In recent weeks, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there were stories and images of horrific tragedy and great heroics as in any disaster. One story is perhaps meager but no less heroic effort on the part of some children based in Davie Florida. They've launched a website urging other children to help with the relief effort by donating their lunch money.

Lunchmoney4Katrina.com was created by two brothers, Shep and Robbie Berg to allow children to talk about and help in the ongoing relief effort to help with the shock and awe left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They believe that if every child could give up their lunch money for even a day, the impact would be enormous.

"We wanted to do something to help, and give other children the same opportunity," said Shep Berg, 15. "There's not much that one kid can do, but together, we can really make a difference. We hope that they will find this site and learn how they can be a part of this important relief effort."

Children can chat, donate money and can contribute to the overall effort coming from around the world to help those victims of this horrible disaster.

The donations much be approved by parents and the funds go directly to the Bush Clinton Katrina Fund. The website give children an opportunity to express their view point and the brothers are hoping to get some children in the disaster to share their experiences.

"Many of the children from Mississippi and Louisiana are living in new homes, new towns, new states, and hopefully they will have Internet access," said Robbie Berg, 13. "This web site encourages them to tell us about what they've been through and how they are managing."

Design and support of the site were all provided free of charge, and all donations are made directly to the charity. According to the Bergs, the name lunchmoney4katrina was selected because they feel that other kids will understand the sacrifice of giving away a day or a week's lunch money. The site also provides a chat area, where kids can talk about their feelings about the Hurricane, a photo gallery, general hurricane information and a welcome message from the brothers.

This is a great way for even the youngest to get involved. Many young people have wondered what they can do to help and this website, started by these two teenage boys could provide that opportunity.

______________________________

Kids offer Katrina'ade'- USA

BY LAUREN WILLIAMSON

Record Staff Writer

Friday, September 9, 2005

Photo By: Nathan W. Armes

Grayson Gimblet, 7, carefully pours a tasty glass of lemonade while his sister Landon, 4, holds the cup steady. Neighbor Joe Hill, not pictured, waits for the cool glass. The money is going to the Red Cross to help Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Nathan W. Armes (Record Photographer)

HICKORY -- Grayson Gimblet and his sister Landon can now add philanthropists to their list of activities.

Besides being students at Clyde Campbell Elementary and soccer players, the siblings have a desire to help those in need.

They set up a lemonade stand across from Webb A. Murray Elementary School this week to raise money for their school’s Hurricane Katrina relief fund.

Their mom, Karen, said the two watched images of people being rescued from the roofs of their homes in Louisiana on television last week.

They weren’t sure exactly what was going on. They knew it wasn’t good, though.

Since Grayson, 7, and Landon, 4, are young, they don’t fully understand what Katrina did to the Gulf Coast.

“I’ve explained to them that the people there have nothing now,” Karen said. “They don’t even have underwear.”

A note was sent home from Clyde Campbell last week, informing parents that the school was holding a fund-raiser this week.

Landon and Grayson begged to have a lemonade stand all summer.

This was their chance to have their stand and help the victims.

They served many cups of lemonade. Karen even made brownies and cookies as extra enticements for passing motorists.

When a car pulled up, both kids anxiously approached their customers.

Landon scurried to the table, grabbed a cup and helped pour the liquid.

Grayson, being the older brother, had a little more responsibility. It was his job to collect customers’ donations - and he kept the money envelope close by his side.

The siblings’ first joint business venture ended successfully. In two afternoons of business, they made almost $250.

“They’ve had a ball doing this,” Karen said. “It’s not just been about fun. It’s taught them about giving to others.”

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Townsend Times

Kids Helping Katrina's Kids aids to help displaced students – USA

By Diane C. Beaudoin

Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - TOWNSEND -- A Townsend mother and her teenage son are working to make a caring difference in the lives of displaced students from the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast as they are forced to relocate to new communities.

Ellen Marie Theep, and her son Will Stankiewicz, have started "Kids Helping Katrina's Kids." Theep said, "It was a brainchild that happened in my kitchen."

