Discovery Girls

Twelve girls from northern Nevada will share with their friends today a weekend tale of high fashion, glamour, and the excitement of being in the spotlight of a national magazine. They spent hours with a stylist working on their hair-braiding, curling, crimping, and adding tiny jewels. Not to mention the fashion coordinator and her oversized bags filled with the coolest clothes and most awesome jewelry and purses a girl could own. Then there’s the team of photographers. The editor. The publisher. Each recording. Each listening to what each girl had to say. “It’s like a dream,” said Colleen Dondero, 9, of Sparks. “I can’t believe it’s real, that it’s happening and that I was chosen.” On Saturday and Sunday, 12 area girls, ages 8-12, gathered in south Reno to help the crew of Discovery Girls magazine launch its June-July issue. Discovery Girls is a new magazine targeting tween girls ages 8 to 12. The California-based magazine celebrates accomplishments and tribulations of real girls. The slick magazine features regular schoolgirls, not models, and is filled with advice and stories by and about children in its 60 pages. In each bimonthly issue, the magazine focuses on a different area of the country and recruits a dozen girls from that area. The girls are selected from those who write to the magazine. “If we get a lot of response from one area, we’ll go there,” said Catherine Lee, publisher of Discovery Girls. Lee launched Discovery Girls after she was unable to find an appropriate magazine for her 9-year-old daughter, Alexa. “This has been pretty tremendous response for us,” she said. “I wanted this to be a resource and a tool for girls.” Lee, who used to work for a computer company in Silicon Valley, spent a year researching the market and talking with other parents and developed Discovery Girls this summer. Thirty thousand copies were distributed to libraries. Peggy Brand of Reno said she’s thankful for Lee’s endeavor. “I came across a copy of the magazine and gave it to my granddaughter,” Brand said.” “Once she had a copy, we couldn’t get her away from it.” Brand was accompanied to the photo shoot this weekend by her 9-year-old granddaughter, Gray Brand. Gray, dressed in a yellow outfit, smiled and nodded at her grandmother’s comments. “I like everything about the magazine,” the girl said. “It’s so exciting to be here.” The weekend for the Reno-area girls began at 9 a.m. Saturday in the studios of Lifetouch Prestige Portraits in south Reno. The eight-hour day was filled with questionnaires, interviews, and lots of photo shoots. Participants repeated the process at 9 a.m. Sunday, wrapping up by midday. “We are very pleased with the girls,” said Sarah Verney, Discovery Girls’ editor. “We thought they would be shy, but they seemed to open up right away.” Verney described the girls as honest, bright, and forthcoming. “They were great to work with,” she said. During the first day, the girls were asked to sit on the floor in a circle in the studio and brainstorm on issues. The girls’ job was to talk to each other and ask what kinds of things they would like to see in the magazine and what made the Reno area so special. The girls talked. The magazine staff listened. “Once the moms left the room, the girls were able to talk more about things,” said Erin McMahon, 9, of Reno. “I think that made it a lot easier for some to open up.” Sparks’ Colleen shared her thoughts on her father, Dan Dondero, and what a positive role model he has been for the fourth-grader. “I talked about what a wonderful relationship I have with my father and the best part of it is that he’s going to take a photo with me for the magazine,” she said on Saturday. And the next day, Dan Dondero sat on the couch of the waiting room for his blonde daughter to come out of one of many photo shoots. “I’m finished up,” he said with a smile. “She’s still in there getting photos taken. She’s just so excited.” Most of the girls returned on Sunday with stories about what was on their hearts and issues they wanted to share with other girls in the magazine. Erin McMahon and her sister, Brenna, 8, wrote about why they love Reno and detailed the area’s history and its natural beauty. One girl even shared her personal story of living--and loving-- her alcoholic father. There were lighter moments as well. “The hair styling was great,” Erin said. “I’ve never had my hair crimped before and they crimped my hair.” The debut issue highlighted:

• A section on losing friends
• How to cope with changing in the locker room at school
• An interview with N’Sync by one of the 12 girls
• A feature on money management
• A profile of a 10-year-old who became a fashion consultant for Sears after winning a contest.
• The magazine also has a bit of fashion, contests, and quizzes.

The “most embarrassing moments” section of Discovery Girls is a big hit. “Some of the parents wondered if it was appropriate, but these things do happen to girls,” Lee said. “Their traumas don’t seem quite so extreme when they see that so many other girls have gone through it.” The girls in Reno agreed. “That’s one of the best parts of the magazine,” said Caitlen Smith, 11, of Reno. Another best part pf the magazine is that it doesn’t use professional models. That’s appealing to moms--and young girls. “We only use regular girls. They’re stars and they need to know that,” Lee said.

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