Top Twelve Magazines for Elementary Students

Hi friends!

Do you have magazine subscriptions in your elementary library? We LOVE to read magazines! In our library, third, fourth, and fifth graders may check out one magazine at a time. Even though libraries have traditionally had a shorter check-out period for magazines than books, I let students keep the magazine for a week, so they have time to read it.

Here are our favorites, not necessarily in order.

Phineas and Ferb, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, and Sonic the Hedgehog are fun comic books.  

Everyone loves National Geographic for Kids. Sometimes I'll use back issues as a source for a research project.

Boys are more likely to check out Sports Illustrated for Kids, while the girls choose American Girl and Discovery Girl.

Cat Fancy and Dog Fancy are not children's magazines. I'm pretty sure our students mainly look at the pictures of the cute dogs and cats, rather than reading the articles.

Two that I'm trying next year, because other librarians recommended them to me, are Yum for Kids (cooking, crafts, and fun) and Bop (celebrity magazine). It's too hard to buy biographies to keep up with the latest "hot" celebrities. By the time the book arrives, my students are talking about someone new. I think this magazine will fill that gap more inexpensively.

I only allow third, fourth, and fifth graders to check out magazines. Sometimes I set up magazines as a library center to allow the younger students to read them during their library visit.

Are the other magazines that your students love? Please share in a comment!