Magazines for 6-12 year olds

[smeaky]

Hi all

I've got a work project on at the mo (no I am not a journo) and I'd be so grateful if you could help me out! I need to find out which are the most popular mags for kids aged 6 - 12.

My DD is 5, so I kind of know that anything pink and sparkly is a goer for that particular gender & age group, but I don't know much about the rest!

Any help gratefully received....

Thank you

Liz xx

"anything pink and sparkly is a goer for that particular gender & age group"

Might be more correct to say that that is all that is on offer for that gender & age group. . . .

DD (age 8) quite likes NG Kids though (unfortunately since my mum got her a subscription for xmas) not that much - first one she had was much better than more recent issues she says. Last year she had Animal Action (RSPCA linked) which was perhaps better. She's very into animals, wildlife more generally & science, so hence those two.

What's your work project?

Thanks!

Doing a research session with a few kids to find out what kind of things they like/dislike (our client is building an online games portal for 6-12 age group)

DD age 6 has been getting NG kids for ages, she loves it.

She also gets the DR Who magazine.

Ds, age 8 has been getting rge weekly Match of the Day magazine since he was 6, also gets the Kick Magazine or Match sometimes

Edge of your age range but DD 12 likes Flipside which is suitable for teenagers

Ds age 10 also gets Kick magazine.

DS is 10 and regularly read Beano for the last 3 years. He also reads Beano Max - both these way below his reading age but he loves the humour.

DD (8) is more difficult - she reads NG Kids and quite enjoys it, has DR Who sometimes, but would really like a weekly magazine, that isn't overly pink and sparkly, or inappropriately focussed on boyfriends.

ds2 (11) likes BBC Wildlife Magazine, BBC Focus Magazine and First News (newspaper for children).

He didn't like NG Kids.

First News

my kids got it for 2 Christmases in a row
when younger was 8

they love it and I think we will subscribe to it again

What's BBC wildlife magazine like? Might it appeal to an 8 y/o who loves Deadly 60/David Attenborough etc - or is it too old? (Now I'm wondering if its a grown up mag?)

DD1, aged 8 likes the RSPB Bird Life magazine (for junior members aged 8+) and has a weakness for "Sparkle World", which is as pink and sparkly as they come. She's outgrown it, IMO, but likes the "free" tat that comes on the front.

DD is 8 and gets the Beano every week. She has been reading it since she was 7

It seems to be the most popular/subbed-to mag for her agegroup, regardless of gender

DD, aged 9, likes:

Girl Talk magazine
First News
National Geographic Kids

She gets quite a good read out of all of them - reads most if not all articles.

BBC Wildlife mag is a "grown up" mag, but it's very accessible. Loads of gorgeous photos, some lengthy articles, but plenty of short ones too.

Probably not suitable for 8 yr-olds, but ds2 had wanted something more interesting for a while and this hit the nail. (They didn't like National Geographic or NG Kids. The RSPB children's mag gets read, but generally a pretty quick skim.)

First News is still the best though. We've subscribed since it was first launched 4 years ago and the boys still read it every week.

David Fickling (publisher) did a comic for this agegroup last year but being subscription via the internet only, it struggled to get off the ground, but he's planning to try again as it was very popular with those who took it. It was caleld the DFC and had Philip Pullman and lots of well known illustrators and story-tellers as writers.

My boys absolutely adored the DFC and have bought the books that have been published since it folded. I hope they do manage to get it up and running again on a firmer financial footing.

My dds 10, 8, 6 aren't huge magazine readers (probably because I am not that keen on buying them) but they did very much like the Guardian Comic when that was running and miss it. They like the RSPB bird magazines. When they get to choose a magazine, not that often, they go for the ones with the most intersting craft or game thing attached. That's all they really care about.

they hate pink and sparkly.... they also don't like girly pre-teen clothes-and-make-up stuff. They like stuff about art and nature. and puzzles like sudoku, word search, jokes and quizzes.