Boys' Life Magazine Celebrates 100 Years of Inspiring America's Youth Toward Literacy and Exceptional Lives

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Mar 01, 2011, 11:07 ET

IRVING, Texas, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pedro: "What's black and white and re(a)d all over ... and 100 years old today?"

Bob: "I don't know."

Pedro: "Boys' Life magazine!"

The award-winning Boys' Life, which uses an entertaining and educational variety of general interest articles, fictional stories, cartoons, jokes and riddles (like the one above featuring Pedro, the (in)famous Boys' Life mail burro) to reinforce the importance of literacy and tell the collective story of more than 100 million Scouts, celebrates its 100th birthday today and throughout the year. To mark the occasion, Boys' Life has produced a special commemorative March edition of the magazine, packed with a number of exciting new features, along with all of the beloved classic items, such as Think & Grin, Scouts in Action, Pee Wee Harris and, of course, the Wacky Adventures of Pedro.

First published in March 1911, Boys' Life is the go-to source for all boys with information and features on some of the nation's greatest heroes and most interesting people. The newly created Boys' Life Wayback Machine (www.boyslife.org/wayback) reveals keen insight into the popular interests and activities of American youth over a century. Even though fashions have changed dramatically in the past 100 years, the magazine clearly shows that the youth of America have always loved fun and adventure.

"As young people's interests have grown and changed over the past century, Boys' Life magazine has been there every step of the way, helping to tell their story," said Boys' Life Managing Editor Mike Goldman. "Today's youth aren't really that different from those of the early 20th century—they still love to be challenged and inspired to live exceptional lives."

Fostering a love of reading is a key part of the Boys' Life mission and, by using its unique format to drive increased youth literacy, the magazine has remained successful throughout its 100 years of publication. Even now, as many print publications face an uncertain future, Boys' Life continues to enjoy a healthy annual readership that exceeds 8.2 million, with total readership over its first century exceeding 6 billion.

"We believe our continued success is due to our great readers, young and not so young, who excitedly race to the mailbox each month to grab the latest issue of Boys' Life and read it cover-to-cover," Boys' Life Publisher Warren Young said. "We're happy to have so many lifelong readers, and we're excited to get started on our next 100 years of giving them enriching, fun reading material!"

Boys' Life magazine is available online at www.boyslife.org. During its centennial celebration year, print and online versions of the magazine will share new features and content. Those interested in subscribing to Boys' Life can visit www.boyslife.org/subscribe. Exclusive content is available at the Boys' Life Facebook page, www.facebook.com/boyslife, and the magazine's Twitter feed is www.twitter.com/boyslife.

About Boys' Life

For 100 years, the award-winning Boys' Life has chronicled Scouting's commitment to give young Americans the tools, experiences, and knowledge they need to make the world a better place. Through an entertaining and educational variety of general interest articles, fictional stories, and cartoons, the magazine has reinforced the importance of literacy and told the collective story of more than 100 million Scouts, many of whom have gone on to become national heroes, including sports stars, astronauts, and U.S. presidents. Today Boys' Life continues to prepare young people for life as it teaches them the importance of community, family, ambition, education, leadership, priority, and living a life bigger than themselves. For more information, please visit www.boyslife.org.

About the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America prepares young people for life by providing the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. The Scouting organization is composed of 2.7 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21, and more than a million volunteers, in nearly 300 local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information, please visit www.scouting.org.

SOURCE Boy Scouts of America