Their effort will be to collect money to fill backpacks or already filled backpacks for the students who will be absorbed into Texas school systems due to Katrina's wrath.

"I have contacted some of the school districts, like North Middlesex, Groton Dunstable, Lunenburg, Wachusett Regional and Applewild School for permission to contact parents to help us out," Theep said. "We are just waiting on the word for the go ahead."

Theep said she and Will were watching the news when her son asked about the students. "Will is just starting his first year at Groton School, and he is pretty excited," said Theep. "He asked about the students from Louisiana and Mississippi and what was going to happen to them.

"I began thinking about it all, and heard they were sending many of the students from that area into Texas. I used to work for a corporation in Texas, the E.D.S. Corporation, so I called them," she said.

Theep said the backpacks will be filled with the necessities to begin the school year. "I do request a package of socks and underwear in each one, along with the basics for school supplies," she said.

Theep contacted the Houston School District to see how they are going to handle the influx of new students.

"Pam Scott, who works in the district, said they are expecting several thousand students to be absorbed into their district. That is a lot of children," Theep said.

Theep said an E.D.S. representative told her if she gets trucks there with supplies, they can supply manpower to unload them. "We can't overtax the Red Cross to unload, but I can get the people power to probably do it," she said. "It's called strategically placed friends."

Scott, who is the director of Partners in Education for the Houston School District, was contacted to see how the Texans feel about the charitable donations Theep is planning.

"We are so very grateful to our Massachusetts friends for doing this," Scott said in a telephone interview. "Houston is the third biggest school district in Texas and we all have very tight budgets. This will be such a blessing and help for us," she said.

"We are so proud to be working with Mrs. Theep in this," said Scott. "We will be welcoming many students, and we need to provide them with the best education we possibly can. With them receiving backpacks with supplies, it helps out immensely."

Theep said efforts such as this one offer a way to teach children how to give to others.

"Our children need to be taught charitable giving, and they need to know that they should help the people on our own soil," Theep said. "Someday, when we're gone and our children are the adults, they need to know what to do to help out our neighbors."

Theep said she is planning to take her own children over the weekend to pick out their backpacks and get them filled to kick off the drive.

"They will pick out what they want to send and get things going. We are hoping to get collecting very soon to get the packs on their way," she said.

Scott said the spirit of giving from Massachusetts is heart-warming.

"We all have to band together for our brothers and sisters in need," she said.

Theep said the only thing left is to find people with trucks that will be able to deliver the goods to Texas. "I just need to find space on some trucks, the rest is ready to roll," she said.

Theep has opened a bank account for donations at Workers' Credit Union. Anyone interested can send donations to the Workers' Credit Union, P.O. Box 900, Fitchburg, MA 01420 , in care of Katrina's Kids Relief Fund.

Katrina convinces kids to pitch in

Posted Sep 4, 2005, 7:07 PM ET by Jay Allen

http://www.bloggingbaby.com/entry/1234000633057346/

Related entries: Lifestyle, Media

Chicago’s Daily Herald is reporting on some remarkable kids who are doing their part to help people hit by last week’s devastating Hurricane Katrina. 13-year-old Melissa Williams and her friends have been busy this week running a lemonade stand in the Lake of the Hills area, and other kids with the same idea have set up shop in neighborhoods throughout suburban Chicago. Meanwhile, kids like Chelsea Baker have been running car washes, requesting $20 a pop. Most of the kids plan to donate their earnings to the Red Cross. The totals from all these efforts? Nothing to write home about at press time. One hopes that’s changed as a result of this story, though.

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/tv/mmx-0509050014sep05,0,3023247.story?coll=mmx-television_heds

Shttp://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/06/002.html

Tuesday, September 6, 2005.

Beslan Kids Brave First Day of School- RUSSIA

By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer

Yana Voitova / For MT

Former hostage Angela Sikoyeva, 8, arriving at a new school on Ulitsa Kominterna in Beslan on Monday. Her mother died in the attack on School No. 1.

