Hello friends,This month we celebrated our Tiny Editor's 12th birthday. We took her to a place called Dave & Buster's, which made Chuck E. Cheese seem like a meditation retreat, where of course she and her sister had a blast. She was only 5 when we made these cookies in our launch video, which went viral, but I can't really call her my Tiny Editor any more. We also celebrated our 7th year of publishing Kazoo. If we were a kid, we'd be as old as our readers. So, I can't really say we're a NEW kids magazine any more, either. (What should I call us?) Through these 7 years of deadlines and packing envelopes, I've had more than a few sleepless nights, but we've also earned 7 ASME nominations and love from readers all over the world. I'm proud we've been able to spread so much joy, and grateful to you all for reading. Here's more of what I've discovered this March: • How old are you, really? In The Atlantic, Jennifer Senior unpacks "The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are." Without hesitation, I'm still 27. • She’s beautiful when she’s angry: Meet the witches, lesbian separatists, and other brave feminists who shook up the ’60s and ’70s in Mother Jones. Maybe Trump was right to be so afraid of a witches hunting him all this time?• It's a magical world: Calvin and Hobbes fans rejoice as Bill Watterson publishes his first work in decades. We're big fans, but this seems really weird ?? What do you think? • Only in Ohio: We love Ohio because buckeyes are delicious and fishing on Lake Erie is superb. Not as fond of these actual homeschooling Nazis of Ohio, though! This story is insane, but it is pretty funny that they were sussed out because they mentioned their dog's name on Facebook. (And yes it was named Blondi--not-so-coincidently also the name of Hitler's dog.) • Is that even a word? Because of our ongoing relationship with Amazon (who is no longer selling subscriptions to Kazoo, or any print magazine for that matter) we've been thinking a lot about how platforms die. Cory Doctorow says, "First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die." Read all about Tiktok's enshittification then go tweet about it if twitter is still there (and if you have the emotional energy). • Elegant: This dinosaur had a 50 ft long neck!!! • Let's Get Involved: Over at McSweeneys, Kathryn Baecht jokes that we do need a Parent's Bill of Rights so we can Ban More Books: "Even though I personally have received so many texts, emails, newsletters, parent portal messages, and Remind App push notifications from my kid’s school last week that my phone melted, we have absolutely no idea what is happening in our kids’ classrooms." It's funny because its ... well its actually really very sad. • Can't Stop Won't Stop: Katherine Applegate, author of one of our all-time family favorites, The One and Only Ivan, talks with PW about her newest book(s). "I have been busy." she admits. She's written over 150 books! • Sing Out Loud!: The Resistance Revival Chorus (who you might remember from Kazoo #14), made an award-winning film. Watch it here.
Some stuff we scrolled into this month:
• What we're reading: Our 12 yo has been absolutely immersed in Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (who you might remember as the author of our short stories in Kazoo #4 and #25). And, our 7 yo is lost in Harry Potter #3, which we are reading because it remains magical, even though many find the author herself problematic. We have struggled with how to handle this. Have you given her up entirely? • What we're seeing: I lucked into a lottery from Broadway Direct so got to take the 12 yo to see Six for her birthday, and we had FRONT ROW SEATS. Very catchy tunes and outrageously fun costumes. It was a night to remember for us both! And I took the 7 yo to a Thierry Mugler show at The Brooklyn Museum which we both loved. I always say I live in NYC to do more things like this, but weeks fly by with swim lessons and soccer games. What should we make time to do next? • 50% Off Sale: We're having a big spring sale! Half off all back-issue bundles starting April 1-5 (while supplies last).
50% off Back-issue Bundles, April 1-5. Use code SPRING FUN
Subscribe or Renew anytime. Use Code AWESOME for 10% off
•Thank you for reading. It has still been absolutely freezing in NYC, but the sun is starting to peek out and signs of spring are here. I hope you get out to enjoy it. If you see anything wonderful this month, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
Hello friends,We stumbled into this amazing freight elevator in Brooklyn's Industry City. You'll get to learn about it, and the artist who painted it, in the next issue of Kazoo. Here's more of what I've jumped into in February: • 3 National Magazine Award Nominations! The kids were on mid-winter break from school, and we were having lunch with my in-laws when I got the news that The American Society of Magazine Editors put Kazoo up for three awards this year. We were nominated for General Excellence (that's the big one); and for Best Print Design for The Brave Issue (#27); and for Best Print Illustration for "Look for the Light" by Lucy Knisley in The Future Issue (#26). According to ASME, 243 publications entered this year, and Kazoo is the only children's magazine recognized. It's our 8th nomination in just seven years, so I'm pretty stoked. (When the news pinged my phone, I may or may not have gotten up from the table to do a little dance.)But as happy as it makes me to be recognized by my peers, and as proud as I am of our amazing designers, it's not a Guggenheim grant or the Lottery. So please help share our good news and recommend Kazoo to your friends, so we can keep on doing what we're doing!
• Hello ((hello)) ((((hello))) is there anybody out there? U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón is crafting a new poem dedicated to NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. Her poem will be engraved on the spacecraft and travel 1.8 billion miles on its path to the Jupiter system. • Wild TV: A new Hulu show (starring Kathryn Hahn!) will bring Cheryl Strayed's "Dear Sugar" advice column to life. According to Vanity Fair, "Strayed is joyful about putting such a complicated figure on the screen, knowing that fictional female characters are still sometimes skewered for it. She says that when the movie version of Wild came out, she was stunned by the discussions about Reese Witherspoon’s character—that is, Cheryl Strayed—as an unlikable woman. 'I was like, What? Likeability has never been my problem...But that was shorthand for complexity.'" You might also remember Cheryl's great advice to our readers on "How to be Brave." Get it in Kazoo #12.• Sing for Science: That one line from Ani Difranco, "And I bet there were no windows, and no women in the room, when they applied themselves to the pure science of Boom" has occurred to me more often than I'd have liked in life. She breaks it down in this dreamy podcast with particle physicist Dr. Melissa Franklin, where musicians and scientists talk about—you guessed it—music and science! You might remember Ani if you were anything like me in the 1990's, wearing my flannel, strumming my lil' guitar, and dreaming of working at Righteous Babe one day—or if you caught her "How to Write a Song" feature in Kazoo #5. Ani's also got a new kids' picture book out, which we're excited to check out. • The Girls Are Not OK: I could barely finish reading this incredibly disturbing article about the pervasive sadness of teen girls, who are in actual crisis, having suicidal thoughts, and experiencing sexual violence at an alarming rate. What do we do to help? One girl interviewed said, “Listen to girls. Adults don’t get all the pressure that teenage girls have to deal with, from appearance, to the way they act, to how smart they are, to the things they do. It can be very overwhelming.” We're listening. • A Beautiful Mess: Marie Kondo admits she’s ‘kind of given up’ on tidying up after having 3 kids. She says, "My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this stage of my life,” and in The Washington Post, she encourages everyone to create their own rhythm and routines, based on what makes them happy. We've learned a lot from her, and even ask our kids, "Does this spark joy?" when bagging-up things they've outgrown for Goodwill. Still, I sort of doubt her idea of "messy" is the same as mine, but I'm comforted knowing we're all in it together. • Go, Noni, Go! We love this story about a restaurant run by grandmothers. After all the food is served, customers clap for the grandmother who cooked it. I think we should do that at home, too.
