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 today, it was published by "Cricket" and sponsored by "Smithsonian". Recommended for ages nine and above, it features articles about science, history, and the arts. It is edited by Johanna Arnone. 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. After merging  with its sister magazine "Odyssey" in September 2015, "Muse" added new content, changed its layout, and replaced the Muses with a comic named "Parallel U" featuring different characters. Magazine contents. "Muse" is published nine times annually. Each issue contains a comic strip ("Parallel U") written by Caanan Grall, letters from readers ("Muse" Mail), a facts page ("Muse" News), a contest, a question-and-answer page written by Lizzie Wade, a page about technology, and articles on various topics. 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. Among them, only Urania was one of the original Greek muses; Kokopelli, a trickster, is a god in many Native American tribes. In addition, Devil, Kokopelli's dog, and Angel, Mimi's cat, were occasionally featured, more so in older issues. As of September 2015, the Muses have been removed from the magazine, replaced with a new comic called "Parallel U" drawn by Caanan Grall. Muse