Fantastic Mr. Fox Press Day

You got to fight for your right to interview!

Recently, I went to a press event for the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox. I sat in on round table interviews with director Wes Anderson, actor Jason Schwartzman, and Roald Dahl's daughter, Lucy Dahl.

I've never done round tables before, and my first experience was a little odd. You sit at a table with other reporters and ask the actors questions. With lots of adult reporters all trying to get their questions answered, it kind of puts you in an awkward situation—as a kid trying to be heard, I mean.

The biggest tip I would give to reporters doing these types of interviews is BE ASSERTIVE. Keep trying to ask your questions as long as they haven't already been answered. That means you have to listen carefully while plotting to ask your own questions.

Other reporters will keep trying to talk over you, but it's likely that you'll eventually be able to get into the conversation. Sometimes another reporter helps you in or you finally are able to speak up loud enough.

It's also important not to get frustrated. With most round tables, you're probably going to be the only kid, which is how it was with me. Even if it gets uncomfortable, you have to acknowledge that you are with fellow reporters who are trying to get the same thing you are: information.

If it becomes way too difficult to get yourself in, keep trying, but also listen to the questions the other reporters ask. Most likely, they'll be asking questions you need the answers to also. You're usually allowed to use anything the person you're interviewing said, even if another reporter asked the question.

The Scholastic Kids Press Corps has been really busy covering Fantastic Mr. Fox, which opens November 25. You can read my review of the movie and Grace McManus' experience at the red carpet premiere, as well as my round table interviews.

    • Fantastic Mr. Fox Movie Review

    * Press Day Interviews

    * Red Carpet Movie Premiere.

Hope you enjoy the movie and Happy Thanksgiving!

—Miranda Rector

Miranda Rector with a puppet for Fantastic Mr. Fox at the roundtable press day recently in California. (Photo Courtesy Miranda Rector)

Fantastic Mr. Fox Red Carpet

Preparing for first Red Carpet experience pays off!

I was excited and nervous covering the red carpet for the premiere of the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, because it was my first assignment as a Scholastic Kid Reporter. I didn’t know what to expect.

When I got to Bergdorf Goodman—a famous department store in New York City where the event was taking place—I saw paper markers on the sidewalk. Each had the name of a TV station, a website, a newspaper or a magazine that was also covering the red carpet.

The Scholastic Kids Press Corps was right next to The New York Times! I was worried that I had to compete with so many famous reporters. But I was also lucky. The stars’ assistants brought all the main actors over to me because I was the only kid there. (Once in a while, you get a break for being short.)

The actors patiently listened to my questions and gave me great answers. Meryl Streep, one of the most famous actors there, was wearing a beautiful shimmering gold dress, and came right up to me. I asked her how voicing a character is different from playing the role of a character.

“That is the most sophisticated question anyone has asked me in this entire press line,” she said.

I felt wonderful, because I had spent a lot of time preparing my questions. It made me feel like I was just as good as all the adult reporters there. (Here’s where hard work and preparation paid off!)

Red carpets always look glamorous on TV, but in reality, I had to stand in the cold for two and a half hours for just a few minutes of action. Also, you don't get to see the movie! However, fellow Kid Reporter Miranda Rector in California saw a screening and wrote a review.

Although, life was not so glamorous on my side of the red carpet (which is in front of a rope line and definitely NOT on the literal carpet), I didn’t care. For me it was exciting and fun!

—Grace McManus

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Grace McManus with actor Meryl Streep, who plays Mrs. Fox in the Fantastic Mr. Fox, opening November 25, 2009. (Photo Courtesy Grace McManus)

Big Bird’s Wrangler

What it takes to keep an 8-foot, 2-inch bird fluffed.

One of the many interesting jobs on the set of Sesame Street is that of the Muppet Wrangler—the person in charge of making sure the puppets are all well cared for. I visited the Sesame Street set recently and talked to wrangler Michelle Hickey. She told me about the attention to detail that goes into taking care of the biggest Muppet of all—Big Bird!