Some stuff we scrolled into this month:
• What we're listening to: We took a long car trip over break and listened to about 3,246 episodes of Circle Round, and the girls liked it so much, that when we tried to switch to another podcast, my 11-yr-old said that host was, "no Rebecca Sheir." And I listened to Rachel Maddow's Ultra which, on top of being this important history that I feel like we should have already learned in grade school, is such a great story. I don't even like podcasts, and I was addicted to this one. I can see why Steven Spielberg wants to make it into a movie. • What we're watching: I'm loving Abbot Elementary, which I'm watching with my 11 yr old, even more after a deep dive into Janelle James' and her stand-up (which is definitely not for kids, but is some of the smartest commentary on Jan 6th I've heard). And I finished Fleishman is in Trouble. I really only started it, because my friend Alice Wu (who you might remember from Kazoo #17) directed an episode, but I ended up being interested in Rachel and Libby, too. I guess it makes the internet crazy, but I think it's OK to like stories about women, especially complicated ones. • What we're reading: My dear friend Linda Villarosa's book, Under the Skin, is so good it made the NYT Best Books of the Year list. And twitter friend @badastronomer, Phil Plait, has a new book, Under Alien Skies, that looks mind-blowing, too. Emma Straub (author of the short story in Kazoo #5) has a new kids book, Very Good Hats. And Laura Lippman (who wrote the story for Kazoo #19) has a new book of short stories, Seasonal Work. I am the world's sleepiest reader, but if you are reading something great, tell me what else I should be dipping into before bed.
• Woman Laughing Alone with Salad: Since I went to Penn State, it might not surprise you to know that I still hope that any salad I order comes with french fries on top. (It's a thing!) But after writing for Self magazine for a long time, some of that healthy advice inevitably rubbed off on me, and I now know salads sans fries are the better-for-me option. Here's one great salad recipe I found. It's hard to make but totally worth it. And, here's a list of more winter salads. Good luck. • Did you already share the news about our ASME nominations? It's okay if you didn't. I might feel weird doing that too. But, you can send your friends the link below, and tell if they use the code AWESOME to subscribe. We'll give them 10% off! (You can use the code too on any new gift subscriptions too.) Expires in two weeks.
•Thank you for reading. My advance copies of Kazoo #28, The Motion issue, just arrived, which means yours will be making your way to you any day now. I hope you'll love it!If you see anything wonderful this month, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
Hello friends,I hope you had a lovely holiday and are gently sliding into 2023. Here's some of what I've come across in the New Year: • Be in Kazoo! Our next issue (coming in March) is all about Motion, and we want to hear from readers about books that move them. So, send us a drawing of your favorite book's cover to readermail@kazoomagazine.com and let us know why you love the book so much. We'll pick a few to print in the magazine. (We're on deadline, so please get it to us by Monday, Jan 23, along with your child's first name, age and town.) • Do Kids Need More Independence Earlier? It seems that young adults everywhere are struggling with their mental health, and college educators are trying to to fill in the gaps of missing life skills for students with classes about "adulting." But some think the root of the problem is in modern childhood itself. I do remember having more freedom than I give to my own kids, but is the world scarier now? Or do we need to suck it up and give kids more responsibility sooner for their own good? • Girl Gets a Unicorn License: Madeline, a little girl in Los Angeles, who has already mastered the paperwork part of adulting, wrote to county officials to ask for a license to keep a pet unicorn in her backyard. They agreed, provided she find one, and promise to give it plenty of sunshine, moonbeams, and rainbows. • Pinocchio 2.0: We are huge fans of stop-motion animation (Rudolph! The Box Trolls! Fantastic Mr. Fox!), so we were really interested in this new Pinocchio. The studio spent a year and a half making the puppets before they even started shooting! But, TBH, our kids did not love this version as much as the original and started heckling the TV almost immediately. They almost never prefer the updates. Why does Hollywood keep remaking the same movies??? • Amazon is Ending Its Magazine Subscription Service: Turns out Amazon, whose 2022 gross profit was $216 billion dollars, a 14.27% increase year-over-year, is not making quite enough money from their newsstand, so they're just ... cancelling it. This means the end for some specialty magazine publishers, and they are gutted. We did sell some subscriptions through them too and we still sell back issues there, mostly so new people can find us, but it's complicated. Luckily, you can always buy subscriptions and single issues directly from us on our website, at select independent bookstores, and starting this spring, Kazoo will be on the newsstand in Whole Foods, too. • Books Do Save Lives: We Need Diverse Books, a group that works towards diversity and inclusion in the publishing industry, announced a new #BooksSaveLives initiative, promising to donate $10,000 in grants to schools and libraries in underserved communities so they can purchase challenged and banned books. So crazy that we have to keep doing this, but apparently we do. You can pitch in here.
Here's some cool stuff we scrolled into on The Gram:
•We won some big props in 2022: This past year, thanks to our amazing designers, Kazoo got a nod from the Society of Publication Designers as a Print Medal Finalist and we also received two nominations from The American Society of Magazine Editors for ASME Awards. Who knows what 2023 will bring, but I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing, and I promise to try to make every issue better than the last. I hope you'll agree that we get better every year. You can now buy our whole collection and see for yourself.
• Winter Blues? National Kazoo Day is Jan 28, says my social media planning app thing, which I have yet to dust off this year. They say everything is content, and even make up days to prove it. I can't believe Kazoo Day is a holiday but you know, January can get a little dark, so please feel free to join us in celebration. • Procrasti-baking: Every writer has one go-to procrasti-bake, and these 5-ingredient Hershey Kiss cookies are mine. Since I grew up near Hershey, Pennsylvania, and was raised by the sweetest mom who passed along a lifetime love of chocolate, these check all my boxes. Granted, they probably wouldn't win me any prizes on The Big Brunch, but I can bake a batch in under 8 minutes, so it's like I'm hardly stepping away from my desk.
