NEWSBITES FOR KIDZ JAN 18 2005

 

From the News for Kidz� e-magazine : Where you�re the first to know!

 

HEADLINES This is what kids all over the world did this month

 

KIDS HELPING KIDS:

TSUNAMI THAT DESTROYED Creates A FLOOD OF RELIEF

Sri Lankan children back to school after tsunami � SRI LANKA

Hilary Duff to Donate a Portion of All Ticket Sales From Her Sold-Out Most Wanted Tour to Help Survivors of Tsunami Disaster -USA

SPECIAL EVENTS

Students hold hands for King �INDIANA, USA

GROWING INTO SOCIETY

BOCOG Helps School Students to Have Good Manners - CHINA

HEALTH

Stressed-out children tend to consume more fatty foods- study �United Kingdom

OPINION/ EDITORIAL

Children should be taught empathy - INDONESIA

FUNSTUFF

Dialog Between Grandson and Grandpa � Smiles Explode- CHINA

Pop culture and classics inspire names for kids �Minnesota, USA

ENTERTAINMENT

Children Will Listen � TELEVISION, USA

BOOK REVIEW

Ear that Whistle Blow! How the Railroad Changed the World.

Lemons are not Red

T Is for Terrible

The Education of Patience Goodspeed.

Sam I Am.

A City Is: Poems.

Hannah Is My Name

Best books for kids

Kevin Henkes' Kitten's First Full Moon

HEADY HEADLINES

Titan's sea views are out of this world

UH-OH!

NOT ENOUGH KIDS IN GERMANY

Children hurt in escalator accident �NEW YORK, USA

Disney plans to mix ads, video games to target kids, teens

SHORTBITES

Children mould images in clay� -BAHRAIN

 

�HEADLINES������ Past issues of NewsBites for Kidz�

 

 

KIDS HELPING KIDS:

TSUNAMI THAT DESTROYED Creates A FLOOD OF RELIEF

 

Sri Lankan children back to school after tsunami � SRI LANKA

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/11/content_2444601.htm

 

�

www.chinaview.cn 2005-01-11 13:02:22

 

Sri Lankan school children went back to school Monday after the devastating Tsunami disaster hit the country two weeks ago.

Sri Lankan school children go back to school Monday after the devastating Tsunami disaster hit the country two weeks ago. (Xinhua Photo)

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��� HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka, Jan. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Sri Lankan school children went back to school Monday after the devastating Tsunami disaster hit the country two weeks ago.

 

��� As many schools on the coastal belt were damaged or destroyed by the marauding waves, many school children and teachers are still taking refuge in schools and other makeshift camps across the island.

 

��� "We have no lessons today, the students come and sign their names," said W. Mendis, a teacher in Vidyalaya School in southerncity Kosgoda.

 

��� The school has 2,000 students, but only a small number of students have come today,"Mendis said, adding "the school principle died in the disaster, and the Buddhist monk in nearby temple presides the school now."

Sri Lankan school children went back to school Monday after the devastating Tsunami disaster hit the country two weeks ago.

��� While the children and their parents are busy cleaning desks and clearing up the piled garbage, a student told reporter that they would likely have lessons Thursday.

 

 

 

The children and their parents are busy cleaning desks and clearing up the piled garbage in a Tsunami-hit school in Sri Lanka, Jan. 10. (Xinhua Photo

��� According to the Center for National Operation, there are 76,911 students in these partly and fully damaged schools in the tsunami-affected areas. Of this, 59 schools have been completely destroyed and the Sri Lankan government has already taken the initiatives to commence the reconstruction of the destroyed schools within one month.

