Cricket Media

If you’re trying to keep kids reading for pleasure, it’s tough to find screen‑free stories they consistently choose. After comparing a range of kids’ magazines, we keep coming back to Cricket Media’s lineup—Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket and more—for their rich writing, art, and age‑targeted issues. Started by children’s literature lovers who wanted a “New Yorker for kids,” these magazines blend fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and activities that grow with your child. We love how a subscription quietly delivers fresh, bite‑size reading without you having to curate every piece. They’re ideal for roughly pre‑K through middle school families who want to nurture literacy and curiosity without a formal curriculum. The cost can feel high if you subscribe to several titles at once, but the per‑issue quality and reread value are excellent. Pro tip: keep the latest issue in a basket by the couch or in the car for automatic “read instead of scroll” moments.