| OCR Text |
Show TheSalt Lake Tribune HOME & FAMILY Friday, July 11, 1997 writes about, The reproduction is all the more beautiful on slick paper with almost a waxy finish reminiscent of rice paper. (Atheneum, $16, ages 6 to 9.) The simple but evocative poetty in Grass Sandais may stir more interest in the 17-syllable, three- line haikus, and lead young poets REVIEWS.OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS BY NANCY HOBBS ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Folktales from exotic countries around the world entertain new generations in other parts of the globe with theirretelling. Some of the most intriguing comefrom the Far East, with histories manycenturies old and cultures rich in art and style. Prolific American artist Demi often illustrates children's pictures books inspired by foreign cultures. Two books published earlier this year are examples. OneGrain ofRice is inspired by anEastIndianfolktale that relays a worthwhile message about gen- erosity, but also teaches a little something about simple mathematics and theincredible product of doubling. Now before you turn up your nose on this one, just mull this thought one moment:If you start out with one of something and haveit doubled every day for 30 days, the result is more than billion, Andit is a clever younggirl, Rani, who uses that knowledge to save the people of her village from starving. After Rani does a good deed for the province's raja, or leader, he to double the amountofrice he gives her each dayfor the next 30 days. He readily agrees to the modest request. But by the 29th day, the raja watches in dismay as all of his camels are loaded with therice for that day alone. And on the 30th dayit takes all 256 ofthe raja’s elephants to carry the 500 million-plus grains of rice, Ranihad plenty ofrice to feed the peopleofthevillage for quite a while. With a table at the end of the book, Demi shows how thesingle grain of rice quickly grew to a monumentalfeast. Her brightcolored paintings, inspired by the traditional miniature paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries, help byfoot. Author Dawnine Spivak traces offers to reward her. She asks that he give her one grain of rice from his large storehouse, where he has stockpiled most the rice grown by villagers over many someofthe places Basho traveled years. When he offers something poems and Spivak’s story with more substantial than that, she expands on that wish, asking him USA TODAY TV executive's nightmare. But it’s The White Dot, has come up also includes a few of her tankas, which are similar to haikus but have two additionallines of seven syllables each. (Margaret K McElderry Books, $15, ages 10 to 14, and combines them with some of his haikus, possibly inspired by what he saw. Demi has complemented the colorful paintings and kanji, the Japanese characters for the ele- ments from nature that Basho ANN LANDERS high-level corporate job. His boss is a woman (about 35) whom he says he doesn’t find the least bit attractive. He has been in her de- 5 to 8), It is the story of a poor sheep. herder whois told by his father that he is destined to marry the Khan's daughter, The common man decides after many years of waiting that that won't behis future unless he makes it happen. So he sets off, determined to Greg told meit's at the point now where she comes up from behind and nuzzles his neck and holds his inner thigh when they work at the computer together. their fields on Earth would have to cope with the suns’ whims. Illustrations by Martin Stringett are bold and colorful. (Stoddart, $18.95, ages 5 to 8.) He finally stopped telling me what she does because it upsets me so. He is greatly intimidated by her and fears retaliation if he reports the abuse. In the meantime,I have to send my husband off to work every morning knowing heis being fondied by this woman. WhenI try to discuss it with him, he says not to push him — that he will try to transfer out of the department soon. Whatcan I do about this, Ann? I don't want to jeopardize his job. Greg and I have great relationship, and I trust him completely. We spend all our free time together and meet for lunch almost daily, Please advise me. — Slightly NC, Unhinged in Raleigh, Dear Raleigh:: Most companies havespecific procedures for dealing with sexual-harassment com- homeless and people who mayattempt to prey on unsupervised young children. Please remindall parents that public libraries are not day-care centers and children should not be left in any public building without supervision. — Doris in Washington, D.C. ents? plaints. Greg needsto keep a recIf you and your husband are having lunch together “almost daily,” you can be absolutely cer- tain this womanis no threat to you. I see no reason for you to be “unhinged.” Qo Dear Ann: The American Heart Association's seven-year study of thousands of married couples confirms that a person who has never smokedbutlives with a smoker hasa higher heartdisease rate. Nonsmoking women and generally lead a cautious, responsible life. ‘That's what researchers at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and Northwestern University have found in a study that followed 1,000 chil- dren and their parents over 25 years. Putting Fathers Back in the Picture: Parental ies a Children’s Adult Attainments it to measure the effect of Dad's daily activities on the future of his children, Previous studies mainly concentrated on show completely without White Dot last year. She