Cobblestone is one of my absolute favorite magazines for kids.  (No, not every magazine is my favorite magazine.  I just don't like to talk about the ones I loathe.)  It's about American history and it's roughly geared towards fourth through ninth graders.  I like it because while it's written for kids, it's definitely not dumbed down or oversimplified.  It doesn't gloss over any of the complexities that make history so fascinating.  The articles are well written and interesting even to adults, and the design is colorful and includes a lot of great pictures that really add to the content. 

The current issue is all about John Adams, our second president.  The articles put Adams' life into a larger historical context, highlighting his early life in pre-Revolutionary Boston, his role in the Continental Congress and as governor of Massachusetts, his wife Abigail, his service as an ambassador abroad, his rocky presidency, and his retirement and death.  It's not just a hagiography - the authors spend plenty of time on Adams' less shining moments, like his signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts.  At the end of the issue there's a nice list of books and websites for further reading and a list of past Cobblestone issues that also deal with the colonial era. 

In addition to the core articles, there's also a lot of fun stuff like a play about the Boston Massacre that you can put on at home, a crossword puzzle, a cartoon, and quiz at the end.  There are tons of fun facts sprinkled throughout the issue that kids will love.  Did you know that of the first five presidents, John Adams was the only one who never owned a slave?  Or that the White House is the only home of a head of state anywhere in the world that is open to the public on a regular basis for free?  (Although it doesn't tell you that you have to call way ahead of time and you should probably contact your senator or representative to get in these days - pro tip.) 

The really cool thing about Cobblestone is that, like all children's magazines, we get two copies.  One of those copies stays up here in Periodicals, and we even bind it to make sure we'll always have it as a good resource.  We have from 1999 to the present up here.  But there's also a copy in the Children's Room on the Garden Level, and all of those issues except the current one can be checked out!  Take a piece of American history home with you at your library!