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*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* News from Kazoo. Hello friends! We made it to December! Now's the time to find the light.   December Update:  Lightshow: The other night we ventured out to The Brooklyn Botanical Garden to a light exhibition called Lightscape, which winds through the garden trails. There were s'mores and hot chocolate stations and even a fire garden! Now, understand that we really haven't been out and about much, but even so, our minds were just absolutely blown by the beauty. It was magical. If you can find a light show near you, go! DIY: Or just string up every twinkle light you can find. We do every December. This year, especially, we need it.  New Issue! Our 23rd issue, The Art Issue, has landed. Did you get yours? We've already seen some spectacular reader-made artwork on the covers. Email us your child's contribution (to readermail@kazoomagazine.com) and we'll post a round-up.  Gift giving: It's holiday gift list time, and we are happy to appear on The Kids Should See This list. (They feature a ton of cool stuff, if you need more inspiration for gift buying.)  Newest Picture books: The 2021 list of NYT best picture books is also out, and, uh, we haven’t read a single one. Maybe we should. Our go-to picture books are not at all new: The Little Engine that Could, The Nutshell Library (which seems to be, sadly, in-and-out of print), and The Book of Mistakes, which we excerpted in Kazoo #8.  Children's book classics: But our 6-year-old is mostly just reading Frog & Toad these days, which I re-discovered from this excellent @frogandtoadbot.  Banned books: Some people in the US are currently losing their minds and trying to ban books everywhere. One Texas school district just banned the books of 3 of our recent contributors! (Yes, Jacqueline Woodson, who was in our very 1st issue; Margaret Atwood, from issue #4; and Carmen Maria Machado, who wrote our wonderful story for issue #18.) Banning The Handmaids Tale is sort of a tell? Seems to us if you want kids to learn, no matter what your particular political persuasion, the answer is always more books.  Gold medalist story: Here's a new book about Paralympian (and Kazoo expert) Tatyana McFadden, who in addition to being a gold medalist, happens to have two moms. You should probably buy this book before someone tries to ban it, too.  Another Olympian: We saw Shalane Flanagan run by while we were cheering on our corner during the NYC marathon. (I mean, in a blur.) She talked with us for issue #10. Her advice when things get hard: “Think of who you're doing it for." I guess she knows of what she speaks as it was her 6th marathon this year!  Persist: If you, too, were distraught by the SCOTUS arguments this week, the only thing to do is to remember who we're fighting for. As one wise woman said, "We can not and will not leave our granddaughters a world in which they have fewer opportunities than we did." We will do anything for our daughters. The fight for equality is not over, and we will never stop.  Mommy shark (do-do-do-do): We keep trying to quit social media, but then we see something like this on twitter and we are reminded that the world can also be a spectacular place, and scientists are amazing (even on twitter).  Yay, Science! And thank you to Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who you might remember from issue #20, for her work in developing the covid vaccine. Our Teeny and Tiny editors (now 6 & 10) got their Covid vaccinations, and full immunity kicks in next week. No one likes getting shots but they were so brave and happy to take this small step to help protect themselves and their community. (And, neither had any side-effects except for a little soreness on their arm.) Plus, we promised them Pokemon cards after their 2nd shot. (Or as I call them, Pokie Mans.) VACCINATIONS AND POKEMON!!! It was a banner day around here.  What supply chain issues?: We print our magazine in the great state of Vermont, in the USA, and have no supply-chain issues at all. Our store is fully stocked for the holidays! But the post office is slow. (Why? Not bringing us joy, DeJoy.) So, if you want something by December 25, order it now. We ship daily, and we're running a buy-two-get one free on back-issues, so check them out.   Thank you for reading our magazine—and for telling your friends about Kazoo too. If you'd like to reach out, or send me anything cool to include in a future issue or newsletter (or you just want to say hi), you can always find me: erin@kazoomagazine.com.  xo, Erin       Save $120 today  Buy any 2 items in our shop, and get 1 free. Choose from a selection of our National Magazine Award-winning back issues for girls, ages 5 to 12, who love to create and learn. Included: Single issues (save $10), 4-issue bundles (save $40) or the whole Kazoo Library (save $120!). Use code CHEER at checkout. Then print out your gift card, here.  *SALE ENDS 1/1/22 

Click here to order a gift subscription to Kazoo for the special kids in your life! Then, print out any of these gift announcements to tuck into a card or onto a present. Just right-click on them to save and print! (On a Mac, just hold down the control button and click on the image to save and print.)  A Merry Christmas Gift A Happy Holidays Gift An Anytime Gift  