BESLAN, North Ossetia -- The boys were wearing formal black suits, the girls their best blue uniforms, snow-white aprons and hair ribbons. Many brought flowers for their teachers.

It could have been the first day of school in any provincial Russian town -- but for the metal detectors and the hordes of policemen and television journalists. Those guarding Beslan's schools and recording the day almost outnumbered the few former students of School No. 1 who bravely turned up Monday.

Only about 150 of the 600 children on the rolls were at the brand-new school on Ulitsa Kominterna, one of two schools that the Moscow city government built over the last year for the children of Beslan.

For many in this town, the first day of school will never be a celebration again. Many are still haunted by the memories of last September's attack on School No. 1, in which 331 people died, 186 of them children.

"My daughter did not want to come to school this morning," said Fatima Murtazova, who was sitting in the classroom next to her daughter Madina, a second grader at the school that took most of the students from School No. 1. "I had to talk to her and to convince her that what happened last year is not going to happen again. She is still so frightened that she wants me to sit next to her. She holds my hand all the time and won't let go."

The mother and daughter survived the three-day school seizure, but for Madina going to school has become synonymous with violence.

"Last Sept. 1 was her first-ever day at school. She doesn't know what it means to start and finish a year at school as a normal child," Murtuzova said.

Like Madina, Boris Rubayev, 8, did not want to come to school Monday.

"He was crying this morning," said Valentina Khasonova, his aunt. "He did not want to come here."

Boris, who lost his mother in the attack, did not speak.

Second grader Angela Sikoyeva, 8, whose mother also died in the attack, was unhappy about coming to school, her father, Tolik Sikoyev, said.

"It's very difficult to get rid of this fear. My legs began shaking this morning when I got close to the school," said Fatima Avsanova, 53, who worked for 25 years at School No. 1 as a lab technician.

Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters

A boy and his mother entering the school on Ulitsa Kominterna, which parents have asked to be called School No. 1.

Avsanova and her daughter Bella, 17, were held hostage in the school last year. Bella was injured and now cannot walk.

Fifth grader Timur Ganiyev, 10, said he liked the new school, but added that School No. 1 "was much better."

"It was so beautiful. What I like in this new school is that terrorists never came here," he said.

A few minutes' walk away from School No. 1, the new school has wide corridors, comfortable classrooms, a large theater and a sports complex with a swimming pool nearby. Most of the children who survived last year's attack at School No. 1 are enrolled here, but on Monday morning the halls were almost empty and eerily devoid of the children's chatter normally heard on the first day back after summer vacation.

"What these people have been through is difficult to forget," said Natalya Kolmanovskaya, a psychologist with the Moscow-based Our Life center, who since October has been helping the town's children recover. "Many said they didn't want to come for the first day, but they will come in two or three days. Others are still mourning, while some children have decided to go to another school."

"Every single person in this town needs help," she said.

So far, the new school has no name. Local officials want to call it School No. 9, but on Monday parents, teachers and students were collecting signatures for it to take over the name of the school destroyed a year ago.

"We don't want to forget what happened in School No.1," said Alla Kokayeva, whose daughter is in the seventh grade. "We want this school to be named after that school, because memories should never die. We survived the attack and we want to show people that we're still alive."

School No. 8 on Ulitsa Lenina, 10 minutes' walk from School No. 1, is almost a carbon copy of the school on Ulitsa Kominterna. Also built by the Moscow city government, the school has a large indoor swimming pool.

As on Ulitsa Kominterna, visitors had to pass through metal detectors and show their documents to police.

About 200 children from School No. 1 decided to come here, but as on Ulitsa Kominterna, very few of them attended Monday.

Yana Voitova / For MT

Twin boys sitting in a classroom at the new school on Ulitsa Kominterna.

Meanwhile, at School No. 6, a dilapidated Soviet-era building also a few minutes' walk away from School No. 1, security appeared far more relaxed, with children running freely along wooden-floored corridors.

