Reading

Famous kids' book authors
to lead local classes this year

If you are a St. Louis-area kid who likes to read and write, maybe you should share this article with a parent or teacher. They can help you have a unique learning experience this fall.

Cooperating School District (CSD) is offering two opportunities where famous kids' book authors help students start a book club or improve their writing skills.

And the schools that will take part in these opportunities haven't been picked yet.

That's where the adults come in. Either your parent or teacher can lobby your school principal to apply for one of the spots. CSD signs up schools on a first-come-first-served basis.

Both the reading club and writing classes involve two-way video-conferencing. That allows kids to discuss ideas directly with the authors. You can even get a critique of your plans.

The writing program involves St. Louis authors Patricia and Fred McKissack. The McKissacks have written over 100 books for kids and young adults. In the classes, they'll explain how they find book ideas, and then research and write their books.

The McKissacks will work with 16 different classes during the 2001-2002 school year.

The book club classes will involve other nationally-known kids' authors. These clubs will be special. They pair each kid with a parent or other adult so they can share reading experiences.

CSD is lining up the other authors for this program.

None of the participating schools have been picked as yet. That why you still have time to get your school involved.

CSD represents 49 school districts in St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln and Gasconade counties and the city of St. Louis.

Ruth Litman-Block and Martha Bogart coordinate the "distance learning" programs for the CSD.

In the next few weeks, they will be signing up schools that want to participate in either the writing lessons by the McKissacks or the reading-club classes by other kids' authors.

Ruth Litman-Block's number is (314) 692-1272 and her e-mail is ruthb@info.csd.org. Martha Bogart's number is (314) 692-1258 and her e-mail is martha@info.csd.org.

In the writing classes, kids don't just listen to the McKissacks.

That's the magic of two-way video-conferencing. Individual kids can see the St. Louis authors while have a two-way conversation. The McKissacks even will critique individual kids' writing efforts.

There will be four complete cycles of writing instruction during the year. Kids in four different classes will be involved in each cycle. A cycle runs about seven weeks and involves three different video conferences with the McKissacks.

In between video conferences, the kids will be working on their own writing projects. At the end, the McKissacks will pick some of the best writing and share them with all the schools involved.

Any time between video-conferences, kids can e-mail questions to the McKissacks. For instance, a kid might be having trouble getting their story started or how to develop an individual character. They e-mail you an answer.

During this summer, the McKissacks helped CSD try out the book club idea. These classes also used video-conferencing.

A total of 85 kids and 85 adults set up eight different book clubs from six different school districts.

The schools involved were Oak Brook Elementary in the Parkway district, Normandy Middle School, Jefferson Elementary in the City of St. Louis, Glenridge Elementary in Clayton, Truman Elementary in Lindbergh. There were three University City schools, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Pershing Elementary and Brittany Woods Middle School.

Bogart said, "The clubs are to promote literacy and adult-child mentoring relationships."

The big book publisher Scholastic sponsored the book club experiment.

For the summer trial, the book clubs used Pat McKissack's book, "Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595." This is about a famous African queen who led her people against a Portuguese enemy at a time when girls didn't often get hero roles.

Young Saint Louis.com has a special review of the Nzingha book in this month's book reviews. To go directly to the review of the McKissack book, just click here.

Through video-conferences, the McKissacks helped the classes set goals for their clubs and pick the book. The kids also learned background information about the McKissacks.

Each adult-kid team then read the book, which was written in diary form. Kids were encouraged to keep their own diary and to hold individual discussions. They also did art and writing projects.

In the second conference, the McKissacks answered questions about how they researched and wrote their book. The classes also studied a little book, "How a Book Is Made" by Aliki. This gives a step-by-step look at book writing and production.

In the final video conference, the McKissacks gave feedback on the kid-adult projects at each school.

 

News

Berkeley girl is library poster girl

Four years ago, Doniesha Carter needed one-on-one help to improve her own reading skills. Now, she's a poster girl for the St. Louis County Library.

Twelve-year-old Doniesha's poster will hang in all of the St. Louis County branch libraries. Other posters also will be donated to area schools for display.

The St. Louis County Library started a Library Connections Poster Series to recognize some unsung heroes of the St. Louis community. Doniesha is the second young person featured.

Earlier, George Thampy was honored for winning the 2000 National Spelling Bee.

