Reviews For American Girl Magazine

AG is an awesome mag it has everything. I'm 11 I started when I was 10 and even if it dosen't have stuff about boys, make-up and stuff like(but it would be nice to see more interviews) that they can still give it a girly feeling like once they put an article on manicures and another time they put a quiz on What your idea of fun?. It also has cool crafts like Micro Minis, or Photo Fun. It really helps girl to open up and be heared, like on the contests. Anyway it's AWESOME

READ THIS! READ THIS! ..
American Girl magazine is good for girls who are about 8 to 10. But older kids 10 and up should read something else like New Moon or Girls Life. The reason for this: when kids are younger they really like American Girl, because it is filled with fun party ideas and crafts, which is what they are interested in. but when girls get older, (take it from me, I am 12) they want something a little more mature that has more things they can relate to. I mean, here's your average girl, who is changing and become older and probably scared. She is afraid to talk to other people about it, but is curious. she is starting to experiment with make-up and wants to feel grown-up, but all she can get is "how to make a christmas craft"!?! When I felt this way i started reading GL, which talked about girls that are facing the same issues as me. It made me feel a lot stronger and secure about myself because I knew that I was the not the only one out there who was curious about life. Beleive me, try another magazine if you are above 10!!! If you are below 10, AG is the mag 4 u!!!

American Girl is (or was) a great magazine. Yes, it's too childish for me (I'm 15), but it's fun to just read something for pure entertainment once in a while. You won't find any information on boys or serious issues like anorexia here- all fun, silly stuff. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of four is that I have been subscribing for about 3 years now, and I have noticed a steady decrease in the quality of the articles. The pages are now full of pictures, less words and substance. For the craft page in the most recent issue, it gave instructions for 4 bracelets that you could make for a friend. One suggestion was, glue rhinestones on a rubber bracelet, like the LiveStrong ones, and let dry. That's it! Most of this page was taken up with an artistic arrangement of four girls' wrists, wearing the bracelets. There were hardly any real ideas.
Also, there are less short stories, quizzes, and interesting articles, but more pictures, empty space on the page, and ideas for parties, hairstyles (one issue had a full page per simple hairstyle), and crafts to make. There are two full pages in each issue that are supposed to be rip-out posters for your wall. This is just another sad example of the lack of any real substance.
I don't want to have to pay 35 dollars for 6 issues of emptiness. If the magazine was cheaper, it would be fine, but that's just too expensive.

My name is Kelsey and I am twelve years old. I subrscribe to American Girl, and here is what I think of the magazine.
Pros:
1.) Fun crafts to do
2.) Tips for "grooming" your bedroom
3.) Advice column
4.) It has alot on friends
5.) Alot on parties
6.) Appropraite for all children

Cons:
1.) Too short (Most are less than 70 pages)
2.) Expensive to subscribe to
3.) The crafts usually require alot of materials
4.) The party ideas are often unrealistic or uncommon (Asian themed party, Monkey themed party, Country themed party, the list goes on...)
5.) The magazine only comes out every other month
6.) There isn't enough on fashion, makeup, health, boys, TV, movies (It dosen't have what typical magazines have)

Overall, I think this magazine is perfect for girls ages 7-11. If you want a teen magazine, try Teen People, Teen Vogue or Seventeen.

This review was by my daughter:

I've been getting this magazine for about 4 years. It's got really great quizzes and I really like the "True Story" seciton. But sometimes there are some dull articles in it. In the March/April 2005 issue there are articles about a girl who makes balloon animals, games to play on spring break, easter egg dying, april fools tricks that didn't really intrest me. The articles that I did like, though, were a quiz on friendship fighting, Horse stories, a recyling quiz, and of course the HELP section which is always really cool. Usually I like about half of the things in the magazine. Girls that are 7-9 years old will really love everything in this magazine but if you're 11 or 12 it won't be your favorite.

I got this magazine when I was 9 and I really liked it....then. I think the people writing it think all of their subscribers are rich, cute popular, mini-Miss America girls. The party ideas are stupid (I've never EVER thrown a party using their ideas) I wish they would have more real stories with real people and also celeb stuff. Anyways, your girl might like it, but I advise you to look at other maagzines first

I have read this magazine before and have never really liked it. I think the quizes are pointless, and set people into just one label.
But I think that it's good for the younger kids, because it's got the kind of stuff 8-10 year olds would enjoy.

-Have articles on real-life issues! Girls ages 8-12 are dealing with things like friends, puberty, and crushes, not "pal parties." The very few times that AG does this, they always give info that you know already (real friends don't boss you around or gossip, etc.)
-And while we're on the subject of crushes, why is AG so afraid to talk about crushes? Mentioning "crush" here and there, maybe having a few articles on it, will not make parents faint and 8-year-olds run off to make out with boys.
-Have you noticed that AG always prints positive letters in their mailbox section? In all the years I have subscribed to AG, I have never seen a letter like, "Why did you have to have a whole article on ________________?" or "Your article on ______________ was too shallow." There aren't even any letters that suggest improvement, like, "Why don't you do a column on _________?" or "Can you have an article on _______?" AG gets over 50,000 letters a year--I'm positive that, like any other magazine, those letters have a fair share of complaints.

One last thing: most of the other reviewers here have given AG five stars just because it doesn't talk about boys and clothes and makeup. But not talking about boys, clothes, makeup, etc. doesn't make a magazine perfect.

When I read the reviews that were featured, I noticed that some girls said that American Girl is so babyish. Well, now, I hardly read American Girl, because some of the article sin it, I don't have interest in anymore. Sometimes they have awesome ideas and cool things to read, but well, American Girl isn't bad. It is great for ages 12 and younger. Yes, I agree! American Girl magazine costs very much for just one 49 page issue! A girl should get the subscription at a special holiday, so that the parents don't find it expensive. I mean, as 7 years old, I used to "almost worship" American Girl! I loved it so much! I don't hate it! I've just grown-up! I don't think a girl should read these reviews and hate the magazine. You should read the magazine first, and then decide if you like it or not! If you don't like it, I suggest trying Discovery Girls for 11, 12, and 13 years old. If you don't like Discovery Girls, try Girls Life for 10 years and up! I hope you get the big deal on the reviews here, because most people just write these reviews to express how much they hate the magazine on the internet in a legal way! In American Girl, you'll find crafts, recipes, stories about other girls, contests, lots of ways to express how you feel, a pencil activity in the end, and lots more, including free posters in every magazine! So my advice to you is to read the magazine first, and make up your own mind, because some of the revies here are just blah! American Girl is good, and I still read it, at least some times. I hope that you find this review awesome and helpful, because not only did I spend 20 minutes of my precious life on it, but that I've read American Girl for a long time, and I know how I've changed. Girls think that once they turn 11, they have to read Teen People and so. I'm 11 going on 12, so if you're 11 too, you might even agree with me that some of the reviews here just not useful and only use words like 'stupid and dumb'!

this is kinda 4 younger kids.Ages 7 to 9 is the right age 4 this.