Appleseeds Magazine Subscription

If I had to coin a snappy catch phrase to describe Appleseeds, I'd call it a magazine of intellectual inquiry for kids. There's really no better description because its pages don't cover just science or just history or just social elements but some hybrid of all of the above. Each issue focuses very heavily on a theme, presenting it in a series of short but quirky articles (usually around 300 words long), craft projects, and puzzles.

The themes can draw from any historical or scientific topic but all have one thing in common - they try to draw kids in by presenting the subject from odd angles or how it affected kids. For instance, an issue focused on dinosaurs includes an article on dino poop and an interview with Sue, the resident Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Field Museum in Chicago. The issue on Ben Franklin includes an interview with an actor who spends his days wandering around Philadelphia dressed as Ben and a fill-in-the-blank quiz with sayings from Poor Richard's Almanac. The issue on money includes a brief history of the piggy bank and a maze shaped like a dollar bill.

Because the articles are so short you don't learn a lot about their subjects. They're highlights that whet your appetite, point you in various directions for further research. However, since the entire issue is devoted to a single theme, if you read it from cover to cover you get a nice overview of the subject. The length of the articles can be a positive as well; they're short enough (and often quirky enough) that even reluctant readers might be persuaded to read one or two.

The pictures help here, too. While some issues have a photograph or two if tied to something modern, most are filled with colorful illustrations. Many are scenic backdrops to the text while some are slightly off kilter reproductions of real objects. For instance, the issue on writing has some lovely reproductions of old church manuscripts, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Arabic calligraphy. I read this magazine for the visuals as much as the words.

From the large text, focus on illustrations, short article length, and tone of Appleseeds, I'd guess its target age is 7-8 year olds. However, some of the language seems a bit advanced for this age group. Expect children in this age range who aren't spectacular readers to stumble on some of the words.

I really enjoy Appleseeds. The topics it chooses to focus on are always interesting and some of the oddball aspects they find to cover are nothing short of brilliant. Although I can get a little frustrated with the brevity of the articles at times, I fully understand that I'm not the primary intended audience for the magazine and there's a good reason for the condensed format. I would certainly recommend Appleseeds to any intellectually curious child or adult. If needed, supplement it with additional reading material from other sources.