•Thank you for reading. Now it's time for me to put down the cookies and put the finishing touches on our next issue, Kazoo #28, which will be coming your way this spring. I hope you'll love it!If you see anything wonderful this winter, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
November Update:
Hello Friends,I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. We took a trip to the country where the kids got to see their cousins, get some fresh air, and even pet some horses. Here's some of what I've come across this month: • Children's Books are Dangerous: Some people keep on trying to ban kids' books, and it turns out they have good reason to do so. As author Margaret Finnegan writes in PW, studies show that literature helps develop empathy. "And right there is why children’s books are so dangerous—to haters. At the least, they teach compassion. At the most, they inspire a desire for change."• Kids' Conspiracy Theories: My kids love finding "Easter Eggs" in Disney movies and telling me some wild theories about them. And I love that they're watching so closely, but when I hear youtube videos on "The Truth Behind XYZ" (even if just about a movie), it feels like the lesson to kids is that "they" are not telling you the "real truth," and I worry that this is just priming them to believe other conspiracy theories. These sort of videos may even help explain why susceptible people are now protesting those same Disney movies for crazy reasons. Somebody talk me down from this. Please. • The End of "Fake News." I don't know if the kids in Finland also wonder about Elsa from Frozen, but 71% of the people there trust their government (compared to just 20% in the US). Why? From an early age, they teach critical thinking to children, and in 2016, they even revised their public school curriculum to help kids spot the kind of fabricated information that spreads so easily in the US. I hope we can all learn from Finland before 2024.
• Octavia Butler Knew: We hope you loved our Octavia Butler comic in issue #26. We can't wait to watch the adaptation of Kindred (and those of all her other books, now in the works). Seems we're not the only ones! She certainly did succeed in writing herself into the future. In Vulture, E. Alex Jung writes about Octavia Butler's Spectacular Life. And artist Bisa Butler (who you might remember as our featured artist from Kazoo #6) made this amazing quilt of Octavia Butler for the cover of the NYT. • Behind the Portraits: New portraits of Serena and Venus Williams and Ava DuVernay went on view at the National Portrait Gallery in November. The NYT talks to these beautiful champions and their artists here. (I once interviewed Serena ... at her house! These are the kinds of things I pepper conversations with. Thank you, 18+ years at Condé Nast.)
• Deck the Halls at Rock Center: The artist Lorraine Nam (who you might remember created our gorgeous Storytellers issue cover) has a huge art installation Rockefeller Center this Christmas. She says, “I wanted to capture the feeling of the holidays: this buzzy energy that you get, this excitement.” If you happen to get to NYC to see the big ol' tree, keep an eye out for her work.• The Best Pie: I made the Pumpkin Pie for our Thanksgiving dinner, using this recipe from King Arthur. It was good! (I did not add the optional black pepper, but I am curious about it.) If you're the one bringing the pie to dinner this holiday season, I also recommend 4 & 20 Blackbirds Salted Caramel Apple Pie, full recipe in our Awesome issue, #14. (If you don't have a copy, it's currently sold-out in our shop, but Amazon still has some.) And if you're in NYC, and don't feel like cooking, try our friend Molly's Pies. They are delicious! •Kazoo is a New York Times "Best Gift of the Year!" To celebrate, we're offering 10% off all gift subscriptions. Use code "BESTGIFTEVER" at checkout.
• Giving Tuesday: When I was younger, I read a financial planning book that said you should set aside money for a few causes you believe in every year, because it not only makes the world a better place, but also helps you remember that your own work can support good things. (Honestly, that is theonly thing I remember from that book.) This year, a friend of Kazoo reminded us of Alex's Lemonade Stand. It was started by a 4-year-old girl with cancer. With her generosity and commitment, she made one of the best, biggest organizations working towards a cure. Seems a worthy cause if you have a few extra dollars this year. Here are some other organizations we've supported:Brooklyn Book Bodega: Provides access to and ownership of books, builds community, and creates a passion for learning. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund: Protect gorillas and their forests, while also helping the people who live near them.Mom's Demand Action: Working for a future free from gun violence.Mission Blue: Inspires action to explore and protect the ocean.Arbor Day Foundation: Every dollar plants a tree.• Thank you for reading. Now it's time for me to go pack up some magazines for you, which I'll be doing every night all month long (from my living room, while watching White Lotus). I'm personally shipping out orders daily through the holidays, instead of waiting for the warehouse to do it, so I can get everything to you as quickly as possible. If you see anything wonderful this December, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
October Update:
Hello Friends,Today I'm sending the next issue of Kazoo (our 27th!) off to the printer, and I finally have a moment to breathe, so I thought I'd spend it with you.• The present can be wild. We took our very first post-covid flight and the Teeny Editor's first-ever airplane ride. She was nervous about flying but we assured it would be great fun! And she believed us, right up until about the 9th hour of our 2-hour trip. After five hours stuck on the tarmac, the girls got to go in the cockpit and meet the captain, which was wild. And, after 14 hours, we somehow made it to their cousin's beautiful beach wedding on time, where they were flower girls, and really happy to be involved. I love to take my daughters to see new things and watch their eyes light up as the world expands. (But, we may drive next time). • But the future is bright. I've gotten nice notes from readers who are loving our latest, The Future Issue, which is a relief because though most of our issues come pretty easily to me, I really struggled writing this one. It was spring break, we were staying in a lake cottage in Pennsylvania, & a(nother) terrible school shooting had just happened. I sat at my desk day after day, but the words just weren't coming, so I took too-frequent walks to the lake to try to find the inspiration to keep going. On one walk, I ran into a neighbor, a fine craftsman (and a man of few words), and I told him I was having a hard time writing with hope and optimism about the future for our kids. He looked at me, then looked at the lake for a long time and said, “Well, some things are bad, and that is just how things can be, but the world is so beautiful, too. And that’s what we have to focus on for them.” So, I looked at the lake for a little while more, and I went back to my desk and, I just did it. So, thanks to him, and the lake, and the many experts I interviewed whose actual, inspirational work is to invest in the future, I feel better. Which is all to say, I'm really glad you are liking it. (If you missed it, you can still snag The Future Issue, here.) • Baby, how you feelin'? If you follow Kazoo on Instagram (and you should because we're having some fun over there), you already know the story about Lizzo playing that historic crystal flute and that Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden (featured in Kazoo #18) is the one who made it happen. Dr. Hayden sent a tweet telling Lizzo about the Library’s amazing flute collection & told her, “Like your song, they are ‘Good as hell.’” To which Lizzo tweeted back, “I’M COMING CARLA! AND I’M PLAYING THAT CRYSTAL FLUTE!” (Imagine the very quiet cheers that must have erupted at the Library of Congress that day!!!)•Kazoo is a New York Times "Best Gift of the Year!" This list was updated in July (which seems early for Christmas shopping, but some of you start early, and I admire and also fear your organizational skills). The snowflake decorations are already up on the main drag in Park Slope, so I guess it's time for me to start thinking about the holidays!