Doniesha's story is one of persistence and hard work. She not only overcame her own reading problems but has used that experience to help others.

The Berkeley youngster needed one-on-one tutoring during first and second grades because she was lagging behind her classmates in reading. "I don't know why I had trouble but I did," she said.

By third grade, she was still behind but had improved enough to stay with her class without the special tutoring. "It gradually came together," Doniesha said.

She said Holman Elementary uses a Reading for Success program to help students. "It shows you how to read and also how to comprehend what you read," she said.

Last year, as a 6th grader at Holman Elementary School, she was part of a team of students who made vocal recordings of books for use by blind people. The tapes and CDs can be checked out from the Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Jefferson City.

"When you're recording, you can learn how to read better while you help someone else with their reading," she said.

Doniesha said it takes about three weeks to record a book "if you don't make too many mistakes." If there is a recording mistake, the kids read the passage again while recording over the faulty part, she said.

Faculty and staff at Holman Elementary converted an closet into a recording studio. They used insulation on the walls and door to make the closet soundproof.

Students work on the recordings after school and on Saturdays.

Doniesha started in the program as a "proctor." That's the person who operates the computer while another student does the actual reading in the studio.

Then, she got a chance to do the vocal reading and someone else handled the computer work.

"I like the reading part better," Doniesha said. She thinks she has a good voice for the readings.

But, she said the reading without making errors isn't easy. "You really have to concentrate," she added.

In addition to making the book recordings, Doniesha also helps some of her classmates with their classwork.

She said her school has a "special Wednesday" program. That's a time when students can do what they want if they have all their assignments completed. "Sometimes I just read. But, other times I help other kids with their language and reading," she said.

"After my trouble with reading, it makes me want to do something for others," Doniesha said.

That combination of reading and helping others has Doniesha thinking about being a librarian when she becomes an adult. "I'd still be able to teach people how to read and do others things," she said.

That attitude helped convince St. Louis Library officials that Doniesha would make a good addition to their Library Connections Poster Series.

Doniesha is the daughter of Edward and Donna Burse of Berkeley. She has one older brother, Jerrell Carter, 15, and a younger brother, Jermaine, who is one.

 

Profile

Eureka youth finds career
path with community service

Last October when he was 13, Lance Rutter was looking for a service project to fulfill requirements for his upcoming church confirmation.

But, the Eureka boy found a lot more. He believes he has found a direction for his career.

Lance will be a freshman at Eureka High School this fall. But, he hopes to go to St. Thomas Catholic School in Hannibal as a sophomore so he can begin studying for the priesthood.

Last fall, Lance started his service at Marymount Manor Nursing Center, "just up the street from my home." His first job was to help with the Saturday mass at the center.

But, his commitment kept growing.

"I talked with the activity lady to see if there were other things that I could do," he said.

Activity director Wendy Wells suggested that he read books to a patient who had cerebral palsy. He agreed to spend two hours every Thursday on his reading assignment.

"She liked children's books. But, pretty soon, we covered all the books she had in her room. So, I brought in my Harry Potter books from home," he said.

Lance said the patient had been having a difficult time at the home because of her disability. "But, they tell me she's doing a lot better since I've been reading to her," he said.

He still wanted to do more.

That led to him coming in all day on Saturdays. He plays chess with patients, takes some to the dining room and also talks to others. He's around also to play games such as bingo.

The activity staff at the nursing home decided his service deserved some recognition. Last spring, they nominated Lance for a Do The Right Thing award.

That's a community service award given to young St. Louisans who display "positive traits, such as responsibility, respect, courage, service to others, integrity and caring." It has been in St. Louis since 1995 and is based on a program in Miami, Florida.

The local award program is sponsored by Cooperating School District, the St. Louis city and county police and KMOV-TV.

But, his service also was pointing Lance toward a career decision.

Lance took the occasion of his confirmation last spring to announce his plan to become a Catholic priest.

He said the head priest at his church, Sacred Heart Church of Eureka, was his role model in making the career decision. However, he said he didn't talk over the decision with Father Alexander Anderson.

"I just sort of sprung it on everyone when we were getting our pictures taken for confirmation," he said.

He said he wants to become a parish priest like Father Anderson.

Lance said he recognizes that his decision to become a priest isn't a common one these days. "I'm probably the only one in my school that will be doing that," he said.

