Posts Tagged highlights

Bridging the Gap – Magazines for Kids

By on March 9, 2016   /   Book Lists, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents  

While many children in the 8-12 age range read voraciously, others are still reluctant or still hitting their stride with reading longer works. For both groups of children, magazines for kids can be an excellent alternative. The voracious readers learn about a variety of topics (possibly while they wait for the next book in their favorite series to become available at the library) and the tentative readers will find a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, all presented with color photos and shorter chunks of information that can be less intimidating that a full-length novel.

So with that in mind, here is a great list of magazines for kids aged 8-12, along with a short blurb from each magazine’s web site.

Cover art - American Girl(c) magazineStories, crafts, and so much more–it’s what makes American Girl(c) magazine a favorite for girls.

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a budding archeologist in your life? Open his or her eyes to the world of ancient history with award-winning DIG INTO HISTORY magazine, your child’s entry into all things archeology. With engaging and vivid text aimed at 9 to 14 year olds, each issue is stuffed with articles on the latest archeological finds and chock-full of spirited word games, and hands-on projects. Designed to boost their appreciation for the scientists who explore the ancient world and increase their excitement about world history and human development, DIG INTO HISTORY will have your kids yearning to get out and discover the secrets buried beneath their own two feet.

Cover art - Cobblestone magazine

For over 35 years, COBBLESTONE magazine has been transforming history from a dry classroom exercise into a living, breathing guide to how Americans live, work, play, and eat from the 1600s to today. Filled with fascinating true stories from all decades of our country’s history, augmented with dramatic photographs, and beautiful illustrations, COBBLESTONE introduces young readers to important American events and places, from colonial Williamsburg to famous battles of the Civil War to the Gold Rush to the Korean War. COBBLESTONE takes kids on a journey through history, designed to excite their imaginations and bring the past to life!

Cover art - Creative Kids magazineCreative Kids magazine is the nation’s largest magazine by and for kids. The magazine bursts with games, stories, artwork, and opinions, all by and for kids ages 8–16.

In the pages of Creative Kids you also will find fun activities such as brain teasers, contests, stories, poetry, mysteries, and much more! This interactive magazine also includes activities that stimulate and encourage the creativity of readers.

The most exciting aspect of Creative Kids is that it is written by kids.

Cover art - Cricket magazineCRICKET Magazine, our flagship publication, is the world leader in providing the highest-quality fiction and nonfiction to children ages 9 to 14. Since its premiere in 1973, CRICKET has delighted and entertained generations of kids with contemporary stories and classic literature from the world’s best writers, paired with illustrations so beautiful they take your breath away. CRICKET delivers storytelling in its purest form.

 

Cover art - Faces magazineFACES magazine takes young readers around the world and back to get an honest and unbiased view of how children in other countries and world regions live. Young readers ages 9 to 14 learn about the important inventions and ideas from other cultures through articles, folk tales, recipes, illustrations, and hands-on projects. Be it games from Samoa, maps of the Kalahari, Palestinian folk tales, or Australian animals, FACES magazine will help kids discover it! Packed with breathtaking photography and authentic local voices, FACES is the next best thing to being there.

Cover art - Girl's World magazineIn addition to a magazine published seven times per year, Girl’s World also has an interactive lifestyle web site with lots of activities for tween girls.

 

 

 

 

MUSE magazine is the science and arts magazine for kids that’s spot on with the facts, but off-kilter with the jokes. Kids who can’t help wondering whether video games really kill their brain cells, or what a gentleman ladybug is called, will find the answers here, in articles written by award-winning authors and accompanied by high-quality illustration and photography. MUSE magazine makes a perfect gift for readers who are outgrowing ASK magazine or are interested in science, history, and the arts. Explore the world in a fun (and funny!) way with MUSE!

Cover art - Make magazineMake: Magazine is loaded with exciting projects that celebrate your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will. We’ve shown you how to make a wide variety of projects, including: a Twittering cat toy, a video camera stabilizer, a cigar box guitar, a hydrogen-oxygen bottle rocket, and a five-in-one cable adapter for connecting to networks. Some projects are strictly for fun, others are very practical, and still others are absolutely astounding. In addition, we keep you informed about groundbreaking new DIY technologies, like Arduino microcontrollers and 3D printing.

 

Cover Art - New Moon Girls magazineGet the BEST magazine by and for girls. Your choice of paper or e-magazine.

