Skip to main content

Best educational magazines for children

Child reading a newspaper
Looking for a fun- AND fact-packed publication for your child? The selection we've picked offer puzzles, original artwork, fiction, science projects to complete, history, hands-on making and more – and there isn't a plastic cover-mount in sight. Want to encourage your primary-school child to read regularly? Keep them supplied with new issues!

National Geographic Kids

Aimed at children aged 8 to 12, NG KiDS is designed to get kids reading and excited atbout the world around them. It's packed with wildlife, history and geography facts and beautiful photography, and the bite-sized, bright presentation is perfect for non-fiction enthusiasts. We particularly love the weird and wacky 'did you know?' information (though your child will be quoting it back at you for weeks!).

Frequency: published 13 times a year

Cost: £3.99 per issue; buy single issues at newsstands nationwide.

Subscription offer: An annual subscription is £37.

Brilliant Brainz

Bright, colourful and packed with creative activities, Brilliant Brainz is a multi-subject interactive magazine for 6 to 12 year old girls and boys. From art history to healthy eating, music to S.T.E.A.M-based learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Maths), mental health and wellbeing to environmental matters, it covers all the important and real-world issues facing the kids of today!

Frequency: monthly

Brilliant Brainz is only available by postal subscription.

Subscription offer: an annual subscription is £39.99.

The Phoenix Comic

Advert-free, gloriously silly, seriously funny, beautifully drawn... we're very big fans of the Phoenix (and that's just the adults). The serialised stories will keep readers guessing week after week, the vibrant colours and super storylines will attract even the most reluctant readers and the artwork detail deserves to be examined with a magnifying glass. Tearing the wrapper off a subscription copy on a Friday afternoon after school is the best start to the weekend ever for some kids – or so we're told.

Frequency: published weekly

Cost: £2.99 per issue; buy single issues at newsagents nationwide, selected branches of Waitrose and some independent bookshops. Also available as a digital magazine to read on an iPad.

Subscription offer: prices start at £59.99 for a six-month subscription with a Direct Debit subscription.
 

First News

Get your child into the habit of reading news and being aware of what's happening in the world with the UK's only newspaper for young people, First News. Packed with news, photographs interesting stories from the UK and around the word, your child will get a real understanding of current affairs, explained clearly and concisely in age-appropriate language. It's not all serious news, either – there are puzzles, competitions, crazy but true stories, celebrity interviews, sport articles and more to browse to read. Hugely popular with primary schools, First News also offers online headlines for newshounds who want to keep up-to-date every day. See a free First News preview issue online.

Frequency: published weekly

Cost: £1.50 per issue; buy single issues at newsagents nationwide. Also available as a digital edition to read on a tablet (24 issues for £26.99).

Subscription offer: £1 for three issues then £16.49 every three months with a Direct Debit subscription.
 

OKIDO

Designed for children aged 3 to 8, with a focus on science and arts, OKIDO is incredibly colourful and packed with hands-on making activities, as well as informative. Practical 'makes' like story dice or skeleton puppets, printed on cardboard-stock paper, are included with the issue, as well as colouring and doodling pages, stories and poems. The book-quality illustrations will be pored over by Reception and KS1 children, too.

Frequency: published six times a year

Cost: £4 per issue; buy single issues at selected bookstores and shops.

Subscription offer: a six-month subscription starts at £35, including free delivery.

Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy

Filled with inspiring and empowering content for girls aged 7-14 years old, Cocoa Girl is the first UK's Black Girls' magazine. Their mission is to celebrate black culture and history and build a community for young Black Girls, as well as supporting parents and carers.

Cocoa Boy is also available and published six times a year.

Frequency: published bimonthly

Cost: £3.99 per issue or subscribe to Cocoa Girl for £25 for six issues

Storytime

Storytime is the UK’s leading story magazine for kids. Each issue is packed with fairy tales, new and classic stories, awesome animals, inspirational children, real life stories, myths, legends, tales from other cultures, gorgeous illustrations, activities and much, much more! There are no adverts, no plastic toys, and each issue arrives in a special envelope, so children have the excitement of receiving their own post! You can also download extra activities from their website.

Frequency: published 12 times a year

Cost: £3.99 per issue; buy single issues at WH Smiths, supermarkets and newsagents nationwide.

Subscription offer: get 12 issues of Storytime for £38.99 with a Direct Debit subscription.

AQUILA

With factual articles, puzzles and fun activities to expand general knowledge, AQUILA is aimed at inquisitive, independent readers aged 8-12. A new topic is presented every month, as well as articles about our world, historical figures, science, ethical issues, original fiction and a very absorbing readers' letters page. There's tons to read (and think about) in every issue, and it's all clearly and beautifully presented, with no advertising. Get a feel for AQUILA's content by looking through the sample content online.

Frequency: published 12 times a year (July-August is a summer double issue)

AQUILA is only available on subscription.

Subscription offer: an annual subscription is £55.

Junior Puzzles

A mix of puzzles, games and fun designed to suit a broad age range. Familiar puzzles include crosswords, Kriss Kross, riddles, wordsearches, Brick Trick, Hidden Words, Spot The Difference, Sudoku and more; 100 puzzles are included in each Junior Puzzles issue.

Frequency: published six times a year

Cost: £2.99 per issue; buy single issues at WH Smith.

Subscription offer: £35 every 10 issues.