• The Not-So-Great History of Women in Animation: I've always loved comics and cartoons (which is why we include a feature comic in every issue), but I've learned even more about them since my daughters are SO INTO THEM. Like, I just learned that the very first feature-length animated film was directed by Lotte Reiniger in 1926. Her "Adventures of Prince Achmed" was made entirely by hand, using beautiful paper-cuts. Given this history, why are there so few women in animation today? Perhaps it has something to do with Walt Disney and his personal biases—he was allegedly afraid of women and cats?!—and the well-documented sexism of the early Disney studios. (When a woman applied to work at Disney as an animator in 1938, her rejection letter infamously said that all creative work "is performed entirely by young men.") Still, things have changed. Today, my kids' favorite show is The Owl House, an animated series about a girl who falls into a magical world and befriends a witch. (And it was suddenly cancelled, leading some fans to question Disney's motives, but not before it made history.) So, a lot of room for improvement, here. But, we'll be watching!•Speaking of women & cats: Here's a collection of women who are absolutely fed up with everyone and everything except their cats. In case you need it. •In even bigger cat news: Three years ago, after interviewing the world's leading lion researcher, a woman wrote this article for National Geographicexplaining how "In real life, Simba’s mom would be running the pride." For this, she has been getting hate mail for 3 years. Her story reminded me of this viral comedy clip from Pete Lee, who says, "We're the only animal on the planet that pretends that the female of our species is weak. Have you guys ever met a woman?"
Tweet-o-Rama: On twitter I learned that published academics are so often named David! But, every single day there are also adorable baby pandas, sweet children, and rainbow waterfalls.
• Are we on point, on trend, or on fleek? We were thrilled by this Vanity Fairarticle in which Annie Leibovitz & Thelma Golden shoot Eight of the Most Influential Female Artists of Our Time, who "represent the phenomenal trajectory of the last half century" and "have created extraordinary space for themselves and for generations to come." Of them, FIVE OF THESE ARTISTS HAVE ALREADY APPEARED IN KAZOO: Faith Ringgold (Kazoo #18), Mickalene Thomas (#1), two of The Guerrilla Girls (#10), and Amy Sherald (#23). Which can only mean Annie is reading Kazoo, and not just for the pictures. • Weird Birthday celebrations. My wife made me the very best cake, Dorie Greenspan's 'Bill's Big' Carrot Cake, which is my favorite. It has two cups of carrots, a cup of walnuts, and a cup of raisins, so it's practically good for me. (We love Dorie and featured her in issue #8.) And we were all about to go to Riis Park for the afternoon when the Tiny Editor mentioned having a scratchy throat. I tested her, and yep, she was covid positive. I guess Brooklyn public school makes this inevitable, so I'm just thankful she's feeling fine (and already had her booster), and I'm looking forward to my next birthday, when I hope we can all celebrate together, covid-free. • Do you have a plan to vote yet? There's a lot on the line in this year's mid-term election on November 8th, including our democracy and our bodily autonomy. (I can't believe I just had to type that.) Take a minute right now to go to vote.org to check your registration (or register), request an absentee ballot, find an early polling place. Then, remind your friends.• Thank you for reading. Now it's time to turn toward the next issue, which will be our 28th. In the immortal words of Katharine Hepburn (as Ethel Thayer in On Golden Pond), "Life marches by, Chels. I suggest you get on with it."If you see anything wonderful along your way, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
September Update:
It is back-to-reality time around here, and my daughters have begun the 2022 school year like champs. Hope your Noisemakers have eased into it, too. Here's what else has been happening so far this fall: All new: An issue of Kazoo is OTW! The Future Issue is our best yet and features an original short story by Lois Lowry. (Subscribers: Keep a look out.) Check out the amazing line-up, and to get it, subscribe here.
Tricky Wiki: Wild that only 19% of wikipedia's 1.5 million biographies are about women. Could it be because 91% of the site's editors are men? (I learned way too much about the politics around "notability" while trying to understand why there wasn't a page about Kazoo.) Many women are working to combat gender bias on wikipedia, including one of our amazing subscribers, who helped us get Kazoo on wikipedia. Seems important for a site that we assume is objective--and gets 250 million eyeballs a day. Wild West: Turns out that after ignoring it for years, I *have to* binge "Yellowstone" since Tressie McMillan Cottom told me that more liberals should be watching it. Are you into it? To my surprise, I am! (I'm only on season 2, so no spoilers.) But for role models, I prefer this African-American all-girl rodeo team that is shaking up the male-dominated rodeo industry. (You might remember we featured their "Cowgirl Code" in our Confidence issue #15).
Serious Play: It's easy to get lost in the over-scheduling of fall, but cartoonist Lynda Barry reminds us to save some time for fun: “Adults think that kids playing is some nothing thing,” she says. “But play is a different state of mind, and it can help us do so many things if we just allow ourselves to get back to it.”
September Bundle Sale!
The "Wild and Free" bundle: Kazoo's Wild, Art, Magic, and Ocean issues, packaged with a bookmark and sticker, is on sale now for $36. All back-issue bundles are 20% off this September, so get 'em while you still can. Use the code: FALLFUN. (Or, if you'd prefer, find them on Amazon, here.)
Fall Reads: I've been reading Wonder with the 7-year-old Teeny Editor, which has led to some good start-of-the-school-year discussions about "fitting in" and being kind. (We're big fans of R.J. Palacio around here.) Our 11-year-old Tiny Editor is going to study Persepolis in school this fall, and we're so excited that she'll learn all about this ground-breaking graphic novel. She's excited to read it too. Kazoo's own collection of comics, Noisemakers, is included on Rise: A Feminist Book Project list, if you need suggestions for more fall reads. Gutsy: I've not yet watched the new TV show from Hillary & Chelsea Clinton. I'm a little surprised at some of their chosen guests, though the show's been getting fine reviews. I try not to dwell on what life would've been like these past 6 years had she become president, but I really wish she had been our leader instead of our feminist TM figurehead. Still, the more stories about "gutsy" women, the better. If you've seen it, let us know how it is. Two Red Lines: Last school year, a Brooklyn mom friend said, "It isn't if you'll get it, it's when" and welp, the Covid finally caught us this summer. But, since my entire family is vaccinated, and boosted, it was very mild, and the kids were asymptomatic. (We would not have known they had it if I didn't have a slight sore throat and tested myself.) Vaccines work! And here's how. (I plan on getting the next booster as soon as I can, and maybe even getting on an airplane for the first time in years.)
Tweet-o-Rama: The best bits of twitter this month
(Please note: CERTAIN RABBITS can swim. Probably not your pet bunny. Also, did you see our Octavia Butler comic in the new issue? And, we were especially happy to see this great news for Angela Flournoy, who wrote "Beautiful Island, Beautiful Garden" the lovely short story for Kazoo #10.)