Many children came to this school from School No. 1 after Beslan's schools restarted in mid-September last year, and it was also used as an emergency first aid center during the attack.

Kolmanovskaya, the psychologist, said that children in this school also needed a lot of help.

"This school has lived through all the tragedy this town has gone through. When children see horrible things, they perceive them as though they happened to them," Kolmanovskaya said.

She said that School No. 6 should be renovated, so that the children there feel that someone is taking care of them as well.

"It is not fair that there are two beautiful schools in this town, while this one, where children suffered so much, is so dilapidated," she said.

SPORTS

Kids smash human conveyor belt record-AUSTRALIA

Four-year-old Hudsdon celebrates Sheldon College's success. Tuesday, 13 September 2005

Children of the Redlands shattered a world record last Friday when 3000 hands were used to transport a surfboard across Sheldon College's oval in the world's longest human conveyor belt.

The record was first set a number of years ago by a group of Canadian college students who passed a surfboard over 1000 people.

Sheldon College smashed that record with more than 1500 students, staff, media, parents and others getting in line.

School mascot Mambo the elephant began the conveyor belt and there were a few close calls as the surfboard dipped towards the ground on its ten-minute journey, but as it hit the last four hands of four-year-old Hudson LaRoach and principal Dr Lyn Bishop, a giant cheer erupted.

Hudson and his prep-school class mates could hardly contain their excitement. Hudson said his head was excited and his eyes were going round in circles when he held the surfboard.

The activity was part of the school's three-week-long Mammoth House Challenge.

"It was just a bit of fun really," said teacher Shane Albertson.

"We wanted to do something we've never done before and will never do again."

While the school waits for confirmation from the Guinness Book of Records, staff issued a challenge to other schools in Australia to get to work and claim some records of their own.

ENTERTAINMENT

Sep 5, 2005 2:03 pm US/Central

Kids Catch The Poker Bug- USA

From the Chicago Tribune

Karen Leigh
Reporting

(WCCO) The poker fad isn't fading away -- it's reaching more kids and catching them even younger than before.

A new survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling found 70 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds had gambled in the past year.

Whether it's a quick card game at lunch, in the rec room or at home, experts believe there may be a darker side to this seemingly innocent fun.

"I had never seen teenagers come in for gambling addiction prior to a couple years ago," psychologist Stephen Mathis, Psy.D. said.

For kids of all ages, the attraction is the same.

"Oh, money, of course," Becky Bailer, 13, said. "I've always been attracted to money."

"If I win, I'm going to be happy, and I'm doing to be really rich," Conner Turpin, 9, said.

Television has also turned poker players into celebrities, and experts say that adds to gambling's allure.

"Some of these folks have become sort of superheroes, if you will, much like rock stars," Mathis said.

For many kids, poker -- like Pokemon before it -- is just a harmless fad. But there's money at stake, and experts say that makes it potentially more addictive than other games.

"Any activity in life that has what I would classify as this pseudo-adrenaline-rush, kind of 'whoo-hoo' potential to it, has the potential to become addictive," Mathis said.

Some experts believe kids who gamble are three times more likely to become addicted than gambling adults are.

If parents allow their kids to play poker, Mathis suggests they keep a close eye on it.

"Most of the responsible parents I know who have kids who like to gamble will host the gambling parties at their home," Mathis said. "They'll know the kids that are coming to their home. They'll have certain monetary limits."

If a child becomes fascinated with gambling -- talks about it constantly or watches it on TV, for example -- Mathis says parents need to step in.

"(It's) just like with video games, where you're like, 'Enough's enough,' because it becomes like this brain-dead fascination with a game," said Jennifer Turpin, Conner Turpin's mother.

TOT TV

Mom and son review new TV shows for kids

By Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/tv/mmx-0509050014sep05,0,5541552,print.story?coll=mmx-television_heds

September 5 2005

Most parents turn on the TV for their tots with a bit of hesitation; in the back of our minds is the mantra of our own parents, many of whom didn't miss a chance to tell us that TV would rot our brains.

