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.
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. 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. 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.
