Young Readers

Art for art's sake; Book ListDo you have an artist among your young readers?Check these books out. (And there's no mess to clean up!):* "Pearl Paints," by Abigail Thomas* "A Blue Butterfly," by Bijou LeTord* "Color," by Ruth Heller* "The Art Lesson," by Tomie DePaola* "Draw Me a Star," by Eric Carle* "Gift of Driscoll Lipscomb," by Sarah Yamaka* "Emma," by Wendy Kesselman- Courtesy Barnes & Noble, children'sdivision, Annapolis Harbour CenterFree stuff!...

Delia Goetz,100, whose travels as an education specialist for the U.S. government provided her with material for more than a score of children's books, died June 26 at her home in Washington, D.C. "Panchita, a Little Girl of Guatemala," was the first of her many books for young readers.Thomas S. Foster,66, a philanthropist and founder of one of the nation's largest direct mail marketing firms, died Thursday of cancer in Peoria, Ill. He started Foster & Gallagher Inc. in 1949 from the basement of his father's drugstore in Princeville, Ill., while a marketing student at Bradley University.

School is out for the summer, but don't shelve the books. Summer reading pays off for parents and kids alike because there is a direct correlation between how much reading children do during the summer and their academic success in the following school year. So while the kids are putting down their textbooks, try to get them to pickup something else to read.My local libraries offer summer reading programs that are full of ideas to motivate young readers. I can also enlist my computer for additional support and inspiration.

HEBBVILLE -- Where are the 500 students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities who attended Hebbville Educational Center during the 1970s? Organizers of a reunion of students, teachers and counselors at the federally funded center want to know.Students with difficulty learning to read -- but with above-average IQs -- attended the school, traveling from all over western Baltimore County to the center at 3113 Ridgewood Ave., said Janice B. Levitt, a counselor who worked in the program.

" 'Lon Po Po' by Ed Young is a good story. Today is grandmother's birthday. How do you think the kid felt when a wolf was dressed as their grandmother? Well this is what happened to these kids."- Dacia JonesLeith Walk Elementary"In 'Animorphs' by K.A. Applegate, five ordinary kids take a shortcut through an alley on their walk home from school and encounter a crashed spaceship. Out of the spaceship came a strange looking alien that gave the kids the power to 'morph' (change into any animal that they touch)

Curtis T. Schnorr walked slowly down the hall of Robert Moton Elementary Thursday morning, carrying a pink plastic basin of warm water.The principal winced a little as he heard "He's gonna shave" echoing from several classrooms.The students had read their books, and Schnorr was keeping his pledge to change his looks. All the pages entitled the young readers tosee the whiskers come off."I didn't want 800-plus kids to watch me bleed or see the expression on my wife's face as she saw me mustache-less for the first time," he said.

NANCY BLOOM is not one to let her circumstances get her down. And as a city school librarian, it might be tempting. She can't remember the last time she had money to buy books. Indeed, no shelf in her North Bend Elementary library is even half- full. She only has six computers wired for the Internet. And she's at the school just three days a week. But Ms. Bloom is one of those diamonds in the rough, sparkling in a system scrutinized last week by a Sun editorial for its utter disrepair.

Allan Jones, 84, a Hollywood singing star in the 1930s and 1940s whose romantic tenor voice rang out in 35 films, including the role of the gambler Gaylord Ravenal in "Show Boat" in 1936, died June 27 in New York City.Mikhail Tal, 55, a former world chess champion and one of the most exciting players in the game's history, died June 28 in Moscow after a long illness. Known for his flamboyant attacking style, he held the championship from 1960 to 1961.Lt. Gen. Daniel B. Strickler, 95, who served in three wars and was Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor from 1946 to 1951, died June 29 in Lancaster, Pa. of an undisclosed ailment.

For more than 20 years, Theodore "Ted" Taylor avoided writing a sequel to his award-winning first book, "The Cay," which has sold nearly 3 million copies worldwide since its publication in 1969.Although he wrote several successful books after "The Cay," Mr. Taylor wasn't ready to revisit his story about a racist boy stranded on a life raft with a black man until 1991, when he wrote "Timothy of the Cay." Completing the story gave him a sense of relief."If you're lucky enough to have that kind of success, you're afraid to tamper with it," said Mr. Taylor, 74, an author of books for young adults who will speak at Mount Airy Public Library at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann Knopf Books for Young Readers / $15.99 / ages 4-8 It's hot and sticky outside, so reading this book about four kittens in the snow might make you wish for winter. Three playful kittens are fearful about the impending snow, and one can't wait to play in it. A beautifully illustrated story about curiosity and overcoming fear is a winner any time of the year. A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee Harcourt / $16 / ages 4-8 A tongue-in-cheek story about summertime fun based on Frazee's son's adventures with his best pal as they stay at his grandparents' house and go to nature camp.