 

HEADLINES

 

 

Sri Lankan school children went back to school Monday after the devastating Tsunami disaster hit the country two weeks ago.� In Devannanda College in Ambalangoda city, a leading national school in Sri Lanka, things are different. The campus is not damaged and none of the students died in the disaster. More than 500 students, however, are displaced. Enditem

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hilary Duff to Donate a Portion of All Ticket Sales From Her Sold-Out Most Wanted Tour to Help Survivors of Tsunami Disaster -USA

 

http://www.kidswithacause.org/

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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- International superstar and Hollywood Records recording artist, Hilary Duff announced today that she will donate a portion of all ticket sales from her current sold-out Most Wanted tour to help the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in southern Asia. Hilary's efforts will be carried out through her charity of choice, Kids With A Cause, Inc. Together they will work to ensure that the money they donate gets to the children who are most in need.

 

Hilary will travel to New York in March and at a special event at the United Nations will present U.N. officials with a check. "I, just like everyone else, have watched this terrible tragedy and feel so sorry for the children and the families who have lost so much," Hilary said. "I want to do everything I can to help those that have survived."

Giving to those in need is nothing new to Hilary Duff. She has been involved with Kids With A Cause since it's inception in September 1999. The charity was created to provide a helping hand to the children who suffer from poverty, hunger, sickness, lack of education, abandonment, neglect and/or abuse. The members behind Kids With A Cause are primarily celebrity youth and teens (from film, television & the recording industry), who recognize that they have been very fortunate and understand, even at a young age, that it is never too early or never too late to donate their time to help others and give back to the community and to the children of the world.

Hilary and Kids With A Cause will work hand-in-hand with UNICEF to make sure that the money will go to the children that have suffered from this event.

For more information on Kids With A Cause, Inc., please contact: Linda Finnegan, Kids With A Cause, 310.590.4505 or [email protected]

Quelle: Hollywood Records

 

HEADLINES

 

 

�SPECIAL EVENTS

 

Students hold hands for King �INDIANA, USA

 

CALUMET CITY, Indiana: TF North recognizes civil rights leader

 

BY MEMA AYI

[email protected]

219.933.3241

 

CALUMET CITY | For 10 minutes Friday morning, all of Thornton Fractional North High School stood as one.

 

 

 

 

JUDY FIDKOWSKI | THE TIMES Thornton Fractional North High School students hold hands in a hallway as they listen to Martin Luther King's " I Have a Dream" speech during the "Hands Across TFN" event organized by the Student Council in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday.

 

 

 

 

 

Faculty, staff and roughly 1,500 students poured into the school's hallways at 9:30 a.m., holding hands while listening to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

 

The tribute, sponsored by the school's Student Council, was meant to bring students together to reflect on their similarities, said Lisa Ramos, a senior and Student Council president.

 

This marks the second year for the tribute to honor the slain civil rights leader on the Friday before the national holiday.

 

School will not be in session Monday to recognize the holiday, but Ramos thought students could do more than just getting a day off, she said.

 

"The whole student body was all connected to honor his birthday and all he's done," Ramos said. "We were all joined together as one just as Dr. King said in his speech, '(Let freedom ring) from the hilltops of New Hampshire ... to Stone Mountain of Georgia.' "

 

Assistant Principal Dondelayo White said she noticed this year students did not talk to one another, but seemed to be focusing on the speech.

 

"It was wonderful. I got teary-eyed," she said.

 

The relevance of King's speech has become more meaningful to White, she said, as society continues to see racial disparities, but builds to bridge gaps.

 

"They may have heard the speech 1,000 times, but this time they really listened to it," White said.

 

For all students, the tribute encouraged education, tolerance and spiritual growth, just as King did, said Michelle Anderson, who came in to pick up her granddaughter.

 

"This is allowing them to continue the struggle for the black community," Anderson said.

 

HEADLINES

 

 

GROWING INTO SOCIETY

 

BOCOG Helps School Students to Have Good Manners - CHINA

 

http://en.beijing-2008.org/38/18/article211641838.shtml

�

�10 JAN 2005

 

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  Olympic champion Zhang Guozheng joined some 900 school students at the Jingshan School in Beijing to launch an educational campaign on promoting politeness and good manners amongst the young people on January 7, 2005. The boys and girls, representing all school students in the city, received new books entitled �School Students Manual of Amenity� and �New Children�s Rhymes� from the Olympic champion and BOCOG Executive Vice-President Jiang Xiaoyu.

