Sports Illustrated for Kids

Sports Illustrated Kids. The Time Inc. Magazine Company.

ISSN:1042-394X

Price :$47.88 for 12 issues

Reader's Annotation: Sports Illustrated Kids has sports news for kids ages 7-12.

Summary: Sports Illustrated Kids has just what you'd expect : sports news for kids. Unlike the adult version of the magazine, though, it's a pretty clean version of sports news. There is analysis of teams and leagues and players, but no talk of which big sports star got into trouble with the law for doing something foolish. The news is positive and encouraging. The magazine has plenty of stories of kids athleticism as well, and does a fairly good job of covering both men's and women's teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see a tween girl reading this mag, but it does still generally strike me as being a "boys read." On the downside, there are plenty of ads in the magazine, but on the plus side, at least some of them are for books. There are also articles about sports in the wider world. For example, in the December issue there was a story about Jewish and Muslim kids in Jerusalem playing on the same soccer teams.

Genre: magazine, environment, friends, identity, sports,

Series : --

Evaluation: This is a great choice for a tween section (though it would be an easier sell if it wasn't called Sports Illustrated KIDS.) Athletes, both boys and girls, will find something interesting for their reading pleasure.

Why it belongs in a Tween Collection: Magazines, and particularly sports magazines, are going to speak to a particular segment of reluctant readers. For these readers, Sports Illustrated Kids will be a great find.

Readalikes :

• Boy's Life
  
• Youth Runner
  

Other Useful Info:

• Sports Illustrated Kids Website

Reviews:

--

Fly Away Home

Ballard, C. (2001). Fly Away Home. DVD, Sony Pictures.

ASIN: B00005LK94
$14.94

Viewer's Annotation: Fourteen year old Amy Alden and her dad lead a flock of geese on their annual migration using ultralight planes.

Summary: When Amy's mom dies in a car accident, she moves from New Zealand to Canada to live with her dad. She has a hard time adjusting to life at her dad's house. He is an inventor and sculptor and a pilot of ultralight planes. He also has a girlfriend he failed to mention. When developers knock down part of the woodland nearby, Amy finds several goose eggs that have been abandoned by their mother. She collects and incubates them until they hatch. When her dad, Thomas, discovers the hatchlings, he asks a local game warden for advice. The warden points out that the geese, raised without geese parents, will not know how to migrate. They will have the urge to fly, but will become disoriented and lost when they take off. Amy and Thomas decide they will lead the geese on their annual migration in ultralight planes.

Genre: movie, environment, adventure, family

Series : This movie is not part of a series.

Evaluation: One of the best movies I watched for this project.

Why it belongs in a Tween Collection: Amy is a daring and likable heroine and tweens will probably find her inspiring. The environmental message will also speak to a tween audience. If neither of those two things call out to tween viewers, there is also about an hour of cute gosling footage, sure to win anyone over. This is another great family movie.

Watchalikes :

• Flicka
• Moondance Alexander
  

Other Useful Info:

• Fly Away Home IMDB page
  

Reviews:
From Common Sense Media

FLY AWAY HOME is a thrilling adventure, exquisitely told, by the same director and photographer who made The Black Stallion. Ballard has the patience to let the story tell itself, and the quiet moments are breathtakingly beautiful and heartbreakingly touching.

Peeled by Joan Bauer

Bauer, J. (2008). Peeled. (1st ed., p. 256). Putnam Juvenile.

ISBN: 0399234756

Price :$16.99 hardcover

Reader's Annotation: Hildy Biddle is a teenage investigative journalist who is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious haunted house in her small town.

Summary: Hildy lives in Banesville, a community of apple farmers. The last few years have seen bad crops, and the growers are nervous. Not to mention, there are strange things happening at the Old Ludlow House. The rumors say the place is haunted. Hildy, who is an investigative reporter isn't buying this story. She begins asking questions that upset some people in her town. A big company wants to buy some of the local apple farms and redevelop. Hildy's school newspaper is shut down. As Hildy continues to search for answers about the Ludlow house and the company seeking to buy orchards, the community becomes more and more divided. With the help of her family and some good friends, though, Hildy continues her quest for the truth.

Genre: mystery, environment, family, fiction, friends, love story

Series : This book is not part of a series, though it will certainly feel familiar to fans of Joan Bauer.

Evaluation: I'm a huge Joan Bauer fan, and love that her books are populated with hard working teen girls and solid family relationships. This one wasn't one of my favorite Joan Bauer books, but it's still a great read.

Why it belongs in a Tween Collection: This book has a mystery at its heart, so fans of Nancy Drew and other tween slueths will find it a good fit. Also, Bauer always creates a great main character and supporting cast that will appeal to tween readers.


Readalikes :

• Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass
  
• Hoot by Carl Hiassen
  

Other Useful Info:

• Joan Bauer's Website

Reviews:
from Teenreads.com

Rumors of a haunted house ignite the curiosity of teen reporter Hildy Biddle. She starts investigating the story only to have her school newspaper shut down. What Hildy uncovers and how she overcomes the obstacles that would have her silenced are at the core of Joan Bauer's new book, PEELED.