But, he said his community service "gives me satisfaction that I'm doing good." He added, "When I'm at the nursing home, I know I'm brightening the days of people who otherwise might not have a good day."

During this summer, he works all day Thursday and Saturday at the home. That is, except when he worked as a helper at his church's Vacation Bible School .

He still has time to be a 3.75 GPA student in school. He also is planning to go out for golf and maybe water polo at Eureka High School in the fall.

Lance admits he's got some work to do to convince his mother, Tracy Mueller, that he should go away to school in his sophomore year. "She doesn't think I should go that far away at my age," he said.

But, he is philosophical about the situation. "If I can't go as a sophomore, I'll just keep after her so I can go as a junior," he said.

That's the sort of persistence that will serve him well in his planned lifetime career.

You can find more about Do The Right Thing by clicking on the station's website at www.kmov.com. Then, access the Community header on the left side of the website.

Also, you can find out about the CSD Character Education Program at www.info.csd.org.

 

Books

This month's book reviews

A book about an African queen
written by a St. Louis author

There is a series of books for kids called "The Royal Diaries," featuring books about historical figures such as Elizabeth I of 16th century England, Cleopatra, a famous queen of Egypt, and other royal figures. A recent one in the series is "Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Matamba." All the stories are diaries written as if the actual historical figure wrote them.

Nzingha's diary covers the period when she is a young girl of about 12 or 13 years of age. She is the daughter of a powerful king in a country now called Angola, located in the Southwest part of Africa. She is the king's first child, but because she is a girl, she was not expected to be chosen as the country's leader when her father died. In addition, her mother was of a different tribe than the Mbundu, her father's people, and that kept Nzingha from being accepted as heir to her father's throne.

Nzingha's country was being invaded by Portugal, which like other European nations in that era, thought it had a right to take over any part of Africa it wanted to. Nzingha hated the Portuguese because they were trying to take over her country. She also hated them for the terrible slave trade, which they carried on. Unlike other girls of her era, Nzingha learned to use weapons and hunt like young men. She also had been taught to speak Portuguese. Her warrior spirit and her skills led her father to want to make her his successor. He even sent her to negotiate with enemies of his kingdom.

The events in the diary are based on actual historical records. Patricia McKissack, a successful children's' author and St. Louis native, researched old records and books to find out as many facts about Nzingha as she could uncover. Nzingha had been a heroine of her people, remembered in stories and songs for hundreds of years. She had been Queen of those of her countrymen who fled to the mountains and carried on continuing warfare against the Portuguese invaders. Patricia McKissack thought the story of Nzingha's life was an important one for the children of today.

 

Would you like to read a
hilarious spoof of superheroes?

Imagine an eleven-year-old boy who is skinny, wears thick glasses, and has braces on his teeth. He also is always the last one chosen for teams at school because he's no good at sports. While visiting the Air and Space Museum on a class trip to Washington, D.C., he catches some radioactive rocks dropped from a ladder. Now, when he goes into superhero mode, he can fly, run faster than trains, and lift a truck over his head with one hand. He also glows in the dark.

The boy, whose real name is Max Silver, takes on the name of "MAXimum Boy." His parents know about his super powers, as does his teen-age sister, a girl named "Charlie" who is his closest friend, the family doctor, his teacher, and the President of the United States. The President frequently calls on Max to save the country from some kind of disaster. Of course, his mother insists that Max be home in bed on school nights by 9:30, and he must have his homework done by bedtime. He and his mom put together a superhero costume, so that no one would recognize him when he was doing superhero things. Max was always spilling something on his costume, like spaghetti sauce. It was usually in the laundry basket when he most needed it.

If you like to read books which poke fun at almost everything, especially comic book superheroes, you will really enjoy "The Hijacking of Manhattan." Max really doesn't want to be a superhero, but who else is going to save Manhattan Island when two bad guys manage to move it out to sea? One of these bad guys was Dr. Cubic Zirkon, a mad scientist who had accidentally turned himself into a duck-billed platypus! Be sure you have on your laughing clothes when you read this one.

 

How about a book where
you put the plot together?

"River of No Return" is just one book, but it has several adventure stories in it. You read a couple of pages and then it gives you two or three choices about where to go next with the plot. It's kind of a "mix and match" book, where you can go back and reread the earlier parts of the story and pick a different route to the conclusion.

