In honor of his birthday, READ's interactive electronic Shakespeare issue is now open to everyone!

Check it out by clicking the Shakespeare head below.

But visit him soon because on Monday, this site is going back behind the subscriber-only curtain (if you or your teacher already subscribe to READ, you will continue to have access).

The Macbeth rap we posted yesterday is on our site as well as an interview with Shakespeare, an interactive timeline of his life, and much more!

Enjoy! And don't forget to check out all the other cool Shakespeare stuff we posted here yesterday!

Oh look at that! Poe took his friend Will out for his birthday. How nice!

That's right, everyone's favorite Bard turns 445 today! Hooray! Happy birthday, old friend! How should we celebrate?

Well, we can listen to READ's associate editor, Audra Pace, give a dramatic performance of a monologue from A Comedy Of Errors.

Well, we can talk like Shakespeare for a spell.

We can watch this very cool iambic pentameter scene from the movie, Renaissance Man. Bop bada bop bada bop bop bop bop! 

We can go crazy with Hamlet.

Or, we can watch this super awesome Macbeth rap! Enjoy!

 

To learn more about READ's electronic issues, email us at read @ weeklyreader . com (no spaces).

Here ye, hear ye! (...not sure if it's "Hear" or "Here" so I'm using both. 99% sure it's "Hear" now that I think about it. Oh well, too late to change it.)

Today is election day. Some guy named McCain and some other guy named Obama both want to be president. Everyone likes one or the other, but here at READ, we like Poe.

WE LIKE POE! WE LIKE POE!

That's right, we like Poe. And in honor of Poe, we are celebrating his 200th birthday on January 19, 2009 with a brand new Weekly Reader web site. Have ya heard that you can be a part of it?

Get your video camera and film a special birthday tribute to the man who wrote such classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Rambo, the entire last season of LOST, and much much more...

Wait... what?

Don't worry about it. All will be explained on January 19th. In the meantime, click here to visit our TeacherTube page where you can upload your video birthday wishes.

The winners will get their videos published on READ's Poe website as well as winning $100 million!

OK, well we'll give you $100 anyway.

HURRY! DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 21!

Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe!

P.S. The video lies. It says "Upload your videos here", but really it means

UPLOAD YOUR VIDEOS HERE.

This just in...

There's a fairly new website that is dedicated to rapping the news. It's called The Week In Rap and is conveniently located at www.theweekinrap.com. The site is put out by the guys at Flocabulary, who have rapped on Shakespeare for READ in the past, and, coming soon, will be rapping for us on Poe as well.

If you want to get your news in a fun, enlightening way, check out The Week In Rap.

Here is a taste. Word.

The Week in Rap 10-31-08 from Week in Rap on Vimeo.

Yesterday was Edgar Allan Poe's death anniversary. Was it a coincidence that we posted our birthday video contest details on the same day? Actually, yes it was. It was a total coincidence.

At any rate, we have finally found a place for you to upload your electronic birthday wishes. CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR YOUTUBE PAGE. There are contest details in the upper right corner of the page. Click on "more info" in our READ Magazine box.

Basically, if you're 18 or younger, and you have a video camera and some Poe sensibilities, create your heart out and dedicate your video to the master of macabre. He's turning 200 in January! And READ is creating an electronic experience in his honor. You could be a part of it!

Here is the video we created. You can also see it on our Youtube page (where we are accepting your video birthday tributes). 

Now it's your turn!

Create an electronic birthday card for Poe. You can make a video of one of his short stories or poems. You can get your whole class to throw a birthday party for him and send us the highlights. Or write an original script that features Poe as the main character. Send us the footage. Use your imagination! The opportunities are endless!

Upload your videos on our youtube page by clicking on "post a video response".

Any questions can be directed to word@weeklyreader.com. Just make sure to put "Poe Contest Question" in the subject. Or you can leave a comment below.

OK! Have fun! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Editor's note: The following is a blatant advertisement for a company outside of Weekly Reader. Due to punctuation cooincidences, I could not resist.

Just a couple hours after Deb posted her blog entry about National Punctuation Day earlier today, we received an email from Chrisel at MSR Communications. Chrisel wanted YOU to know about Spinvox, a "sophisticated mobile service that converts voice messages into text messages that may be delivered via email, SMS, and blogs. The SpinVox service even punctuates better than people! (Well, most people.)"

With the SpinVox Punctuation Playlist on iTunes, guys, gals, and grammarians alike can celebrate the beauty of English Grammar. So take a seat, sit back and listen to our favorite songs with punctuation on your mind, and you may hear mondegreens (the mishearing or misinterpretation of a lyric in a song) like:

1. Comma Chameleon
   (aka Karma Chameleon by Culture Club)
2. Semi-Colon Life
   (aka Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind)  
3. Hyphen Everywhere
   (aka I’ve Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash) 
4. Run-On with the Devil
   (aka Running with the Devil by Van Halen)
5. Apostrophe in Effect
   (aka Posse in Effect by Beastie Boys)
6. Enter Ampersand
   (aka Enter Sandman by Metallica)
7. Monster Dash
   (aka Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett)
8. Bracket Off
   (aka Break It Off by Rihanna)
9. London Colon
   (aka London Calling by The Clash)
10. Our Ellipsis are Sealed
    (aka Our Lips are Sealed by The Go-Gos)

Here is the actual playlist of the real songs parodied above. After you're done looking at this (and possibly downloading some great classic hits), check out Spinvox!

We Do!!!

Happy Punctuation Day Yes Today is a big holiday Bet you didnt even notice Hey if we can celebrate things like groundhogs hearts and fools then we can certainly take a day to honor the humble punctuation mark

Today September 24 is the 5th annual National Punctuation Day This great holiday was founded by Jeff Rubin a former newspaperman who now dons a red cape to reinvent himself as the superhero Punctuation Man to inspire schoolchildren to love the poor underappreciated little puncs

According to Rubins website httpcolonbackslashbackslashwwwdotnationalpunctuationdaydotcom National Punctuation Day is and I quote a celebration of the lowly comma correctly used quotes and other proper uses of periods semicolons and the ever mysterious ellipsis

Of course on the site that quote is cluttered up with these funny little doodads that look like this “ , , , . ” Whatever they mean

Myself Im a big fan of the dash I find it quite dashing

And hey how about that cute little comma Is it not adorable

And lets not forget parentheses those mirror image identical twins are very affectionate why just look at how they embrace an interjected explanatory or qualifying remark

Well I could go on and on about the philosophical virtues of the question mark and the joie de vivre of the exclamation point and dont get me started on the semicolon

Check it out for yourself Here Ill make it easier for you

In Issue 1, we advertised that we would post the complete interview with Esther Friesner on September 9... well, that was yesterday and we apologize that we got caught up with Tolstoy and just plumb forgot. In any event, here it is. Yay!

READ: In Nobody's Princess and its sequel, Nobody's Prize, you have taken the character Helen of Troy and written her both as a young girl and a maturing young woman. Out of all the characters in Greek mythology, why did you choose to explore Helen's back-story? What was your inspiration?
Esther Friesner: I've always been interested in the "untold stories" of fictional characters, especially those whose roles in their stories are one-dimensional. Just as some families label their children "The Cute One, The Good One, The Smart One, The Athletic One, some stories treat major characters in the same way.  That's a waste of a good character!
     In the myths, Helen was always The Beautiful One. She was seldom given the chance to act as a person. Things were done to her more than by her. When she’s barely out of childhood, Theseus abducts her because she’s that beautiful and her brothers rescue her. When it’s time for her to marry, her father decides how the arrangements will be made. When the goddess Aphrodite competes with Hera and Athena to win the golden apple inscribed "For the Fairest," Helen is the bribe she uses to sway the judge's choice. Helen is not treated like a human being with a personality or a will of her own, she's a Major Award.
     Helen deserved better than that. (Don't we all?) Isn't there more to the straight-A student than her grades? Does the rock star's life begin and end with music and fame? Is the successful businessperson nothing more than a fat bank account and a pile of expensive possessions? Why should being known for the ability to do one thing extremely well mean that there's nothing more to your life? It's not fair. It's also not healthy. What happens to the person who consents to being nothing more than The Athlete if the day comes when they can no longer play the game?
     I thought it was about time something was written in which Helen could do things for herself and to show that she was more than just The Beautiful One.  I believe it makes her much more interesting than her old role of Major Award, and I am very happy I had the opportunity to do it.