Well, yes, too much of anything -- whether sugary treats or endless "SpongeBob SquarePants" repeats -- will tend to rot anyone's brain, adult or child. The good news, though, for parents who allow their preschoolers the occasional TV break, is that the programming options for kids are good and getting better.

PBS, Noggin, Nick Jr., Cartoon Network and even HBO are just some of the channels providing an excellent array of kids' programming these days, and here, we -- we being me and my 3-year-old son, Sean -- review some notable new and upcoming fare for the pre-school set:

- "Jakers, The Adventures of Piggley Winks: A Giggly Piggley Party," noon Monday, WTTW-Ch. 11.

Show premise: In this gentle, animated program, a grandfather pig recalls his adventures with his pals on an Irish farm for his wide-eyed grandchildren (Mel Brooks is featured as the voice of Raloo Farm's irrepressible lead sheep, Wiley). During the two-hour Labor Day "Giggly Piggley Party," which kicks off a new daily schedule for "Jakers," live-action segments featuring special guests alternate with Piggley Winks' animated exploits.

Target audience: 4- to -7-year-olds.

Mom's reaction: The subtle lessons and genuine heart of "Jakers," not just its Irish setting, have made it a longtime favorite in our house, and though this special was swell, we watched it in chunks rather than attempt to sit still for two hours.

Kid's reaction: The live-action segments didn't do much for Sean, but there were several requests to replay Piggley's key adventure scenes.

- "Sesame Street: Baby Bear's First Day of School," 10 a.m. Monday, WTTW-Ch. 11:

Show premise: Guest star Shirley Jones visits the program, and plays Mrs. Goose, the teacher at Storybook School, where Baby Bear (of Goldilocks and the Three Bears fame) and a host of other fairy tale kids (Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, etc.) begin their educations.

Target audience: Young children

Mom's reaction: Most kids face their first encounter with "big kids' school" with a mixture of fear and excitement, and Baby Bear's nervousness on his first day at Storybook School was handled with respect and "Sesame Street's" usual sense of humor.

Kid's reaction: Sean was absorbed by Baby Bear's big day for a while, then wandered off to play with trains before the hour-long show hit the halfway mark. Real school is still a couple of years away for him, and in his eyes, "Sesame Street" is mainly an Elmo delivery system, anyway.

- "Go, Diego, Go!", premiere airs 7 p.m Tuesday on Nickelodeon, weekday airings on Nick Jr. begin 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Show premise: Diego, Dora the Explorer's cousin, is a bilingual animal rescuer and nature expert, and he uses help from his viewing audience to find the clues he needs to navigate jungle habitats inspired by forests in South America. Diego's assisted by his sister, computer expert Alicia; by a sidekick, Baby Jaguar; and by a camera named Click (voiced by Rosie Perez).

Target audience: 2- to 5-year-olds.

Mom's reaction: Like "Dora," "Diego" is a bit more fast-paced than the toddler favorites "Maisy" and "Little Bear," which until recently had been our usual TV staples. Still, the show features lots of interesting nature facts, and the participatory aspect of shouting out the answers to Diego's questions is fun for both parent and child.

Kid's reaction: Massive love at first sight. And second sight. And third. Once Sean had glimpsed Diego and his forest-dwelling pals, "Can I watch Diego?" became a daily, if not hourly, request.

- "Classical Baby 2," 4 p.m. Sunday, 12:30 p.m. Sept. 14, 3:30 p.m. Sept. 26 on HBO Family (A three-part "Classical Baby" DVD was released Aug. 30).

Show premise: Pieces by Faure, Elgar, Perez Prado, Bach, Count Basie and others -- conducted in brief introductory bits by a diaper-clad baby maestro -- provide the backdrop for soothing, evocative animated segments inspired by the art of Degas, Cassatt, Chagall and others.

Target audience: Children and their families.

Mom's reaction: The fare is certainly highbrow -- in one segment, animated figures do a dance inspired by Martha Graham to Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" -- and if the show gets kids acquainted with great music, that's all to the good.