 

  The campaign, with the theme of �Passion for the Olympics: My Courtesy and Charm�, was jointly sponsored by the Culture and Ceremonies Department of BOCOG and the Beijing municipal government.

 

  According to Long Xinmin from the municipal government, the campaign is designed to help develop good manners and habits among school children, such as taking the initiative to say �Hello� to people, being more understanding and tolerant of others, showing respect for elders and teachers and also showing pride in singing the National Anthem aloud in public.

 

  The campaign will go on for the next three years till 2008.

Olympic Champion Zhang Guozheng (first from the right), Long Xinmin (third from the right) and Jiang Xiaoyu (second from the right) present students with books.

HEADLINES

HEALTH

Stressed-out children tend to consume more fatty foods- study �United Kingdom

�http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/newsmaker_article.asp?idNewsMaker=7235&fSite=AO545

British study finds that children most frazzled about homework, schedules, social problems or family issues are also most likely to eat fatty foods.

18/01/2005 Like adults who deal with stress by visiting the office snack machine or the local drive-through, stressed-out children also tend to eat more fat.

As Prevention magazine reports, a British study of more than 4,300 11- and 12-year-olds found that those most frazzled about homework, schedules, social problems or family issues were also most likely to eat fatty snacks, skimp on fruits and vegetables, and skip breakfast.

Other stress signals in children include headaches, stomachaches, irritability and withdrawal. The magazine says parents who want to help should listen and commiserate with their kids but consider therapy if stress persists.

A growing body of research offers hope that lifestyle changes can help people with pre-diabetes avoid> becoming full-blown diabetics.

http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_867718/cid_32

HEADLINES

Children should be taught empathy - INDONESIA

Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20050115.E03&irec=1

Our modern world is a world in which our senses seem to be more and more stimulated. From the variety of foods from all over the world we may taste, to music of all kinds all around us -- our senses can be stimulated to a quite phenomenal extent. This extends to the sense of sight, with newspapers, magazines and television screens inundating us with images daily.

All of this can add up to a kind of "sensory overload" that leaves it difficult for us to make sense of things and not be lost in chaos. The tragedy of the tsunami could be seen as a horrific example of this. The deeply disturbing and saddening images have graphically shown us the terrible destructive force of the tsunami but they have been difficult for us to make sense of.

The extent of a tragedy such as the tsunami that hit so many countries but was most forceful and destructive in Aceh and North Sumatra has been difficult for adults to comprehend but this is so much more so the case for children. Many children have obviously been disturbed and saddened but what has happened and what they have seen but other children have, in a sense, been left cold by what they have seen.

This is not to say that they have intentionally set out to be dismissive or uncaring about what has happened but in some ways they are left unable to respond; either due the kind of "sensory overload" noted above or because they are simply not yet emotionally and sensitively mature enough to have an appropriately respectful attitude.

The kind of sensory overload that children today are experiencing, in a strange way, means that they are seemingly more distant from reality and so an appropriate response and attitude to what is really happening around them. For example, for a number of children their greatest and most significant connection to the terror of the tsunami was their reference to a recent Hollywood movie.

In the film The Day After Tomorrow massive climate change was imagined and through computer graphics a vast tsunami was depicted overwhelming the island of Manhattan. For many children this was their most significant and even only reaction to what has happened. With a nervous laughter they would say "Oh yeah, it's like in that film, only smaller."

These children may seem cold and detached from the awful reality of what has happened. But this can be because they are simply not equipped with the emotional skills to respond. The visual sensory overload that they can be experiencing should be thought of here.

For example, it is quite likely that children are getting a massive amount of exposure to the terrible imagery coming from the disaster struck areas. It is important that we see these images to try to understand the scale and awfulness of what has happened but for children exposure to these images should probably be limited by parents.

