Children's Digest

Children's Digest (originally The Children's Digest) was a children's magazine published in the United States from October 1950 to May/June 2009, after which it was merged with Jack and Jill from the same publisher. It was aimed at children of ages 8 through 12, with a special focus on children's health and well-being. Humpty Dumpty Magazine is a sister publication of similar format aimed at a younger audience, which continues in publication.

Children's Digest
The front cover of the October 1950 issue of Children's Digest, the first issue of this publication
Frequencymonthly
Circulation700,000 (1971)[1]
PublisherParents Magazine Press (1950–c. 1980)
The Saturday Evening Post Society (c. 1980–2009)
First issueOctober 1950 (1950-October)
Final issueMay/June 2009
CountryUnited States
Based inIndianapolis, Indiana
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0272-7145

Publication history and format

Children's Digest was originally published by George J. Hecht and Parents Magazine Press in the digest size implied by its name. The journal was sold to The Saturday Evening Post Society in the early 1980s and subsequently switched to a larger format more similar to other magazines.

For a long time, the pages of Children's Digest were given a light greenish tint which was referred to as "eye-ease" tinted paper; the publishers claimed that scientific tests proved it to be easier on the reader's eyes.

Profile and features

The magazine's original concept was similar to that of Reader's Digest, but aimed at children. The publisher stated in the first issue that "Just as the Reader's Digest reprints the best from adult magazines and books, so The Children's Digest will reprint the best stories, comics, and other features from children's magazines and books published throughout the world." Content included fiction pieces, nonfiction articles, puzzles, and comics, mostly reprinted or adapted from other publications but occasionally original to Children's Digest.

Articles were sometimes by well-known authors such as Isaac Asimov, and covered subjects ranging from science to celebrities and sports stars of current interest. (Joe Namath was cover-featured in a 1969 issue, and Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also appeared on a cover.) The majority of the covers from 1953-1963 were by children's author and illustrator Gyo Fujikawa. Classic stories from such authors as Rudyard Kipling and Hans Christian Andersen were often printed. Comics reprinted in Children's Digest included from 1966 to 1979 monthly installments of The Adventures of Tintin.[2] These serializations greatly increased Tintin's popularity in the United States. At this time Children's Digest had a circulation of around 700,000 copies monthly.[1]

References
  1. Owens, Chris. "Tintin Crosses The Atlantic: The Golden Press Affair," Tintinologist.org (October 2004).
  2. Table List of Translations


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