Brilliant Brainz – at a glance
School reading lists’s five word review: Packed with fun educational facts.
Children’s magazine title: Brilliant Brainz.
Genre: Non-fiction magazine: art, music, food, philosophy, science, nature, apps, tech, books and film.
Published by: Brilliant Publishing Ltd.
Recommended for children aged: 6-12.
Published: Monthly.
ISSN: 2631-6811
This children’s magazine is ideal for: classrooms, school libraries, children in primary schools aged 7-11.
This brightly presented monthly A4 magazine is aimed at children aged 6-12 years old. Each edition includes sections on art, philosophy, music, food & nutrition, science & nature, sport & health, books & entertainment, and apps & tech. There are also jokes, facts, and competitions sprinkled throughout.
Eye-popping colour
There’s a funky cornucopia of colour on every page with eye-popping bright text boxes and great narrative images. It will certainly appeal to the reading averse, and there’s plenty to look at in every story. In terms of text, the reading age is spot on, and more complex vocabulary is either explained or glossed – but not avoided. There’s plenty to stretch the more able in each magazine.
We showed recent editions to children in a mixed year 5 & 6 class and the children were impressed by the double-paged artist features, recipes, and art projects to try at home and the interactive philosophy questions. “I liked the happiness page because I could measure my friends’ happiness and find out what makes me happy.”
Potential for research
Teachers commented on the up to date book reviews, the monthly focus on a different musical genre, the opportunity to write in to the magazine and take part in competitions, and features on grown-up’s jobs. “There’s good potential to use a stock of these magazines for research and looking at nonfiction writing genres.”
The diversity of content in each magazine really impressed us – there’s definitely something to appeal to every child – and plenty of unexplored avenues for children to delve into and look into further. It’s refreshing to see age-appropriate, sensible and non-threatening health, mindfulness, app advice, and film reviews. The emphasis on further study, things to do, questions to ask and projects and experiments to carry out make this magazine a worthwhile investment. Brilliant Brainz is much more than a single read
Our verdict
This is a vibrant and interesting magazine ideally suited for children aged 7-11 in key stage two, and one which is ideal for classroom bookshelves and school libraries. Many thanks to Brilliant Brainz for the review copies.
Subscribe to Brilliant BrainzIf you like this magazine you might also like Absolutely Everything! by Christopher Lloyd, Secret Science by Dara O Briain and The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid by Dylan Thuras.
Why not have a look at our suggested reading lists for children aged 3-16?
Books for EYFS & ReceptionBooks for Year 1Books for Year 2Books for Year 3Books for Year 4Books for Year 5Books for Year 6Books for Year 7Books for Year 8Books for Year 9Books for Year 10Books for Year 11
Please respect copyright and don’t copy or reproduce our content. Sharing on social media or linking to our site’s pages is fine. Thanks. This page was first published on Apr 05, 2019 and last updated on .