The core part of the plot is that you are a kid waiting to begin a river-rafting trip. It's a guided tour through some of the wildest rapids in the West. It takes place on the Anacosta River in Montana. Your parents have dropped you off for the adventure. Of course, you had concealed from them how dangerous the trip was likely to be. Little did you know that it might involve storm damage to the route of the trip, overturned boats and near drowning incidents, and shots being fired at one of the guys in the group. It appears that the choices you make can result in loss of life, or in your being a big hero who saves not only himself, but his companions as well.

All the plots are interesting. To get full enjoyment from the book, you need to reread it while making different choices at each of the choice points. "River of No Return" is just one of a series of books that all make use of the same choice-making technique. A few of them are written as part of the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles."

 

An attic with a magic mirror
that lets girls go back in time

A group of four girls have formed a club called the Magic Attic Club. They had discovered a magic mirror in the attic of an old Victorian house belonging to an elderly neighbor. The large gilded mirror enabled them to be transported to different times and places simply by standing in front of it. All they had to do to return to the attic was to find a mirror at the destination and stand in front of it.

Other than their unusual club and the adventures related to the magic attic, the girls are normal middle grade students. They do seem to be a clique because of the way they hang out together. A new girl in school named Rose is a computer expert. Because of a series of unplanned events, she seems to think the girls in the club don't like her. They feel bad about it and try to include Rose in some of their activities. Almost by accident, she ends up in the magic attic and is invited on one of their adventures.

The girls are transported to a holiday party in a natural history museum. They are interested in different exhibits, so they split up. When it's time for the museum to close, they can't find Rose. She had gone to see the Native American display. It turns out that she is an American Indian and wanted to find out more about her ancestors. By the time all the girls get together, the museum has closed and they are trapped inside.

The real adventure begins as they try to figure out how to evade the museum guards and security system and return to the magic attic. By the time they escape and make it home, Rose has become one of the group, a member of the Magic Attic Club.

There are numerous titles in the Magic Attic Club series. If you like this one, you may want to read more of them. You too can join the Magic Attic Club by mailing in the card at the back of any of the books.

 

Entertainment

Kids face mass audition to get on Muny stage

Local kids who want to appear in a summer production at the Muny in Forest Park know what it's like to be a "survivor."

They competed with as many as 1,000 other kids before being selected for a part.

Jack Erbs, Elana Estrin, Ellen Ransom and Eddie Szewczyk are among the "survivors" this year. All have parts in at least one show in the Muny's 2001 summer schedule.

(For information about the Muny Kids program, just log on to www.muny.com)

Although these kids range in age from 9 to 13, all of them have been training for the entertainment business for years.

For instance, 10-year-old Jack has been taking dancing lessons for over five years. He also takes piano lessons. He's been in the Muny Kids organization since he was seven.

Jack said he's "thinking of going on Broadway" when he becomes an adult. However, he doesn't know exactly what kind of shows he's like to do.

So far, his Muny parts have involved singing and dancing. But, he said he had an opera solo as the Mock Turtle character in "Alice in Wonderland," performed in Shrewsbury.

He said the size of the role in the play determines how nervous he gets on stage. "I get more nervous when there's a speaking part," he said.

Asked about any members of his family who had an entertainment background, he said, "My grandfather, Edward Erbs, played in the Muny orchestra."

The student at Seven Holy Founders School doesn't limit his activities to play acting. He also likes basketball and volley ball.

Nine-year-old Ellen is another kid with an interest in being on Broadway. As an adult, she said, "I'd either like to be on Broadway or a Christian singer."

She's been taking dancing lessons since she was three. And this is her third year in the Muny kids organization. She's scheduled to be in three shows this summer, "The Wizard of Oz," "An Evening of Gershwin" and "My Fair Lady."

The student at Harvest Ridge Elementary School in St. Charles County said she likes everything about performing. But, she admits she had a little trouble during a performance of "Sound of Music."

In one scene, she was supposed to be lined up from the tallest to the shortest. The tiny Ellen said, "I found myself on the 'tall' end. So. as the number went on, I moved down the line until I got to the right end."

Thirteen-year-old Elana has been in Muny Kids for three years. But, she thinks she'd like to be an author or a journalist when she becomes an adult. She said she's written "some small fiction stories" so far.

Her favorite author is J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. That's a pretty good role model to follow since the former British school teacher is the all-time leader among authors in terms of books sold.

