Bento Children’s Magazine
Bento membership is a way for you to support our mission to encourage reading and storytelling. Members get access to our quarterly children’s magazine, Bento, free workshops, and monthly printables. Bento is the only global South-Asian children’s magazine in print. Each magazine covers history, culture through stories, poems, activities, art, writing prompts and games! Bento was named Editor’s KidLit Pick in 2024 and 2025 and listed on the Midwest Book Review in 2025.
The magazine is ideal for 8-14 year old readers. Join us as a member today!
Bento Issue #7: Are We There Yet?
Issue 7 themed, ‘Are We There Yet‘ talks about transport and journeys. Writers: Santhini Govindan, Varsha Varghese, Dr. Shah Mahmoud Hanifi, Sudeshna Ghosh, Brinda Shah, and more. Artists: Chandrima Chatterjee, Reechik Banerjee, Niloufer Wadia, Anushua Sinha, Ira Nagar, and more. Special section for student reporters.
Membership: $50/yr or $20/issue
Shipping is free for yearly members in the US and Canada.
What Readers Are Saying
Bento is listed as a top kid’s resource in the Midwest Book Review from 2025.
Perfect for my bookworm
Reader, London
It’s SO GOOD!
Reader, Canton
It’s an invitation to begin!
Reader, Bangalore
Bento was the Editor’s Choice Holiday Pick in the US in 2024 and 2025.
product of culture
“… Bento is the future Target and Tinkle of our generation…”
“It’s like the New Yorker, but for kids…”
“… It’s such an intriguing magazine, I can’t imagine falling asleep without it…”
“… such a high quality magazine. A variety of creative content, illustrations, information, it’s a sheer delight…”
Single issues of Bento will be available at Atta Galatta (Bangalore), Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal), BookSweet (Ann Arbor), BookWorld (Dehradun), Rachna Bookstore (Gangtok), Dogears Bookshop (Goa), Midland books (Delhi), and Birdhouse Books (Austin). You can find them for US/Canada here. If you are in India or shipping to India, please go to our India page for your membership.
It is also available in school libraries including Valley View Elementary, Wines Elementary, Tappan Middle School, Green Fields School, Mount Abu School, Salwan Public School, Vishwa Bharati School, GD Goenka Public School, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Hansraj Model School and many more.
Back Issues of Bento
Bento #1
Issue #1: Where the Wild Things Are
Writers: Brij Nath Betab, Varun Grover, Aftab Shaikh, Santhini Govindan, Professor Shah Mahmoud Hanifi, and more. Artists: Janan Abir, Tishya Malya, Neeta Desai, Chandrima Chatterjee, and more.
Bento #2
Issue #2: The Shape of Home
Writers: Deepa Agarwal, Santhini Govindan, Marzeih Abbas, J. Ramanand, and more. Artists: Chandrima Chatterjee, Shubhshree Mathur, Shreya Chowdhury, and more.
Bento #3
Issue #3: The Invisible String
Writers: Saadia Faruqi, Manoj Ishtwal, Aftab Shaikh, Dezh Azaad, Urmila Bilgi and more. Artists: Chandrima Chatterjee, Ira Nagar, Aishwarya Deopujari, Reechik Banerjee, and more.
Bento #4
Issue #4: The Together Tree
Writers: Ghulam Nabi Aatash, Reem Faruqi, Santhini Govindan, Dr. Daud Ali, and more. Artists: Chandrima Chatterjee, Reechik Banerjee, Onkar Mahamuni, Ira Nagar, and more.
Bento #5
Issue #5: Outside-In
Writers: Suma Subramaniam, Santhini Govindan, Rohan Chakravarty and more. Artists: Chandrima Chatterjee, Reechik Banerjee, Niloufer Wadia, Anushua Sinha, Ira Nagar, and more
Bento #6
Issue #6: Bravo Avocado
Writers: Ambreen Butt-Hussain, Mahesh Punetha, Salma Hussain, and more. Artists: Chandrima Chatterjee, Reechik Banerjee, Niloufer Wadia, Anushua Sinha, Ira Nagar, and more
Bento is produced and distributed in partnership with Millennium India Education Foundation. The Bento magazine is completely free of any commercial ads and is support by voluntary member payments or donations. The payments and donations support the cost of printing and shipping of the magazine and to pay for experts, artists, who contribute to the production.
Frequently asked questions
- What makes Bento unique compared to other children’s magazines? Bento is the ONLY South-Asia-inspired children’s magazine in print in the world. Isn’t it awesome to bring stories from so many different countries?
- Is Bento magazine only for South Asian children? All children aged 8+ and their parents will LOVE Bento. Good stories belong everywhere!
- What age group is Bento magazine designed for? Bento best serves children aged 8-14 years.
- Does Bento include activities parents can do with their kids? Yes! We have quizzes, family games, coloring, and ideas you can explore individually, with friends, and with family.
- What do Bento members get? You get the print copy and free storytelling workshops. Bento members also can submit stories to contests for free. If you represent a school, you can nominate two students per grade level to free workshops and contest submissions. Bento members also get printables, tips, and resources via our member newsletter each month.
- Can I submit my child’s writing or artwork to Bento? Please submit children’s art and/or writing as a part of our quarterly contests for children. You can also submit artwork by writing Bento a letter or responding to activities within each issue.
- Which Bento issue will I get when I join? You will get the latest issue that is being shipped at the time you join. For earlier issues, please reach us via email. It will depend on the availability.
- Can I cancel Bento membership? Yes, send us an email before your renewal. We will cancel your membership immediately once your period is up. We do not offer partial refunds as the production process works with 2 issues 6-8 months in advance. The cost of 2 single copies of Bento is the same as your annual membership fee. Renewal information is in your monthly newsletters before the start of a new quarter. Starting October 2025, we will also send physical letters with your issues so you’re aware if your membership renewals are coming up.
Toolkits and Books
In the past, we have published a few activity books for our storytelling workshops. These books were also e a part of our Maker Box toolkits and serve to convey South-Asian cultural experiences or stories often not found in mainstream media.
If you would like to invite us to your schools or libraries for a read aloud or story session, please email us. If you represent a bookstore that would like to host our books, let us know by emailing us HERE.
Holi Activity Book (ages 6-10 years)
Comic book – kindness matters & why we celebrate Holi!
Diwali Activity Book (ages 8-12 years)
First ever translation of the Kashmiri Ramayan.
Dad’s Story with a Journal (3-5 years)
Baby’s first year, months of the year, and a journal!
Audio stories
Original short stories created during our Katha story writing events or creative writing workshops. These are narrated directly by the children who have written the stories. Published with permission from parents and our young authors.
We also produce audio stories for kids on a thematic basis on folk stories.
We publish or curate books on South Asian themes and feature South Asian creators. If you’d like to submit your work to be curated on this page, please reach us at namaste@peerbagh.com.