Media Coverage
'Something Real' for children to read
Former teacher, partner create kids' magazine
Ofelia Madrid
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 25, 2005 12:00 AM
When Lily Gallo was a teacher in Chicago, she always looked for lessons that allowed her students to express themselves.
Now that Gallo, 28, lives in Arizona and is no longer teaching, she's still helping children find their creative outlet.
She and her partner, Sabrina Gallo of Phoenix, have created a children's magazine called Something Real… . It's a magazine filled with children's art and stories. It's for children, by children.
"We wanted to make a magazine that had something real from a child," Lily said. "We don't edit anything. They're real thoughts."
The women have been visiting classrooms in the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley school districts, looking for student submissions. They recently visited a multiage classroom at Mercury Mine Elementary in north Phoenix.
"Who knows more about kids than kids?" Lily asked the students in Nancy Ashby's and Karen McVey's first- and second-grade classroom.
She guided the students as they wrote a story with her. "Once upon a time, there was a .… ," Lily said, then stopped, allowing a student to fill in the blank. "A beautiful large rainbow," one girl said.
The students continued contributing to the story, in a Mad Libs-style, filling in blanks until they had an original story.
Ashby said she would encourage her students to submit work to the magazine.
In her classroom the students already work on poetry, short stories, cartoon strips and artwork. This would just be an extension of those activities.
The idea for the magazine came after the women moved to Arizona last year. Their first attempt to provide kids an outlet for self-expression was a children's bookstore and café in Scottsdale, which they recently closed to devote more time to the magazine.
The magazine should be available on a major airline in the coming months, Sabrina, 37, said. She declined to name the airline because they are still in negotiations.
There will be a perforated tear sheet for children to create their own magazine submissions that they can mail to the creators to consider for publication.
The monthly magazine will include open-ended questions for children to send in their answers, such as "What would you do if you were a bird?" Sabrina said.
"This is about the freedom of expression," she said. "Children can be seen and heard, and they don't have to be perfect or try to please anyone."
Reach the reporter at ofelia.madrid@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6879.