ABSTRACT
According to a recent survey, 48 million children (ages 2–17) in the USA and Canada read magazines. Of course, children would not just read the quality magazines described in this article, but also comics and other mass magazines, and also religious and school periodicals, none of which are discussed here. Still, an amazing 75 per cent of all children in the USA and Canada read periodicals. There is no doubt that children's magazines, with their immense variety of content, seem to be the one form of reading best suited for our fast-paced times. The word ‘magazine’, derived from the Arabic makhazin, literally means ‘a storehouse for various goods’—a great selection of different literary genres, fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, poetry, activities, puzzles, crafts, illustrations, and photographs. The relatively short selections, the lively variety of subject matter and format attract children to reading, children who have many different interests and tastes, and who may shy away from reading longer and more forbidding books.
