Sunday, August 6, 2006 www.cumberlink.com The Sentinel Page D7 Between the Pages Not just for kids Three reference books that can ease the pain of learning for adults, too. The Associated Press ers, buildings, geography, health, science, the United States and the world, other topics, along with an index. The variety of information includes a comparison of the planets, thumbnail sketches of U.S. presidents, the alphabet in American Sign Language, and tips for taking tests (none of which includes writing answers on your palms). A guide to using the Internet tells kids how to conduct research on the Web and how to use the Internet safely.
The Perfect Pop-Up Punctuation Book (Dutton Children's Books) by Kate Petty and Jannie Maizels. This clever book entertains youngsters with its Some reference books are written especially for young readers. But don't be surprised if adults helping out with the homework don't find themselves irresistibly thumbing through their pages. Here are three recent ones: The World Almanac for Kids 2007 (World Almanac Books). The standard version of The World Almanac and Book of Facts, which has been around since 1868, is a thick book with no-nonsense blocks of text and columns of statistics.
The children's version is quite the opposite a vivid, heavily illustrated volume with snippets and chunks a 1 li Li L. Km of information, lists of facts, and attention-grabbing graphics. The contents page serves as a guide to general topics, from animals to world history, with sections that include books and buildings, holidays and homework help, money and music. An index helps fine-tune the research. And if all those facts start to overwhelm, breaks are offered in pages of jokes and riddles, fun quizzes, and word-connect, word-search and sudoku puzzles.
playful pop-ups while it gives lessons in basic English punctuation. By lifting flaps and pulling tabs, kids learn how to start and end a sentence, how to use quotation marks and exclamation points, and what the difference is between a colon and a semicolon. "Comma jokes" give examples of how a misplaced or omitted comma can change the meaning of a sentence, sometimes with amusing results. And there's a test on apostrophe usage with answers and explanations I hidden under flaps. The book is designed for ages 7 and older, but it can also serve as a refresher course, for adults who become "com-ma-tose" when they try to remember their Time for Kids Almanac 2007 (Time for KidsTime, This one also offers plenty of fun stuff, but quizzes and puzzles can be educational, too.
For the fact-seeker, there are chapters on newsmak- i sJr 1 Danica Patrick describes life in the (very) fast lane Try chewing on this ing, informative and even gal By Melissa Murphy AP Sports Writer vanizing, but it's also very sad- JUpdate N-Sw demng By learning how the By Stephanie R. Olson For AP Weekly Features Did you know that the meat in one hamburger might have come from hundreds or even thousands of cows? fast-food industry works, on Danica we get a glimpse of what we have lost family farms and Danica Patrick's first crash at age 12 involved the winner of this year's Indy 500. She led the go-kart race with one lap to go when Sam Hornish Jr. pushed her off the track and into third place. Patrick caught up and tried to pass him on the inside, driving right over the top of Hornish's left rear tire.
It launched her go-kart into the air, flipping and landing on top That one can of co*ke contains more than 10 tea ranches, natural food and a connection to the food we eat. The fast-food industry f' spoons of sugar? Or that Chicken McNuggets have more fat per ounce than a hamburger? has almost done away with the family farm and ranch. As Schlosser tells it, in 1 1 1 1 1 Danica Patrick finished 1 7th in the 1 9-car field in the Firestone Indy 400 on July 30. She stomped around the track in anger and threw her helmet when her race was over because her car was slow and having technical problems. Patrick was coming off consecutive fourth-place finishes, her best of the season.
"It was a brutal day," she said. "I wish I would have brought the car home in seventh, where it should have been." It was the first race since her plans for next year were announced. She will continue to drive in the Indy Racing League since accepting an offer to join Andretti Green Racing next season after flirting conglomerates control almost every aspect of the These and other interesting and disturbing facts Fast facts: "Danica -Crossing the Line." By Danica Patrick and Laura Morton. Fireside. 219 pages.
$23.95. ot Hornish go-kart. "My foot never left the floor," Patrick says in her new book "Danica -t- Crossing the Line." And she's been full-throttle ever since. Her memoir charts her rise from go-kart champion at 10, raising and pricing of cattle and chickens to the detriment of are revealed in "Chew on This." The book by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser is similar to his three solitary teenage years competing in England, and dealing with "Danica Mania" at the Indy 500 last year, when at 23 she became the first woman to lead the race. (She finished fourth.) best-selling and eye- opening "Fast Food Nation" (2001) but is aimed at readers 11 and older.
He and co-author Charles Wilson provide an overview of the history, development and state of fast food today. Readers learn about the industry's effect on our communities, our health and the environment, and it's not pretty. Industry expose "Chew on This" is a powerful and fascinating expose of the industry that explores the rising obesity rates and health problems associated with fast food, as well as the unsanitary, environmentally damaging and cruel practices used in its production. The book will appeal to chil- dren's natural curiosity (and their fondness for being grossed-out) by taking them through the raising and slaughtering of animals destined to become fast food. Kids also learn about the potential health consequences of eating the stuff through a pictorial tour of the human body that shows the damaging effects a high-fat, high-sugar diet has on the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and spine.