Many children, too, will and have experienced a significant loss of sense of safety and security that can be deeply psychologically disturbing. Again this is probably something that many adults have to come to terms with too as we all must fear that such an awful disaster might hit us. But this kind of fear and a feeling of the loss of safety and security can be a deep scar on a young and developing mind.

For smaller children, also, the repetition of awful images from the disaster can be deeply confusing; confusing to the extent that they feel that those awful events are happening again and again. Their inability to distinguish reality and realize that images are just being shown repetitively can leave them fearing that awful events are occurring and reoccurring.

None of this is to say that these images should be hidden from us, but it is to suggest that we should exercise discretion and caution when thinking about the degree of exposure we allow to such images. It is consistently observed that Indonesia television channels broadcast very openly with very little in the way of editing.

Where people and specifically children are consistently being exposed to such awful images, it is quite possible that they are becoming desensitized to what they see and may then have a less human and humane reaction to it.

It is vitally important that children are taught about empathy. This means that they are taught to be aware of their own feelings and in turn may be better able to appreciate and respect the feelings of others. Significantly children need to learn of their own emotions and so develop an emotional intelligence and sensitivity towards others.

Often schools and schooling systems are deeply rooted in developing academic strengths but are relatively rather neglectful of emotional strength. Particularly at times of great disaster such as the present schools should respond differently. They cannot be indifferent to children's emotions and blindly treat children as objects or numbers that must be processed.

Ultimately, the pain and the depth of sorrow felt after the tsunami leaves words almost redundant and mostly inadequate but empathy and the caring and help that can emanate from it can assist people back from the loss and despair they have experienced. Empathy is a vital human response and children need it.

The writer is an education consultant.

HEADLINES

1'>

class=SpellE>爷爷和孙子之间的爆笑对话

Dialog Grandson and Grandpa � Smiles Explode- CHINA

[Rough translation]

�http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/01/11 11:09� 视听英语Ladder AI杂志

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  Bao Bao. Wash up!

   Grandson (Bao Bao, 12 years old): Aw Grandpa, I don�t want rice again. Can you take me to KFC tonight? Please?

   Grandpa: I suppose so, but you�ll have to show me where it is. We�ll take the bus.

   At the counter of KFC�

   Grandpa: Why are children so crazy about chicken wings and hamburgers? What�s so good about them?

   Grandson: Hmm�hmm. Hey, I�ll take 2 chicken wings and a Coke, OK?

   At the table�

   Grandpa: Bao Bao, do you like being Chinese or do you sometimes wish you could live in America or Europe?

   Grandson: Uh, maybe America, I think the foods there are cool. Why?

   Grandpa: Well, when I was your age, I liked to go out with my parents and eat in a Chinese restaurant. We didn�t have chicken wings or the drink with bubbles. We drank tea and we had rice and traditional Chinese dishes.

   Grandson: Grandpa, I want some French fries. Can I have some?

   Grandpa: Phew � all right! Children are children after all. Bao Bao, do you know what children ate in the past? They ate spring rolls when spring was coming, glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival and if they behaved well, their parents would probably buy them small steamed bread made with corn flour� I can still remember the taste, that sweet �

   Grandson: I want more chicken wings, can I, Grandpa?

   Grandpa: You�ve already eaten too much of that, Bao Bao! A lot of your friends are getting fat too � you know, in the good old days, we �

   Grandson: Grandpa, pass the ketchup, �kay?

HEADLINES

Pop culture and classics inspire names for kids �MinnesotaUSA

By Kate Kompas

http://miva.sctimes.com/miva/cgi-bin/miva?Web/

Jan. 18 - Jennifer and Bryan Bonovsky chose a unique name for their third son: Creed.

They wanted to keep the "C" theme going; their other sons are Christian, 7, and Cole, 2. Before Jennifer Bonovsky found out she was carrying a boy, she considered Claudia.