Kid's reaction: Sean didn't screen it because he distances himself from anything with the word "baby" in the title.

- "Tickle U," 8 to 10 a.m. weekdays on Cartoon Network.

Programming premise: This new two-hour block, which debuted Aug. 22 on Cartoon Network and is meant to help kids develop their sense of humor, strings together various short animated programs under the "Tickle U" banner. Shows include "Firehouse Tales," "Gerald McBoing Boing," "Gordon the Garden Gnome," "Peppa Pig" and other programs. An on-screen crawl meant for caregivers, the Mommy Bar, offers information and suggestions ("Laugh when your child makes a joke so she makes more.")

Target audience: Preschoolers and their mothers.

Mom's reaction: The Mommy Bar advice seemed pretty obvious, but on the whole, the shows seemed to hit the preschool demographic squarely.

Kid's reaction: Anything that involves talking firetrucks is going to get a positive reaction from Sean.

- "Jack's Big Music Show," premiere airs 10:30 a.m. Sept. 12 on Nick Jr. and Noggin, future daily airings at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Noggin.

Show premise: Jack and his other puppet friends sing, play and host a musical guest at Jack's colorful playhouse on this tune-intensive show. Noggin music titan Laurie Berkner performs on each episode.

Target audience: 2- to 5-year-olds.

Mom's reaction: The puppets and humans on "Jack's Big Music Show" certainly have plenty of energy, and the lively show has the potential to get kids up and dancing.

Kid's reaction: After five minutes of bobbing his head to the music, Sean requested another airing of "Diego." In all fairness to Jack, once Diego came on the scene, it was all over.

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Kids cross continents in special day at the zoo – USA

Family fest features parade of cultures

By Martha Elson
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal

Four-year-old Faith Quire learned a distinction yesterday in how dog-speak is perceived in different parts of the world.

Tranice Bland-Reed, 3, and her father, Deshawn Reed, spent some time together at the Louisville Zoo after watching a puppet show. (By David C. Burton, Special to The Courier-Journal)

Faith, who was at the Louisville Zoo with her aunt, Julie Quire of Hikes Point, was told that dogs from China and Japan don't say "bow-wow" or "arf-arf." They say "one-one!"

That information came from Carol Lee, a Japanese American who was representing the Crane House center for Asian culture at a craft booth at the Kids' Planet Zoo event.

It's a new name for the zoo's annual international family festival, and it was designed to celebrate kids, creatures and cultures from around the world.

The zoo spread word of the event through Kentucky Refugee Ministries and to residents of areas that have culturally diverse populations -- including the Americana Apartments on Southland Boulevard, said Debbie Sebree, the zoo's communications director.

The Transit Authority of River City provided free bus rides to the event from Americana and from several Kroger stores in Louisville and Mount Washington and in Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany in Indiana.

"We were thrilled to see they had taken advantage" of it, Sebree said.

"We were just hoping the message got through."

The crowd arriving late yesterday morning appeared to represent a broad mix of nationalities, with some people attired in the dress of their native countries.

Abdi Karama, 15, came to the event from the Americana Apartments, after moving to Louisville from Somalia a year ago.

He was visiting the zoo for the first time, as was Beredze Shukhrat of Russia, who came to Louisville four months ago.

Hong Llian, who came from China a year ago, had her picture taken with a costumed character representing Maya Santos, one of the Mexican twins on the PBS animated television show "Maya and Miguel," which has characters from different cultures and helps Spanish-speaking children learn English.

Michelle Shepherd of Hanover, Ind., who had a "Growing Minds" book display, was handing out bookmarks with squares that children could have stamped at stations around the zoo representing Indonesia, South America, Australia, Africa and Russia.

Stiles Shipley, 3, who lives in the Eastwood area, had just gotten his bookmark stamped at the Indonesia station, and "we got a really close view of the tigers, which was fantastic," said his mother, Sally Shipley.