“There are over 6,000 feathers on Big Bird,” she said. “They’re hand-glued, and they are backed with a ribbon that is hand-stiched on.”

The 8-foot, 2-inch bird is made with thousands of turkey feathers that are dyed by a special company. The feathers are then rated from letters A to D.

“Only feathers rated A and B are put on the muppet, but sometimes C are used toward the bottom,” Hickey said.

The feathers are replaced every two weeks, or—if there’s a special event—immediately after Big Bird comes home. It’s a difficult job, but Hickey loves it.

“It’s fun, it really is,” she said. “I like to think of Big Bird as my project. And it’s always fun to be on the set. It’s kind of a dream job.”

—Aaron Broder

PHOTO: Muppet wrangler Michelle Hickey on the set of Sesame Street with her favorite project—Big Bird! (Photo Courtesy Aaron Broder)

Taylor Swift Wins Big

Kid Reporter fans attend a concert; interview teen singing sensation.

Editor’s Note: Singing sensation Taylor Swift made music history when she became the youngest person ever to be named 'Entertainer of the Year' at the Country Music Awards last week.

The 19-year-old also took home awards for Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year for her song "Love Story," and Album of the Year with "Fearless."

Kid Reporter Chloe Anello recently attended a Taylor Swift concert at Madison Square Garden (see blog post below). A year ago, Kid Reporter Sydney Rieckhoff had a sit down interview Swift. Check it out by clicking here!

But first, relive Chloe’s concert experience in New York City.

—Editor Suzanne Freeman

Concert Sensation

Going to your first concert is a whole different musical experience from listening to recorded music. For me music came alive when Taylor Swift preformed in Madison Square Garden recently. The sold-out crowd was a sea of tween and teen girls, all fans of 19-year-old singer/songwriter.

The night started off with videos of Swift and her friends Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Lucas Till talking about their definition of the word fearless. After all it was the Fearless tour!

Swift took the stage in a marching band uniform singing the song “You Belong with Me.” In the middle of the song she pulled off the band uniform to reveal a sparkly fringe dress.

After a couple songs everyone noticed that only the band was on stage. Swift was missing. Then the screams began. I looked to my left and there she was, standing in the aisles. Fans were climbing on seats to get pictures, while others were running to get close to her. It took a while for her to get back to the stage with all the fans trying to hug her or take a picture with her. Once she was on stage she was surprised with a seven-minute standing ovation from adoring and appreciative fans.

For her hit song “Love Story,” the stage transformed into a castle scene. Swift performed in a red dress until back up dancers pulled it off of her revealing another dress, this one white. Swift took off her tiara and gave it to a little girl up front. That sure made one little girl’s day!

Taylor gave two encores. On her last one, there was an amazing special effect that I’ve never seen before. She was singing her song “Should’ve Said No” and at the end water cascaded right on top of her. The water rained down in sheets with the lyrics of the song reflected on it. It was an amazing way to end the show. I’ll never forget it.

—Chloe Anello

PHOTO: Taylor Swift with Kid Reporter Sydney Rieckhoff. (Photo courtesy Sydney Rieckhoff)

Learn to be a Writer

Non-fiction author George Sullivan shares secret research tips.

When I studied Jamestown in school, I was amazed at how the settlement’s remains have still survived all these years, and how many people are still exploring this 17th century world today. That’s why, when I got the chance to speak with a writer who had explored that world, I couldn’t wait to talk to him.

Interviewing George Sullivan, the author of Pocahontas, gave me a lot of insight into what it’s like to be a writer. Sullivan has written a whole series of nonfiction books and has always preferred non-fiction.

“It answers questions I have,” Sullivan said about his research and writing. “I think that’s the reason I have always preferred nonfiction. It’s curiosity. That’s the basic motivation I have.”

