Discovery Girls

By Yomi S. Wronge Campbell woman's new publication lets girls too old for 'Sesame Street" but not ready for dating talk about the issues that interest them. Too young for Teen, too old for Sesame Street magazine. For "tween" girls-those between the ages of 8 and 12-newsstand choices are limited when it comes to picking a lifestyle magazine that's relevant and age-appropriate. But a Silicon Valley start-up publication is trying to fill that niche. "This magazine isn't about movie stars," said Catherine Lee of Campbell, creator of Discovery Girls, a bimonthly magazine. "It's about young girls, what they want and are interested in." Lee quit her job in high-tech management and used her savings to start Discovery Girls. She got the idea two years ago when she couldn't find a magazine for her daughter, Alexa. "I struck out," Lee said. "The publications I looked at were too babyish or the kind that portrayed sexy teenagers as role models." You won't find that in Discovery Girls. The glossy pages are packed with images of regular girls-freckled faces to pigtails-and news about their everyday lives. Typical features include middle-school fears, sibling relationships, personal stories, book reviews, puzzles, and Web site reviews. One of the most popular features gives examples of girls' most embarrassing moments. "That's my favorite part," said Alexa Lee, 9. "I wrote one about the first time I took karate. I had to go to the bathroom really, really bad, and when I kicked my leg, some pee came out and rolled down my pants onto the floor. Everyone saw." That was four years ago. The experience was so mortifying, Alexa never returned to karate class. But knowing other girls have suffered equally embarrassing moments has given her the courage to take up karate again, she said. That's the hallmark of Discovery Girls; by design, it helps young adolescent girls connect and support each other through this period of peer pressure, teasing, body image concerns and other common experiences. "I wanted a resource and tools for girls so they can go into their teen years with a strong sense of self and the feeling that they can accomplish anything," Lee said.

Staff from all over

Editors and designers, both in Silicon Valley and other parts of the country, staff the magazine, but the final production takes place in Campbell. Discovery Girls is then shipped to Nevada, where it is printed and distributed. It is going on its sixth edition. For each issue, Lee creates a board of 12 girls from a particular city to work with the staff. The girls are chosen through letters they submit. So far, Discovery Girls has been in San Jose and cities in Arizona, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nevada. The girls work as journalists and models and brainstorm ideas for future publications. They help the staff capture the flavor of their city, and each issue becomes a kind of tribute to girls in that community. "We really involve girls as much as possible and yet we put out a professional quality magazine," said features editor Sarah Verney of Orange, Conn. "We sit down with them and say what are the issues in your life." The upcoming issue, out of Reno, includes stories on what happens when girls are stuck in between two friends who are fighting, Father's Day and a feature about a girl whose father is an alcoholic. "I've been amazed at how much the girls open up to us and how willing parents are to let them share their stories," Verney said. For parents, Discovery Girls is a window into what their girls are thinking and feeling. "Our daughters are starting to get to the age when the world is getting big and they're interested in so many things," said Carla Breunling, a mom and manager at Hewlett-Packard who helped conceptualize the magazine. "You want to find media that channels their interest in a productive way, but you start to get nervous because a lot of what's out there isn't healthy." American Girl magazine, Girl's Life, Sports Illustrated for Kids and Nickelodeon are among the few national kids magazines on the market that are free of adult themes. Teen Voices magazine, which has a bureau in San Francisco, is another smart publication. Like Discovery Girls, Teen Voices is produced by teenagers, although some of the content might not be suitable for girls younger than 12. "The idea for Discovery Girls seemed like a perfect niche opportunity that wasn't getting covered," Breunling said. The magazine covers a range of issues and ideas. Research shows that girls at this age are ripe for absorbing information; however, in a few years, their world narrows considerably, and what will matter most to them is boys and designer clothes. That's not to say the 'tween years are much easier. "They're not really into boys yet, but don't want to be treated like babies, and yet they aren't quite ready to give up Beanie Babies," said subscriber Elliot Brand of Sunnyvale. "It's a tough age and the magazine addresses all of those issues."

Instant Celebrity

Brand's daughter, 9-year-old Gray, received a subscription from her grandfather, who lives in Reno. She sent in a submission and was chosen to help on the Reno issue, so her parents flew her there for a weekend. "It was exciting to meet all the other girls and to meet Catherine and her daughter," Gray said. Though Gray said she felt like she knew Alexa after having seen her on the cover of the first issue. "Alexa was like a celebrity to me," she said. That made Dad feel good. "My daughter is too young to read Teen People and doesn't have anything in common with Brittney Spears besides they are both girls," Elliot Brand said. "When she reads about these other girls they are just like her."

Attachment	Size
MercuryNewsArticle-2.pdf	627.56 KB