Story Box, Adventure Box, Adventure Box Max! and Discovery Box

Each of the Box magazines has been designed to appeal to different ages: Story Box is for 3-6 year olds (to be read with a parent), Adventure Box is for 6-9 year olds (you can choose to receive a CD with each issue, so your child can listen to the stories as they read along), Adventure Box Max! is for children from 9 and Discovery Box is for children aged 9 to 12.

With a variety of writing styles and a mixture of fun facts, riddles, cartoons, experiments and games, each magazine offers a great monthly mix for a specific age and stage of development.

Frequency: published ten times a year

Story Box, Adventure Box, Adventure Box Max! and Discovery Box are only available on subscription.

Subscription offer: an annual subscription to each magazine is £67.

Whizz Pop Bang!

A kids’ science magazine aimed at making science fun and engaging for 6-11 year old children (and their parents!), Whizz Pop Bang! is aligned to the UK national curriculum and packed with fantastic facts, hands-on experiments, bite-sized information, puzzles and eye-catching illustrations. Completely ad-free, it's fun as well as very informative.

Frequency: monthly

Whizz Pop Bang! is only available by postal subscription.

Subscription offer: annual subscriptions start at £39.99.

The Week Junior

Aimed at 8 to 14 year olds, The Week Junior explains news and events from a child’s perspective. From news to nature, science to geography, and film to coding, it covers a huge range of topics and keeps kids in the loop about what's happening in the world in an engaging, age-appropriate way. See sample pages from The Week Junior online.

Frequency: weekly

Cost: £1.99 per issue; The Week Junior is available in major retailers and by subscription.

Subscription offer: From £21.50 for 13 issues.

ANORAK

Anorak Magazine, the ‘happy mag for kids’ is aimed at boys and girls aged between 6 and 12 years old (there's loads to read in each issue, so proficient readers will get the most out of it). A variety of subjects are covered, with beautiful, full-colour contemporary illustrations, board games, puzzles and drawing suggestions and projects included. Definitely not a five-minute read destined for the recycling, this is a magazine kids will keep and refer back to.

Frequency: published four times a year

Cost: £6.50 per issue; buy single issues at newsstands, bookshops and in museum shops.

Subscription offer: get four issues and home delivery for £25 with a Direct Debit subscription.

Dekko Comics

Packed with educational material but presented in a zany, colourful, must-read comic-book format, we loved every page of Dekko Comics. Modal verbs, adverbials, Victorians, addition and subtraction methods and more – it all comes to life in a funny, fact-filled package (and there are subject posters to summarise the main points – a brilliant idea). A fantastic choice for primary-school children who prefer their information bite-sized and entertaining, Dekko Comics could be especially helpful to students with dyslexia and other additional learning needs.

Frequency: quarterly

Dekko Comics is available only by post (you can buy individual issues for £6.99 or a catch-up set of four past issues for £20).

Science+Nature

From the award-winning team behind The Week Junior, Science+Nature is focused on the world around us and how it works. It's packed with scientific information, fascinating stories, astonishing facts, awe-inspiring photography and fun activities – designed to spark curiosity, challenge bright minds and ignite kids' passion for discovery.

Frequency: monthly

Six-month subscriptions start at £19.99.

Eco Kids Planet

Eco Kids Planet is a multi-award-winning, advert-free nature and wildlife magazine for children aged 7-11. It truly grabs your child’s imagination with wild discoveries, beautiful photography, inspiring projects and fun activities. When children discover for themselves how impossibly, incredibly and unforgettably special each creature is, it has a profound effect on their desire to love and protect our planet. Take a look at the free sample issue of this top-notch publication.

Frequency: published 11 times a year, monthly except for combined double July/August issue.

Cost: £4.90 per issue, including free shipping in the UK.

Subscription offer: Try first 3 issues for just £5. An annual gift subscription is £47.40 plus a free illustrated world map. 

Britannica Magazine

Help children (age 6+) become experts in pretty much anything with this jam-packed, fact-filled magazine. Learn the weird, the wonderful and the surprisingly true facts about space, animals, inventions and plenty of other fascinating topics. When will humans travel to Mars? How many kilogrammes of poo are pooped by people every second? These are the important things children need to know and will have lots of fun discovering. You can also keep the kids busy with puzzles, jokes and recipes.

Frequency: once a month but with a double issue in July and December

Subscription offer: monthly £5.99, 6 months £29.99, 12 month £59.99

Read magazines for children on an app

If your child is an avid magazine reader it's worth considering magazine-reading apps which allow you to read issues on a computer, tablet or smartphone.

Some local libraries allow you to borrow magazines for free using apps.

Alternatively Readly offers access to over 5000 magazines (including National Geographic Kids, First News, Storytime, Cocoa Girl and The Week Junior) for a £9.99 a month subscription fee (there are often free trial offers too).

Please note that some of the magazines included in this article feature affiliate links; this means that if you click through and subscribe to one of the featured magazines, we might earn a small commission. The price you pay is unaffected by these links and our choice of products to review is in no way influenced by our membership of associates programmes.

Give your child a headstart

Give your child a headstart

  • FREE articles & expert information
  • FREE resources & activities
  • FREE homework help
By proceeding you agree to our terms and conditions. For information on how we use your data, see our privacy policy. You will receive emails from us but can opt out at any time.