Sullivan is dedicated to his work, and writes for three or four hours every day. Each night before going to bed, he prepares the material for what he is going to write the next day. That next day begins at 5 a.m.!

“I write very early in the morning, when my mind is fresh and when I know I’m not going to be interrupted by the telephone or visitors or whatever might occur during the day,” he said. “I do a great deal of work in the early morning hours.”

By great deal of work, he means four or five hours of writing before having breakfast with his wife.

Writing is all about the research, whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction. Since I have been faced with some pretty big research projects in school (and know there are more to come), I asked him about how he gets started on each book.

“You take the project and you break it into pieces,” he said. “You have an outline that breaks it down into different categories. Then you research each of these pieces, instead of trying to do everything all at once.”

He said it was  lot like putting together a puzzle.

At the end of my conversation with Mr. Sullivan, I realized that I had learned a lot from him about Pocahontas and what life was like in the 17th century. More than that, however, he gave me some great insight into what I might have to do to become a professional writer.

Now all I have to do is be organized enough to plan out what I am going to write the the next day, and remind my mom to wake me up at 5:00 in the morning.

—Maya Kandell

New Kid Reporters Announced!

Seasoned Kid Reporter checks out the new team.

The new team of Scholastic Kid Reporters was announced today. Some of the new reporters have already had stories published. They are all working on an important first assignment about the economy.

I’ll never forget my first assignment. I covered a memorial service in central Florida for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. I then went on to cover the 2008 presidential election, which was an incredible challenge and unforgettable adventure! I even got to go to New York City for Election Day!

I spoke to one of the new Kid Reporters after his first assignment last week. Gowtham Balaji lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and is one of the 37 new reporters on the 2009-2010 team. Usually, only 25 new reporters are picked each year.

“We had more applications than ever this year,” said Editor Suzanne Freeman. “The quality of applications was really high, too.”

Gowtham’s first assignment took him to New York City to the Scholastic Headquarters in SoHo. He covered a live webcast featuring all five of the authors of The 39 Clues series. The webcast kicked off the release of Book 6 in the 10-book series.

After the webcast, Gowtham interviewed Jude Watson, author of Book 6: In Too Deep. Gowtham is not only a fan of the 39 Clues series, he is an avid reader of Watson’s Star Wars series as well. Watson clued him in on a big Book 6 secret.

“She said one of the main characters dies,” he said. “I am wondering who.” Watson wouldn’t tell him, but by the time you read this, Gowtham will know. When I interviewed him, he was busy reading Book 6 so he could write the review.

I asked him how he felt when he learned he was one of the recent additions to the Scholastic Kids Press Corp.

“I felt excited because I know I will experience a lot of cool events,” he said. “But I also know it is going to be a lot of work.”

Like all the other members of the press corps, Gowtham is busy working on a new Special Report.

“The Editor asked me to do some research about the economy and how it is affecting my community,” he said. “Next week I have to write about that.”

As more assignments come in, Gowtham is hoping to meet a few celebrities.

“I’m looking forward to meeting famous people and learning about them,” he said. He especially hopes to get an assignment about Major League Baseball. “Since I am a BIG baseball fan, I would like to cover a big news story about the World Series,” he said.

I told him to talk to Ms. Freeman. She’s a big fan, too. She and I went to spring training last March where I interviewed one of the newest members of the Tampa Bay Rays pitching rotation, David Price. The story ran in Scholastic News Edition 4.

I have a few other tips for all the new Kid Reporters coming on board this week. Work hard, have fun, and be prepared for anything!

Oh, yeah! Here are the names of the rest of the Kid Reporters chosen this year:

    Andre Baker, Cleveland, Ohio

    Gowtham Balaji, East Brunswick, New Jersey

    Nick Berray, Washington, D.C.

