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Show DAILY HERALD Monday, September S, 2004 13 BfOBMl A PAGE FOR KIDS, CLASSROOMS AND CREATIVITY VI ED SUBA JR. Akron Beacon Journal and book bags with Old blue jeans can be recycled into purses just a few stitches, patches and ribbons. A Recycle old clothing into nnrsps hnnk hnoti A Breakfast Serials Story The VaUev of No Return Kathy Antoniotti KNIGHT Written by John Tomerlin Illustrated by Michael Lacapa NEWSPAPERS By now, most of you are back in school after completing all the various tasks necessary to get you from one school year to the next. School supplies? Got 'em Book bag? Check. Haircut? A must. New clothes? Absolutely. But if your folks are like most, they won't be replacing anything unnecessarily, especially if the things you used last year are still in good shape. Figuring out what you've outgrown before the new school year starts can be a drag. It's the same drill each year: Put them on, model them for Mom, take them off and sort them into piles. Which ones do I keep? Which ones do I palm off on my little brother . or sister? And which ones should be relegated to the nasty "No one should wear this item ever again under any circumstances" pile? Just because you've outgrown something, it is out of style or has more holes in it than a golf course, doesn't necessarily mean it's useless. Recycling old clothes has many rewards. Remember, you'll need a Halloween costume soon. Aside from being environmentally responsible, you can save money and look like a genius in the bargain. One of my most successful gift ideas was a targe box filled with items I found in a resale shop, like fancy dresses, hats, shoes and costume jewelry. Others' aiscarded clothing gave my daughters years of dress-u- p parties, elaborately produced plays and fashion shows. It was one of the least expensive Christmas gifts they ever received, but one that kept us all entertained. Old denim blue jeans, especially, can have a long second life if you think creatively. I have seen them recycled into many useful items ranging from back packs to book covers. Holes in the seat? No worry. Just cover them with some colorful iron-o- n appliques, A search on the Internet resulted in lots of uses for recycled jeans, many of which were too difficult for children to accomplish on their own. One example is a neat notebook cover I found at Better Editor's note: Today begins a new installment in the Breakfast Serials. "The Valley of No Return" is a story about the lessons two young people learn as they struggle to survive. The series runs for the next 18 weeks. The Discovery James Edward "Jamie" Merriman, age was returning from the creek with a bucket of water when suddenly, he was surrounded by Indians. There were half, a dozen of them, wearing government issued pants and shirts, their faces streaked with red paint. The leader a boy Jamie recognized as Lucco Putesuy rushed forward holding out his clasped hands; he opened them suddenly, k and out rushed a huge, shiny beetle. Jamie ducked away so quickly that his bucket tilted and spilled water on the ground. The boys hooted with delight and dashed back into a grove of cottonwoods, vanishing as suddenly as they had appeared. Jamie sighed and brushed the ing, but apparently harmless, bug aside. Then he headed back to the creek to get , more water. As he walked, the light rain that had been falling off and on for the past week began coming down again. This kind of teasing had been constant ever since Jamie and his father had arrived, three months ago, to take up residence with the Havasupai Indians in Arizona. Jamie knew the boys meant him no real harm, but they remained suspicious and unfriendly, and they missed no opportunity to make him feel like an outsider. Jamie missed his home with his grandparents in San Francisco, where he lived during the school year. He had lost his mother and younger sister in the terrible earthquake that had all but destroyed the city three years earlier, in 1906. Since that time he had spent summers traveling with .his father. Jamie had been excited when he'd learned that this year they would be going to Havasu, a major branch of the Grand Canyoa But the hardships of the trip and the crude conditions of life with the Hava-supor "Pai" as they called themselves had soon grown tiresome. The Pai had no reason to be friendly. Jamie's father, Captain Daniel Merriman, U.S. Army, had been sent to the region to search for minerals. If he found anything of value gold, silver, or copper the . federal government would take this canyon away from the tribe. It was the last remaining bit of their territory, one that once had stretched hundreds of miles across the surrounding plateaus. Jamie knew that everyone in the village hoped the mission would fail, and he couldn't help sharing their feeling. In spite of his sense of isolation, he loved the canyon, which was the most beautiful place he'd n water of ever been. The clear, the creek ran down through a series of four waterfalls until it reached the Colorado River almost 20 miles to the north. Theonly way into the canyon from the south, or land side, was on horseback or