''Children's Digest'' (originally ''The Children's Digest'') was a monthly children's magazine published in the United States from October 1950 to May/June 2009, after which it was merged with ''Jack and Jill''. The magazine was advertised as "selected reading to delight, instruct, and entertain," offering "the cream of new stories for boys and girls, reprints of the best-loved classics."Kelly, R. Gordon, ''Children's Periodicals of the United States'', pages 87 - 92, Greenwood Press, 1984

Publication history and format

''Children's Digest'' was originally published by

George J. Hecht George Joseph Hecht (November 1, 1895 – April 23, 1980) was the founder and publisher of '' Parents'' magazine and owner of FAO Schwarz. He is often credited with creating the parenting advice industry through his many publications. Life and care ...

and Parents Magazine Press in

digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately , but can also be and , similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes have evolved from the printing ...

. In 1980 the periodical was sold to the Benjamin Franklin Literary and Medical Society and was published in a larger format. For many years ''Children's Digest'' was printed on light green paper, which the publisher claimed avoided eye strain while reading.Children’s Digest Seeks Wider Sale, Chattango Daily Times (Chattanooga, TN), February 11, 1951, page 32
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Profile and features

The magazine's original concept was similar to that of ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'', but aimed at children aged seven to twelve. It reprinted stories, comics and, for a time, each issue contained a story book with many of its illustrations. A 1951 newspaper story stated ''Children's Digest'' contained an average of 40 pages of special comics dramatizing classic novels such as '' Gulliver's Travels'' and ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

''. Some of the famous poems and stories to appear during the magazine's early years were

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

's ''Rootabaga Stories'', Lucretia P. Hale's '' The Peterkin Papers'', and

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

's ''

American Fairy Tales ''American Fairy Tales'' is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' the previous year. The cover, title page, and ...

''. Starting in the 1960s the content of ''Children's Digest'' changed from reprinted stories to a combination of reprints, modern stories and nonfiction. The inscription on the magazine's spine had been "Best Stories - Famous Classics - Picture Stories", then became "Great Stories - History - Science - Biography - True Adventure." During 1969 Louis Wolf's ''Stories of Our American Past'' was in the January issue, Roy Chapman Andrew's ''All About Dinosaurs'' was published in February, and a biography of football star Joe Namath was in the November issue. From 1966 to 1979 ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comi ...

'' were reprinted in the magazine.Table List of Translations
/ref> These reprints increased Tintin's popularity in the United States for, at the time, ''Children's Digest'' had a circulation of around 700,000 copies monthly.Owens, Chris

Tintinologist.org (October 2004).]

Change of ownership

In 1980 ''Children's Digest'' was sold to the Benjamin Franklin Literary and Medical Society, a nonprofit organization that purchased numerous magazines, including ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'', ''

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

'', '' Child Life'' and ''

Jack and Jill "Jack and Jill" (sometimes "Jack and Gill", particularly in earlier versions) is a traditional English nursery rhyme. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the commonest tune and its variations as number 10266, although it has been set to severa ...

''. All of the periodicals were reformatted to emphasize health, safety, nutrition and exercise. ''Children's Digest'' ended publication in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Children's Digest 1950 establishments in Indiana 2009 disestablishments in Indiana Children's magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Digests Magazines established in 1950 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Magazines published in Indianapolis