Stephanie Curtis of Louisville, who has studied Russian at the University of Wales and in Moscow, was at the craft booth with Lee, writing out Russian versions of children's names on the bookmarks, using characters in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Crys and Todd Brewer of Scottsburg, Ind., had brought three of their children, including 4-year-old Erin, who had her name written in Russian characters.

"This is really important for the kids," Crys Brewer said. "They learn something different from what they normally see in day-to-day life."

Kids do read books- INDIA

IRA GAUR

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2005 12:13:15 AM ] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1219933.cms

NEW DELHI: The popular belief about the decline of reading among children in an age of computers and television, is open to contest with a trip to the 11th Delhi Fair and a look at the sales figures of booksellers. For, selling like hot cakes here are the wide range of children's literature — from illustrated stories, fiction, academic texts to folk tales and mythological lores.

Even more surprising is the growing English readership among these young book lovers at the fair. Claims of fewer readers are brought to naught when booksellers and publishers start giving their version of the facts.

Ashish Gupta of Atlantic Books points out: "The reading public is growing. We have sold a lot of fiction as well as academic textbooks. Among the fiction readers classics remain a favourite." Others sellers seem to echo his perspective.

Some also feel that the 35-plus age group is investing a lot less in books as compared to children, which is where the highest sales are happening this year. The Children's Book Trust and the Gandhi Smriti children's library stalls were teeming with parents, children and teenagers.

Sonal Singh, a 10-year-old student said: "I have bought a series of Panchatantra stories and a lot of illustrated Hindi storybooks. A few days back, I had bought some school books from the fair too." Piyush Jain of Om Book International, said: "The usual bestsellers and fiction has a ready market, but an emerging trend this year is the large demands for encyclopaedias and essay books among parents of young children. The demand for books in English is way more than Hindi and regional languages."

Publishers of regional, particularly Hindi books like Motilal Banarsidas echo this concern: "On an average 70% of books sold are in English, while the Hindi caters to only 30% of the urban reader. Hindi is declining as more people feel the importance of English as an urban language."

This trend of buying books in English was also admitted by book lovers. Said Sanjula Jain, a resident of Yamuna Nagar, Haryana: "I have bought only English books for my 10-year-old son. He should read Tom Sawyer and English grammar books which will improve his grasp over the language. I have not bought him a Hindi book."

Another parent Sonia Gupta from Sahibabad, who was buying the popular Harry Potter series for her son, claims her son does not want to buy a Hindi book though she was fine with the idea. Observing a market and the need to promote reading among the young, educational institutions like Amity have started their own printing.

Raghuram Krishana Aiyer vice-president of Amity University Press explains: "Education can't be seen in isolation and a reading habit needs to be cultivated. We have launched a series of activity books which aid this all-round development. Our books are available in several regional languages."

