £3.50 a month
Miraculous is a Netflix show with a cult following of all ages.
The magazine encourages readers, especially girls, to embrace their inner superhero.
Brainspace is a Canadian quarterly magazine for kids 8 to 14.
With augmented reality technology, it is available in print and digital.
Kids can use the free Zapar app on any mobile device to access video maths demonstrations and science experiments by scanning the magazines pages.
Subscriptions are $25 + shipping (International $75 total CAD).
Kazoo: A Magazine for Girls who Aren’t Afraid to Make Some Noise is a print magazine for girls aged 5 to 12.
It aims to celebrate them for being strong, smart, fierce, and, above all, true to themselves.
Every 64-page, ad-free issue is packed with science, art, comics, games, inspiration and fun, which is why Kazoo has won three consecutive Parents’ Choice Gold Awards (2019, 2018, 2017).
Kazoo develops all of our stories with top experts in their fields, and experts have included:
- Jane Goodall
- Misty Copeland
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Shonda Rhimes
- Margaret Atwood
- Jacqueline Woodson
- Dolores Huerta
- Greta Thunberg
to name just a few!
Annual subscriptions cost $68USD for international subscriptions ($39.99US for US-subscribers, $55USD for Canadian subscribers.
One of the most popular magazines for children, OKIDO is a monthly, fully illustrated art and science magazine for young children aged 3 to 7 and their families.
OKIDO contains no adverts, is made in the UK using FSC paper and is printed with vegetable, biodegradable inks.
The content is created by a small team of scientists and artists and includes great characters, stories, poems, recipes, experiments, activities, puzzles, doodles, games and more with regular characters: Messy Monster, Zim, Zam, Zoom, Felix, Zoe, Squirrel Boy and Find Foxy.
Each issue of OKIDO is centred on a different theme – May 2020 is all about viruses – and past issues include; planets, poo and wee, dinosaurs, animals, dirt and hair to name a few.
The issue discusses the theme using simple, everyday science and includes easy to do-at-home activities created in collaboration with the British Science Association using recycled materials, everyday objects and junk.
Most copies of OKIDO magazine are kept by families for many years, just as you would a favourite book, and used as a constant source of reference.
- Cost: £5.20 per issue
- £30 for a six month subscription
- £50 for a 12 month subscription
Suitable for 7-11 year olds, The Caterpillar features poetry, short stories and artwork from some of the world’s finest practitioners – the likes of Michael Morpurgo, and Dennis Lee (the man who wrote the words to Fraggle Rock!), Chrissie Gittins and Frank Cottrell Boyce.
It’s bright and beautiful and there’s lots to educate and entertain.
- Single issue: £5/€7
- Annual sub: €28 (Ireland/UK)
- €32 ROW (postage included in those prices)
Eco Kids Planet aims to take children on an extraordinary green adventure to explore wildlife secrets, struggles and super-skills.
Each ad-free monthly issue is packed with fascinating features, stunning photographs and fun hands-on activities.
“My daughters love reading about wildlife and the planet, it’s great for them to hear this from another source (not just me!) as this helps to cement their desire to protect or planet.
It also gives them facts and figures they’re wouldn’t otherwise have access to. It’s brilliant and we all love it!” Anna
“It is really wonderful to watch my eight year old son completely engaged in reading eco kids planet.
He loves nature and now he loves reading too.” Laurie
Eco Kids Planet won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award in 2020, 2019 and 2018.
The Comic Club is a monthly magazine subscription for kids aged 7 to 11.
Each month they will receive two magazines, a word search puzzle magazine, and an activity sheet full of fun and creative things to do.
So far, we’ve had Brilliant Brainz, Eco Kids and a word search which all members of the family have been using!
Some of our other favourite magazines for kids include:
- The Phoenix
- Aquila
- StoryTime
- Whizz Pop Bang
- First News
- ChopChop
- Highlights
- Ranger Rick
- Amazing Magazine
- Dekko Comics
- Science+Nature
- First News
We love the idea of gifting a kids magazine subscription.
Get your child hooked on reading with engaging and educational content.
With a subscription, your child will receive new issues regularly, keeping them entertained and fostering a love for learning.
What are your favourite magazines for kids?
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