    Christopher Campbell, Bronx, New York

    N'Naserri Carew-Johnson, Atlanta, Georgia

    Liam Childers, Charlotte, North Carolina

    Samantha Coffey, Sleepy Hollow, New York

    Alexis Cornell, Evanston, Wyoming

    Julia Desmond, Davidson, North Carolina

    Henry Dunkelberger, Washington, D.C.

    Shelby Fairleigh, Horseshoe Bay, Texas

    Kenny Figueroa, Houston, Texas

    Kiera Fobb, Homestead, Florida

    Cecilia Gault, New York, New York

    Alysa Goethe, Bettendorf, Iowa

    Lily Haffey, Lexington, Kentucky

    Emma Hall, Franklin, Tennessee

    Susan Hepburn, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    Madeleine Horner, Leucadia, California

    Jonas Hosmer, Potomac, Maryland

    Charlie Kadado, Macomb, Michigan

    Jordan Kahrhoff, St. Peters, Missouri

    Andrew Liang, Alpharetta, Georgia

    Topanga McBride, Windsor, Colorado

    Grace McManus, New York, New York

    Joseph O'Connor, Bayside, New York

    Kaj Lund Olsen, Greenbank, Washington

    Maria Ordoñez, Miami, Florida

    Isabelle Quinn, Woodway Washington

    Miranda Rector, Los Angeles, California

    Mariah Reynolds, Cincinnati, Ohio

    Kayla Rudess, New City, New York

    Erin Sheena, Bellaire, Texas

    Christian Snyder, Reynoldsburg, Ohio

    Jeremy Sutton, Chicago, Illinois

    Maya Williams, Phoenix, Arizona

    Alexandra Zhang, Washington, D.C.

Now get to work, Everyone!

—Shelby Fallin

My Friend Rocco

Rocco Fiorentino heads a foundation to help people like him who are blind.

After getting to know my friend Rocco Fiorentino, I have gained a new awareness and appreciation of what a visually impaired person can do.

When I am hanging out with Rocco, I sometimes forget that he is blind. We made a music CD together for fun and it was amazing to watch the way Rocco handled all the equipment. He was the sound engineer and worked the sound mixers and recording instruments with skill and confidence. He also beat me in Wii bowling 171 to 172!

Rocco is only 12 years old and he is already an accomplished musician. He plays the piano, drums, and saxophone. He also sings!

Knowing Rocco has shown me that one person’s life story can make a huge difference in the world. He has also shown me that the resources to help blind children be as accomplished as he is are scarce.

Rocco and his parents started an organization called The Little Rock Foundation to help kids who don’t have access to the education they need to live fulfilling lives. To me, Rocco, has the same spirit, strength, and determination as Helen Keller, who did so much in her lifetime to help the blind community.

You can read more about Rocco and check out an interview I had with Helen Keller's great grand niece Keller Johnson-Thompson, who is continuing Helen Keller’s legacy: 

• Helen Keller’s Legacy: Keller Johnson-Thompson discusses the life and contributions of her Great         Grand Aunt Helen Keller.

• In Helen Keller’s Footsteps: Rocco Fiorentino talks about how Keller inspires him to continue her legacy of education and assistance for the blind.

You can also find out how you can help by checking out Rocco’s website, The Little Rock Foundation. Thanks!

—Danielle Azzolina

PHOTO: Rocco Fiorentino (left) and Kid Reporter Danielle Azzolina (right) at the New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center in Trenton, New Jersey. (Photo Courtesy Danielle Azzolina)

Tween Girl Summit Serenade

My first assignment was empowering and tuneful!

My first assignment for the Scholastic Kids Press Corps was to cover the Tween Girl Summit held in Washington, D.C. recently. There were so many teenagers! I only found 10 people about my age, which is 10.

These girls came from all over the U.S. to participate in this summit. Celebrities, Olympic athletes, game-makers, and leaders in their fields all came to talk to tween girls (ages 9-14) about how they can reach any goal they set for themselves. The sky’s the limit, we were told.