Grateful: When I sat down to write to you, I realized I have been sending these newsletters out for a year now, and I have been so happy to hear back from so many of you. As parents, we talk about how the pandemic has affected our school aged kids, but we've all been through some loneliness, too. And new research suggests that reaching out, even casually, to other people means so much more than we realize. So, thank you.Let's all keep passing these good vibes along. If you see anything wonderful, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
August Update:
We've spent much of July out of NYC, visiting with family in the country, and it's been just lovely. I've taken the time to ride bikes, visit farm stands (and then make pie), and jump in the lake at least once every sunny day. And, between swims, my team and I have also managed to create a brand new issue of Kazoo for you, our most hopeful yet, which will ship to subscribers in September -- more on that below. Yee-haw for Cowgirl Caviar:My sister-in-law is 100% vegan and she sends me reels from her fav vegan recipes, and we've finally made her something she loves back: Bean Dip from The Cowgirl Hall of Fame that we featured in our Confidence Issue. It's perfect for a summer supper when it's way too hot to cook. (Do separate a few cups for the kids w/o the jalapeños though, because this one's got a real kick!)Little Amusements Everywhere: Our family enjoys old amusement parks and we've been lucky to return to one of the oldest in the country: Midway State Park in Chautauqua, NY. Of course, the dream is Disney, but these small, classic, old parks are so much more manageable and sweet. Plus, the vintage rides and games (and signs!) are excellent. (We also love Hershey Park , Coney Island and my childhood fav Knoebels (pronounced like Knopf, not knife). Which are your family favorites? LOLville: My city kids laugh reading road signs during the long drive from Brooklyn. We pass through towns like Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (somehow pronounced there as "Bethlum"), Dubois (pronounced "dew boys"), Wilawana (pronounced like the answer to, "Will you?") and Horsehead (pronounced like you'd think, but why in the world?) Turns out this whole beautiful country is full of funny town names. I guess it would be fun to live in one. If you do, let us know what it's like. (I get it, I grew up near Allentown and for my whole life people from around the world have asked me, "Like the song?") Summer Reading Lists: Speaking of horse heads, our 11-year-old Tiny Editor (who took her first horseback riding lessons this summer) read Black Beauty and upon finishing, immediately started the Black Beauty graphic novel, too. The 7-year-old Teeny Editor has been reading Bad Guys (which I do not love but she absolutely cackles) and Bad Kitty (same) and has been making her way through How to Draw Cute Stuff and sharing her work (which is adorable). I know many schools make strict Summer Reading lists, but instead I encourage my kids to read a little every day and try not to judge their choices (because books are not broccoli after all) and I have managed to raise a couple of great readers this way, too. Book Bans: Ongoing, and will be through the 2024 election, it seems, as some politicians have nothing better to do, apparently. (Maybe they should visit a small amusement park?) In The New Yorker, Jessica Winter explores what even makes a book gay? and explains that "gay books" never really suited lgbtq families. (Of course, kids of gay parents don't need an entire book about how THAT'S OK!) The gay adjacent Frog & Toad is beloved in our house and we enjoy the newer books where the gay part isn't really the main story. (And that's also how Kristen Arnett penned the Kazoo short story about a girl who happens to have two moms in our Awesome Issue, too.) Although, we loved reading the classic Mama, Mommy and Me to our babies and I could probably still, tearfully now, recite the whole of it by heart. (So good luck putting us back in that bottle, Florida.) Rocking Out: When my oldest daughter was just a baby, I wrote a parenting book, and for it I interviewed a bunch of renowned people's parents, including Rachel Maddow's mom! I learned that Rachel carried around a yellow blanket when she was little, which, I mean, so cute. Today I learned another reason to love Rachel Maddow: She chops her own firewood! Vanity Fair has even more on Rachel's future media plans. #OOO:Here's some of what you missed if you've been bird-watching instead of tweet-scrolling this summer:
New Issue Coming this September!
Our next issue is all about THE FUTURE, and it's hopeful, delightful, and includes an original story by literary legend Lois Lowry. Yes, Lois Lowry! Check out this amazing cover by Jordan Moss. We think #26 is our brightest issue yet. We're not printing many extra copies so be sure to subscribe now to get it this September.
Inflation Blues: Like just about everywhere, our expenses have gone up dramatically. But unlike everyone else, we're really, really trying not to raise our prices in response. We are still independently, woman-owned, and ad-free, and fully funded by you, our subscribers, and we'd really like to stay that way. Many publications have ceased their print editions this year, and well, we don't want to do that. To learn more about us, click to read the full Kazoo Magazine Media Kit here. (And then share w your all your friends.) Or, if you can spare it, leave us a tip to help get through this wild time.
I used to think of August as the less exciting lazy-days of summer, but my little one is just now getting her two new front teeth, and her new smile reminds me of how quickly time passes, so this year, I'm hanging tight to every sweet moment. I hope that whatever funny town you're in, you get to enjoy this August a little too. If you see anything wonderful, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com.
xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
Summer Update:
Pie Wisdom: You might not remember the time I mistakenly made a rhubarb pie with Swiss chard stems and served it at a dinner party (though my guests probably do). That awful experience inspired me to change my ways, and then write a whole book about back-to-basic skills. So, I'm a little better at identifying rhubarb now. I can even pick it! Scroll down for my grandmother's favorite recipe for rhubarb pie, in her own handwriting. I like to bake this with my daughters, and to me, it tastes like summer. A Women's Place: is not always "in the kitchen," of course. Or the cave. A new book posits that prehistoric women were actually hunters and artists, as well as mothers. I wonder if they made pie. :) June is Pride Month: And here's a good list of LGBTQ+ Books for kids. We joke that every month is Pride month at Kazoo. Ellen Degeneres talked about coming out in issue #11, Alison Bechdel drew a Virginia Woolf-inspired spot-the-difference in issue #7, Leiomy Maldonado helped us find confidence in issue #15, poet Eileen Myles taught us about their love of words in issue #9, and in our Awesome issue #14, Kristen Arnett shared an original short story about a girl who just happened to have two moms (like my own sweet daughters do). And since our launch in 2016, some other kids magazines have caught up bit . Maybe the world is becoming more open in some ways. Summer Reading: Our 6-year-old is loving Now Open the Box , Sideways Stories from Wayside School (which I loved reading aloud), and even more Shel Silverstein, with Every Thing On It. Our 11-year-old has been spending more time with The Baby Sitter's Club graphic novels and Front Desk. And at a local bookstore we stumbled upon a copy of Jacqueline Woodson's oh-so-sweet The World Belonged to Us, which is beautifully illustrated by Leo Espinosa, and even though it's about Brooklyn summers past, it feels like hope for the future. Racial Diversity in Kids' Books: This fascinating article wonders What accounts for the stubbornness of racial bias in children’s books? In it, we learned that W.E.B. Dubois launched the first magazine for black children in 1920. (The letter on page 2 is my favorite!) It lasted for 12 issues. He hired groundbreaking black artists Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Laura Wheeler Waring to illustrate some stories, and interestingly, they used only line drawings, completely eliminating skin-tone. (We use line-drawings too.) This article asserts that since "the Whiteness of the page had become the default tone of protagonists, then these artists were claiming for their subjects the same status." We agree with this philosophy, though we've gotten mixed reader feedback on this decision. It is complicated of course. Recently, the AI used to check for diversity even misses it. So, much room for improvement here, folks. Summer Screening: One Friday night, we watched Swallows & Amazons (which we had never heard of) and it was a fun summer flick. On another, we watched Enola Holmes (which I may have liked more than the kids.) Another night, we basically forced the girls to watch Wall-E, a favorite Pixar of mine for a ton of reasons, and they really enjoyed it and were excited to help plant flowers the next day (a win-win). Digging in the Dirt: And not to be too woo-woo, but there's something healing about getting my hands dirty, and my daughters love it to. If you need inspiration, revisit Kazoo #9 (The Small but Mighty Issue), which has an eggshell garden craft and a comic about Green Belt founder Wangari Maathai. Or, Kazoo #13 (The Great Green Issue) which features 20 ways to Make the Earth Happy. Or Kazoo #19 (The DIY issue) which includes a feature interview with farmer Brook Bridges of Soul Fire Farm, and a color-by-dot garden sign from The Victory Garden of Tomorrow. **Get any of these issues for 50% off with purchase of any other issue with code GROW until June 30th.**
Beach Days: When we're not gardening this summer, we hope to be spending as much time as possible in the water. Which is why our summer issue of Kazoo (#25!) is all about the Ocean. Doesn't it look like such fun?