READ: What kind of research did you do in preparation for writing these novels?
Friesner: I've known the myths about Helen from childhood, but I double-checked the stories I remembered with books and online sources about Greek mythology. Did you know there were three different versions of the Quest for the Golden Fleece, including who was on the Argo? I also read lots of sources about Minoan-Mykenaean civilization. Helen of Troy is a myth, but even so, she belongs to this particular historical era. I wanted to put her in the proper setting. Well-illustrated books were a great help. It's always easier to describe something if you've seen it. For some things-like how she'd learn to ride a horse in a time when there were no stirrups-I asked friends with the first-hand experience and expertise I needed. I learned a lot!

READ: In your novels, Helen is always claiming to be someone else (oftentimes a boy) in order to train and go on adventures. Was it frustrating to have to keep writing her as a pretender?
Friesner: I'd sooner call Helen a problem-solver than a pretender. She aspired to do something more with her life than the narrow role her society allowed. The rules and barriers keeping her from her goals had no greater justification than "This is the way it is because this is the way it's always been." She didn't have the power to change the rules of that society, so she used her intelligence, resources and spirit to find a way to work around the barriers set in her way.
     I didn't find it frustrating at all to write about Helen's chosen path. It was as much of a challenge for me as for her, and I love challenges.      

READ: Oftentimes in your novels, you reveal ancient myths as mere exaggerations. For example, in Nobody's Prize, the character Herakles says that the Hydra was not a nine-headed monster serpent but rather just a "cluster of swamp snakes". What was your intention in questioning these classic myths?
Friesner: When you ask the right questions, you've got an excellent chance to make some wonderful discoveries. Many thought that the whole story of the Trojan War was nothing but myth, but 19th century amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann questioned the evidence and discovered that the walled city of Troy actually existed. People interested in the story of Atlantis have discovered that there well may be a true story behind that myth in the almost complete destruction of the ancient island civilization of Thera in the Mediterranean.

On the other side of the coin, if you realize that magnificent tales can be created from simple beginnings, perhaps some day you can create your own stories of great wonders. I'll be eager to read them. 
 
READ: How much of Helen's personality is your personality? What specific traits do you think she has that are yours?
Friesner: Like Helen, I don't like being told that I can't do something "just because."  If there's a good reason, let me hear it. Give me credit for having the intelligence to understand that reason, to question it if necessary, and to accept it if it does seem sensible and justified. This is especially true of situations where I'm told I can't accomplish something just because I'm female, or because "we've always done it this way." History is full of too many instances where those words have been used to justify great abuses of human rights.
     I'm also a bit like Helen in that we're both ready to speak up when something's bothering us instead of suffering in silence. (Suffering in silence? Now that's frustrating!)
     Finally, like Helen, I really don't like having to do needlework. Cooking, yes; needlework, no.

READ: Nobody's Prize seems to be a little darker than Nobody's Princess was. There are battles and casualties and even a random tragic accident that completely takes the reader by surprise. Did you feel the shifting difference of the two books as you were writing the second? Did it surprise you?
Friesner: Some of the darker events were inevitable, given the myths that were my source material, so I could not be completely surprised by them. On the other hand, part of the successful writing process is having your characters become independent personalities, so some of the events in any book will evolve from what such people would do naturally. If the writer tries to force characters into certain actions rather than guide them, the result will seem artificial and the reader will feel cheated.  I don't think it really matters whether or not I felt the shifting difference you mention, but only whether that difference made Nobody's Prize a satisfying experience for the reader.

READ: The Nobody's Princess excerpt we have in READ is the scene where Helen first confronts Glaucus and her brothers and demands to be allowed to train. Would you care to comment on this scene?
Friesner: As a reader and a viewer I've encountered my share of stories where the heroine (or hero) wants to achieve a goal and it simply happens. There are no obstacles to overcome, no one there to stand between her and the goal, just a flick of the switch and presto!  She's a warrior / wizard / athlete / superstar.  It's easy for the writer, but unless you still get a big kick out of watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat, it's not going to be very interesting for the reader.
     How the pampered princess acquires the skills to become something more, how she faces and counters whatever stands in her way-now that's interesting! It would have been much easier for me to have Helen declare, "I want to learn how to fight!" have her brothers say, "Great! Sure! Why not?" and have her beat both of them and Glaucus the first time she picks up a sword, but honestly, where's the fun in that?
     The writing process was one of posing a series of problems for the character and then finding a way for her to solve them in realistic and believable fashion. It's like planning a journey: You know where you're starting from and you know where you hope to go, but you've got to think about how you're going to get there and what complications might arise along the way. Then you've got to think about how you might deal with each one and, in case your first solution doesn't work, you've also got to come up with a Plan B. You might not get where you're heading easily, but you'll definitely have some great stories to tell your friends about the trip once you come home again.

READ: Your Helen is the young Helen. Then there is the other Helen of Troy-the face that launched a thousand ships and began the Trojan War. After the War was over and she was returned to King Menelaus, her story ends. Or does it? Is there more to her story there? Do you think you might write it someday?
Friesner: There is definitely more to Helen's story after the Trojan War. In addition to her appearance in The Odyssey, and there are plenty of mentions of her in the myths. One fascinating version of Helen's myth claims that she never went to Troy with Paris. When they left Sparta, they had to land in Egypt for supplies. The Pharaoh discovered that Paris was running away with another king's wife, so he kept Helen in Egypt and sent the Trojan prince away. Helen's husband didn't find out that his wife was in Egypt until after the Trojan War was over.
     For me to write about Helen's post-Trojan War life as a Young Adult novel would require a more age-appropriate point of view character than Helen, since by that time she would be a grown woman rather than a young girl. I'd be sorry to give up Helen's voice, but I'd enjoy the challenge of continuing her story.

READ: Who are some of your favorite writers? What do you like about them?
Friesner: This is going to be tough one to answer.  I have lots of favorites spread across the field, including everything from novels to poetry to graphic novels and manga! But I'll do my best to come up with a few.
     I love humor, so I have to count Terry Pratchett as one of my favorite writers.  His work doesn't just make you laugh, it makes you think. Then it makes you laugh again.   
     I'm still a big fan of the children's fantasy novels of Edward Eager, such as Half Magic, Magic By The Lake and especially Knight's Castle.  He knew how to write about children who were real people leading ordinary lives, which made it all the more wonderful when extraordinary, magical things happened to them.
     I love the way F. Scott Fitzgerald was able to capture the spirit of the Roaring Twenties, making me feel as if I'm not just reading a story but experiencing a different place and time.
     Rumiko Takahashi is one of my favorite manga writers and artists. Her storytelling range is fantastic, covering everything from romantic comedy to bone-chilling horror. And even though this will take us out of the realm of books, I have to mention Hayao Miyazaki for his marvelous storytelling vision in anime like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.  I truly admire the way he's not afraid to make a story sweet and heart-warming because he has the talent to do so without making it syrupy.   

