| Sports Illustrated Kids | |
| Editor: | Bob Der |
| Editor Title: | Managing Editor |
| Category: | Sports magazine |
| Frequency: | bi-monthly |
| Circulation: | 950,000 |
| Company: | Authentic Brands Group |
| Language: | English |
| Issn: | 1042-394X |
Sports Illustrated Kids (SI Kids, trademarked Sports Illustrated KIDS, sometimes Sports Illustrated for Kids) is a bi-monthly spin-off of the weekly American sports magazine Sports Illustrated. SI Kids was launched in January 1989 and includes sports coverage with less vocabulary and more emphasis on humor. The magazine's secondary purpose is to market sports to children.
The first issue featured Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member and former Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan on the cover.
Sports Illustrated Teen (SI Teen, trademarked Sports Illustrated TEEN, sometimes Sports Illustrated TEEN Edition) was a bound multiple-page insert within regular monthly issues of SI Kids, written for the older readers of the children's magazine.[1] Its contents featured more statistics, predictions, and in-depth looks at both team-based and extreme sports.[2] Sports Illustrated Teen first appeared in the January 2004 issue, being published until it was cancelled in the March 2010 issue and was replaced with a selected article from Sports Illustrated.
In March 2006, the Topps company and Sports Illustrated Kids announced a marketing alliance to increase the overall awareness of trading card collecting among kids.[3] The magazine advertises the inclusion of sports cards within every issue.
Monthly features include comics, humorous captions of athletics photos, child reporters, and player interviews.
The magazine's recurring mascot is Buzz Beamer, a buzz-cut blond-haired Caucasian boy always in dark glasses. He stars in most of the comics in which he plays a variety of sports and also appeared in several flash cartoons on the official website. Buzz is created and drawn by award-winning cartoonist Bill Hinds.
Other works have been published under the magazine title including video games,[4] a television show,[5] and books (such as a sports pop-up book[6]).
The December edition of the magazine features the SportsKid of the Year.
Each issue features a poster that can be torn out of the issue.
Most covers by athlete, 1989–2011
| Athlete | Number of covers |
|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 4 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5 |
Spot Preview Editions 1989–2011
| Issue Title | Year | Month | Special notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 NFL Preview! | 2007 | September | Scouting Reports, Breakout Stars and Predictions |
| College Football Preview | 2007 | August | The Top 10 We Rank the Best of Everything: Teams, Mascots, Sleepers Heisman Candidates, and More! |
| 2007 Baseball Preview | 2007 | May | |
| NBA Preview | 2006 | November | |
| Baseball Preview | 2006 | April | Team Scouting Reports, Players to Watch, and Post-season Predictions |
| Winter Olympic Preview | 2006 | February | |
| NBA Preview | 2005 | November | Scouting Reports, Predictions, and Players to Watch. |
| Pro Football Preview | 2003 | September | Fearless Super Bowl Predictions and Breakdowns of all 32 NFL teams. |
Special Editions 1989–2011
| Issue Title | Year(s) | Month(s) | Special notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletes Give Back | 2011 | October | Athletes support Breast Cancer (Magazine cover special all pink printing) |
| The Video Game Issue | 2009 | October | Top 10 Games of the Year and Sneek Peek at the Future of Gaming. |
| Special Bonus Issue | 2007 | Winter | It's all about Football. 52 Pages on America's Sport. |
| Special Mega Issue | 2006/2007 | December/January | Bonus: Gotta Get it Guide |
| Best of the Best | 2003 | June | We pick Who (and what) is Number 1 in Sports. |
| Best of the Best | 2002 | May | Who rules in almost everything in sports. |
| Olympic Double Issue | 2000 | October | Featuring guide to 12 days of Olympic action |
| Winter Olympic Issue | 1998 | February | |
| Olympic Double Issue | 1996 | July | |
| Kids Take Over This Issue! | 1995 | March | The entire issue is written by kids. |
| Summer 1992 Olympic Preview | 1992 | July | |
| Winter Olympics | 1992 | February | Featuring highlights from the |
| In Dad's Duds | 1991 | June | Featuring kids of sports stars |
| Special Extremely Silly Issue | 1995 | November | |