With their innate sense of justice and fair play still intact, kids should be outraged to leam about the treatment of workers in fast-food restaurants, the bul- lying tactics the environment and our health, as well as to the livelihood of farmers and ranchers. He makes the straightforward case that fast food has contributed to the hom*ogenization of our communities. Ray Kroc, the genius behind McDonald's, was obsessed with making sure that every french fry and every hamburger was the same from one McDonald's to another. This sameness has now migrated to our towns, where highways from coast to coast are repetitive stretches adorned by the same familiar group of fast-food logos. Kids, teen targeted It's especially significant that this book is aimed at children, since they are the primary consumers of fast food and the primary target of its billion-dollar marketing.
Also, teens form the ideal work force for the industry: part-time, unskilled workers who will accept low pay without benefits. "Chew on This" not only describes the problems, it tells teens how they can help change the system through profiles of individual and community efforts. But in the absence of legal reform of the industry which is unlikely because of its influence in Congress the authors' main advice is to just stop eating the stuff. As they point out, you can change the world by changing what you eat. with going to NASCAR.
The only woman in the IndyCar series and its one mainstream star created a buzz in July when her father and agent were guests of Roush Racing at a Nextel Cup event in Illinois. Patrick insisted her possible move to NASCAR was not just hype. "I'm not lying when I say we had offers," she said, declining to give specifics. "And, I'm not lying when I said I was interested. "I'm not going to write that off for my future.
I think it would be fun, eventually, but my heart is in IndyCar right now. I'm not done here." By The Associated Press control mistakes such as stalling in the pits or fuming off the ignition during a race but knows she can't control mechanical problems or crashes by other drivers in such a dangerous sport. Her teammate Paul Dana was killed in a practice run before the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March. A 200-lap race means up to four hours of constant upper-body muscle work while fighting the G-forces of the turns and straightaways at high speeds. A driver can bum thousands of calories and requires constant rehydration from a tube attached to the helmet.
Personal tips The tone of Patrick's book suggests it's aimed at young women, as it's sprinkled with dating advice your boyfriend has another girlfriend, you are not his and self-esteem tips makes you different makes you There are inspirational quotes throughout by Madonna, Phil Jackson and Dolly Parton, among others, and photos of her early years in racing and of her wedding last year to Paul Hos-penthal, a physical therapist Rahal points to the "yin and yang" of Patrick. "Don't be fooled by the pink nail polish, he said. "Danica takes your hand and it's like a truck driver. The exterior is nice and pretty and underneath she's as tough as steel." Driver's seat perspective The book offers a driver's-seat perspective at 220 mph and details Patrick's gritty determination to deal with the sexism she has faced throughout her career. Hornish got to chug the milk after winning the Indy 500 in May, with Patrick finishing six seconds behind him.
She didn't lead the race for 19 laps like she did in 2005, but she overcame tire problems and crashes by others to finish eighth. When a young Patrick started driving go-karts which have the equivalent of lawnmower engines she set track records in the first six months. Last year, after tying the mark for the fastest qualifying time in three races in her first season as a professional, she was named Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year. The 5-foot-l, 100-pound Patrick says it's not the size of the driver, but the fastest cars and the best drivers that end up in front. Some contend her light weight is an advantage.
"What I lack for in weight I have to more than make up for in body strength," she said. Family first crew Patrick grew up in Roscoe, 111., where her parents owned a glass company. Her father, a former motocross and midget-car driver, her mother and younger sister were her first crew. From age 16 to 19, she lived in England to race and learn the craft. After her first lonely year there, she realized she couldn't trust what the mechanics, engineers and managers were telling her.
"It felt like they gave up on me before I had the chance or equipment to prove my grit," Patrick said. "I was angry it took two yean for someone to provide me with competitive equipment. My experience in England taught me how to deal with difficult people, characteristics and circ*mstances." She now drives for a team backed by David Letterman and Bobby Rahal. Letterman grew up near Indianapolis Speedway and watched his first Indy 500 as a youngster. It can cost a team owner as much as $8 million a season to keep a single driver on the track.
Patrick takes responsibility for what she can Fast facts: "Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want To Know About Fast Food." By Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson. Houghton Mifflin. 304 Pages. $16. used on farmers and ranchers, the horrifying -conditions endured by slaughterhouse workers and the senselessly cruel treatment of animals.
"Chew on This" is interest- Schlosser Mammoth Cave book explores parks black history GLASGOW, A new book about Mammoth Cave tells the story of the national park's slave history. The book, entitled "Making Their Mark: The Signature of Slavery at Mammoth Cave" is available at the visitor center at Mammoth Cave National Park. Author Joy Medley Lyons, the park's chief of programs, said some people have written before about Stephen Bishop, a slave who gave guided tours of Mammoth Cave. But she said other slaves such as Nick and Mat Bransford who worked as guides are not as well known. They were not brothers but were owned by the same per son, Thomas Bransford.
Mat Bransford began giving guided tours of Mammoth Cave in 1838. His son, Henry, also became a tour guide, and his grandsons were tour guides as well. Today, another Bransford descendant, Jerry Bransford, works there as a seasonal tour guide..