READ: How long have you been a writer? Do you have any words of wisdom you would like to share with our young readers and writers?
Friesner: When I was three years old, my mother wrote down the first stories I wanted to tell.  I don't know if that counts as the starting point for my becoming a writer or not. I do know that as soon as I learned how to write, I used that ability for writing stories. Sometimes I even tried to illustrate them!  
     I thought about trying to have my stories and books published from the time I was in seventh grade, but it was long time before I met with success. One of my biggest mistakes was how I reacted to receiving rejection letters. I always took it personally, and as a result I would stop writing for at least a month after every rejection. Now I know better. A rejection letter doesn't mean the editor hates me. It might not even mean the editor hates my story. It just means that my story is not what that particular editor is looking to buy at that time. (But let's be honest: Sometimes it does mean that the editor hates my story. That's when I tell myself how lucky I am to live in a world with lots of other editors.) 
     My first professional sale as a writer of fiction was in 1983, to Asimov's science fiction magazine, and my first fantasy novel was published in 1985. I've been busy ever since, and I have always enjoyed writing. Which brings me to the word of wisdom you request for young readers and writers:

Love writing for itself. 
Write about the things that interest you and that mean something to you.

If you want to become a professional, published writer, understand that writing is both an art and a craft. It's not enough to write a good story. You also have to learn the basics of spelling, grammar, and manuscript preparation. Editors have to read a lot of submissions and they've only got one set of eyes apiece. Make it easy on them. 
     And why do editors have to read so many submissions? Because there are so many aspiring writers out there. Do not fear the competition. Someone's going to get published. It won't be you if you don't try.   
     Know that you're not going to get it right the first time, but that part of the pleasure of writing is learning how to get it right at last. Read a lot so that when you find a story that works for you--something that stirs your emotions, opens your mind, or transports you deep into the world of the story--you can observe how the writer achieved that effect and maybe learn how to do it in your own writing.
     Remember what I said about rejection letters? I'm going to say it again: They are not about you; they're about the story. The same goes for any other negative comments you might get about your writing. Listen to them and think about them. Decide for yourself if they're right (they might be!) and if you can learn things from them that will improve your stories. But again, do not take them personally.
     Finally, there's one piece of advice that we've all heard so many times from so many different sources that it's tempting to ignore it as worn-out, silly, naïve, and unrealistic. That's too bad, because it's old and overused, but it's still true:

Don't give up.

Hey, it works for me!

The following blog entry was written by Sarah Solomon, an intern here at READ.

**Update: The first issue of Stand and Voice is here. And it looks fantastic! Chock full of stories, poems, essays, and artwork--all by teens--Stand and Voice is truly an accomplishment. Kudos to Baobao et al.

What does it take for a teen writer to be published? Teens seem notably left out. At least, this is the view of Baobao Zhang, who attends high school in Virginia. In order to mend this modern literary tragedy, she has started an online literary magazine – Stand and Voice. And it is just for teens. When asked how the magazine got started, Baobao, explained: "It got started around April this year when I was talking to a friend. I was getting rejected by — god knows what — every magazine in the country probably. We were talking, and we’re sure there are other teens who have this problem getting published, especially in adult magazines, because people don't want to take teens seriously. So we thought it would be cool to give people an outlet for their voice. Since then I’ve gotten published."

In terms of the technical preparations, "We had to find a web hosting company—we did it with Yahoo— and it's fantastic because you can edit it online and don't need software. We had to write everything about us. One of the challenges we had was to find a staff of volunteer editors, but we found them now." They also were lucky enough to be advertised by another magazine, Teen Ink.

Once the magazine was properly set up, it was time to start getting submissions. I asked Baobao why she thinks it's so important for teens to have their voices heard in today's society. Her response: "There's the adult world, and they don't take teens very seriously. And then there are the kids' magazines that don't take teens very seriously. We lack a voice. Modern media says we're irresponsible and lazy, but I don't think so. I think we have something to say."

Very well said.

On her hopes for the magazine: "I hope teen writers will have the chance to get published and put themselves out there. One of my goals is to spread this magazine to educators across the country. Kids that don't like to read can find something they're interested in."

Baobao and the rest of the editors have a whole process of deciding who to publish. Baobao says, "We have a review process. You send something in, when we're looking at it we're reading it anonymously and we edit it anonymously. We also have a rubric."

Writers can submit poetry, short fiction, personal essays, editorial essays, one-act plays, and even book movie or music reviews. Artists can submit drawings, paintings, prints, multimedia, photography, digital art, cartoons, and sculptures and ceramics.

All writing must be emailed to submission@standandvoice.org in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf), in a double-spaced standard font (such as Times New Roman). Since the writing is judged anonymously, put your name, date of birth, grade level, state, and name of school in the body of the email, but do not put information in the file. You'll also find a complete list of instructions at the site.

The first issue is going to come out in August. Deadline for the issue is July 27.

If you are a teen writer and want to be heard, submit your writing to Stand and Voice. If you are a reader, get ready to read some original writing from teens across the country.

READ thinks that Baobao is poised for success. After all, her poem "In Search of Sleeping Beauty" will appear in the first issue of READ this fall. We hope that Stand and Voice is a raging success, and wish Baobao and the rest of the team good luck!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Boys and girls!

Children of all ages!

READ Magazine is proud to present...

THE ONE...

THE ONLY...

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE!!!

(See this is where you applaud madly and scream with glee.)

Click here for Willie's goodness.

As I mentioned previously, I attended the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. this past Saturday. Authors were everywhere and it was all I could do to keep a professional air about me.

First up was Patricia MacLachlan. Ms. MacLachlan is the author of the 1986 Newbery Medal winning novel, Sarah Plain and Tall. Have you read it? Because I am very sorry to say that I have not. Could you please tell me how great it is without ruining the plot for me? Email your thoughts on the book to word@weeklyreader.com. Or just leave a comment below.

Anywho, Ms. MacLachlan stepped up to the microphone and started to tell us about the time she received a letter from an 8 year old boy. It read:

Dear Ms. MacLachlan,
   Thank you for writing Sarah, Plain and Tall. It is the second best book ever!"

"Sadly, I never found out what the first best book ever was." She told her laughing audience.

"As a child," she went on, "I would invent imaginary friends and characters for myself. ... I see there are a lot of children here today and I just want to tell you that you are living the lives right now that you will write about later on in life."

Ms. MacLachlan seemed very relaxed throughout her talk. She told us about how she sometimes finds it really really hard to write. In fact, sometimes she hates writing! "I don't always know how to write plot," she said. "What is plot? Seriously. What is it? Plot is hard!"

Admitting you don't know where a story comes from is the first step to recovery, I suppose. The second step, in this author's mind, is keeping her ears open.

"One evening, I was eating dinner with my family and my daughter wouldn't touch her food. I asked her why and she said, 'Because the broccoli is moving on my plate.'" Awww. How cute is that? Good enough to write a short story about. Yeehaw! Inspiration, thy name is child.

"Life is mysterious. You never know what's going to happen." Ms. MacLachlan wrote her latest book, Edward's Eyes, for her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. In it, she included a great many characters from her mother's life (friends, loved ones, etc.) in order to help her remember. What a story, huh? I want to read it just for that truth.

When the Q&A portion came around, Ms. MacLachlan was asked by one of her youngest fans, "How do you stay focused as a writer?" She replied, "Well, it takes me a long time just thinking about a book. Sometimes I think about a book for a year or more before I even begin writing it. Oh, and I play a lot of computer solitaire."

Still more to come from the 2007 National Book Festival.

Stay tuned...

Before you get started reading this entry, you should click here to read a general overview of the YPulse Tween Mashup.

Both Deavon and Seth commented on Tuesday's blog entry. Neither of them quite understood what the word "tween" means. Sorry guys, my fault for not being clear. A tween is basically a young person that falls between the age of 10 and 13. It can be quite a confusing time in life. Tweens aren't kids anymore but they aren't quite teenagers either. They want to be soooo bad though. And in an effort to grow up too fast, tweens sometimes start acting older than their age even though they might not really know the mistakes they are making as they make them. It's OK to make mistakes. Everyone does. That's how you learn. Just don't run the race so fast! You'll miss all the good stuff.

GOOD STUFF GOOD STUFF GOOD STUFF!

Heh. Nice transition. As if.