Where is this amazing summer issue you might ask? Well, the good news is that after some major delays at the printing press, because they couldn't get any paper, our summer issue is finally OTW and should reach subscribers soon. Please tell your mermaids to watch the mailbox.
Speaking of mermaids: Jodie Foster is going to play Dyana Nyad (who was in our very first issue) in a biopic called Nyad, and they've been hanging out as friends IRL. Which basically means we're all close friends with Jodie Foster now. That's how it works. Beach Combers: You know how much we love a good tinker craft (see Kazoo #15 for our fav, the applause pocket-sized machine) but imagine seeing a gigantic "Strandbeest" walking towards you on the beach. Sometimes people are delightful.
And sometimes they are terrible: Like many of you, I spent many days watching and reading the news and crying this month. The senseless gun violence is beyond comprehension, and just so heart-breaking (and rage-inducing). If you want to get involved, please connect with Mom's Demand Action or Everytown. Most Americans, of both parties, want to see change. So, please contact your elected officials and demand action. The number to Congress is (202) 224-3121. Let them know that our children have rights, too. The most basic is the right to go to school, learn, and grow up, safely. Isn't that what it is all about for everyone?
Upstream: I've been reading Mary Oliver which is wonderful even if I can only steal away in 5 minutes increments. I almost always find something to mull over the rest of the day. Lately my mind has settled on this:
"Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones—inkberry, lamb’s-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones—rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion."
I hope you have a wonderful summer, and get to spend some time outside. If you come across anything bright and sunny, please send it my way. You can always find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
My grandmother Hilda's "Rhubarb Sponge Pie." Recipe from her mother, that my mother shared with me (and now I'm sharing with you). Enjoy!
April Update:
Taking stock: Hello friends! We are back in Brooklyn, and the girls are so happy. But, after a long spring break in the country, it's been a little jarring, frankly. The girls always love the city, but I've been trying to find my footing on the pavement again, along with some extra space in our apartment, where I am right now surrounded by stacks of magazines. I remembered that we had a turkey in the freezer. Well, I cooked that whole bird one day, which was ambitious enough for a non-holiday meal. But the next day, I even made an actual soup with what was left! It felt a little witchy stirring and muttering "Thank you, bird." But by the time it was done I felt a little more grounded, the apartment smelled like a home again, and we all had a really nice meal.
Supply chain blues: Since we print in the USA (hello, Vermont!), we hadn't run into much trouble with delays that some overseas printers had during the pandemic, but the *gestures at everything* has finally caught up with us. So, we're shipping our next issue a week late. Our paper, postage, and ink prices have all skyrocketed. We're trying to keep our prices down, and our page count the same, but to do so we've had to increase our subscription price $5 a year, or 1.8 extra cents per page. I hope it will be OK with you. (And hey, if you know anyone with loads of cash that wants to help us keep our prices down, kindly direct them here.)
Bonkers for Butterflies: Unfortunately, it's no longer shocking when we hear about social media hysteria and anti-immigrant sentiment combining in terrible ways. It is shocking when the target of all that hatred is a 100-acre Monarch butterfly sanctuary, which was forced to close this winter under threats of violence. The good news in this insane saga is that The National Butterfly Center has reopened, and just in time for Earth Day. Magic Mushrooms: In our Big issue (Kazoo #21) we learned that trees talk to each other. Now, we find out that mushrooms may also be chatty! Scientists think that mushrooms can communicate with each other using up to 50 “words.” What do you imagine they say? Rock Star: Every time I interview an astrophysicist for a story I ask them, "Please explain this to me, so a 7-year-old can understand it." They try, but I ask follow-ups like, "Ok but how long would it take to drive to the sun in a car?" All under the guise of writing about it for kids. But I too am completely mind-blown by the vastness and wonder of space! So, get this: Astronomers have discovered the farthest star yet, a super hot and bright giant that formed nearly 13 billion years ago at the dawn of the cosmos, and is 50x the mass of the sun. (I bet it would take a loooong time to drive there in a car.) *Head Explodes Emoji*
Extended sale: We ran a big Spring Sale at Amazon and they promptly sold out of many issues, and we haven't been able to restock them yet, because ... we have no idea. Some Amazon algorithm? But luckily, we just happen to have a stack of magazines right here! So, now's the time to complete your Kazoo library. Extended through May 6, get 20% off with the code "HAPPY SPRING".
New books by friends of Kazoo: Bestselling author, chronicler of kids and cats, and frequent Kazoo contributor Lucy Knisley's new graphic novel Apple Crush is coming soon. (Full disclosure: We got an early copy and the Tiny Editor loved it), Karina Yan Glaser (who wrote our short-story in Kazoo #12) debuts A Duet for Home. And Lauren Wolk (whose short story will appear in our next issue) comes out with My Own Lightning in May. What we're reading: The Teeny Editor still loves picture books before bed, so we read them to her over and over again. Some recent favorites: A Mouse Called Julian, The Hideout, and A Home in the Woods. The Tiny Editor loves graphic novels and is reading Deadendia right now. She's 11, growing over kids books and too young for adults. Any recommendations for us? Send our way. What we're watching: We sometimes watch TV with the Tiny Editor after her little sister goes to bed. I had this idea that it would be fun to re-watch old sitcoms, but surprisingly, they do not hold up! (Friends! Wow. Too many terrible jokes to explain.) So, making our way through Schitt's Creek was pretty fun. We allowed some Ted Lasso (but had to fast-forward tons of it) and are now watching the hilarious Abbott Elementary. Highly recommend if you like to hear a sometimes anxious student giggle about school.
Tweets of the Month: Finally all the slime-making will pay off for someone. Plus, the earth raps #$&%! (play outloud w caution, NSFW). And, remember that sticky ship from our Big issue?
(The frog news isn't new! Just new to me. Best use of Twitter!