With the holiday season upon is, we thought we'd take a moment to answer some of your frequently asked holiday questions. Did the New York Times really name Kazoo "one of the best gifts of the year?"Yes! They called us "a smart, beautiful quarterly." And Wirecutter named Kazoo "one of the 18 best gifts for 9-year-olds." We're the only kids' magazine ever to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence and be named a 3x finalist. We've also won 3 consecutive Parents Choice Gold Awards.Do you ship worldwide?Yes! Our subscription checkout page is designed for US subscriptions. Canadian subscribers, click here. Other international subscribers, click here. And we'll ship any back issue from our shop anywhere in the world.  If I subscribe now, will Kazoo arrive before Christmas? Yes! If you subscribe before December 17th and you live in the United States, you can expect delivery of our winter issue, The Art Issue, before Christmas. We'll send copies out via USPS first-class mail, which takes approximately 5 business days. If you live abroad, we'll try our best to get it to you quickly, but international mail has been a bit slow these days, so we can't make any guarantees.  What if I don't want it before Christmas?No problem. Subscribe now, and then pop into your account and click the button to place your subscription on hold. We'll mail the first issue about a week after you remove the hold. Or, if you'd prefer that the first issue arrive to your house, so you can wrap it first, enter you own info as the recipient for now. After you receive the first issue, log into your account to update the address to the child's (or email us, and we'll do it for you), so the next issue will go directly to her. Can I get Kazoo in time for Hanukkah? Yes! We probably won't have the winter Art Issue in stock in time, but you can pop over to our shop and pick up any of our other 22 available issues. We ship those daily via either USPS first-class mail (5 days) or US media mail (2 to 8 days). Are there any discounts?Yes! If you purchase more than one gift subscription at the same time, you'll save 10% on the second subscription. (It'll show up automatically during checkout.) But otherwise, you can feel confident you're getting the best deal. Our prices are already as low as we can make them. Any supply-chain issues?Nope! We're good. We print in Vermont, so we won't run into the same cargo ship-trouble that publishers who print overseas will.  Will you share my information with marketers?No, never. Who might enjoy Kazoo?We're designed for girls, 5 to 12, but anyone who loves science, art, comics, games, activities and good fiction will enjoy Kazoo. We're the perfect gift for any kid (or teacher or librarian). When you give Kazoo, you're supporting a small indie publisher, who pays our contributors fairly, prints sustainably and supports our community. We are 100% subscriber-funded, and we couldn't do it without you. We're so grateful for your support! 

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*   News from Kazoo. Hello friends! Fall in NYC is always so lovely. This year, despite (because of?) everything, the even slightly-cooler autumn breeze feels better than ever.  October Update: Seems like only yesterday, but I was only 22 when I'd just moved to NYC from Pennsylvania and somehow landed a job as a Rover (basically an in-house temp) at Condé Nast. I was answering phones for bigwigs, and the first call I ever received was from Iman. “This is Iman,” she said in the voice we all know. “Get me Paul.” I was a little shaky when I pressed the button on a phone system I had not yet mastered, but I got Paul. That was the very beginning of my career in magazines. And I’d mostly forgotten all about that until I saw this amazing pic of Iman at the Met Gala.  It's soup season! I made butternut squash soup with our lone garden squash. Ingredients: Splash of Olive Oil 1 Onion 1 Carrot 2 Sweet Potatoes 1 Butternut Squash 1 Green Apple 40 or so ounces chicken broth 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1 stick Cinnamon Pepper to taste  2 tbs butter So easy: Chop onion and sauté in olive oil until translucent. Cube everything else and cook in chicken broth over medium high heat until veggies are soft. Puree. Add butter, seasonings, and more broth if you'd like. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon to be extra fancy. The kids love my "famous orange soup," but TBH, it's different every time I make it, because the recipe isn't in any way precise. Like our friend the @condimentraccoon (who you may recognize from issue #19 the Mystery issue), I am often "Bested by a soup!". But I keep trying! Facebook is down (& out). Though Facebook was very helpful when we first launched Kazoo, we've long-since been buried in their news feed since we don't peddle in conspiracy theories or conflict or pay them to boost our posts. I miss "seeing" friends though, so we're finding new ways to keep in touch. (I was so happy to hear back from some of you with great movie recommendations.) It's reminded me to reach out to the people I care about in other ways, too.  Another book recommendation (from the 10yo editor): When Stars Are Scattered, a graphic novel by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. The Tiny Editor had to read it for school, but now she calls it "one of her favorites" and has re-read it many times since. (And for younger readers: Bea Rocks the Flock is another Jamieson favorite around here.)  Speaking of books: We're always really happy to see Kazoo contributors' new adult books hit the shelves. To name a few: Keisha N. Blain, award-winning historian (as seen in Kazoo #19) Until I Am Free;  Ruth Ozeki, (our wabi-sabi expert from Kazoo #8) The Book of Form and Emptiness; and Kristen Arnett (author of our lovely short story from Kazoo #14) With Teeth. Also, a couple of books from our Noisemakers’ parents! So psyched for Kerry Clare, one of our earliest subscribers, who's been getting great attention for her new novel Waiting for a Star to Fall and we also can't wait to read Beloved Beasts by award-winning climate reporter (and Kazoo parent) Michelle Nijhuis. We are truly a bunch of book nerds.  Reindeer Cyclones! Wow. Is this really real?  Betty Reid Soskin, America's oldest park ranger, celebrates her 100th birthday. Here she is in the NYT. We recently spoke with her for Kazoo too. Stay tuned for her story!  This 8yo girl knows exactly what she wants to be when she's 100.  It involves tacos. She seems to have it more figured out than most of us. Welp, in-person school, huh? With an aggressive mix of hand-washing, masking and worry, Brooklyn public schools seem to be .... Not jinxing anything here! It has helped that our community has a very high vaccination rate. How are you all doing? We hope you and your kids are well. We tell our girls it's not really "back to normal" but it is "getting better" -- and we'll take it.  If reading about the kids' vaccine was a sport, I'd be an all-star. The FDA is "tentatively scheduled to discuss Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine on Oct. 26." They may make a decision within days after. Until then, hang in there, kiddos! The Wild Issue is out now. We hope you are loving it! If you didn't get it, or are not sure about your subscription, you can check your status right here.  Our next issue is going to be all about art! In planning each issue of Kazoo, we come up with a theme and then I basically do a deep-dive into the subject for 3 months. That's not the hard part, though. My biggest struggle is: "HOW DO I FIT ALL THIS FASCINATING STUFF IN JUST 64 PAGES?"  This month, for example, I read more about Corita Kent, who was known as the "Pop Art Nun," and though she won't be in our next issue, I keep thinking of this quote in one of her pieces: "Be of love a little more careful than of everything." Thank you for reading and supporting Kazoo—and for telling your friends about us too. If you'd like to reach out, or send me anything cool to include in a future issue or newsletter (or you just want to say hi), you can find me: erin@kazoomagazine.com.  xo, Erin