I learned about quite a few things at the YPulse Tween Mashup last Friday. First and foremost was that I never really knew the extent to how drastically times have changed. When I was a tween... well first of all, the word "tween" didn't exist when I was a tween but whatever. As I was saying, when I was a tween, my friends and I certainly had our distractions, our games, our fun. But we never could have fathomed all the myspaces and youtubes and AIMs of the future. When I was a tween, I had this clunky Garfield phone in my room. Looking at the picture now makes me both nostalgic and, admittedly, a little angry actually. You see, the handset there in Garfield's back? Well, when you pick it up and put it to your ear, there's this big button that sits there next to your mouth. All you have to do is breathe on it just a little too forcefully and Garfield hangs up on you. End of conversation. Sorry friend. Call back later when the Internet comes to town.

Well we all know that the internet (or internerd as I like to call it) is here to stay now. Everyone is so wired these days! It's almost impossible to remember a time when "www" simply meant... well it didn't mean anything. I'm losing track here. Why don't I just chill out and tell you about Kiki.

Nope, not even trying for transitions anymore.

I learned about Kiki magazine at (where else?) the YPulse Tween Mashup. Kiki is the magazine "for girls with style and substance". If you're a tween or early teen girl, you want this magazine. It's full of wise fashion sensibility, tips for better health, book reviews, and even nifty projects you can take on yourself!

You know, there's a lot of magazines and websites and clothing stores and music and media and T.V. and celebrities and all sorts of nonsense telling you who you should be. The masses and the advertisers shout, "Britney is cool! Be like Britney!" And lots of people do exactly what they are told. But Kiki is one of the few entities that doesn't tell you who you should be. Kiki asks you who you want to be. And then they try to tailor their pages to suit your needs. I had a chance to meet Jaime, Kiki's founder and editor at the Mashup. She's a very nice woman with two tween daughters herself. She started the magazine with their, and your, best interests in mind. To learn more about Kiki, or ask Jaime a question, click here.

And while we're on the subject of being a girl, something I'm sure I know nothing about, you can also check out Beinggirl.com. It's a website "for girls, by girls" that answers all your questions about, well, anything girl related, and that includes slumber parties! Click the image to the left to read more. (How do they get it to blink? Wild.)

In Beinggirl's own words, "Girls have fun. Girls have opinions. Girls have a lot of questions about stuff like PMS, dating, their bodies and even serious subjects like addiction and abuse – just about anything you can think of that has to do with being a girl."

Don't look at me. I'm just here to give you literary news. But definitely check out Beinggirl.com if you seek answers.

Let's see, what else is in the news?

Just stop it. Your transition ship has sailed long ago...

Well that's just fine and dandy cuz I think it's getting a little too tired in here to write anymore now anyway. But we'll be back soon, from the front lines of the YPulse Tween Mashup... or not... At any rate, I have a funny feeling that WORD's gonna be in DC again tomorrow though.

Stay tuned...

I think that Sarah Moffet said it best in a comment here:

This weekend I visited the Twilight Zone. It was supposed to be the National Book Festival, but I must have made a wrong turn off Constitution Avenue. Instead of stumbling onto a somber, sparsely attended book fair, I found the Mall overtaken by the masses, who were beaten back from overrunning authors by platoons of Junior League members. Even more terrifying were the forty-people-deep lines for the vegetarian vendors (and believe me, half the people in those lines were not vegetarians), rivaled only by the wait to purchase books in the sales tents. People, everywhere, were carrying armfuls, bags, and strollers of books.

America reads. Who knew?

Yes folks, Sarah is talking about the National Book Festival. It's that one, special time of year when writers travel from all corners of the world and all walks of life to converge under large, outdoor tents with the sole purpose of speaking to their captivated audiences about the power of the written word. Well, and to promote their latest works, too. Let's be honest. :)

The 7th annual National Book Festival took place in Washington, DC this past Saturday. It was brought to you by first lady of these United States, Laura Bush, the Library of Congress, and Dr. Billington, the Librarian of Congress. Don't tell me you've never heard of the Library of Congress? Well, they're only just the BIGGEST library in the country! Here to preserve information and help promote literacy throughout our great nation, the Library of Congress is akin to... well... the mother ship of all Dewey's Decimals. But don't just take my word for it, here's what they have to say about themselves on their website:

"The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations."

Boo yah! Word. And so forth... At any rate, they're a really big deal.

This was WORD's second year in attendance and let me tell you, we were thrilled. To be able to sit on the outskirts of a book and listen to the person responsible for it is something no silly blog entry can relate to you. Who's your favorite author? Have you ever seen him/her in person? No? Oh, you simply must! Keep your eyes open for when they're coming to your town. Most authors have websites these days. You can track them down like the hungry bibliophile that you are. Just... be careful of psychotic tendencies. Please.

At any rate, WORD was there. It was a gorgeous late September day and the authors were in bloom. Mystery writers, biographers, fantasy word smiths, illustrators, poets, historians, young adult novelists, and plot maestros of all genres got up on stage, one by one, and spread their good words out to us--to all of us eager readers, who would love for nothing more than a good book to curl up with (and maybe a wasted cliche to spot every once in awhile just to say, "Hey! I got my eye on you... writer!").

You see, writers in general are an unpredictable brood. You never know when a writer is going to say something profound... or flake out. Public speaking is not always a writer's forte. But in this case, you're not going to show up to the National Book Festival and give a half-hearted shpeel like, "Well, duh, I dunno why I write books. I guess it's because I like... you know... like to uhhh, write... or something."

Oh no no no. These heavy hitters are the real deal. And later this week, you will see for yourself what I mean.

Stay tuned...

In the meantime though, you can check out last year's coverage of the 2006 National Book Festival by clicking here and/or here.

OR!!! ...

You can check out the National Book Festival Young Readers' Online Toolkit! Yah! Totally! Do that! Do that right now by clicking here!  

This past Friday I was in New York. The city. Ask me if the brights are light. Go on? ... Well they are.

The YPulse Tween Mashup was held at the Jacob Javits Center. If you've never been there, it's this big, long building that houses, among many other things, the Book Expo America.

YPulse is this whole other web site out there in www land. It's also a finger on a pulse (the name is not accidental). It is dedicated to understanding what makes tweens tick. Cuz as it turns out... you're quite an interesting bunch. :)

Hosted by Anastasia Goodstein (YPulse's puppet-master and author of Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online), the event was a mix of old school practices and the wave of the future. There's a whole lot of both out there. You probably don't remember this, but there was a time long ago when there were no computers. There were no cell phones or emails. No iPods or earmuffs. Nah, I'm just kidding. The world has always had earmuffs.

Here's a question for you: Which do you prefer?
a) texting your friends
b) emailing your friends
c) talking on your cell
d) writing a letter in longhand scripture using a quill and ink before having to walk all around the house searching everywhere for an envelope and a stamp and then having to, after all that work, walk to the mail box or the post office and mail the thing

No! It's a serious question! Leave a comment below. Tell us a, b, c, or d... and tell us why.

But that's what the Mashup was all about. It was a bunch of old folks sitting around in a room, scratching their heads and saying, "Um. Does anyone understand tweens? ... Hello? ... lil' help?"

So have you ever heard the word "tween" before? Maybe sometime 'tween lunch and dinner? Well, it's nothing to be afraid of. It's not a label or a brand name. It's just a way of classifying. Like Gen X or horseshoe burns on a bull's... no, I kid. Here's what the Urban Dictionary has to say about it:

Tween: A word that is used by marketers to describe youths between the ages of 10-13. Although some believe that tweens are actually between the ages of 10-15. Despite the fact that tweens have always existed, marketers continue to lay claim to discovering them. ... No one discovered the tweens.

Ha! Right on. Embrace your 'tween-dom while you have it, friends.

So as a tween, what are your favorite web sites? Keep in mind, this is not a ploy. If you say, "WORD", you will not get a free tee shirt (although we will be flattered). Just curious is all. Tell you what though, if you write up just a few paragraphs about your favorite web site, we just might post your writing here. Put "favorite web site" in the subject line of an email and send it to word@weeklyreader.com. Make sure and tell us why you love it!