She nixed that idea when she discovered that name means "lame."

>Pop culture and classics inspire names for kids Times photo by Kimm Anderson

Jennifer Bonovsky (left), Sauk Rapids, remembers the first time she heard the name Creed, which she and her husband, Bryan, named their new son.

No, she and Bryan Bonovsky aren't big fans of the rock group Creed. Jennifer Bonovsky knew of an adopted Columbian boy who lives in the area who is named Creed, and she liked the name a lot. She doesn't care that she won't find many baby trinkets with his name on them.

The hundreds of babies who are born at St. Cloud Hospital every year are given names that range from old-fashioned to what many residents would consider unusual. The increasing diversity in Central Minnesota is reflected in the baby names, too, with ethnic names taking their place alongside Cade and Chloe.

Alternative spellings rule, too, which is bound to challenge teachers for decades to come. For example, you can name your baby Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Kaitlynn, Katelin, Katelyn or Katelynn.

"I hardly ever see a Jennifer anymore," said Pat Michaelson, a kindergarten teacher at Westwood Elementary School. She does sees a lot of Austins and Haileys and even a few Prestons. though.

Many people - Experts and nonexperts alike believe names can help define someone's character.

Barbara Beniek, who teaches at the elementary education department at St. Cloud State University, has her students at the beginning of the semester do a mini-research project to find the story behind their name. Many of them are surprised by their names' origins, she said.

"Sometimes I wonder if their name doesn't somewhat give them some expectation of who they are like those who spell their name with an 'i' because they don't want to be common," she said.

Inspiration

The classics such as Emma, Ethan, Andrew and Emily are hot, but some parents strive for creativity when naming their tots.

Some take their inspiration from popular culture: Yes, there were multiple babies named FrodoFrodo after "The Lord of the Rings" hit theaters, said Nancy Seminitis, a birth registrar at St. Cloud Hospital.

Others name their babies after the place where they were conceived or even the drinks that were consumed shortly before they were conceived, which explains why there have been Margaritas at St. Cloud Hospital.

Braxton Luzier, 16, of Sartell was named after a waiter his parents had on their honeymoon cruise. They simply loved his name.

Luzier

"It's an interesting name," Luzier said.

One name that shows up from time to time at St. Cloud Hospital but hasn't cracked top national lists yet is "Nevaeh," pronounced "NaVAYYa." Don't get it? It's heaven spelled backward.

Unique

Sometimes parents name their children what they want for them, such as "Serenity," Seminitis said. Sometimes babies are given family names or parents try to give them only one name, such aslike Madonna. And sometimes parents don't give them any name at all before they leave the hospital, usually because they decide orcan't agree.

"Sometimes they agonize over it," Seminitis said. Parents legally have five days after their baby's birth before they haveto choose a name and the paperwork is filed with the state.

Seminitis said she occasionally wonders what parents are thinking when they name their babies, but she keeps to a strict, no-judgment policy. Sometimes parents ask her if she often hears the name they picked out often.

"They want to be unique," she said.

Lori Gronius of South Haven did her research after she learned she was pregnant with her first baby. She went to the Internet for ideas and created a list of 15 names. She and her husband, Steve, narrowed it totown tto three.

They decided on Carter, which happens to be one of the most popular names for boys born at St. Cloud Hospital last year. .

Carter Newman Gronius was born last week about 11 weeks early but still healthy. Newman, his middle name, is his mom's maiden name.

"The poor little guy has three last names," Lori Gronius joked.

ENTERTAINMENT

TELEVISION, USA

HEADLINES

16th January, 2005

This is a one hour PBS show that follows the process of students in fourth - eighth grades from seven Washington, DC inner city schools as they design, costume and perform in a production of Stephen Sondheim's musical play Into the Woods supervised by three professionals from the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. This film captures the students' journey from first hearing about the play through design, audition and opening performance at the American Film Institute Theater of the Kennedy Centre in May 2002, where Mr. Sondheim attended the event. Intended for children and adult audiences alike, this release illustrates the positive role that the arts can play in people's lives. Narrated by Bernadette Peters.

