The Ask magazine focuses on arts and sciences for kids. It's a fantastic magazine for kids 7-10, although I think younger kids can still enjoy it. My older children are 5 and 7, and it was my 5 year old who really took to them. We were given three magazines and they were perfect for him. One was about the human brain, one about explosions, and the other about simple inventions solving big problems. My son is STEM obsessed and spent hours pouring over these magazines. We read them several times each. He spent a couple afternoons with the magazines and Siri learning about rats who sniff out mines, how fireworks are made and work, how the brain works, how solar power works, how to filter water for drinking, just to name a few. We also expanded his tinker box to include the new materials he needed to invent on his own.

I like that as homeschoolers we are able to spend more time learning about things that interest my kids. My son used these magazines to learn about new science experiments and activities. These magazines encouraged my kids to learn more about science and to explore and invent on their own. My kids now want to subscribe and get more magazines.

These magazines were fantastic. My kids want more.

Ask helps develop critical thinking, logic, and comprehension. Life skills such as comparing/contrasting, using inquiry, problem solving, and extending your thinking are all areas that Ask helps enhance.

I love how each issue allows for an immersive experience into a topic. Using visuals and text to support the information, Ask uses "grown up" language in its explanations, never "dumbing down" facts. As a mother and public school teacher, Ask offers an exemplary model of a periodical that is a safe and reliable source to gather information from.

The magazine is said to appeal to children that ask “Why?” when confronted with information. Ask averages 33 pages in length and measures 8”x10.5”. The magazine is full color (glossy pages) with a mix of photos, illustrations, and comics to introduce the topic that will run throughout that month's issue. There are no advertisements. This magazine is chock-full of information. I loved how in depth the issues were. As an adult looking over the issues, I love that it sparks curiosity in me, not just my kids. Sample topics that span an entire issue ranged from: how inventions solve problems; explosions and the science behind them; and an introduction on neuroscience. I wanted to know more, and needless to say, so did my kids!

The reading load is very dense, I would not expect the average 6-year-old to be able to decode all of the text. While I think any age would love the content of the magazine, I think a truer age range would be 7-11 for Ask magazine. Children who love breadth and depth of information would appreciate this magazine as a jumpstart into a unit study. While there seems to be a clear connection to interest in STEM fields, Ask also involves art, history, and narrative language about a topic to round out interests in several areas.

Ask has a section for readers' response that includes letters or pictures submitted by readers. This is a nice inclusion for kids to see how their own thoughts connect to a broader community. I would highly recommend this publication for any children aged 7-11. Ask is a phenomenal resource as well as an entrée into larger discussions of what learning should be: fun, curiosity sparking, and part of a community.