Clementine Macmillan-Scott, Scoop
This week we catch up with children’s magazine Scoop’s founder Clementine Macmillan-Scott. The story-based monthly has just published its sixth issue with front cover art by magCulture collaborator Alice Bowsher. We asked Clementine to select three items from her archive for us: an old issue, a new one and another thing.
A new issue: Okido
In the world of children’s magazines I have to say I think Okido do an amazing job at offering children (3-8 ) year olds a really unique magazine that really engages kids through stories and activities and, because of the fantastic design and illustration, they are unknowingly learning a huge amount. Another magazine for a younger age group I love is the American Rookie mag. Published by the former child fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson. They publish online and in print as an annual and it is just so perfectly pitched with articles and stories by and for teenage girls.
An old issue: Puffin Post
Scoop was really inspired by the Puffin Post which is a publication that my parents generation and younger go all misty-eyed over remembering when they subscribed and had their own story published. It was edited by the legendary Kaye Webb , the editor of Puffin Books. It offered children a place to read short stories, reviews and publish their own work. It was a tiny world of its own filled with drawing and jokes and musings from the editor. Her voice shone through so when she no longer edited it it lost its magic. If Scoop inspires just a smidge of the love Puffin Post did, we are winning!
And another thing: Michael Foreman’s illustrations
In the making of Scoop we are very much led by the stories being created for children. Publishers send us all the latest releases for review and often we feel so inspired by the story or the illustration that we commission the write or illustrator to do some original work. Michael Foreman has been illustrating glorious books for children and won two Kate Greenaway medals . His watercolour illustrations capture people and places so beautifully and whose new book about his travels is illustrated from his notebooks over the years. We had to ask if he would do a cover- and he agreed! It is a great honour to be able to part of an industry that celebrates creative spirit in so many different styles so really its the authors and illustrators themselves who are our main inspiration.