The spirit of thanksgiving comes alive in Children Will Listen, the moving, real-life story of a group of elementary school children who overcome multiple hardships and obstacles � both individually and collectively - to produce and perform in a Broadway Junior show, a special student adaptation of a Broadway musical in the nation�s capital.

Children Will Listen chronicles how a group of 140 students � mostly fourth and fifth graders from public schools in Washington, DC � and their mentors work against time and limited resources to produce and perform Into the Woods Junior, a special adaptation of Stephen Sondheim�s musical. The film follows the students over a nine-month period as they learn to design and participate in all aspects of the production. From the early stages of �casting� through closing night, the film captures the children�s growth and transformation as they work on all levels of Into the Woods Junior � building the sets, designing the costumes and performing in the production, which kicked off the Kennedy Center�s Stephen Sondheim tribute.

Public schools in Washington, DC, struggle with many challenges, including insufficient resources, large class size, and the social and economic problems facing the families of their students. Many of the children in this documentary had never been to the Kennedy Centre or even seen a play. This project gave them a rare opportunity to experience the theatre both in the classroom and on the stage. Through weekly tapings and interviews from October, 2000 to May, 2001, Children Will Listenrecorded the power of the creative experience as well as the collaborative work of the Kennedy Centre�s professional artists, the students and the supportive community of teachers, parents and school administrators, and shows the transformative power of theatre as reflected in the lives of more than 1.5 million students who have performed in Broadway Junior productions nationwide during the past six years.

�This movie is about kids of all ages learning by doing,� said director Charlene Gilbert, who relied on 15 students from the American University School of Communication program in Visual Media to help her shoot and edit the film. �It was hands-on learning for all of us all of the time.�

�Children Will Listen is about launching kids in new directions,� Gilbert continued. �Several of the younger students in the film have continued to perform theatrically in high school. Some of my former film students from the project are now working professionally in the industry here in DC.�

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��HEADLINES

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By Milton Meltzer. Landmark Books/Random House. $18.95. (Ages 8 and up) It is not obvious to children today that modern life around the world was made possible by the railroad. Here's a thoughtful account of the practical science, the economics of the Industrial Revolution and the political history of railroads that will surprise young readers. Period illustrations are included, along with some literary and musical references and a conventional bibliography.

HEADLINES

Lemons are not Red

Written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $14.95. (Ages 3 and up) You can practically hear a gleeful toddler shouting that lemons are YELLOW, or responding to other simple statements like ''Flamingos are not gray.'' But the real magic comes as you turn the pages of this handsome introduction to color, when the die-cut objects that were incorrectly colored on the right side flip to the left and suddenly take on their proper hue, to reveal (for instance) that, yes, flamingos are pink.

T Is for Terrible

Written and illustrated by Peter McCarty. Holt. $15.95. (Ages 3 to 6) Some creatures accept their destiny with equanimity. This dinosaur's tone isn't exactly self-pitying because it is just not his fault that he eats his neighbors for lunch. He's a regular fellow and assures us that if he could, he'd be a vegetarian. But things didn't work out that way, and if he's hungry for flesh, well, he just can't help it. The delicacy of the illustrations underscores his wistful, carnivorous plight.

The Education of Patience Goodspeed.

By Heather Vogel Frederick. Simon & Schuster. $16.95. (Ages 8 to 12) It's 1836 and Captain Goodspeed has brought his children, Patience and Tad, to sea with him on the Morning Star, rather than leave them on Nantucket. This second book about Patience, a clever heroine, finds the family in Hawaii, where the captain places the children in boarding school. The thoughtful exploration of what constitutes an appropriate education for an intelligent girl is a plausible part of the story.

Sam I Am.