I interviewed Jessica Mendoza, a two-time Olympic medalist. She was on the U.S. Women’s Softball team at the Summer Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. I also spoke to singer/songwriter Laura Warshauer, and Disney TV star Debby Ryan!

When I was waiting for the interview with Mendoza, I was kind of nervous because this was my first interview. She was late, so I started talking to Laura Warshauer, who decided to play me her latest song, Alive. It was really cool to be serenaded by a professional entertainer (see video above).

When I was interviewing Debby Ryan, I nearly freaked out! I’ve never been up close and personal with anyone from a TV show before. My first impression of her reminded me of her character, Bailey Pickett, from Suite Life on Deck. She was there as an advocate for tween girls.

For me I think the most fun at the event was the Exhibit Hall. It’s where the sponsors show off their stuff. It was really interesting.

I learned a lot covering my first event as a Kid Reporter. First, I learned to take as many notes as possible, take lots of pictures, and get homework out of the way first so I can meet my deadline!

—Alexandra Zhang

Halloween Snowstorm

Weather plays a trick on Colorado’s treat seeking goblins.

The end of October is a time for fall leaves, fun costumes, and candy. But this year in Colorado, the year’s most colorful month turned pure white with about three feet of snow—an early blast from winter, still weeks away. Now, instead of costumes, people are pulling out their snow gear.

This morning, I scrambled through my closet to find snow boots that would still fit. I’m excited to see snow so early, but hope it won’t interfere with trick-or-treating on the night of Halloween.

Outside, the pumpkins are hidden in the snow. My dog wanted to come out with me.  He’s a Pomeranian, which is a small fluffy breed. His orange furry body was almost lost in the white stuff. He went back inside pretty quickly.

Thursday was a snow day in my school. According to my language arts teacher, it’s the first snow day in five years! Everyone is excited about the short break from school. News reports say this is the biggest storm since 1997 and may be one of the earliest big storms ever. One expert said storms like this only come every 10 years or so.

Playing in the snow is great, but my favorite part is coming back inside to a warm cup of hot cocoa. Now if I can just figure out how to make snow boots and a winter coat work with a Halloween costume.

—Kayla Gough

Photo: Kid Reporter Gayla Gough outside her home in eastern Colorado only two days before Halloween. (Photo Courtesy Kayla Gough)

The 39 Clues Live Webcast Nov. 2

Authors talk clues in live webcast on November 2; Book 6 released November 3.

Which series is action packed with mystery, new clues, and new authors who add their very own twists for every single book?

If you guessed the new hit series The 39 Clues you are correct!

The 39 Clues is a series of 10 books. The next book in the series, Book 6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson, will be released on Tuesday, November 3. (Watson also wrote Book 4: Beyond the Grave.)

You can get a head start on the excitement on Monday, November 2, when award winning actor and children’s book author Whoopi Goldberg hosts the "The 39 Clues: Advanced Agent Training" webcast. The webcast begins at 1:30 PM EST. You can log on and register at: http://www.teacher.scholastic.com/the39clueswebcast/

If you don't know about The 39 Clues, now is a good time to find out. The story is about kids Dan and Amy Cahill who travel the globe to find important clues that could make them the most powerful people in the world! The books are full of suspense and actually make you feel that you are a part of the story. They are also funny. I find myself cracking up when I'm reading. 

I especially enjoy learning about historical figures and the getting the inside scoop on them.

Last but not least, I tremendously like the fact that each book is written by a different author, so if you read The 39 Clues, your favorite author might be coming your way.

I can’t wait to attend the event on Monday and meet the latest author. I’m also a big fan of Watson's Star Wars books.

Authors Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, and Patrick Carman will be joining Watson for a panel discussion lead by Goldberg. Participating kids will be on hand to ask questions and take challenges.

Participating is easy, but if you can't log on to the webcast, just check back to the Scholastic Kids Press Corps website the next day for my story. I'll have all the juicy details!

—Gowtham Balaji