Elana has a role model on a little smaller scale and closer to home. Her brother, 17-year-old Daniel, is an intern in the Muny's publicity department this summer.

Concerning her Muny experience, she said she's appeared in three previous shows and is schedule for two this summer.

Thirteen-year-old Eddie is another Muny Kid who has his eye on a media job when he's an adult. He's already getting some good experience.

Last fall, the student at Blessed Sacrament School in Belleville, Ill., was picked as a kid reporter for the Radio Disney station in St. Louis. He's already had interviews with presidential candidate Al Gore, Illinois congressman Jerry Costello and noted radio and television personality Bob Costas.

He also had an interview with cartoon character Buzz Lightyear. But, Eddie said Buzz didn't have much to say and "wasn't a very good interview."

He does about four or five reports for Radio Disney each month. He's had his one-year contract with the station renewed. That's a job that pays him a salary.

Another part of his reporting job involves doing movie reviews for the station.

"I've had a lot of good experiences there," he said. He won the radio job in another mass audition. He won out over 99 other kids who tried out for the reporter post last August.

 

Music

New recognition for "improving" kid musicians

Eleven-year-old Ashley Green is the first kid musician recognized in CLASSIC99 Radio's new AmerenUE Bright Star program.

The monthly award goes to a St. Louis-area young person who is working hard to "improve their musical skills." The kids honored aren't necessarily the best kid musicians in the area.

Tricia Oates is CLASSIC99's educational initiatives manager.

She said, "This program is to encourage all kids to pursue their music and to reward their improvement, not just reward excellence."

The radio station has a Young Heroes in Music program where top-flight kid musicians perform in live concerts. All those musicians play classical music.

The AmerenUE Bright Star program recognizes kids who perform other types of music. For instance, most of Ashley's performances are of show tunes and movie theme music.

Ashley has been playing the flute for three years. She also recently started with piano lessons. "I like the piano but I like the flute better," she said.

She is one of seven flute players in Barrington Elementary School honors band. That's in the Hazelwood School District.

Asked if she were a good flute player, Ashley said, "I'm getting there."

She said she got interested in the flute after hearing two members of her church playing. "They inspired me," she said.

Recently, she's been playing for that same church audience. She and her brother, Ryan, played a duet during a Father's Day service. Thirteen-year-old Ryan plays the clarinet. He's in Hazelwood Junior High School.

The played the theme song from the movie, "A Man from Snowy River."

Ashley admitted she was nervous before that performance. "Our family had gone to Chicago for a couple days and I hadn't practiced enough before we had to play," she said.

Ordinarily, she said she's only a "little nervous" before a performance.

She isn't sure whether she wants to be a musician when she becomes an adult. "I might want to be an artist," she said. She likes to draw pictures with pencil now.

But, for now, she enjoys her music, even the practice hours. During the school year, her band director requires 150 minutes of practice each week. The kids have to keep a practice log and the parents have to confirm the kids have put in the time.

The school's music director is John Muerer. He sets firm rules on practice but Ashley said he makes playing in the band fun. He composed two special songs for the school, "The Bulldog March" and the "School Spirit Song."

Her mother said, "Our son said our director is also known throughout the district as the guy with the corniest jokes."

Ashley said Muerer's two school songs are among her favorites. But, she also likes a variety of popular music.

She said "It's cool when you make the same music that you hear in a movie."

But, she admits, when she first tried to play the flute, "I didn't think I'd be able to do it."

Getting any musical sound out of a flute in the beginning is hard. She said it took two weeks of practice before she got a real musical note.

Ashley said it took lots of practice to get gap between your lips just right. Then she had to learn to blow across the mouthpiece opening, rather than just blowing into the opening.

Once she learned to make a musical sound, she had to learn to use her fingers to change the sounds. She said "making my fingers go fast" is now the hardest part of flute playing.

The AmerenUE Bright Star program just started a few months ago.

CLASSIC99 invites school music teachers, private instructors, church musicians and even parents to make nominations.

After being selected, the Bright Star musician gets his or her profile featured on the station's website and they are mentioned in on-air radio announcements. They also get a trophy, a certificate and other prizes.

For information about the Bright Star program, you can log on to the station's website at www.classic99.com.

 

Sports

Area kids enter nationals
of youth hunter challenge

Four teens from St. Louis have earned their first visit to the U.S. Youth Hunter Education Challenge competition.

