"There's nothing here. It looks like there was something. But now it's gone. This place is dead. And we need to bring it back to life."
      - Mike, 11, Town Council, Red District

Well, we didn't get any student reviews of Kid Nation yet. I suppose the contest deadline was a little ridiculous. Sorry about that. Just trying to stay topical here. At any rate...

I really really really enjoyed the first episode of Kid Nation. Aside from the fact that I have some of the same qualms about it that others do--it's kinda messed up to drop 40 kids in the middle of nowhere and say, "OK, survive."--it's a super-duper reality show. To read some disturbing controversy about Kid Nation, click here.

It's going to be interesting to see everyone work together to make the town work. There were already problems during the first couple of days. But they all seemed to be resolved. Even Greg, the vandal, the bully, the Blue District rebel, seemed to have a change of heart at the end of the show. I guess the golden star worth $20 grand might have had something to do with his sudden urge to help out. But that's ok. Money is a great motivator. Greed, however, is not.

"I'm a beauty queen. I don't do dishes."
    - Taylor, 10, Town Council, Yellow District

Oh man, Taylor. There are no beauty queens here! Get over yourself! I'm just kidding... mostly. I'm glad she didn't decide to leave at the end of the show. The town council would have fallen apart if she did. Not because she's a great leader or anything... but leaders need to stay in place or else your nation falls apart. No matter how terrible a job you're doing. Ahem. I think Taylor's going to end up turning it around herself. I really think she's going to step up before the end of the show and show what she's made of. Go Taylor!

I was sad to see Jimmy leave. At only 8 years old, he was the youngest kid on the show and also the only one to choose to leave the town at the end. Oh well.

Kudos to Sophia (Green District) for winning the gold star!

Best quote of the night was when the town council chose to keep seven new outhouses over a television set:

"We got the Port-O-Potties! Yah!"
     - Jared, 11, Red District

Question: If they had chosen to take the TV, what kind of reception would they have had? I have a feeling nothing. They'd probably be watching 24 hours of snow and fuzz a day... not to mention pooping in the road.

OK, that's my silly review. It's not very good but the show was!

Here is WORD's gold star to you -- the deadline is null and void. Send your review of any Kid Nation episode this season to word@weeklyreader.com and we'll post the best up here on our humble bloggy. The first one we post still gets the tee shirt. It's not worth $20,000 but it has a cute doggy on it.

OK, now here's Jared doing some Shakespeare...

Yah!

Did you watch Kid Nation last night? Did you like it? What did you think?

OK, here's the deal, write up a review of the show and send it to word@weeklyreader.com. We will post the best one here, on WORD, tomorrow. And here's the best part -- the winner will receive a free tee shirt!

But you have to write it quick because the contest deadline is midnight tonight!

Oh, and if we don't get any reviews, you'll have to suffer through mine tomorrow. Better get writing!

Word.

Ahoy and avast there, matey, you scourge of the seven seas. Today be the day all us landlubbers be celebrating! It's ...

National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Shiver my timbers, what an awesome day!

I mean ... um ... what's the pirate version of 'awesome'? Arrrrrr.

This day started as a joke by two mateys, but now it's recognized all over the country.

So grab yar eye patch, your peg leg, and your doubloons and celebrate! What be yar plans? How about reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson? Or read our interview with Geoffrey Rush from Pirates of the Caribbean.

So what be yar favorite pirate tale? Surrender it to me, and mark it with an 'X.'

You don't want to walk to plank now, do you?

Once upon a time, I was a young girl who loved to read about spunky and quirky girl characters.
This before the Internet was invented and cell phones took over life as we know it, but WAY after the wheel was invented, around the time VCRs and Michael Jackson were hot. I had computers in my elementary school, OK!

Anyway, as a kid, I adored Anastasia Krupnik, the spunky and quirky protagonist who continues to make readers laugh even to this day. So when I had the chance to find a well-known author for Weekly Reader's Weekly Writer feature, Lois Lowry sprang to mind. Authors for Weekly Writer create the first paragraphs of a story and each week, kids from around the country continue it by sending in their contributions.  

Last month, I found Lois Lowry's Web site and sent an e-mail asking her to help us out. She said yes! I just got over my thrill of even sending her an e-mail when that came back. And to make it more interesting, the e-mail came on my birthday, when I turned (number of Harry Potter books + Yankee Alex Rodriguez' number + house number of British prime minister + number that rhymes with fun).

I'll admit to having a major nostalgic moment. The kid I once was never dreamed that my future would have anything to do with obsessively reading all my favorite authors, such as Lois Lowry. As it turned out, reading had EVERYTHING to do with who I am and what I do. It's a really nice feeling, I have to say.

Oh, there's more. Lois Lowry blogged about being a Weekly Writer. (We may have even inspired a new book!) Check it out here. 

You can help Weekly Writer, too. Check it out here.

Dear Sir/Madame:

Thank you for your interest in our publishing company. While your manuscript was interesting, we are not currently in the market for that type of novel.

Best of luck on your literary journey.

Sincerely,
Publisher X

Harsh!

Have you ever wanted to submit an article idea/the great American novel to a publisher, but visions of a letter such as the one above haunt you in your dreams? Well, first of all, if you ever have a nightmare about sitting naked in English class, well, dreams of rejection letters wouldn't seem as scary. Anyway, while it might be discouraging to receive such a letter when you've poured your heart and soul into your masterpiece, know that even famous authors have been rejected at some point in their careers.

That's right. Kerouac, Orwell, and many other prominent authors were actually rejected. Why? I don't know. Maybe the authors needed to do some editing. Maybe the editor was having a bad day and rejected everything that came across his or her path. Maybe some poor intern spilled coffee on the manuscript, leaving it illegible. (I sure hope that intern got a stern talking-to!) Who knows.

Every aspiring writer should know this. Everyone gets rejected. So keep writing, and keep trying to get published. Live the dream. And maybe, someday, someone will be kicking himself for letting your masterpiece slip through his fingers.