New Moon receives prestigious award from the Association of Educational Publishers!

We're very proud to announce that New Moon won a Golden Lamp Award from the

The New Moon staff and the Girls Editorial Board (pictured at left) would like to thank all of our contributors, readers, and business partners for helping us make New Moon the best magazine it can be. Thanks for your support!

We Turned Beauty Inside Out--Did YOU?

Duluth Mayor Herb Bergsen officially proclaimed Wednesday, May 17th as Turn Beauty Inside Out Day in Duluth, Minnesota! We had a great time at our celebration at the YWCA--TBIO bingo was a hit, the Girls Advisory Board did a fun skit, and we all learned about some fabulous female musicians from past and present. Special thanks to the Girl Power group for their enthusiasm and to Mayor Bergson for sharing his story with us--and signing all of our t-shirts!

Later that evening, three local musicians--Sara Softich, Leane Perius, and Mary Bue--entertained us at a TBIO benefit concert. Thanks to Sara, Leane, and Mary, and to everyone who attended. Your support will help the New Moon girls travel to the national TBIO Girls' Leadership Retreat in June! We're also grateful to Diane Tran for her organizational prowess.

Thanks also to WDIO-TV, the Duluth News Tribune, Mix108, KUWS, Howie Hanson, and Clare and Rachel Wagner for helping us spread the word. More thanks to the YWCA for hosting our afternoon event, Mitchell Auditorium for hosting the concert, Advantage Emblem and Screen Printing for the t-shirt donation, and to these generous businesses for donating door prizes: At Sara's Table, CEC Theatres, Edgewater Hotel and Water Park, Elysium Salon and Day Spa, Glensheen Historic Estate, Grandma's Restaurant, Great Lakes Aquarium, Whole Foods Co-op, and Yoga North.

Our Limited Edition Girl-Friendly T-Shirt

New Moon's first limited edition t-shirt is here! With its inspirational message, "reach for the moon," the shirt is sure to be a hit with both girls and parents. We only printed 100 of these t's, so when they're gone, they're gone!

The New Moon Store's Girls Advisory Board is looking for ideas for future t-shirts slogans. To make a suggestion, send an email to store@newmoon.org.

What Kids Can Do highlights New Moon article

Our friends at What Kids Can Do are featuring a New Moon article, "Sounding Off," in a special section of their website titled "Everyone is Different."

In a personal essay originally printed in the July/August 2002 issue of New Moon (themed "Differences"), 12-year-old Gloria wrote about what it's like to be deaf.

"I experience life in a way that most people never will," Gloria
explained. ..."I'm happy the way I am. I wouldn't want to be anyone else."

Click here to read Gloria's essay.

Punk Planet Introduces the Fourth Wave

"Are you ready?" Susan Beal asks in the September/October 2005 issue of Punk Planet. Beal's report from the 2005 Turn Beauty Inside Out conference describes a new generation of feminists:

"A growing number of girls ... are rejecting mainstream media and using their own Internet, TV, and publishing resources to create their own positive responses and strong messages in a new twist on feminism--the modern and media-savvy fourth wave."

Following the report, six insightful girls who attended the conference speak for themselves in "Voices of the Fourth Wave." As Beal discovered, the girls have a lot to say and are more than comfortable sharing their views. Let's hope they keep speaking up long past their teenage years!

"Muffin tops" distasteful, some say

Kim Ode reported on the rise of "muffin top"--a new term for the flesh that sometimes rolls over the waistband of girls' low-rise jeans--in the Minneapolis Star Tribune this weekend. Kate Freeborn, New Moon's managing editor, gave Kim her take on the term. Here's an excerpt:

The term was new to [Kate], but its intent all too familiar. "Anything that compartmentalizes girls and labels them according to body parts is negative," she said. "Again, we're not looking at the whole girl, but her legs, her butt, and now her muffin top."

Actually, she added, a little roundness is a sign of good health.

"These are girls whose hormones are working, whose bodies are changing in all kinds of ways," she said. "They should have a little stomach out there. It means their bodies are doing what they're supposed to be doing.

"But fashions can be unkind. My sense of what I hear from the girls is that they are not thrilled with the fact that they don't have a lot of options."

What's your reaction to the term, and the trend?

Being 13: Keeping that playful spirit

Clare, 13, of New Moon's Girls Editorial Board, thinks being 13 is "fabulous":

"It's a point where you've almost left childhood, but not quite, and you get to look at being adult up close while still being able to play and have fun and generally act like a 7-year-old without being too shunned. The fact that New Moon is turning 13 reminds me of that. It's as if we've grown up enough to be a widely-known and respected magazine, but still keep that playful spirit we had starting out."

Being 13: "I wasn't alone."

Nicole, 13, from Virginia, on how New Moon helped her at 13:

“I have been getting New Moon for only the past year but reading the magazine has helped me a lot . When I turned 13 I thought that I was going to be, well … powerful. Turning 13 didn’t feel any different than turning 10 or 11, but what I did feel was older, more mature. … I used to bury myself in books to escape reality, but your magazine helped me to open up and see that I wasn’t alone.

“My favorite departments of the magazine are “Dear Luna” and “Draw Luna.” They really take you inside the different girls’ minds. Seeing what they see. Feeling what they feel. New Moon was really a place for me to express myself. It has also helped me to get closer to my mom and now we can talk about everything, and I do mean everything.”

Being 13: Surviving "the pit of doom"

From 13-year-old Emily of Maryland, who is about to turn 14:

“When I turned 13, it was considered, by me, to be the entrance into *the pit of doom* (a.k.a. the ‘journey’ that is involved in being a teenager). I found myself in a place where I most desperately wanted to be taken seriously, but no one would. … There's definitely good stuff about it, too! It felt almost as though, while I could still be a kid at those special moments when I really needed it, I could also be more independent. The key to surviving this age, I think, is to be persistent! In order to get people to take you seriously, you have to let them get to know you.

“I find that New Moon has a very, very good grip on what it feels like to be a teenager (or kid). I think that probably has a lot to do with the fact that they work so well with the kids who are regular contributors to the magazine. Kids aren’t afraid to send stuff and to contribute.

“I love ‘Draw Luna’ simply because when you look at the drawings there, you can see so clearly how girls picture themselves and the world around them. … The only thing I’d like to see more of in New Moon is political discussion. Instead of just showing people who are doing peace protests, show them, and give a little about the other side.”

What's it like to be 13?

New Moon turns 13 in September! As TIME magazine reported in "Being 13" last week, "teens are growing up in a culture that sexualizes children and immerses them in adult images." New Moon magazine, edited by and for girls ages 8-14, is different. Instead of publishing adult-created content, New Moon brings girls' experiences, knowledge and understanding forward.

In honor of New Moon's 13th birthday, I asked some of our 13-year-old friends what it's like to be 13 and why they read New Moon. Here's what Siri, a New Moon reader and Girls Advisory Board member, had to say:

"Being 13 is pretty much like being any other age, except that I think 13 is the age where you grow the most as a person. Being 13 also means having more responsibility and being trusted more than someone who's younger.

"Other magazines that girls my age read have fashion and boy advice, and tips about how to make your body look good, and what foods are best to eat. New Moon, on the other hand, tells girls that they are beautiful for being themselves. Girls should feel comfortable in their own skin even if they don't know the difference between Dior and Manolo Blahtnik. New Moon gives girls an opportunity to say what they think, and I think that is very important. If girls are continually given the opportunity to speak their minds, they'll develop their own character and will know how to be their own person. If girls are continually told what to think, like they do in other magazines, then girls will end up acting all the same, and they might have trouble thinking for themselves in the future."