Two older area kids are part of a five-member senior team that returned to the national championship after finishing second in 2000.

The older team is named Missouri Magnum. Franklin Clayton of Robertsville in Franklin County and Mick Muckerman of Chesterfield are the two area kids involved. The other three team members are from the Jefferson City area.

Sixteen-year-old Franklin said he's been hunting "pretty much my whole life." Of course, his opportunities are quite a bit better than most kids in and around a major city.

He said, "The hunting is pretty fair right in my back yard." He bagged his first deer with a bow and arrow when he was 11. "I was only about 100 yards from my house," he said.

The national Youth Hunter Education Challenge is more than just shooting. There is competition with light hunting rifles, shotguns, muzzle-loading rifles and bow and arrow. But, kids also compete in orienteering, wildlife identification and hunter responsibility.

Orienteering involves finding your way in the woods with only a compass and a topographical map.

The emphasis during the whole hunter challege is on being responsible in the outdoors.

Franklin said he met other members of the Missouri Magnum team during state youth hunting competitions. "We didn't have a team at first. But, we started hanging around together and formed the team," he said.

This will be Franklin's third visit to the nationals.

Four members of the junior team from the Jay Hentges Range and Training Center qualified for nationals. They are Danielle Metzger, Cameron Hall, James Vest and John Marshall. The Hentges range is operated by the Missouri Conservation Department. The range is located at Exit 269 (Antire Road) on I-44 west of I-270.

Young Saint Louis.com featured a story about the early training of the Hentges junior team in its January, 2001, edition. To get more details about the Youth Hunter Challenge program from that earlier article, just click here.

The junior kids were entered as a five-member team in the state finals in June at Jefferson City. But, only four qualified for the nationals so they can't compete as a team.

The trip to the nationals is quite an experience. The U.S. competition runs from July 30 through Aug. 4 at the Winnington Center near Raton, N.M. That's the huge National Rifle Assn. facility in the northeast corner of the state, just south of Colorado.

Danielle and Cameron are both 14 and students at Parkway South High School.

Danielle said the shooting competitions at nationals are set up different from the state meet. At the state tournament, shooters fire from set positions. She said, "in the nationals, the targets are set up as if you were walking on a regular hunt."

She said she's very excited about her first chance at the nationals.

Cameron said he scored best during the state competition on the hunter safety trail. There were 15 stations but these didn't involve targets and shooting.

One test checked to see if the kids showed proper gun safety precautions when crossing a fence. Another tested their knowledge of first aid in case of an hunting accident.

Fourteen-year-old James Vest will be a 9th grader at the College School in Webster Groves. He said he likes bow and arrow hunting the best.

Like the others, he started hunting early, at age 11. "Normally, I hunt water fowl with a shotgun. But, this year, I'm going to try deer hunting with a bow and arrow," he said.

Cameron said one of his first hunting experiences was during a hunter education class. "I was introduced to trap shooting when I came to the range," he said.

He said his favorite hunting is for quail. He said he usually hunts in the Bootheel area of southeast Missouri.

Danielle said she was 11 when "I went duck hunting with my dad." She said she didn't bag any birds that first time but did better in later trips. She said she gets to hunt quite often because her family has had permission for many years to hunt on land near Rolla.

 

Pets

Fun Sundays at St. Louis Dog Museum

Do you like to have fun with your pet dog? Then, the Museum of the Dog at Queeny Park is the place to be on the third Sunday of every month.

That's when the museum holds its Children's Fun Day. It's especially designed for kids 14 and under and their families.

The next fun day will be Sunday, August, 19. The theme is Schnauzer Craze. You'll find out all sorts of things about three different breeds of Schnauzers.

There also will be games and arts and crafts that have a Schnauzer theme. On the August fun day, you'll also learn how to groom your pet and now to buy a pure breed dog.

Each fun day program is from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Dalmatian dogs were the focus of the July fun day. The main feature was demonstrations by the Dalmatian Drill Team of St. Louis.

Three local 7-year-olds, Catie Fedyk, Katelyn Twillmann and Alexis Eveland, helped other team members put on the program.

They are helpers for "auntie" June Brennan-Mueller of the Spotsavers of St. Louis. Brennan-Mueller is Katelyn's real aunt. But, she added, "I'm auntie to all the girls."

