Muse (children's magazine)
Muse is a children's magazine published by Carus Publishing, the publishers of Cricket. Launched in January 1997, it is published in Chicago, Illinois, and has readers throughout the United States and around the world. From 1997 to 2006, it was published in collaboration between Cricket and Smithsonian. Recommended for ages nine and above,[1] it features articles about science, history, and the arts. Muse encourages the reader to think about questions that may not have definite answers. Nine cartoon characters, known as the Muses, used to appear in the margins throughout the magazine as well as in the Kokopelli & Company comic strip. Among them, only Urania was one of the original Greek muses; Kokopelli, a trickster, is a god in many native American tribes. They now have a currently unnamed comic that replaced Muse's muses, featuring completely new characters, as well as some new content and slightly different layout, as they recently joined with a sister magazine, Odyssey.
Magazine contents
Muse is published nine times annually. Each issue contains a comic strip ("Kokopelli & Company") written by Larry Gonick, a spoof about the main subject of the issue (Dear Muse Reader), a fun facts page (Bo's page), letters from readers (Muse Mail), a contest, a question-and-answer page written by Robert Coontz, Rosanne Spector, and Rebecca Lasley; an article written by a Muse reader ("Muserology"), a short article based on a surprising photo ("Last Page"), and articles on various topics. Often the topics of the articles are tangentially related. Past issues have included articles about vegetarianism, pie throwing, extraterrestrial life, naked mole-rats, the origin of the moon, pirates, urban legends, insects, mummies, tenrecs, the history of napkins, contacting ghosts, New Zealand's exploding trousers, Rube Goldberg inventions, The Lord of the Rings, and blind cavefish.
Muses
The Muses were drawn by cartoonist Larry Gonick.
- Kokopelli: Muse of tunes and tricks, who often throws pies
- Chad: Muse of Hardware
- Aeiou: Muse of Software
- Bo: Muse of Factoids
- Urania: Muse of Astronomy
- Feather: Muse of Plants
- Crraw: Muse of Bad Poetry
- Pwt: Muse of Animals
- Mimi: Muse of getting along with people
- Lil' Devil: Not a muse, Kokopelli's dog
As of September 2015, the Muses have been removed from the magazine, replaced with a new comic called Parallel U.
Awards
- 2012 Parents' Choice Gold[2]
- 2010 Parents' Choice Gold[3]
- 2008 Parents' Choice Silver[4]
- 2005 Parents' Choice Gold[5]
References
- ↑ Muse Magazine, Volume 10, No. 9, Page 46.
- ↑ Parents' Choice Award 2012 - Muse Magazine
- ↑ Parents' Choice Award 2010 - Muse Magazine
- ↑ Parents' Choice Award 2008 - Muse Magazine
- ↑ Parents' Choice Award 2005 - Muse Magazine
External links
- MuseMag (Muse's official website)