Meet interesting girls your age in our unique online creative community. Some are like you and some are different.

Adult moderators keep our online safe and respectful for you and all the members.

Get and give support, help and your best advice to make it through tough times.

Have fun together sharing your art, writing, photos, opinions, creativity.

Cover art - Stone Soup magazineStone Soup is the magazine of creative writing by children ages 8 to 13. Stories and poems written by kids make Stone Soup unique. It inspires creative children. Once called “The New Yorker of the 8-to-13 set,” Stone Soup is a longtime favorite of teachers and homeschoolers. Founded in 1973.

 

Back to Top

Unworkshop Scholarship Opportunity: Unplug and Retreat

By on March 26, 2014   /   Book Lists  

In 2008, nine writers gathered for a retreat at the Highlights Foundation in Pennsylvania. So inspired by the experience, they decided to offer a scholarship to a Highlights Foundation’s Unworkshop during various dates throughout 2014.

highlights giftThank you, Alma Fullerton, Kristy Duncan Dempsey, Katy Traffanstedt Duffield, Kathy Erskine, Sara Lewis Holmes, Anne Marie Pace, Tanya Goulette Seale, Linda Urban, Cassandra Reigel Whetstone!

These wonderful women took the time to answer some questions:

MUF: It’s been six years since you first gathered at Highlights. Do you return every year?

ALL: Unfortunately we haven’t returned all together but many of us have been to other valuable Highlights conferences. With our schedules and responsibilities, as well as the fact that we are far-flung across North and South America, it’s hard to find dates that work for all of us to return together. But we keep trying!

MUF: What is it about writing alone together that is so great?

ALL: The best part of each day, besides all the writing we accomplished, was meeting together toward the end of the afternoon for conversation. We talked about what we had written, what we were struggling with, breakthroughs we’d had. We read from our manuscripts and cheered one another along. Our specific goals and work styles might have been different, but having a roomful of cheerleaders is empowering.

The most important thing to note is that we did not all know each other before we went on our retreat. So the door is open for the recipient of this scholarship to meet new people who will be new ears and eyes and become new supporters in this writing journey.

MUF: Tell me your favorite thing about the Highlights Foundation space—the natural setting, the food, the cabin?

ALL: All of it! But more even than the setting and food and being completely taken care of is the magic of the place, the synergy with other writers there, the support you feel from the folks at Highlights who take your goals seriously. It’s as if you’re an ambassador at the UN for Children’s Writers because that’s how you’re treated—you’re important, what you’re doing is important, and writing quality literature for children is almost like saving the world because, in some way, that’s we’re trying to do for kids by giving them great stories to make them think, make them laugh, and give them hope.

MUF: What prompted all of you to offer this scholarship?

ALL: Katy Duffield threw out the idea of doing something to promote the Highlights Unworkshops because our retreat was so significant for each of us. Then in the conversation, we realized we could pool resources to be able to provide a retreat for someone. And we were off and running with the idea of a scholarship, along with the extras of writing prompts, encouragement, and potential Skype conversations during the retreat.

MUF: How will you choose the winner?

ALL: We’ll read the author statements, choose the ones that speak to each of us individually and then we will decide together on one recipient from those finalists.

MUF: Unplugging is so hard these days. How can we create unworkshop-like experiences at home.

ALL: Linda Urban has shared a wonderful idea to help with unplugging—and all you need is a timer. Simply set the timer for 45-60 minutes and focus on your writing task. Sounds too easy to be true, doesn’t it? It IS easy, but it’s also amazingly effective. Every time I’ve used the timer, I’ve written for a lot longer than the 60 minutes. You can read more here.

The nitty gritty details: To qualify for consideration for this prize, send a statement by March 31, 2014 to retreat scholarship@gmail.com explaining why this retreat could be important to you as a writer/illustrator of children’s literature. Share a little about the project you would plan to work on during the retreat and your experience writing or illustrating for children. The winner receives 5 nights stay at a Highlights Foundation Unworkshop, daily writing prompts/encouragement from the members of our retreat group (picture book, non-fiction, middle grade, and young adult authors) for the length of your workshop, and hopefully even a Skype gab session with one or more of us during your Unworkshop (depending on dates and availability). You would be responsible for your own transportation to Boyds Mills. The recipient will be announced on April 15, 2014.

Back to Top