By Ilene Cooper.Scholastic. $15.95. (Ages 10 to 14) The holidays may be over, but for families of mixed faith, questions about how to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah resonate year-round. Sam is a smart 12-year-old who has to figure things out. His mother loves Christmas, and his father is indifferent to religion in a Manhattan kind of way. Still, when the dog knocks over the holiday tree (Christmas tree? Hanukkah bush? both?), it emphasizes the family's religious rift.

A City Is: Poems.

By Norman Rosten. Collected and edited by Patricia Rosten Filan. Illustrated by Melanie Hope Greenberg. Holt. $16.95. (Ages 4 to 8) Several of these short, accessible poems about urban life make specific reference to New York City. The delightful illustrations range from Brooklyn rooftop views of Manhattan to the 72nd Street subway stop, and from Central Park to the Statue of Liberty.

Hannah Is My Name

Written and illustrated by Belle Yang. Candlewick. $16.99. (Ages 4 to 9) The autobiographical story of how Hannah, whose name in Chinese is Na-Li, and her family came to San Francisco from Taiwan in 1960 and learned how to become Americans is told with great style and touching detail. It turned out to be such a complicated business: applying and then waiting for green cards, working hard, going to school, helping her parents. Imagine Hannah's surprise when her green card turns out to be pale blue.

HEADLINES

Best books for kids

By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY

A novel whose heroine is a Japanese-American girl in small-town Georgia in the 1950s and a picture book about a kitten who mistakes the moon for a bowl of milk are the winners of 2005's top awards in children's literature. The awards were announced Monday.

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� Kevin Henkes' Kitten's First Full Moon

This took the Caldecott medal, which honors picture books.

� Winner of the Newbery medal, for the best children's book, is Cynthia Kadohata, author of Kira-Kira (kee-ra kee-ra), from the Japanese word for "glittering."

� Winner of the Caldecott medal for the best picture book is Kevin Henkes, author and illustrator of Kitten's First Full Moon, an understated suspense story for the pre-K set.

The American Library Association, convening in Boston, also presented its Coretta Scott King Awards, open to African-Americans, to: Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning novelist who wrote the text for Remember: The Journey to School Integration, a collection of vintage photographs; and illustrator Kadir Nelson for Ellington Was Not a Street, which puts the poetry of Ntozake Shange into visual images. For other awards, visit www.ala.org.

HEADLINES

Titan's sea views are out of this world

By Richard Macey January 17, 2005

UH-OH!

NOT ENOUGH KIDS IN GERMANY

�Dwindling pensions and falling birth rates in Germany means the country needs more children. But, a new study has found that societal hostility towards kids is preventing many Germans from starting a family.�

NEW YORKUSA

�� �HEADLINES

BY DARYL KHAN

STAFF WRITER

January 13, 2005

Schoolchildren on a field trip to a Manhattan movie theater Thursday were knocked to the bottom of an escalator in a terrifying pileup after a teacher pressed the emergency stop button because a student's pants snagged on a protruding screw, officials said.

"One of them fell, and then another one, and then they all started falling like a bunch of dominoes," a fire official said of the incident at the Loews Lincoln Square and Imax Theater.

Jennifer Givner, a Buildings Department spokeswoman, said the students tumbled on top of each other.

According to fire and building officials, 10 people were taken to New York Weill Cornell Medical Center, and 14 others were treated at the scene.

Most of the injuries were minor scrapes and bruises. One person suffered a fracture, and another needed stitches. The fall occurred sometime between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

Linda Mustafa, 12, a student from PS 83 in the Bronx, ended up beneath other children on a landing at the bottom of the up escalator. She said just before the escalator jerked to a stop, she saw children piling up behind a student who was stuck near the top steps.

"They were yelling, 'Go back! Go back!' and everybody started falling," she said.

Mustafa was among 250 students from a mix of public and private schools who had just arrived at the theater to see "The Polar Express," an animated holiday movie.