Reader Mail: Many of you responded to my last newsletter in support of the "for girls" part of our magazine's tagline, and I'm grateful for your feedback. We're trying to make the very best magazine we can. We think deeply about all your feedback, and appreciate your support. Winning Dixie: We just finished reading Because of Winn Dixie to the Teeny Editor (we'd already read it to her big sis years ago) and the next day we all watched the movie for Friday Night Movie Night. We adore Kate DiCamillo, and we featured her in Kazoo #7, our Light Issue, because she truly shines a light with her stories. In this interview, Kate DiCamillo talks about writing specifically for children, and says:
“I think our job is to trust our readers.
“I think our job is to see and to let ourselves be seen.
“I think our job is to love the world.'" As I put the finishing touches on our next issue, which comes out in June, this will be my focus: loving the world. If you come across anything particularly lovely, please send it my way. You can find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinKazoo magazineFounder & Editor-in-Chief
March Update:
Hello Spring! Goodbye arguments about shorts: In our house, we came up with a genius rule to put an end to any cold-weather clothing fights: If it's over 50 degrees, wear what you want. The Tiny Editor, who just turned 11 (!), has somehow programmed her ipad (with this app) to tell her the temperature with emojiis, so every morning, I hear her calling, "Hey Siri, what's the weather today?" and her ipad answers: “It is not over 50, face with big pleading eyes, huffing with anger face.” or "It's 50. Happy face, happy face." Why kids want wear shorts in the freezing cold (or listen to an ipad) is still beyond me, but it turns out that kids really do run hotter than adults and here's why. Still, looking forward to the warmer weather and the end of this particular daily convo. Better Things: We binged so much TV during the pandemic winter, and the grown-up shows I liked most reminded me of anything that was not-the-pandemic. Ted Lasso made me wish for spring soccer. Station 11—counterintuitively—made me hope for the future. Ozarks made me want to be as fearless as Ruth. And Pamela Adlon's Better Things made me want to throw a huge, fantastic dinner party and invite everyone I love. I'm happy the covid numbers in Brooklyn are low right now, and though I've not had a big dinner party yet, I hope to one day soon. This Spring Greens and Pancetta Grilled Cheese, which we call The Better Things Sandwich, is a taste of it. (Recipe here: 5-stars, delicious, a keeper.) If you've got any other binge-worthy recs, send 'em my way! I'm keeping a list. Young, Scrappy & Hungry: Meanwhile, my daughters binged on everything Lin-Manual Miranda. The Tiny Editor has learned so much real history between Hamilton tracks and the Teeny Editor, 6, knows every word of Encanto. If your kids can't get enough LMM, try old Sesame Street clips. Or this Jimmy Fallon/Roots "Helpless". Or see what the original Eliza, Phillipa Soo, had to say to us about Daydreaming in Kazoo #17. What to Read: I guess it's horses all around. The Teeny Editor is loving Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse. She studies every page so carefully to find the horse and is delighted when she does. Meanwhile, we just finished reading Pony with the Tiny Editor and I probably don't have to tell you how wonderful R. J. Palacio is, but this one...well grab some tissues. It's great.
The Magic Issue est Arrive!: Issue 24 has already landed in some subscribers' mailboxes. We heard from one Dad that his daughter and her friend put on a magic show for them this weekend. If yours hasn't arrived yet, keep an eye out or check here to see if you need to renew.
Run, Erin, Run!: So when the Tiny Editor's school asked for volunteers to help out with a new Girls on the Run team, I raised my hand, thinking I'd walk them to the park occasionally and bring some oranges when needed. But it turns out, I accidentally became the coach. Seven hours of training later, I got a T-shirt and everything! Practice starts this week, and in June, our team of 8- to 11-year olds is gonna crush a 5k. Wish us luck! Rise Up!: You don't hear much good news, but these students managed to overturn a book ban at their school, and now they are pushing for a more inclusive curriculum. We've followed the so-called CRT debates with well, confusion, honestly. It's not CRT, but our (white) kids learn about Black History at school, and it's great. At home, we read the excellent 1619 Project's Born on the Water and were glad for the opportunity for even more discussion. (Born on the Water co-author Renée Watson also wrote the wonderful short story, "Diving In" in our Big issue, Kazoo #21.)
But why Girls?: We heard there was a heated discussion in a private Facebook group about our magazine's tagline: "For Girls Who Aren't Afraid to Make Some Noise." (The issue was not the noise part, but the girls part.) And you know, you never really want to hear that you're the subject of a discussion in a private Facebook group. We don't know exactly what was posted, but we received a number of emails from upset parents who want us to explain ourselves. We worried over how to respond, or if we even should. When we decided to make a magazine "for girls" we did so intentionally and believe it's important for a ton of good reasons. Can boys read Kazoo too? Of course! What about non-binary or gender expansive kids? Sure! But, as much as we'd like to, we can't be all things to all people, and we can only be the best magazine we can be. So, we're going to try to keep doing just that. (PS: We also got a ton of new subscribers from that FB post, so if you are here now because of it, Hi!!! Welcome. We hope you like our magazine and stick around for a while.)
March Madness: What you missed if you were smart enough to stay off Twitter this month.
(The octopus news isn't new, we were just searching for octopus videos, because, isn't that what Twitter is for?)
Surprise & Delight:
When I was 23, I interviewed for a job at Righteous Babe Records with Ani Difranco herself. I was a little starstruck and though I didn't end up working there, I've always been a fan. Ani's now releasing a 30th anniversary vinyl of her debut record, and I'm so happy for her (and surprised at the number). Time is surprising, isn't it? And, this year, the first signs of spring are even more so:
Looks like we maybe made it through something wildI can hardly even let myself believe it, insideYesterday, I even heard you laughTook it like a bird bathIt has been a long, long, long, long timeSince it felt like that
—Ani Difranco, singing "Crocus." She shared advice for young songwriters in our Music issue, Kazoo #5 (Step 1: Forget every song you've ever heard. They have nothing to do with you and you can make a cooler one!)I hope you make it through Spring with the patience, power and grace of Ketanji Brown Jackson, and even get to enjoy some flowers this Spring. If you come across anything surprising or delightful, please send it my way. You can find me at erin@kazoomagazine.com. xo,ErinFounder & Editor-in-Chief
February Update:
Frozen 3: Inspired by watching some of the Winter Olympics, Kazoo's Tiny and Teeny Editors have gotten into ice skating, which means I'm on skates, too—for the first time in forever. One of the best and also most humbling things about parenting is remembering how to fall. (Notice I'm wearing a helmet.)Behind the Music: When it's so cold like this, during my daily park walks, I think about Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the Oscar-, Grammy-, Emmy-award-winning lyricist responsible for getting all those Frozen songs stuck in our heads. (I interviewed her for the maze in our Daydreamers Issue, #17. You might not remember this because it was summer 2020, or approximately 127 years ago). She told me that the first incarnation of Frozen had Elsa as a villain with blue skin and spiky hair! As she was writing with her husband Bobby, a composer, it took them a while to create the Elsa and Anna we know and love. Here's more from our conversation:
"When I came up with the hook, Let it Go, we were writing in our 400 square ft studio apartment in Brooklyn, where we'd get moody and just drive each other nuts. But, one beautiful day, we went for a walk in Prospect Park, and we started talking about what a relief it'd be to let go of the control you needed to be perfect. We were trying to find the universal in Let it Go. When had we experienced that? Bobby, who was always a straight-A student, said he thought it'd be scary but liberating to let himself fail for once, to let go of the pressure to always be the best. I said, 'So you mean, like being a mom of young kids, where you have to be always creative and cook the quinoa and have a good career and try to stay thin and have a nice house and try to be a good friend and try to give to charity? All the ways of being a working mother, it's absolutely impossible. You can't be perfect. There are those moments, when you just let it fall to the floor. Like, we’re ordering pizza and I'm putting on yoga pants and I’m going to drink chardonnay. Those moments when you let yourself off the hook?' Then I jumped up on a picnic table and started imagining: I'm Elsa, my secret is coming out. I’m on a mountain all alone and I feel both horrible because my life has fallen apart and exhilarated because what does it mean to be my true self? And, Bobby came up with 'the snow glows white on the mountain tonight.' I put in the 'don't let them in, don't let them see.' I jumped down, and we headed back to our studio. We wrote 'Let It Go' in 36 hours. That was really fun. I could tell, when I was first singing it, how fun it was going to be."