YPulse: It's a neat thing. In this day and age, we're all wired. The old and the young alike. We might as well have some dialogue about this cyberspace place... right?

What's up?

Later this week: More from the YPulse Tween Mashup...

I just discovered this wicked cool site called imbee. What does the word imbee mean exactly? Well, that I cannot say. I cannot say because I do not know. Perhaps it is the declaration of a very self-conscious yellow jacket? Perhaps it is an acronym for "Ivan Makes Better Eggs, Emily." Whatever it means, imbee looks like fun.

imbee.com is a web site that is part social networking, part education, part blogging. Mix all the parts together and you've got a great place to go for students aged 8-14.

If you are a student that falls within this range, you can check out the free tour at imbee.com. The tour is given by imbian, a very friendly, cartoony, stick-figury kinda guy. Then, after being thoroughly impressed and intrigued, you can sign up to be a member of the site! Just know ahead of time that you will need a parent, guardian, or teacher to verify your registration. imbee is a secure web site that has your best interests at heart.

Once you are signed up, you'll be able to connect with other kids in classrooms across the country. Trade cards with them, discover new bands with them, learn about what they are learning, you name it!

And teachers, if you sign up your class, you'll be able to post writing assignments on your own imbee blog and your students will be able to have their own blogs as well! Read all about the many opportunities by clicking on the apple.

OK, advertisement over. Enjoy!

The following post was written by Alicia Zadrozny, Associate Editor of READ and Writing Magazines.

It was Friday night and I was in the mood for a party. I had spent the day perusing Book Expo America, picking up book galleys and meeting authors. (I'm hoping heaven is a lot like BEA, lots and lots of free books, but sans the bathroom lines.) Anyway, I headed downtown to Webster Hall not knowing exactly what to expect from the Rock Bottom Remainders, an improbable band formed with mostly famous and best-selling writers. Some of the better known members include Stephen King, humor columnist Dave Barry, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom and Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. Frank McCourt made a special guest appearance. Roger McGuinn, formerly with the 1960s rock band The Byrds, was billed as the concert's "real musician." The $25 admission price benefited children's literacy programs.

By all appearances, this was going to be a concert like any other. Lines of people waited outside the venue to get in, after the show had already started. There was a surly bouncer and even a snotty reporter who huffed and puffed when told she had to wait in line.

By the time I got inside, the band was in full swing playing their favorite rock music through the ages, such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Monkees. So now you're probably wondering if these writers sing and play instruments as well as they write. Well, I'll spell it out for you. Stephen King: Terrible. Scott Turow: Truly, truly terrible. Dave Barry: Tape his hands down and take away that guitar. Mitch Albom: If only you had spent your Tuesdays practicing that keyboard. Amy Tan: Gets my vote for the worst singer-ever.  I'd go through all the performers, but that gives you a pretty good idea.

Most likely, it's a certain sort of person who's going to love this kind of concert. It's the person who gets the joke behind the joke. It's not their corny cracks at each other. It's the fact that Stephen King gets people to pay money to hear him howl his way through Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London." The "king of horror" is also a master of irony. His real song was, "I'm so bad; I'm good."

Roger McGuinn saved the musical day to an extent with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" along with some other old hits by The Byrds. So what if his accompanists couldn't stay on key with him? I didn't really mind. It was just plain funny to see these writers have so much fun together. They looked like a bunch of goofballs, sure. But they are also very smart goofballs.

Editor's Note: We here at Weekly Reader love and admire the above artists for their day jobs. Any negative criticisms toward their musical ability is overshadowed by the brilliance that comes through in their true work: Teaching the blind to bowl. God bless you fine people.

The following blog entry was written by Sarah Chassé, a copy editor of READ, Writing, and a whole bunch of other Weekly Reader magazines.

 

Watching TV rots your brain, right? Not necessarily. I spent last night learning some great new vocabulary words from my television--and no, there isn't a new reality show called Playing Scrabble With the Stars. We're talking the finals of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which aired live on ABC.  The competition, held in Washington, D.C., featured 286 spellers from the United States and Canada. In the 13^th round, eighth grader Evan M. O’Dorney of Danville, Calif., spelled the word serrefine (seh-ruh-FEEN) to become the Super Bowl of spelling’s newest champ.

 

OK,  so maybe serrefine (an adjustable spring clamp used in cardiovascular surgery) isn't the most useful word—you can't exactly drop it into casual conversation. But it's still a cool word to know. Here are some other unusual words from the Scripps finals you can dazzle your friends and family with:

 

rascacio: (rah-SKAH-see-oh) a scorpion fish found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to Brazil

 

bouleuterion: (boo-leh-TEE-ree-on) a council chamber in ancient Greece

 

schuhplattler: (SHOO-plat-luhr) a traditional folk dance from Bavaria and Austria in which dancers rhythmically strike their thighs, their knees, and the soles of their feet

 

grognard: (groh-NAHR) an old soldier

 

aniseikonia: (ah-nigh-sigh-KOH-nee-uh) a defect of binocular vision in which the two retinal images of an object differ in size

 

My favorite word from the bee was definitely schuhplattler (just don't ask me to demonstrate it). Have a favorite word of your own that you'd like to share? Drop us a comment! (And make sure you spell your word correctly!)

The following movie review was written by Jessica Livingston, Associate Editor of Know Your World-Extra Magazine.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

"The world used to be a bigger place," says Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (in theaters today, May 25). "It's still the same," answers Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). "Now there's just less in it." More false words have never been spoken. AWE packs in more action, more humor, and more suspense than the first two Pirates movies combined.

 

When we last left Sparrow, he was at the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker and Barbossa was brought back from the dead to help. In AWE, the motley crew of pirates needs to save Sparrow. They must band together with pirates from across the globe to save piracy itself from extinction because the East India Trading Company is out to control the seas.

 

There's an ancient sea goddess bound in human form. And don't forget Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), who wants to save his father from Davy Jones. And will Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) earn back Will's trust after it seemed like she was in love with Sparrow?

 

Oh, and there's also a little matter of Sparrow seeing hallucinations of crabs made of stone, an elusive peanut, and multiple versions of himself (although I don't think anyone would complain about that, especially the women in the audience!).

 

Confused? OK, admittedly, AWE is a little hard to follow if you aren't paying attention. So pay attention! Aside from all the action-packed swashbuckling, thieving, and double (and triple, and quadruple) crossing, there is also an intricate plot unfolding so keep your eyes open for it!

 

Even though the running time is over 2 hours and 45 minutes, the action never stops, and you'll never look at your watch. (Unless you make the mistake of drinking a large soda while you're watching!)

 

From the morose opening where captured pirates, including a little boy, are being hanged, to a spaghetti Western-ish standoff, to the most un-romantic wedding of all times (followed by the most romantic kiss ever), to the sword fighting, to Keith Richards making a cameo as Sparrow's father, you're in for a summer blockbuster.

 

Dead men might tell no tales, but AWE is one tale you won't want to miss!

The following interview was conducted by Jessica Livingston, Associate Editor of Know Your World-Extra Magazine.

Ahoy there, matey! It's that time again--the pirates are back! Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End sails into theaters tonight! When we last left the crew, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was at the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker. But the real shocker was that Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is back among the living! Weekly Reader recently caught up with Rush and found out all the dirty details (and we do mean dirty! Haven't pirates ever heard of soap?) about the new film. We'll bet all our pieces of eight that you won't want to miss this!

 

WORD: How is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End different from the other Pirates movies?

Rush: The first movie was mostly about the curse on Barbossa and all of his pirate gang. In Pirates 2, the introduction of Davy Jones brings a much greater supernatural/mythological feel to the story. In the third film all of the numerous story lines that have been established really start to clash. Questions such as "Is Jack Sparrow able to survive the power of the Kraken?" or "How did Barbossa come back from the dead? Who helped him? Why?" and "Does Elizabeth feel guilty for betraying Jack?" ... Well, all of these crucial issues find surprising solutions.