Mark Bernard, 13, a seventh-grader at St. Jerome's School in East Flatbush, said he was on the landing seperating the two sections of the up escalator when he saw the children jammed at the top.

"All of the sudden, it got too big," he said. "Once the escalator stopped, it was total chaos. That's when everything started to happen. There was lots of screaming and crying for help."

The Buildings Department issued a stop-use order on the escalator until it completes an investigation, and it issued a violation for failure to maintain the escalator. Department officials believe the student's pants caught on a quarter-inch section of a screw that holds a black protective brush, called a skirt, in place. The skirt prevents material from falling into the escalator's mechanism.

As part of the investigation, buildings employees will inspect the other 18 escalators at the theater. Givner said inspectors issued a violation during an inspection Sept. 7 because an escalator's brakes were not adjusted properly. Investigators will try to determine if the earlier violation is related to yesterday's incident.

Investigators are also looking into complaints that once the emergency stop button was pushed, the escalator continued to travel for longer than the code allows.

A statement released by Loews said: "We are taking this incident very seriously."

Staff writer Deborah S. Morris and freelancer Dan Morrison contributed to this story.

Copyright � 2005, Newsday, Inc.

HEADLINES

By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2005-01-17-disney-advergaming_x.htm

Jan. 17

0in;margin-left:1.0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'>To reach kids and teens to promote Disneyland's 50th anniversary this year, Walt Disney Co. will use one of the hottest � and most controversial � gimmicks in the media business: "advergaming."

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The online arcades put up by advertisers that include Disney, Viacom's Nickelodeon and even the U.S. Army rival titles from the $10 billion video game industry in entertainment value and high-tech expertise.

But ad critics such as Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy decry them as "digital infomercials" that blur the lines between content and commercials and often collect data on consumers playing the games.

"These are not just harmless games. It's part of the brainwashing of America," Chester says.

As part of an 18-month global campaign that kicks off on May 5, Disney will roll out an interactive, multiplayer game called "Virtual Magic Kingdom." It aims to provide a virtual visit to Disney's five global resorts and 11 theme parks to anyone with an Internet connection. The target: "tweens" ages 8 to 12 and young teens.

Visitors will be able to play free online games based on real attractions, such as the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise. They'll also be able to chat, create their own avatars, or graphic icons representing real-life Web surfers in cyberspace, and earn virtual points that can be redeemed for T-shirts and other goodies at the actual parks.

The goal: push kids to urge their parents to visit a Disney park during the anniversary promotion that also includes the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland on Sept. 12.

"We hope it becomes a real hangout for preteens and teens," said Jay Rasulo, president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, during a recent news conference about anniversary-marketing plans.

Jeff Logsdon, managing director at investment banker Harris Nesbitt, says Disney's strategy "is clearly a clever way to engage with a key part of their target market. Kids 10 years old and younger have really grown up with the Internet."

Forrest Research predicts advergaming will grow into a $1 billion business this year. As marketers try to target kids and elusive Gen Y consumers, Madison Avenue is waking up to the fact that Webwise younger consumers like video games � and disdain pop-ups, banner ads and other less-subtle forms of online advertising.

And rather than get a kid's attention for just 30 seconds with a TV commercial, advergames can capture them for minutes or hours.

"If a kid likes a game, they'll play it 15 times," says Tim Spengler, executive vice president of media services company Initiative. "Companies are asking 'What's my game strategy?' "

But companies wanting to create successful advergames have to be careful about the quality of the game experience, says Michael Goodman, senior analyst at the Yankee Group.

"The key is to remember that it's a game first and an ad second. If it's a good game, consumers will recognize they're being sold. But they won't care," he says.

Children mould images in clay� -

MORE than 600 children participated in a clay modelling competition organised by the Lions Club of Bahrain yesterday.

Group A participants were asked to make either a butterfly, a bird or a flower while Group B children were asked to choose between landscape or mother and child.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=101868&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=27301

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