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The Chatterbox | February 22
File under: “Hot topics”
- Check out the avalanche of stories triggered by findings on gender identity in the medical journal Pediatrics.
- If you haven’t yet heard, more than 20 people including eight children were found living in a 1,700 square-foot home near Houston by a social worker. None of the story’s scant details so far are pretty but the cold comfort is that these kids hopefully have chances now at a better life.
- A fascinating article in The New York Times examines why women in their second trimester are considered the “holy grail” of shoppers, and how companies devote tons of statistical and programming resources toward targeting them.
- We warned you earlier this year that The Hunger Games marketing machine was about to kick into high gear. If you’ve got a kid at home suddenly begging to take you to Aurora’s Westfield Fox Valley Mall, here’s why: Cast members from the upcoming film will be there, including star Josh Hutcherson. As his youngest co-star, Amandla Stenberg, told us last December, “All the kids in my class were reading [the books] and talking about how good they were.”
Scholastic's Top 100 Greatest Books for Kids
Scholastic's picks for the 100 Greatest Books for Kids are presented as a fun, interactive bookshelf online at scholastic.com/100books.
Kid lit enthusiasts: Let the debating begin.
For the first time, Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine has released its picks for the top 100 Greatest Books for Kids. The 9-year-old publication enlisted help from a committee made up of literary experts, educators, and parents to narrow down an initial list of 500 books—no easy task considering the quantity of quality tomes over the years. So just how does one determine the best from such a wide variety?
The answer, according to Scholastic's website, is based on different categories including age groups, literary and/or illustration excellence, popularity, longevity, and innovative freshness. Curious book lovers can find detailed explanations on the interactive bookshelf (pictured above), which displays all the winners, by clicking on the individual title. The top 100 features classics, such as Where the Wild Things Are, The Giver, as well as newfound favorites like The Hunger Games and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Also included are non-fiction works, such as Counting Kisses and An Egg Is Quiet: It's a genre Scholastic's site describes as “a rarity among these kinds of lists, but a must, given the high demand for it in schools today and the great quality of these works.”
Fiction, however, dominates the list, including the number one pick: E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. Describing the perennial best-seller, Scholastic says “its whimsical brand of fantasy, coupled with the message of a little girl’s unconditional love and a noble spider’s resourcefulness, make it not only a treasured must of childhood, but A Number One inspiration. Children love it and for adults who last read it as children, it’s a treat to pick up again.”
Peruse all 100 of Scholastic's picks at scholastic.com/100books.
2012 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest | Photos
Reuben "Rube" Goldberg was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and author best known for his humorous take on engineering through drawings of contraptions that make everyday tasks extraordinarily complicated, much like the board game Mousetrap. By adding additional steps to simple tasks via intricate sets of wheels, gears, handles, cups and other objects, Goldberg became a household humorist name (not to mention an adjective meaning "complicated" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary).
Adoption weekend at Petco | Photos
I dare you not to pet one of these pooches' soft-looking heads with your cursor arrow. As part of National Adoption Weekend, the Petco at 2000 N Clybourn held an adoptable dog meet-and-greet to encourage dog rescue (and discourage puppy mills) while hopefully finding permanent homes for a few charasmatic pooches in the process.
Presidents' Day at Chicago History Museum | Photos
In addition to free admission, yesterday the Chicago History Museum offered a glimpse into family life at the White House during its Kids in the White House! Presidents' Day event. Kids had the chance to mingle with Honest Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln as well as participate in crafts, face painting, storytelling and dramatic performances that explored the theme of "First Kids in the White House". The day concluded in a patriotic romp to the sounds of Navy band the Brass Ambassadors as well as a short performance by With Lincoln Productions.
After-Brunch Bash at FitzGerald's | Photos
Chicagoland families ordered up a side of bluegrass at the After-Brunch Bash Sunday at beloved Berwyn venue FitzGerald's. The fifth annual, all-ages affair offered the chance for tykes to to take in the sounds of acoustic acts Sunnyside Up and the Teflons, whose swinging sounds ended in a family barn dance. We're loving the "Ring Around the Rosie" spinning action captured by our photographer. Click through our photos for a peek at the scene and be sure to mark it on your calendars for next year.
CPS closings protest at Lakeview High School | Photos
Hundreds of parents, students, teachers and community organizers gathered at Lakeview High School yesterday to voice opposition to the proposed closings of CPS schools. A Chicago Tribune report says the protesters "staged a candlelight vigil and marched to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home on the North Side", adding that the they targeted his home to "make the point that Emanuel decided to close and replace staff at schools without visiting the schools first or talking to parents." Our photographer was there to capture the scene and says the protesters weren't allowed to gather at Emanuel's house so the march briefly stopped nearby on Hermitage Avenue and then concluded in the Ravenswood Elementary School parking lot.
Luminous Field closing night at Millennium Park | Photos
We recently told you about the new "Luminous Field" installation at "Cloud Gate" (aka "The Bean") at Millennium Park by local artists Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, better known as the collective Luftwerk. It was designed specifically for Millennium Park and features bright, geometric projections and music composed by Owen Clayton Condon of avant-garde classical ensemble Third Coast Percussion. Yesterday evening was the last chance to catch it, and our photographer did just that. Click through the photos above for a peek at the scene.
Party with Degrassi at Harris Theater | Photos
Though my teen years weren’t filled with gang violence that lead to cage fighting, teen pregnancy, drug addictions and my mom getting hitched to my boyfriend’s dad, for the kids at fictional Degrassi Community School, these things aren’t only possible, they’ve happened. Maybe they do high school a little differently in Canada?
Chicago Children's Theatre announces second run of The Houdini Box
Alex Weisman, Victor in Chicago Children’s Theatre’s production of The Houdini Box
Currently in the midst of its first run at the Mercury Theater, the Chicago Children's Theatre announced today that its show The Houdini Box will magically reappear for a second run March 14–25 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. The world-premier musical adaptation of author-illustrator Brian Selznick's (Hugo fame) book of the same name has been met with positive reviews, including this one from our very own Web Behrens who calls the show a "fun-loving musical with whiz-bang visuals and whimsical puppetry".
The Skokie performances take place 10:15am Tuesday–Friday and 11am and 2pm Saturday–Sunday beginning March 14. Tickets are $15-$41. The show continues at the Mercury Theater through March 4. For tickets and information on both runs, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
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- After-Brunch Bash at FitzGerald's | Photos
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