  

WORD: I read that in this movie, it has been said that "piracy is at stake." What does this mean?

Rush: The pirates from all over the world--whether they are from England or the Caribbean or Africa or Asia--they are being stamped out and executed by the East India Trading Company, which is like a corporation that wants to control the seas for their own profits. This is more or less what happened in history. The great age of piracy only lasted from the mid-1600s until the early 1700s.

  

WORD: Everyone in the Pirates movies seems to be "bad guys"--pirates, thieves, traitors, etc. Yet pirates have a huge appeal. Pirate costumes were even the most popular costume this Halloween. What do you think the appeal is of being a pirate?

Rush: In their day, a lot of the pirates were probably adventurers and sailors who had a criminal past. They might also have come from impoverished backgrounds or situations where their chances for success in society were minimal. At sea they were free from the laws of any country. It was a tough and violent life, but perhaps being a pirate gave them a sense of freedom, and they could create their own memorable identity. I think this is why people admire them and dress up like them at Halloween or for parties. Books like Treasure Island and plays like Peter Pan made the pirate life seem very attractive and adventurous.

 

WORD: Did you feel a lot of pressure making this movie, knowing how popular the first two Pirates were and how much money they made?

Rush: We all knew the first movie told a very fresh and exciting story, but because it was such a huge runaway hit that meant the next two films had to be really good. And the writers and the producer and the director were determined to make them great. They liked the characters as much as the audience did and they wanted to create a memorable and worthwhile epic. Parts 1 and 2 are like one big movie with an intermission. Pirates 3 has bigger and better stuff in it. It really goes right off the edge of the map.

  

WORD: Did you do your own stunts in this movie?

Rush: I worked very hard on my sword fights. I had to prove to the audience, as the oldest pirate, why he was still the meanest leader around. Which meant he had to be deadly with a sword--and fight dirty and unfair--just to survive. All of the actors, of course, have stunt doubles because sometimes in the big wide shots with dozens of pirates fighting at full speed, it is too dangerous for the actors. When you watch the film on DVD, see if you can pick when and why the doubles might have been used.

 

WORD: Is this the most challenging movie you've ever been in? Why?

Rush: Some movies are challenging even if they are relatively small in budget and focused on few characters because there may be complicated emotional story lines that the actors have to make very truthful and honest and interesting. A film like Pirates also offers a challenge because of the size of the budget and the scale of the production. Sometimes I would be filming complicated sequences with lots of dialogue, on a badly rocking ship 30 miles out to sea, with a monkey on my shoulders and its trainer always yelling out instructions to it, or with cannons going off and debris and smoke going everywhere. So I suppose it has been the most challenging, but that has also made it the most fun and the most memorable. We have been together as a team for over 4 years now, so it's been a big part of our lives.

 

WORD: Growing up, were you a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland? Was it exciting when they redesigned the ride to have characters from the movies?

Rush: I only got to go to Disneyland with my two kids about eight years ago when I first went to America, but I knew about the ride because we used to watch the Mickey Mouse Club on TV when I was little. It is a great honor for me, and kind of crazy, to know that Barbossa is now in the ride as a fixture. I hope to take my grandchildren to see it, even though I don't have any yet.

WORD: Were you always a fan of pirate and adventure movies? What do you like about them?

Rush: I've always loved sword fighting movies. My favorite is Scaramouche, which isn't about pirates, but I recommend that you check it out. It is a very old movie, but it has one of the longest sword fights in the history of movies set in a theater, and the actors are really doing it--all of it. Adventure movies like Indiana Jones and Zorro are great, particularly when there is a blend of action and humor.

 

WORD: In a summer full of sequels, why see Pirates?

Rush: There are seven and a half hours now in the trilogy. It is a big work. It has many significant principal characters, as well as a gallery of very popular minor ones. Also the plot is full of many details about the period, the attitudes and the conditions, and hopefully it is unpredictable and full of surprises. The main characters are forced to make very important decisions about what they truly believe in. So as well as being fun, I hope people try and imagine what they would do in the same circumstances. I know just from reading chat rooms and fan web sites how involved and perceptive the audience is.

 

WORD: What was your favorite part about filming this movie? What was your least favorite part?

Rush: My favorite part was the sword fighting rehearsals and then being able to visit many different parts of the Caribbean, which is so far away from Melbourne, Australia, where I live. My least favorite part was when the monkey would get anxious or frightened and shriek. I was scared he was going to bite my nose.

 

To find show times for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, click here.

 

To learn about how your class can order Know Your World - Extra, ask your teacher to click here.

Have you always wanted to write a children's story and to see it published? Well, here's your chance. There's a nifty contest out there that you can enter. Sponsored by the bank ING Direct, the "Adventures in Savings" contest is open to aspiring writers ages 6 to adult.

The Task: Write a children's story for 4-7 year olds that teaches kids a lesson about responsible money management (earning, spending, saving, investing, etc.).
Categories: You can enter your story in one of three categories, depending on your age: 6-12 years old, 13-19 years old, and 20+ years old.
The Prize:    Three prize-winning stories will be published and illustrated, and the winners will each receive an ING Direct Savings account with $1000.
Deadline:    June 30, 2007

Find out more about the contest rules and requirements, and submit your story here.

ING Direct also has a pretty cool site that allows you to travel to places such as Moneyland, South Spending, the Republic of Savings, and Investor Islands -- and tackle topics that range from the value of money, to setting a budget, understanding credit, and building savings goals for the future. Now that's something I think all of us could use -- a little bit of help setting up a budget!

If you want some inspiration to get started with your story, here are some neat children's stories about money:

• The Ant and the Grasshopper, from Aesop's Fables
• Daddy John's Debt
• Noom and Raj Start a Business: The Abc's of Money

---

For Teachers: More on generosity and money in literature.

March is Women's History Month, a fine time to celebrate the historic achievements of women -- in politics, culture, and, of course, WORDS! In honor of this event, I thought it might be fun to write a series of posts all month long ... about women authors and artists or fascinating female characters in books I come across this month.

So far, I know that over the next two weeks, I'm going to tell you about the amazing author Jhumpa Lahiri, about a new website for gutsy girls who love to read, and about an artist who plays with words. I'm also going to keep my eyes open and see what else comes up because this is the way it goes with being an editor: Once you have a topic or theme on your mind, everywhere you turn, you see things and people that remind you of it.

Anyway, enough tangents!

Today, I want to tell you about a fabulous new book I recently read. Flora Segunda, by Ysabeau S. Wilce, is about an adventurous, spirited girl (named Flora) who lives in a country called Califa in a house (called Crackpot Hall) that has eleven thousand rooms and a red dog.

Flora is almost 14 years old and one of the few remaining members of the once-glorious Fyrdraaca family - her mother is the Commanding General of the Army of Califa and her father, a wounded warrior/soldier is there, but not quite there (if you know what I mean).

Crackpot Hall used to be an enchanted mansion where rooms appeared, disappeared, and shifted shapes. It was a living being with an elevator that had its own mind and could carry you to far, unknown corners of the house. Now, it is a ghost of a home, falling apart. Unlike the other great homes of Califa, it has a banished and vanishing magical butler named Valefor who wants Flora to help him get his powers (and rule) back.

On the eve of her 14th birthday, Flora is dismayed. She's about to be initiated into the world of soldiers: "When Fyrdraacas turn fourteen and celebrate ... off we go to Benica Barracks to learn to march, to learn to ride, to learn to shoot, to learn to die," she tells us.

Flora doesn't want this. "I want to be a ranger, a scout, a spy. Rangers don't follow orders; they slide around the rules, scoot around the edges of the law. They hide and they listen and they uncover things that are concealed. They discover the truth though it be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies," she says. And, so the drama begins:

Flora Fyrdraaca knows taking shortcuts in Crackpot Hall can be risky. After all, when a House has eleven thousand decaying rooms that shift about at random, there's no telling where a person might end up. But it's not just household confusion that vexes Flora, what with Mamma always away being Commanding General of the Army, Poppy drowning his sorrows in drink, and Crackpot Hall too broken down to magickally provide the clean towels and hot waffles that are a Fyrdraaca's birthright.