BOOK REVIEW

It's no cookie-cutter world: Kids' book likes differences- WORLDWIDE

Article Last Updated: 9/04/2005 11:17 PM

By Samantha Critchell
The Associated Press

Salt Lake Tribune The party line at most schools is that diversity is embraced. But do all teachers always demonstrate such tolerance in the classroom?
   The Little Cupcakes by Anthony King looks at diversity at the most basic level: frosted cupcakes.
   In the book, little Caitlin brings in 10 vanilla-frosted cupcakes and two chocolate ones to her classroom to celebrate her birthday.
   But before anyone gets to choose one, the teacher cuts off all the tops in an effort to be fair.
   She carries all the mangled and melted tops - and a sad face - home to her dad.
   ''Ms. Simmons took the tops off because they weren't all the same. She was afraid someone would get chocolate instead of vanilla and be unhappy,'' Caitlin explains.
   ''Did someone complain?'' asks her father.
   ''No. We liked them the way they were,'' the teary little girl responds. She says she and her friends were looking forward to choosing which treat they wanted.
   Author King says he wrote the story exactly the way it happened on his daughter's sixth birthday, including his advice to Caitlin that she shouldn't ever expect anything in this world to be exactly the same. Nor should she want it that way.
   It would be such a boring place if all the trees and all the snowflakes were exactly alike. And some people are tall, some are short. Some are white, some are black. Some are smart - some aren't. That's what makes each person special, King told his daughter.
   More importantly, though, is that all people have the ability to share love.
   Then Caitlin asked a very important question to a fashion-conscious grade-schooler: Aren't Steve Madden shoes all the same?
   ''I had to tell her that they all look the same but there would even be small differences in those,'' King recalls.
   King says he wasn't prepared for all these big-picture questions from his little girl, but as a recently widowed father, he knew he had to provide some sort of answer.
   ''I said I don't know a lot but that I was sure the world was made the way it was for a reason. Nordic white-skinned people don't live at the equator, and cactus grows in the desert, for a reason,' '' says King during a recent telephone interview from his Ridgewood, N.J., home.
   ''I said we should accept things that are different and that differences of ideas and opinions are OK, too.''
   He says it struck him as odd that a teacher was telling kids that they should do everything in their power to be just like everyone else. It didn't seem like a good lesson, he explains.
   At first King wrote the story as an essay for National Public Radio and his intended audience was adults. But as friends and colleagues read it, they suggested it as a children's book so King changed his approach.
   The Little Cupcakes is illustrated by Sue Hellard and published by King's Cupcake Publishing.
   An aspiring screenwriter - he's written 10 scripts and two have been optioned but none have yet made it to the silver screen - King also created an accompanying guide for parents and teachers that encourages conversations that not only explore diversity but also their own children's feelings.
   ''It's a good lesson for everyone. It's a good reminder for parents and teachers, too, who get stuck in the same routines and never get out and do anything new,'' King says.

Kids keen to chat with foreigners, but teachers can't- JAPAN

09/01/2005

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200509010123.html

The Asahi Shimbun OSAKA--They say it pays to start learning a foreign language early to attain fluency. Certainly, many elementary school students aspire to speak English, but it turns out that their teachers find it tough to do themselves.

That is the gist of a report to a recent meeting here of the All Japan Teachers and Staff Union. At the Aug. 18-21 gathering, teacher Haruo Ibuka released the findings of a survey he conducted among teachers at 45 elementary schools in the city of Gifu.

Ibuka, 44, teaches English at the Gifu city-run Shima Junior High School.

"I cannot speak English with confidence," one teacher wrote in response to Ibuka's questionnaire in the summer of 2004. "I am puzzled about what to teach and how," said another.

One complained that teaching materials provided by the city "were at levels too high to use in class."

English is not required at elementary schools, but it was taught in some form at 92 percent of public schools nationwide in 2004, according to the education ministry.

A ministry survey in 2004 found that 71 percent of parents believe English should be a mandatory subject, while 54 percent of teachers were opposed.

The Central Council for Education is studying whether to make English a required subject nationwide. In the meantime, some municipalities are already adding it to school curricula as a result of deregulation.

In fiscal 2003, Gifu was designated a special deregulation zone for English education. English was taught once a week to all third- to sixth-graders at its 48 city-run elementary schools starting in April 2004.

Ibuka conducted his survey after finding that teachers at schools he visited mainly relied on the blackboard and written materials to teach the language.

In short, it was like a typical class at a junior high-teaching English as an academic subject rather than as a living, breathing language.

"I was afraid this would only increase the number of students who do not like English," Ibuka said.

But at the same time, he found the children were generally eager to learn to speak.

"They are willing to talk to people from abroad," one teacher noted in the survey.

"The aim of teaching English to primary school pupils is to deepen cross-cultural understanding," Ibuka said. "I think it is important they have fun learning foreign customs and lifestyles through English songs and games."

The Osaka session also heard a report from Shinsuke Kuroyanagi, 46, an English teacher at Nanryo Junior High School in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, who has also taught at two elementary schools since 2003.

The schools give one-hour lessons weekly, and Kuroyanagi issues a newsletter about his classes to share ideas with other teachers.

He has reported how children looked forward to hearing one another speak, and how they have fun writing their names and other words in English.(IHT/Asahi: September 1,2005)

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