Wide Awake (magazine) facts for kids

Wide Awake was a popular American magazine for children, published every month. It started in 1875 thanks to Daniel Lothrop. The magazine featured stories by famous writers like Margaret Sidney, Edward Everett Hale, and Sarah Orne Jewett. Many well-known artists, including Howard Pyle, also drew pictures for the magazine. Wide Awake was created in Boston.

In 1893, Wide Awake joined forces with another magazine called St. Nicholas Magazine.

Starting Wide Awake Magazine

Daniel Lothrop owned a publishing company in Boston. He decided to create Wide Awake magazine for young people aged ten to eighteen. Mr. Lothrop wanted the magazine to help kids become "broad-minded, pure-hearted, and thoroughly wide awake."

The very first issue came out in July 1875. It told readers that Wide Awake was good for young people. It promised not to have stories that encouraged kids to run away or elope, which parents often worried about back then.

Who Edited Wide Awake?

Ella Farman, who wrote many children's books, became the first editor of Wide Awake. She first edited the magazine from her home in Battle Creek, Michigan. Her friend Emma L. Shaw helped her. Later, Ella Farman and Emma L. Shaw moved to Boston. Charles Stuart Pratt was in charge of the artwork. Ella Farman and Charles Stuart Pratt got married in 1877. Ella Farman Pratt continued as editor until December 1891.

The last editor of Wide Awake was Elbridge Streeter Brooks. He had worked at St. Nicholas Magazine before. Elbridge Streeter Brooks wrote more than thirty non-fiction books for children.

What Was Inside Wide Awake?

Early issues of Wide Awake had about 60 to 72 pages. They were full of short stories, articles, poems, and stories that continued over several issues. The magazine also had fun word puzzles on a page called Tangles. Readers could send letters about their homes and families, which were printed in a section called Wide Awake Post Office. There was even a section called Wide Awake Athletics that taught kids about sports and exercise.

Later issues grew to about 92 pages. The magazine kept all its advertisements separate from the stories. Ads were only found at the front and back of the magazine, and on the covers.

Wide Awake never had more than 25,000 subscribers. However, more people read it than just those who got it in the mail. Twice a year, six issues of the magazine were put together into nice hardcover books. These books were sold as gifts and were often called Wide Awake Pleasure Book.

Stories that appeared in parts over several issues were planned carefully. They would start in the first of these bound books and finish in the last. Some of these serialized stories were later published as full novels by Daniel Lothrop's company.

From the 1880s until 1893, Wide Awake cost 20 cents for one issue. A yearly subscription was $2.40. The hardcover Wide Awake Pleasure Book cost $1.50.

The Five Little Peppers Stories

The most popular stories in Wide Awake were about the Five Little Peppers. These stories were written by Harriet Mulford Stone, who used the pen name Margaret Sidney.

In 1877, Miss Stone's first story, Polly Pepper's Chicken Pie, appeared in Wide Awake. Another story, Phronsie Pepper's New Shoes, was published in 1878. Readers loved these stories. Because of this, editor Ella Farman Pratt asked Miss Stone to write a whole series about the Pepper family. These new stories were published in the magazine throughout 1880.

Publisher Daniel Lothrop enjoyed reading the Pepper stories very much. He decided to visit Miss Stone in New Haven. Mr. Lothrop then made trips every two weeks to see the author. In 1881, Daniel Lothrop and Harriet Stone got married. That same year, D. Lothrop Company published a longer version of the serialized stories as a novel called Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.

All of the Five Little Peppers novels first appeared in Wide Awake magazine. Later, they were published as books by D. Lothrop Company.

Joining St. Nicholas Magazine

On March 18, 1892, Daniel Lothrop passed away suddenly. His wife, Harriet Lothrop, took over running the book and magazine publishing business. She faced financial challenges. None of the Lothrop magazines lasted long after her husband's death.

The very last issue of Wide Awake was dated August 1893. It was 144 pages long and included all the remaining parts of the stories that were still being published. An article about Daniel Lothrop explained that the company would focus on publishing books instead of magazines. Readers were told:

"So, to make a long story short, with this August number Wide Awake ceases to be a separate publication. From this time it is merged into St. Nicholas, and becomes St. Nicholas. And every friend of Wide Awake who has been its loyal, devoted and steadfast supporter through all its years of life, is urged to still remain loyal, devoted and steadfast by following the dearly-loved magazine into its new home, and to love St. Nicholas just as strongly and just as dearly as Wide Awake has been loved."

St. Nicholas also included a two-page announcement. It informed subscribers that they would receive St. Nicholas for the rest of their subscription time.