The girls did a little bit of everything during the drill team demonstration. Part of the demonstration featured tips on how kids should act when meeting a dog for the first time.

Katelyn showed how to act when meeting a strange dog on the street.

"If you see a stray dog, you hurry up and stand real still like you were a tree or a rock. You can't move to itch or anything," she said. That gives the dog a chance to sniff you and make sure you're not trying to hurt it, she said.

Catie helped to demonstrate the proper courtesy on how to meet dogs who are with their owners. "First, you ask if you can pet the dog. If they say yes, you cup your hand in a U-shape and let the dog sniff it," she said.

"Then, after you pet the dog, you should say, 'Thank you for letting me pet your dog,'" she said.

Alexis said she hasn't been working with the Dalmatian Formation drill team as many times as the other two girls. "Sometimes, I baby-sit with the kids while the demonstration goes on," she said.

When asked about her own pets, Alexis said, "I've got 61/2 pets. I've got two cats, a bird, a 'sugar glider,' and 2 1/2 dogs."

She identified the "sugar glider" as a variety of Australian bat. As for the 1/2 dog, she said, "My step-mother has a dog and that's half mine too."

Katelyn said she only has one pet, a dog named "Coco," who she described as a German Shepherd-Border Collie mix.

Catie said she hasn't got any pets now. She said she had a dog, two birds and five gold fish but they all died. "My pets all lasted about four years but then they died," she said.

The girls said they all started helping with the Dalmatian Formation drill team when they were five. But, Catie and Katelyn have worked more often.

Catie will be a second grader at Bridgeway Elementary School while Katelyn and Alexis will be second graders at Our Redeemer Lutheran School.

In addition to the demonstration by the Dalmatian drill team, kids at the August fun day had a chance to color pet portraits, solve pup puzzles and participate in arts and crafts.

Families attending also had a chance to tour the museum. It includes portraits of all types of dogs as well as many statues of different breeds. The museum is sponsored by the American Kennel Club.

The museum is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays and national holidays.

The museum is located in Queeny Park in west St. Louis County. The entrance is off Mason Road between Highway 40 and Manchester Rd.

For more information about the museum, you can call (314) 821-3647 or log on the website at www.amerkennelclubmuseum.bizonthe.net.

For information about the Dalmatian dog breed, you can go to two websites. One is www.spotsavers.org or www.dalsavers.com.

 

History

For St. Louis kids, much
aviation history is local news

The history of airplane flying is less than 100 years old. And companies in St. Louis have played a big part in both the history of plane and space flight.

Local kids can sample a lot of that history with a free, guided tour of the James S. McDonnell Prologue Room. The air museum is located in Building 100 at the Boeing headquarters near Lambert Field.

(For how to schedule tours, see sidebar below)

The museum is open to the public during the summer months. August is the last month of this season. But, area schools can arrange for group tours during the school year.

St. Louis kids Robert Wheelington, Ashley Mahone, Michael Tate and Richard Barr got a chance to make the tour recently. They were part of a group from the Future Geniuses Child Care Learning Center in Berkeley.

Twelve-year-old Robert said he liked the video that showed the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels. That's the squadron that flies jet fighter planes in close formation at air shows.

Both he and 11-year-old Michael also liked the scale model of the Boeing Business Jet. That was one of the hundreds of models of various planes in the museum. The BBJ plane was a cut-away model that also showed how the inside of the plane looked.

The Future Geniuses tour started with a video that showed them how flying pioneers "unlocked the mystery of flight."

Wilbur and Orville Wright were the first to master powered flying at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Before their plane could fly, they had to solve the four elements of flight. Those are lift, power, stability and control.

The wings which have more curve on the top than the bottom help air provide lift to get the planes in the air. The invention of light-weight piston engine gave the power. Later, jet engines provided much more power.

The vertical and horizontal tail assembly provided stability in flight. Then, the movable flaps in both the wings and tail provide control so the pilot can maneuver the plane.

The Wright brothers' first flight in 1908 lasted only a few seconds and the plane went only a little over a 100 feet.

It was only a few years later than St. Louis got involved in the development of aviation. One whole wall in the Prologue Room shows examples of how planes have gotten bigger and faster in such a short time. Many of them were built right here in St. Louis.

St. Louis-built equipment also played a big part in U.S. space exploration. The museum has real-sized displays of those early Mercury and Gemini modules, also built in St. Louis.