afoot down a dizzying switchback trail carved into the side of the great White RIDDER 13, orange-and-blac- foul-loo- ai . Homes and Gardens at www.bhg.com on the Web called Binder." Disney Online has directions that use blue jeans to make a realty cool book bag, but it a sewing machine. However, Disney's crafty lunch sack, which I found at www.farnilyfun.com, will help you learn to use a needle and thread. I have taken some of the best aspects of all these projects and combined and modified them for our use. Supplies you will need: I One pair of of blue jeans I Scissors Ruler I Marking pen I Thread, needle and thimble ft fVtrrl nr rihhnn I Safety pin I Iron-oappliques or n and iron Fabric glue section of Measure a a pant leg at both seams, mark by drawing a straight line and cut the section through both layers of denim. Turn the section inside out. Fold the widest end over about an mch and sew it in even stitches to make a casing. Make a small cut in the inside casing to thread a cord or ribbon through. Attach a safety pin to one end of the cord to make it easier to move it through the casing. Cut a piece of fabric in the shape of a long oval from the leftover pant sections about larger than the leg's cir-- . cumf erence. This is the bottom of the bag. With right sides together, sew the two pieces with even stitches. Turn the sack right side out. Cut a back pocket (including the backing) from the blue jeans. Generously cover the back panel with fabric glue and place the pocket on the bag, near the bottom Decorate with folWiri instructions provided) orjjhja pa patches. 14-in- ot es Kathyi Antoniotti writes a craft column for the Beacon Journal If you have a craft idea or question, contact Kathy Antoniotti, Akron Beacon Journal P.O. Box 640, Akron OH 44309-064or via at 0; 5; kantoniottithebeaconjoum ai.com. . blue-gree- r Cliff.: Supai Village, the only settlement in the y-ht-r- valley, was located near the first of the i . falls. It was made up of a collection of huts made of thatched wiDows hawas Surrounding the hawas were groves of peach trees and gardens, where corn and $ other vegetables grew. There was also a ; , n horses and some corral with mules. pack Somewhat apart from the village stood a large U.S, Army tent As Jamie walked toand another his man father saw he ward it, standing outside looking south at the trail into the village. Three men on horseback were approaching. They were leading a string of mules, the supply train that had been expected for several days.? Captain Merriman was a tall man. He , wore a khaki shirt and shorts, brown hat. His leather boots, and a two-doze- . wide-brimm- Dook Review; 'Weird School' series face was darkly tanned and bore a handlebar moustache of which he was very proud. He waxed it every single day. Jamie recognized the other man as Wilman Manakita, the headman of the village. He was wrapped in a Navajo woven blanket, coarse cotton pants, and boots that had been a gift from the captain. He smiled when he saw Jamie, and raised his hand in -. greeting. "Your people come." he said, pointing down the trail. "You will leave us soon, I ' think." . had been surprised, at first, to . Jamie learn that Mr. Manakita spoke English so wel Few white people ever learned the Yu-- . man dialect spoken by the HavasupaL Jamie had picked up a few words during the summer i not enough to speak the language, but enough to understand some of. what was said to him. ' He looked at his father. "Are we really going?" he asked. The captain nodded. "In a day or two, after the men and horses are rested. Those last ore samples look very promising,", he added with a satisfied smile. There's silver in this valley, Jamie. Enough to interest a mining company, that's for certain." Jamie glanced at Manakita, and saw pain and anger in the man's face. The Pai chieftain understood full well what the Captain's discovery could mean to his village and its people. THE WASHINGTON POST "Miss Daisy Is Crazy!" and "Mr. Klutz is Nuts!" by . C, These two new books are the first in a series called "My Weird School." Author Dan Gutman also is known for a bunch of baseball books, including "Jackie and Me" and "Honus and Me." In "Miss Daisy is Crazy . second-grade- r A J. hates schooL Boy, is he surprised to discover that his teacher hates it, too. In fact, not only does she hate school, she also is not ,u , very good at things a teacher . (To be continued..,) ' Text copyright 2002 John Tomerlin, illustrations copyright 2002 Michael Lacapa Reprinted by permission of ; . Breafeas Serials, Inc., www.breakfastserials.com : ; banGutman Ages 8 and up should know. She cant add or ' subtract nr mm rearl arut write.' . "Mr. Klutz is Nuts opens with the principal riding his skateboard (too fast) to school one day and challenging the kids to come up with a list of 100,000 spelling words by Thanksgiving. If they do, he promises to wear a turkey cos tume and nde a pogo stick down Main Street, Clearly, the title doesnt overstate the situation here, v These books are simple ' enough for newer readers and suty enough for older readers. They also are fun enough to make you think going back to school wont be so bad .' .. |