Yet Flora is nothing if not a Girl of Spirit. So when she takes a forbidden shortcut and stumbles upon her family's biggest secret--Valefor, the banished Butler--she and her best friend Udo plunge happily into the grand adventure of restoring Valefor to his rightful (or so he says) position. If only Flora knew that meddling with a magickal being can go terribly awry--and that soon she will have to find a way to restore herself before it is Too Late.

Flora Segunda is a fantasy novel written in an original voice and filled with quirky characters. I was immediately captivated by Flora's character and if you're like me, you'll identify with her intense desire to be true to herself and her willingness to take risks, even if it means having a bit of explaining to do to her Army General mother! The world of Califa is imaginary, but somehow it seems very real too and is one that I'd love to visit again (thankfully, there's a sequel on the way!).

I had the chance to have lunch with the author Ysabeau Wilce a few weeks ago and was fascinated to learn that she based the world of Califa on a real city in which she used to live and that she drew maps for every part of this world she created.

If you plan on reading the book or have read it, I wonder if you can guess what city that is? (Yes, this seems to be the week of blog posts about cities!).

If you guess right (click on comment below), I'll see what I can do about getting you an autographed copy of Flora Segunda.

 

The Call of the Wild

One year ago today, our little literary blog came into the world. With a flourish of trumpets and another flourish of manic typing, WORD came to be. Now WORD is officially 1. And he's more jazzed than ever to be here!

In its 2nd year on this planet, WORD will be bringing you more writing tips, more book news, and much more student writing! Click "submit your writing" on the right hand side of the page to send us your stuff! Poems, stories, essays... it's all good! Yah! You can also write us any time at word@weeklyreader.com.

And now in celebration of this glorious day, we give you a few of our contributors' thoughts on what WORD means to them.

DALLAS WOODBURN, WORD CONTRIBUTOR
In first grade, I started keeping a diary. I remember being disappointed that my conversations were always one-sided. No matter how many times I poured my heart out on those pages or asked questions about what I should do, the only response I could hope to find was within my own mind. Being involved with WORD, I feel like I finally get to write in a diary that responds back. I get to be a part of a community of writers just like me! If I am struggling with writer's block, I can blog about it and others will respond with support and advice. If I read a good book, I can talk to other people who have read it, too -- and find out what else they're reading. When I finished my novel and blogged about it, other WORD members responded with a barrage of exclamation-pointed congratulations and cheers. Who needs a diary when we've got WORD? Happy birthday, WORD, and here's to many, many more! :)

DEBBIE NEVINS -
Managing Editor, READ, WRITING, and KNOW YOUR WORLD - EXTRA
   In the beginning was the WORD. For me, WORD has been the beginning of a whole new literary adventure, since I wasn't really into blogs before we launched this one. I think this is the coolest thing ever, and I just want to say, Blog on!

SANDHYA NANKANI - Senior Editor, WRITING
Words have always been magical to me. WORD is magical to me as well because it connects me to the readers of our magazine every single day. It's one thing to put your thoughts down on paper for your eyes to see; it's another thing to put your thoughts down for the world to see. It takes guts to hit the <send> button and that's why there's nothing more exciting to me than checking the WORD inbox and seeing it filled up with words by you, our prolific and poetic student writers. You are brave and inspire me with your writings about your lives, your experiences, your fears, your dreams, and your epiphanies.

JEFF IVES - News Group, Editor
WORD is more than just another blog to me. WORD is the calm center of the internet storm. When everything in cyberspace roils with the madness of rumors … When online newspapers have boring and confusing headlines that I don’t care about … When all hope for an enjoyable, relaxing read have faded into the abyss of my monitor … That’s when I turn to WORD. And it never disappoints. While I have made my own small contributions to this wonderful blog, I think we all know that WORD is bigger than any one person. WORD is made by all of us and for all of us. And it shall never perish from this internet. Happy birthday WORD. You may only be a year old, but your place in my heart is endless.

BRYON CAHILL - Literary Editor, READ & WRITING
Dear WORD,
   Hey buddy. Sup chu? Happy birthday, brutha! Yeah, that's right. You're an old man now. Welcome to the club. Hey, let me ask you something. Where do you get your ideas? That's probably a question you despise, huh? When you get together with the other literary blogs, do you laugh about numbskulls like me who ask you silly questions? Well here's another: Who is John Galt? Ay, there's the rub. What rub? What are you talking about? It's the pig that's unusual. It says so, right there in the middle of the web. Are you sure? I have a good mind to believe that your truth is questionable! Prove it! No. I'm outta here. Goodnight, my little prince. Goodnight.
   Truth and fiction live in books. Nonsense in a Cheshire Cat's grin. Everything in-between lies here. We give you our WORD.

The following is a short story inspired from the first line of the poem Valentine for Ernest Mann by Naomi Shihab Nye.

You can't order a poem like you order a taco. I know from experience that this is true. It was April. Cold and hungry I made a run for the border. On the radio, the DJ was making a strange announcement.

"That was Little Chainsaws by Exposed Eyeball. You're listening to KEWL, kewl radio all the time. This just in: it's National Poetry Month! Have yourself a poem, why don't ya? Go on, have one!"

I turned him off. I wasn't very interested in his bizarre antics, though I was intrigued by the notion of a National Poetry month. As I pulled up to the large, obnoxious menu board outside of Taco Bell, I tried to focus my mind on the task at hand.

"Welcome to Taco Bell, can I take your order?"

"Yes, I'd like to hear Allen Ginsberg's Howl please." Apparently, my mind was otherwise focused. The voice at the other end was unimpressed and silent. "Hello?" I asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but we seem to be all out of Howl today."

A wiseguy, eh? Very well, I thought. I'd continue to play along. "How about a Shakespearean sonnet then?"

"No."

"Walt Whitman?"

"Sorry."

"Keats?"

"Not today sir."

"E.E. Cummings?"

"cert-Ainly !nOt!"

My stomach rumbled. I gave up the game. "All right, just gimme a Chalupa."

HELLO, PIPSQUEAK!!

I'M GONNA CRUSH YOU LIKE THE LITTLE, ROTTEN GRAPE THAT YOU ARE! I'M GONNA TAKE YOU BY THE ARM AND SPIN YOU AROUND THE RING UNTIL I GET DIZZY! AND THEN I'M GONNA LET GO AND WATCH AS YOU GO FLYING INTO THE STANDS! I'M GONNA HURT YOU SO BAD, YOUR DISTANT THIRD COUSIN IS GONNA FEEL IT AND SAY "OWEEE!!!" ... THAT'S WHAT'S COMIN' TO YA! THAT'S WHAT'S ON THE WAY! ... Right after I finish reading this delightful book by Jane Austen.

What?

Are you into wrestling? Do the letters W, W, and E, mean more to you than Wild West Earmuffs? Well if so, you'll be excited to hear that World Wrestling Entertainment is dishing out more than the usual beatings this summer. They're giving away free posters of your favorite wrestling superstars and all you have to do is read a book and write about it a little! It doesn't get much better than that!

To get your free poster, simply write a book review of any length (but put in a little more effort than Hulk Hogan does when opening jars of pickles) and fill out this form. Mail it off to the WWE and in no time at all, you'll have your very own, authentic wrestling posters in your mailbox!

Everything should be this easy.

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

So begins Song of Myself, arguably Walt Whitman's most famous poem. Whitman was an American poet who believed in nature, body, soul, and the entire universe contained within every single thing, within a blade of grass.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

Song of Myself, although quite a long poem in and of itself (what you see here in green is only the first section of the 52 part poem), is just one poem in Whitman's exceptional collection Leaves of Grass. In his lifetime, Whitman wrote nine different editions of Leaves of Grass. He was constantly working on it, improving it, becoming a part of it. In the preface of his very first edition, Whitman wrote, "Here are the roughs and beards and space and ruggedness and nonchalance that the soul loves." Even on his first effort, he knew that his poetry was to be a continuous work of art. He also knew the truth behind the beautiful words he had written, and how the reader's soul would soar.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.