Hello friends! My kids are back in their NYC school for the first time in 18 months (!!!), and I'm all nerves. But, rather than sit here, fret, and doom scroll, I thought today would be a good time to reach out with some behind-the-scenes news from Kazoo: September Update:  Summer flew by! Now it's back to school, which is exciting and nerve-racking any year. This year x 100. I hope our kids will be OK. I hope we parents will be OK, too. Are we OK? After a year of screen-school, our kids miraculously still love to read! The Tiny Editor, now 10, devoured the Emmie & Friends books this summer. The Teeny Editor, now 6, has started reading Kazoo fave Ivy & Bean solo. Highly recommend. (You might remember illustrator Sophie Blackall playing dress-up with a sweet potato named Philip in issue #17 and author Annie Barrows in our Storytellers' Issue #18.) Every week, I make pizza, and we have "Friday Night Movie Night." At some point this summer, I realized I had memorized this NYT recipe for pizza dough, which felt like an accomplishment. It's good. We try to agree on a new movie (but we've also somehow watched The Greatest Showman at least 5x). If you have faves, send them our way.  To pass the time on a long car drive, we gave the girls an old-timey handheld cassette recorder, so they could document the trip. They spent much of it taping each other saying "HELLOOO" and laughing. They thought it was magic (so we explained we were witches, just as they had suspected).  We made DIY wooden drums from issue 22 and banged out "Eye of the Tiger" (to our neighbors' delight). We also loved searching #drummergirl on instagram and finding so many amazing girl drummers to inspire us!  We don't let our kids tik the tok (yet) but we do show them funny ones like this v clever little girl and her v understanding father.  We planted another garden! Still beginners but we all love to dig in the dirt. We mostly grew cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, and squash, which turned out to be mostly just blossoms. Our documentarian daughter explains:    Our one tiny squash plant took over the entire garden! And yet...  The Wild Issue is out now. If you subscribe, we hope you've gotten it and are loving it. (International subscribers, if you haven't received it yet, hang tight! Mail is slower than usual these days). If you're not sure about your subscription, you can check your status right here.  That's the news for now. I successfully spent this first day of school *totally not worrying* and I hope you did too. (o_0) I'm hard at work on our next issue, but I'll try to write a short newsletter every month to stay in touch. If you'd like to reach out, or send me anything cool to include, you can find me: erin [at] kazoomagazine [dot] com.  xo, Erin

Did you know that we make video tutorials for most of the projects you find in Kazoo? Follow our youtube channel, and let's make stuff together, like this DIY fidget cube from our Daydreamers' Issue! 

We're giving away our graphic collection, Noisemakers: 25 Women Who Raised Their Voices & Changed the World, to five lucky kids.  For a chance to win, draw a picture of your favorite history-making woman and email it to us at info@kazoomagazine.com before December 15, 2020. Tell us who she is and who you are (first name, age, town). We'll email winners after the contest ends.

Our Storytellers' Issue (#18) just rolled off the presses at our printer in Vermont, and it'll arrive in our subscribers' mailboxes around October 1st. (International subscribers: We send them to you via Whale Mail, so it'll take a bit longer.) To get this issue, subscribe here. For questions about your subscription status, email us at help@kazoomagazine.com.