Our local place in aviation history started with McDonnell Aviation. Later, that became McDonnell-Douglas. And, now, McDonnell-Douglas is a part of the Boeing Company.

Many of the latest military aircraft and missiles are built in the St. Louis area. Also, components of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station are built here.

The giant space station is a cooperative effort to 16 different countries. It's supposed to be finished in 2004.

Ten-year-old Ashley said she took her first airplane flight when she was two. That was a flight to Kansas City and back. The fifth grader said she's also been to Florida by plane.

Ashley said, "I thought about being a pilot when I was four or five. But, I don't want to be one now. I want to be either a veterinarian or a gymnast." The fifth grader said she takes gymnastic lessons.

Seven-year-old Richard said the thing he liked best was the full-scale model of the cockpit of a large jet airliner. The cockpit is filled with all sorts of instruments to monitor all elements of flight.

Michael is going to be a fifth grader at Woodland Elementary in the Jennings School District. He said he'd have liked the have more examples in the video of how planes fly. "I'd like to see how the wheels come down when the plane is getting ready to land," he said.

Robert is going to be a sixth grader this falls. He summed up his thoughts by saving, "The trip was fun."

Boeing Aviation Museum tours are easy to schedule It's easy for you, your family or your school to schedule a tour at the "Magic of Flight" Prologue Room. Also, you can learn more by logging on www.boeing.com/prologueroom. To schedule summer tours during August, call (314) 232-6896 for reservations. The Prologue Room is open to the general public Tuesday through Saturday during the summer months of June, July and August. During September through May, guided school tours can be scheduled on Fridays. There is a limit of 35 for each school tour. You call for reservations also at (314) 232-6896. The tours include the action-packed video that explains the principles of flight. Then, there is the tour of the museum with guides to explain the various airplane and space exhibits. Also, kids receive exciting airplane pictures and an illustrated activity book with fun quizzes and puzzles.

 

Fun & Games

Note that the words used in Young Saint Louis.com crossword puzzles are all taken from the articles appearing in this months issue.

Young Saint Louis.com - August #1

 

Young Saint Louis.com - August #2

 

Back to School Woes

 

Summer Leisure Spots

 

So you like school jokes?

Teacher: Why were you late for school?
      Pupil: Sorry, teacher, I overslept.
Teacher: You mean you sleep at home, too!

Pupil 1: Our teacher talks to herself. Does yours?
      Pupil 2: Yes, but she doesn't realize it. She thinks we're actually listening!

Pupil: I didn't do my homework because I lost my memory.
      Teacher: When did that start?
Pupil: When did what start?

Pupil 1: The brain is a wonderful thing.
      Pupil 2: Why do you say that?
Pupil 1: Because it starts working right away when you get up in the morning and never stops until you get asked a question in class!

How about some wacky definitions? (Why you shouldn't use the Internet as a dictionary)

Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and has started growing in the middle

Astronomer: A night watchman

Bird of Prey: Eagle that goes to church every Sunday

Climate: What you do with a ladder

Coincide: The sensible thing to do when it's raining

Denial: Where Cleopatra lived

Expert: Someone who used to be a pert

Gladiator: How the monster felt after lunch

Illegal: A sick bird of prey

Information: How planes fly at an air show

Let's try some birthday jokes

Moe: When's your birthday?
      Zoe: August 22nd.
Moe: What year?
      Zoe: Every year, silly!

What did the birthday balloon say to the pin?
      Hi, Buster!

Where do you find a birthday card for a cat?
      In a cat-alog!

Moe: Were any famous men or women born on your birthday?
      Zoe: No, only little babies!

For his birthday the monster asked for a "heavy sweater."
     So they gave him a sumo wrestler!

Why did the monster put the birthday cake in the freezer?
      Because he had been told to ICE it!

Why couldn't cave men send birthday cards?
      Because the stamps kept falling off the rocks!

What's the best way to find out when an elephant's birthday is?
      Check his driver's license!

What do you give a six hundred-pound gorilla for his birthday?
      I don't know, but you'd better hope he likes it!

 

Answers to Fun & Games

Note that the words used in Young Saint Louis.com crossword puzzles are all taken from the articles appearing in this months issue.

Young Saint Louis.com - August #1

 

Young Saint Louis.com - August #2

 

Back to School Woes

 

Summer Leisure Spots