Girls To The Rescue
In numerous fairy tales, the valiant warrior slays the dragon and saves the helpless maiden with a kiss - but now it’s time for “Girls to the Rescue,” a delightful collection of 10 folk and fairy tales featuring courageous, clever and determined girls as the heroines, by Bruce Lansky ($6, Meadowbrook Press).
“When my daughter was quite young, I read her all the traditional fairy tales,” says Lansky, “and I was struck by how passive most of the lead female characters were. They weren’t heroic, they were beautiful victims.”
In “Girls to the Rescue,” you meet heroines from many cultures such as Savannah, daughter of freed Georgian slaves who saves the family farm for her father after the Civil War.
Kimi, through intelligence and bravery, chases away a giant that had her Japanese village paralyzed with fear. Clever Carla, an Italian shoemaker’s daughter, uses a greedy swindler’s own trick to teach him a valuable lesson.
Lansky hopes his group of stories with strong role models for today’s young girls will inspire them to play an active role in society and go as far in life as their talents and ambition will take them.
The 120-page paperback will captivate girls 7-12. It’s available by calling (800) 338-2232.
Holiday festivities
“Festival of Trees,” the annual fund-raiser to benefit Valley Hospital and Medical Center, offers “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars,” a special Children’s Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Valley’s Red Lion Motor Inn.
Kids can write letters to the North Pole at the postal station, and there will be face painting, cookie decorating, a visit from Santa and more. Parents may purchase raffle tickets for lavishly decorated Christmas trees amid festive holiday decor.
On Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., it’s “Treasures and Trees” at the Red Lion, where collectibles and gifts will be displayed. Raffle ticket sales will continue for the decorated trees.
Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for children; youngsters 2 and under are free. For more information, call 922-9489.
Media literate
A new bimonthly magazine for parents, Better Viewing: Your Family Guide to Television Worth Watching, identifies quality television programming in a reliable, easy-to-use format to help families become critical viewers of television.
Each issue offers practical suggestions to make television a welcome resource rather than an unwelcome intruder in the home. A year’s subscription (six issues) is $9.97; to order, call (800) 216-2225 or send a check payable to Better Viewing, P.O. Box 538, Peterborough, NH 03458.
Delightful dirt
Kids who love to play in the dirt will enjoy a new video, “i dig dirt” ($14.95, Dreams Come True Productions). Join a group of lively kids at a construction site and a coal mine where machines move megatons of earth and drivers explain the mechanisms of each rig. The 30-minute video is available by calling (800) 297-8787. A portion of the video sales goes to Camp Good Days and Special Times, a camp for children with cancer.
MEMO: The Family Track is a weekly column of notes and information for families. Send items to Lynn Gibson, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax (509) 459-5098.