Bauer regularly writes about adolescents who work. Her Newbery Honor book HOPE WAS HERE is about a teen waitress. RULES OF THE ROAD features a young shoe salesperson. PEELED ambitiously takes on the subject of investigative reporting and responsible journalism.

The book is set in the community of Banesville, which has an economy almost entirely dependent on apple growers. Several bad harvests have the farmers and the town struggling. The mayor keeps promising a community redevelopment project without providing any details. The ensuing conflict --- pitting town farmers against the forces of commerce with an inevitable showdown against a bulldozer --- has a hint of melodrama some readers may have encountered before.

The story's villains --- a turban-wearing psychic, a muckraking journalist who goes by the name of Pen Piedmont, and an unscrupulous mayor --- are also stock characters from melodrama, as is the mysterious “haunted” house at the center of the controversy.

It is the other characters in the novel --- the “good guys” --- who make PEELED worth reading. Hildy's plucky heroism puts her in the company of other teenage sleuths. What makes her unique is her methods of investigation and reporting. Her extensive research and interviewing techniques provide excellent models for effective and responsible investigative journalism. Her journalism teacher --- a man who is clearly far more experienced and talented than his work as an advisor for a school newspaper would indicate --- is also an intriguing, original character.

But Hildy's biggest supporter is Minska, a Polish immigrant who grew up under Poland's repressive Communist regime. Minska tells her about Poland's solidarity movement and the prominent role female journalists played in the underground press:

"'They called the women in the underground press the Dark Circles,' she said. 'because they didn't get enough sleep; they wrote night and day. When you have something so important, something that you'll stay awake for, something you know that you were designed to do, well, it's worth getting a few dark circles, don't you think?'"

Drawing inspiration from Minska's stories about Poland's solidarity movement, Hildy and the rest of her school newspaper's staff run their underground newspaper from the back room of Minska's restaurant. Together they provide the momentum to get other members of the community to stand up for themselves.

PEELED works best as a fable about a community facing a campaign of fear-mongering to influence their behavior to the advantage of those who would control them. The book takes the often tedious work of investigative reporting and makes it interesting and relevant to the experience of young people. It is also a reminder that teens are an important part of every community and that the work they do matters.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Miyazaki, H. (2005). Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. DVD, Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

ASIN: B0001XAPZ6
$29.99

Viewer's Annotation: Princess Nausicaa must protect her people from both the toxic poisons of the jungle covering the earth and her many warring neighbors.

Summary: Nausicaa's people live peacefully in a valley safe from the toxic jungle and the insects that live there. They are a self-sufficient peaceful people who do no harm to the jungle or the insects. When a ship carrying prisoners, toxic spores and an ancient weapon crash lands at the end of her valley, Nausicaa has to leave her people to search for answers. She learns that the forest they all dread is actually healing the planet that was polluted by humans. But she must convince her people to leave the forest and insects in peace, and stop a war between her neighbors if any of them are to survive.

Genre: movie, family, fairy tale, love story

Series : This movie is not part of a series, though there is a series of graphic novels about the same characters.

Evaluation: This is a fantastic movie with complex characters, a moving message, and spectacular artwork.

Why it belongs in a Tween Collection: This is another film for fans of Hayao Miyazaki particularly and anime films generally. The content is suitable for most families, though there is some violence so parents of very young tweens might have concerns. Tweens, girls particularly, will identify and appreciate Nausicaa as an able and fearless heroine.

Watchalikes :

• Castle in the Sky
• Spirited Away
  

Other Useful Info:

• IMDB page for Nausicaa
  

Reviews:
from allwatchers.com
The adventurous princess Nausicaa, who spends a large amount of her time exploring the Toxic Jungle, is the heiress to Jhil, ruler of the kingdom of the Valley of the Wind. One day that an aircraft from the city of Pejite crashes in the Valley of the Wind, leaving among its ruins a large stone. Shortly after, King Jhil is murdered by the invading Tolmekain army, which is led by Kushana, who intends to resurrect the monster contained within the stone for the purpose of burning down the Toxic Jungle which has been encroaching upon human land. Nausicaa believes that the jungle exists for the purpose of cleansing the earth of its ancient pollutants, an thus attempts to convince Kushana to both leave the Valley of the Wind and spare the Toxic Jungle.

--Adam , Resident Scholar

Nausicaä, the princess of a small nordic type nation in the Valley of the Wind, lives in a world devastated by the "Seven Days of Fire". Huge ecosystems have evolved to rid the world of pollutants, but the flora and fauna in them are extremely toxic to humans. Humans perceive these ecosystems as dangerous and a plague (they expand rapidly, and humans are unaware of their function as poison filters). Groups of humans flee the expanding ecosystems and end up in the Valley of the Wind. They try to take over the land from the previous occupants. Nausicaä comes to realize the real function of the ecosystems and tries to save them from being destroyed by other humans.

The most lyrical and beautiful of Hayao Miyazaki's films, was adapted from his manga. It is undeniably his best film.
Deals in an early manner with some of the issues that would show up later in "Princess Mononoke".
1984 / 116 minutes. (Avoid at all costs something called "Warriors of the Wind" it is an edited version of this excellent film). Highly Recommended.


--Herman the German, Resident Scholar