had alwi thought broadcast TV was i wer pipe into the soul.” But @ Did youactually laugh at channelsurfing? any siteom you watched last night? @Do you know your chil- it wasn’t until a friend threw out his TV that she was inspired to take action, “He thought it was now tuned in four hours each night. “TV should belike a spigot, turned on andoff," Lotus said. “It shouldn't be a constantflood.”” Lotus named hernewsletter after thetiny white dot that wasleft certain generation. As a kid, I though the white dot was a 3-D USA TODAY Want to give up the TV habit but don't know howto start? Go cold turkey, The White Dot publisher Jean Lotus sug- gests. Here are sometips for taking Qa Dear Ann:Please let parents know they should not leave their children unattended at the public library. Sometimes, these kids are in the library for the entire day. They get bored, restless and oceasionally disruptive. If parents don't pick them upon time, the library staff must call the police or child protective services. Otherwise, the children wind up wait- ing alone outsidea closed library. Last year, two girls, 7 and 15, were abducted andlater raped after waiting outside a Marylandlibrary for their mothers to pick them up. Public libraries are also frequented by the mentally ill, the Mom's influence or on the family income. In the past, researchers “‘ignored fathers,” said Jean Yeung, lead author of the report. But “parents, especially fathers, have a large role to play in affecting children's educational and economic success,” Yes, “thatis obvious,” Yeung said. “But now you have data to support it.” Thestudy showed, for instance, that “precautionary behavior” — keeping up insurance payments. wearing seatbelts and socking away two months’ pay for a rainy them? Did you complete all the tasks you planned for the day? BDid you talk to your spouse and children for more than a half-hour yesterday? @ Did you prepareand eat a meal without the TV on? @Have you read a good bookin the past month? If you answered no to two or moreof these questions, tele. vision is disrupting your life Lotus You need to re examine the time you spend watching TV and decide whether or not what you're seeing is worth theloss of your time.” favorite album.” “Next, give your set to a relative for one week. It’s not enoughjustto turn it off, you need to get house.” tivities you're too busy to do. Like taking a trip to the li- brary, a big cleaning project, taking the kids fishing, taking a bubble bathorlistening to a it out toms. ‘But here’s where the list comes in. Get it out and force yourselfto dooneof the activities.” Soon, you'll be accomplishing so much that you'll never miss the tube. entrance to the magic world of TV. But now I think that world has becomescary, and I want to keepmy kids out ofit.” She mayseem like David fight- ing the Goliath TV audience, but it appears that her allies are growing in number. TV viewership is actually down, according to Nielsen Media Research. In November 1995, 57 percent of households with TVs were tuned in on an averagenight; in November 1996, 54 percent of viewers were tuned in. That amounts to a nearly 5 percent decrease. Lotusbelievesit's a case of information overload. “There are over 200 channels. Humans can't digest that muchstuff.” Does being outof the TV sitcom loop make it difficult to come up with cocktail-party chatter? Not at ail, Lotus said. It's easy to keep up with Kramer’s latest antics or Ellen DeGeneres’ sexuality because every other medium reports on TV shows and personalities. ‘‘Newspapers and newsmagazines write about what's happening on TV all the time. It's as if TV itself has become the news,” For Lotus and her husband, going TV-freewas a choice. But she is awareof thepitfalls of raising a TV-free child. She admits that TV was her “drug of choice” as “a nerdy junior-high student.” She hopesto avoid the samefate for her 2-year-old son, John. But already there have been problems. One young friend wouldn't come over to play whenhe realized he alternative activities and how to get a baby sitter whenthere's no TVin the house. Lotus realizes she can’t keep her kids from seeing TV at vival Guide for the TV-Free. What does Lotus do with her couldn't watch “Barney.” There's a British version of The White Dot as well, and Lotus and British editor David Burke are writing a book, to be called A Sur- friends’ homesorat school. “John saw some videos at one friend’s house. But he didn’t know the verb ‘to watch.’ He came home andsaid,‘I listened to Thomasthe Tank Engine.’ ” Although Lotus doesn’t proselytize, she realizes people are touchy aboutthe hold TV has over them. “Friends come up andsay, ‘I don't really watch all that much.’ Or, ‘I only watch PBS.’ ” In fact, far from being judg- mental, The White Dot, which has a circulation of about 1,000, maintains a sense of humor. The winter issue included severallittle yellow stick-on notes to paste on friends’ TVs with the message, ‘Stop staring at a piece of furniture.” The spring issue included a discussion on “to display or not to display” the TV in theliving room (Martha Stewartsays it’s perfectly fine to have the set in plain view). The White Dot also addresseslifestyle questions such as evenings if she’s not watching a movie of the week? She reads, spends time with her family or cleans house. “I'd like to say we spend our evenings reading Sartre. But we're not pushingthelife of the mind. We just want people to get a life.” In fact, Lotus believes TV's greatest crime against society is the way it isolates us. “TV takes you away from friends and family and sells family feeling back to youas yousit therealone. It’s so depressing. ... It says so much about us that one of the most pop- ular TV showsis called ‘Friends, but most people watchit alone. Afterall, Lotus said, “sittingin an easy chair and watching an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is not an adventure. Knocking on your neighbor's door, nowthat’s an adventure.” The White Dotcosts $8 for four issues. Write to P.O. Box 577257 Chicago, IL 60657. 