Yes means Know

The first issue of Know is coming out of Victoria in January, intending to make science fun for children between six and nine years old. It's tagline says it's "the science magazine for curious kids".

Know magazine editor Adrienne Mason, a biologist and author of 20 books for kids and adults, says children want to know about the science involved in chewing gum and other things sciency. "Young children are innately interested in everything around them," says Mason. She edits the 6-times-a-year magazine from her home in Tofino, on Vancouver Island.

The magazine is published out of an office in Victoria by the same company that produces Yes magazine, a science book for older children. Publisher David Garrison says there has been a clamour among grandparents and parents for something for younger kids and grandkids.

Yes, which is 10 years old, has 23,000 subscribers, but started out with 300. Know, which hasn't even yet published, has 4,000 advance subscribers. A subscription is $22 a year.

The challenge for Know magazine isn't finding interesting topics, but in being able to communicate with the young readers, says Mason. Reading ability between six and nine varies widely.

"We're definitely trying to present material in a lot of different ways," says Mason. The approach ranges from a comic strip with little text to articles that are a bit harder to read. "We don't want to dumb things down."

Each issue will have a theme -- the inaugural January issue is about ice and snow with forthcoming issues about the solar system, beach life, light and colour, dogs and balloons.

Read more about it here.