Whitman's style had little to do with rhyming or form. He was a free flowing poet to the core. One who wrote with reckless abandon while at the same time a perfectionist, poring over his lines with such intricate detail, to find the perfect center. The spaces between his words are as charged as the words themselves.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.

I admit it. I'm not a poetry guy. I appreciate good poetry when I read it. I strive to feel poetry when I hear it. But in the end, I usually opt to read a novel. Not with Uncle Walt though. You don't read Whitman's work. You become a part of it. He reminds you about everything that exists and has existed and he brings the universe to its knees before you. Check him out. Dig in. Breathe along.

He's my boy.

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819. He lived a long and full life until March 26, 1892.

His words live on forever.

Have you ever wanted to take a writing course but didn't have the money or the time?  Believe me, I can relate -- sometimes it can be hard to find time in your busy schedule to write for fun, much less enroll in a writing class!  But I've found that just writing for a few minutes each day can really add up to pages and pages of writing -- and a writing class provides structure and ideas to help you stick to your writing goals. 

If money's an issue, there are plenty of writing classes out there that charge minimal amounts, or even nothing at all.  My personal favorite is the program created by amazing teen writer Elisabeth Wilhelm at www.learning.absynthemuse.com.  If you're between the ages of 13 and 22, you can go on the website and enroll in writing courses for *free*!  :) There are all sorts of topics available, from finding your own writing voice to promoting your work to the class I am teaching about writing short stories. 

If you're interested in my class, there are still spots available, but act quickly -- the registration deadline is this Saturday, February 25, as the class starts on February 26 and runs for six weeks.  The key code to register for my "Writing the Short Story" class is "lightening bug."  Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions!

Hot off the press: This personal essay contest on Merlyn's Pen starts accepting entries today: 

Guys in the Media Age

Start Date	February 15, 2006
End Date	April 15, 2006
Eligibility	Boys 12-19 years old in grades 6-12.

Well well well... I must say it's been quite a productive day. After bouncing around the web all day, I came to find out that, guess what?, I hit every single page there is! That's right, I came to the end of the Internet! I didn't think it existed either. But it does.

Don't believe me?

Click here... if you dare...

So, last fall we introduced you all to the Weekly Writer - a spoooooooky online story started just for the Weekly Reader by Stephen King and waiting to be finished up by you ... (You still can add to it. C'mon, do it today.)

Now, I'm excited to tell you about NOISY OUTLAWS, UNFRIENDLY BLOBS, And Some Other Things That Aren't As Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and one Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out. (Talk about a long title!!!)

NOISY OUTLAWS is a new collection of short stories for "wise young people and immature old people" brought to us by the editors of McSweeney's. It features stories written by all-star authors such as Nick Hornby, John Scieszka, Jonathan Safran Foer, and many others, plus really cool illustrations.

Some people like short stories, and others ... well, they don't. I'm usually more of a novel person, but I loved this book. Besides bringing us into the imaginary worlds of some really talented authors, it also does two very generous things. 1) All proceeds from purchases go to benefity 826nyc, a writing center in Brooklyn, NYC offering free classes to students between the ages of 8 and 18. 2) It offers readers the opportunity to take part in a nifty contest.

Here's the deal: Lemony Snicket started a story that appears on the inside of the dust jacket. It's up to you to add your own "thrilling, joyful, or disgusting ending." The jacket then folds up into a snazzy envelope, and you mail it back and wait ... McSweeney's editors' favorite ending will receive some fabulous prizes ("a complete set of A Series of Unfortunate Events signed by Lemony Snicket himself; 11 pounds of chocolate; a Venus flytrap; six hundred tiny glass bottles; and a large sack of dirt from Winnipeg") -- and be published in a future book and at their website.

I told you it was pretty cool!

The deadline to enter is April 1, 2006 and the winning entry will be announced on June 1, 2006.

Take a stroll to a bookstore near you and check out Noisy Outlaws. Maybe you have what it takes to give Lemony Snicket a hand.

 

This weekend, I attended The New Yorker Festival in New York City. There were many wonderful events and one could not possibly see them all. Especially since they were all over town at different venues and overlapping times. I can't speak about the authors/artists/musicians that I didn't see, but if they had anywhere near the entertainment value as the ones I did, then I can say with assurance that the Festival was a raging success.

My Events:
Friday night – Stephen King & Michael Chabon
Saturday night – Tracy Chapman
Sunday afternoon – Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of the Were Rabbit

As stated on The New Yorker Festival's Web site, the sixth annual festival planned to be "a celebratory weekend of public discourse on arts and ideas." How exciting! I really don't get enough culture in life. And this was the perfect example of one of those things that I should be doing more of. I've been excited for it ever since mid-August when a co-worker first presented it to me.

Friday night, my friend and I fought the horrible rush hour traffic to rush into Manhattan. In retrospect, we probably should have taken a train but hindsight (as they say) is 20/20. We arrived at the Directors Guild of America Theater about 15 minutes before the show. Now that it was finally here, I was beside myself with jubilance.

Me - Hey, how's it goin'?
Jubilance - Holy cow, man! I mean Wow! Check it out! Look where you are! Yah! Yah! Yah!
Me - Settle down, dude. Keep cool. Act professional.
Jubilance - Oh, you're no fun. I'm going to run around in circles for a little bit.
Me - Um, I'll see you in there.
Jubilance - Ohhhh yeahhhh dude! ... I'm dizzy.

Friday night was the pinnacle of the weekend. It was a little strange being that it was the first event--pinnacles usually come later in the story--but it worked out well. It was what it was. It was Stephen King and Michael Chabon.

I've been a big fan of Mr. King and Mr. Chabon for a long time. I was first introduced to Chabon in college. I was in an Independent Study class (which basically means you get to work on a project of some sort one on one with a professor). I was writing a book (or trying to anyway) and my professor gave me The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. It was Chabon’s first book, one he wrote while attending the University of California, and pursuing his own M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts). My professor told me that my writing style was somewhat similar to Chabon’s and that I could learn a lot from him. While I don’t imagine myself to be anywhere near Chabon's talent, he did teach me a thing or two.

Friday night was literature. Saturday night was music. I don't know how many of our readers know who Tracy Chapman is. Probably not many. If that is the case, I highly recommend you check her out. She is a prolific singer/musician/songwriter who's been on the scene since the early '80s. Often, her lyrics tell a story and she pours everything into the writing of them. I'm not exactly a huge fan, but seeing her perform Saturday night brought me closer.

Friday night was literature. Saturday night was music. Sunday afternoon was film. How does one begin to describe the wacky and loveable Wallace and Gromit? Well, for starters, they are made out of clay.

OK. So I may have been a little long winded in these entries but it is only because I enjoyed myself so much this weekend! Each event was entertaining in its own way and I relished every minute.

Jubilance - I'm exhausted.
Me - Me too.
Jubilance - But that was awesome.
Me - Yeah. Yeah it was.

Check out www.newyorker.com to learn more about the magazine that put together this wonderful celebration of the arts.

The King of Scary Stories, Stephen King, turns 58 today. I came into work
this morning to an email from The Writer's Almanac, in which I learned some cool facts about the incredible author whom we will be featuring in the October issues of WRITING and READ magazines. (Check back with us in October for more about that!)

Did you know?

1) King's father was a merchant seaman who left home when his son was just 2 years old. One day, King found a box full of his father's sci-fi and fantasy books. It was this box that inspired him to start writing horror stories.

2) King wrote his earliest stories in the furnace room of his trailer home. (Maybe that's the inspiration behind the original opening lines he contributed to The Weekly Writer. You can help him finish the story!)

...

 One of the things I like best about traveling is the chance it gives me to make surprising discoveries.