Even in this cold, I like to imagine that I might walk by someone standing on a picnic table somewhere just writing a huge hit, and it makes me happy to remember that creativity is happening, even in the craziest of times, absolutely everywhere. Wordle for Kids: Speaking of fun, the little editors are becoming world-class Wordle players. (Or so it seems, when they beat me!) If your kids are old enough, it's a blast to do together every morning. If you want more puzzles, there's a new game for younger kids, Spellie. Black History Month Books: The Brooklyn Library shares the best Biographies of Black Excellence, and New York magazine shares the Best Kids Books to read during Black History Month (and all year long). Some of our household favorites from this list: Ada Twist, Scientist, Brown Girl Dreaming, and The Hill We Climb.
But Why? It is really hard to know how to talk to kids about war, and heartbreaking that we now have to try to explain the inexplicable. It's easy to talk about peace, though. In our Art issue, we interview Carol Wells, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, about how art can change the world.
To start the discussion, we encourage kids to make a poster that might inspire peace. Snap a pic of your poster and email it to us: readermail@kazoomagazine.com and we may share it online or in a future issue.
National Magazine Awards: Kazoo's a finalist for TWO "Ellie" awards, the highest honor in the magazine industry! (They're like the Oscars for magazines, except a tiny bit less glamorous and no swag bags.) We're thrilled with the nods for Best Illustrated Story and Best Single Topic Issue of 2022, both from our Art Issue, #23, available in our shop now. Goodnight Girl: Even though our girls have outgrown them, we can't bear to part with our tattered copies of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. It turns out their author, Margaret Wise Brown, was as spectacular as the books she left us. My old friend Anna Holmes writes the fascinating story of The Radical Woman Behind Goodnight Moon in the The New Yorker. Parenting is Political: We sometimes get emails complaining that our magazine is too political. Our response: OK? (Once someone even cancelled their subscription because we featured Stacey Abrams talking about the importance of ... democracy.) Because, everything is political and the very least we can do is say something. Here's a story about Mildred Harnack, an American grad student in Berlin, who saw Germany become a fascist dictatorship. She did so much more, and her resistance is an inspiration. Bird Rescue: We happened upon an injured red-tailed hawk and joined up with some Brooklyn birders to save it. (We hope.) Read the whole tale and see video of the hawk, here. Coming Soon: Issue 24 is OTW to subscribers now!!! It's all about Magic!
In the north east, February sometimes feels like winter will never end. Reading the news this morning, it also feels like we're just getting out of one crisis and the world is falling into another. If you're finding it all hard to get through, remember some magic is on the way soon.You can find me (erin@kazoomagazine.com) if you have some to spare. xo,ErinFounder & Editor-in-Chief
News from Kazoo.
Hello friends! Hello 2022! We're almost through January! Let's keep going!
January Update:
Perfect Comfort Food Recipe: Years ago when I was writing a little book called How to Sew a Button, I learned a bunch of grandmotherly wisdom and got pretty into doing things like baking pies and you know, experimenting with making homemade honey-wine in a jug, but I also rediscovered a delicious family recipe that my own grandmother used to make: Pasties! I've recently shared this meal with my daughters and they LOVE them. Highly recommended for cold days. (Real Simple wrote about this recipe and did a whole photo shoot with me and my mom and I mean, the recipe is at the link, but please also note how cute my mom is and how great my hair looks in this picture! They did our make-up.) New Books for Kids: The American Library Association announced the 2022 Youth Media Awards, which honored a ton of great books and authors, including Kazoo fiction contributors A.S.King (who wrote the short story, “The Feelings Shed” for our Art issue), Veera Hiranandani (“Sunny” for our DIY issue), and Jane Yolen (“Arbora and the Airship” for our Steampunk issue). You can pick up their short stories in our shop. Find the full list of winners here. Big News: We got a little too into reporting on the Giant Squid for our Big issue, but can you see why? And now, this huge Jellyfish? Undersea Creatures, still amazing. Tiny News: Good Bones meets The Great British Baking Show at 1:12 scale. There's going to be a tiny house decorating competition show! Watch this space for more on miniatures in an upcoming issue. (Grab your readers, if necessary.) We are here for it!
Tinker time: We're inspired by Girls Garage founder Emily Pilloton-Lam, who says she teaches girls to build by filling their toolboxes with drills and saws and ferocity and joy. For Kazoo's tinkering projects, we limit our materials to what we think people already have around the house, so readers can do any of our projects without taking a special trip to the hardware or craft store. We end up using a ton of cardboard and glue, but we hope our tinkering projects help prepare our younger readers for more advanced woodworking when they get a little older, too. Plus, we have so much fun making stuff with our kids. Arthurian Legend come to life. So, maybe when our girls get a little older they'll be prepared to pull a bronze ax out of the ground, like this 13-year-old girl, who went out with a metal detector and found a hoard of items from more than 3,000 years ago. “We were just laughing our heads off,” she said. Thrilling.
Now, how are you, really? The WSJ says that Moms are Never alone, but always lonely. Social media has both helped and hurt moms during the pandemic, and the more online we are, the lonelier we feel. I get this, but I'm also glad that you are here. Please reach out to me (erin@kazoomagazine.com) if you want to say "hi," or tell me anything cool, or if you'd like to share a picture of your laptop thrown into a snowbank. Up Next: We are hard at work on issue 24!!! It will come out in March and we'll tell you all about it when it's ready. No spoilers yet, so for now just enjoy this behind-the-scenes of a craft photo-shoot from Kazoo HQ (aka our living room).
Yes, it's a string DIY craft, on a shoestring budget (and hair and make-up team nowhere to be found), but we are still having fun! We hope whatever you're up to this January you find some fun it it, too. xo,ErinFounder & Editor-in-Chief