19 percent higher risk of death from heart disease. Nonsmoking men married to women who smoke had a 23 percent higher risk. It is predicted that 35,000 to ao 40,000 nonsmokers will die of heart and blood-vesseldisease annually. Another 3,000 to 5,000 will die of lung cancer because they are exposed to tobacco smoke. CHILDREN'S OUTLET Pleasetell people that regular exposure to secondhand smoke can be deadly. — Informed in ass. DearInformed: Youdid, and I thank you. SALE Write to Ann Landers c/o Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611, Thursday, July 10 — Saturday, July 12 All Summer & Fall day — was a “powerful predic- tor” of future filial success, Clearance Playwear Yeung said Also, keeping a clean house (no matter who did the housework) also fostered success: Sons who lived in homes rated as “very 75% OFFthe Ori ginal Price clean" had one or two years more education and made 40 percent more moneythan sons wholived in homes rated “so-so,” “not very clean” or" of the @ Expect withdrawal symp- the T'V-free plunge. First, make list of ac- on early-modeltelevision screens after the tube was turned off. “The name had a resonance to a dren’s homework assignments for last night? Did they finish ... And What You Can Do AboutIt sucking uphis time. He got to the married to men who smokehad a Study: Responsible Dads Steer Kids to Success BY LISA FAYE KAPLAN GANNETT NEWS SERVICE Fathers who want their children to get a good education and make a good living should keep a clean house, carry car and health insurance, attend PTA meetings Did you watch any one ing office, Lotus described how she was inspired to start The endof each week and didn't know wherehis days had gone because storytelling. She writes of what might happen if there were 10 suns, as once believed, and they refused to leave things as they were. At the same time, 10 brothers working @ Would you have rented on video any program youviewed last night? Sitting in the book-lined apartment that doubles as her publish- he'd been watching TV.”” On the average, Americans are with some of the author’s own ® Did youconsult a TVlist ing before turning on you last night? as spectatorsport.” The Khan's wife has different letter that could prevent a lot of heartache. Areyou listening, par- ord of the harassment and report the womanto her superior. little quiz: “Living TV-free is about quali- ideas and gives the man almost impossible tasks to prove his would be a prudent husband. Not to determine if you're spending too muchtime “flatlining in front of the TV.” Takethis ‘TV-free lifestyle. prove his father right surprisingly, they live happily ever after, but it doesn’t happen without a struggle. Too Many Suns, by Julie Lawson, combines Chinese mythology Lotus, publisher of with a “Life-Waste-O-Meter” dream she pursues four times mother of two. “All those primetime dramas, it’s family suffering Dear Doris: Thank you for a partment for almost a year and says she has been coming on to him from the day he started to work there. not. It's Jean Lotus’ dream. A author Laurence Yep and artists Jean and Mou-Sien Tsengtocollaborate on their fourth children’s book, The Khan's Daughter (Scholastic Press, $16.95, ages Jean each year as publisher of The White Dot, a newsletter for the ty oflife,” said the 32-year-old Sexual Harassment Should Be Reported Dear Ann:Howis a wife supposed to deal with the sexual harassment of her husband in his workplace? “Greg”is an attractive, sensitive man of 42 and has a Night Football.” It sounds like a A Mongolian folktale inspired strength and bravery. Through odd twists offate, he succeeds. Fi- tury, and he often composed haikus abouthis observations of the worldashe traveled his homeland Signs You’re Watching Too Much Tv| without “Seinfeld.” No “Fra- several dozen haikus. Livingston nally, the Khan's daughter poses a challenge — unbeknownst to her suitor — to prove that he Basho was a well-respected poetin Japan during the 17th cen- BY CATHY HAINER USA TODAY CHICAGO — Imagine a world sier.” No “X-Files.” No “Monday illustrate the powerof such a sim- Grass Sandals: The Travels of Bashois an introduction into another discipline: poetry, or haiku, to be more exact. Unplugging the TV, Plugging Into Life to Myra Cohn Livingston’s Cricket Never Does — a collection of lastie Press, $19.95, ages 5 to 8,) ple mathematical concept. (Scho- Es = thers are “paying attention and have an eye to the future,” Yeung said 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY WILLIAM C. and HELEN C. KING Irregular & Sample Irregular Size 0-14 Size 0-4T Dresses 50% Off Playwear the Original Price the Original Price 50% Off All Summer Bargain Tables Playwear 30% Off (Hats, Hair Bows, Toys, Etc.) the Original Price from $1 .99 Plus Much, Much More! * Offer good while supplies last * Cottonwood Mall Only 4835 So. Highland Dr. * 277-8211 4 VV VMVVIVIVV nda de wt 4444 ‘ bing ‘ |
