Story

– Written by Justin Sather

My name is Justin Sather. I am 10 years old and I live in Los Angeles, California. Frogs are my favourite animal. I know a lot about frogs. Frogs are amphibians. They live on land and in water. There are over 5,000 different types of frogs that live around the world. I also know that frogs need our help.

Justin Sather, International Youth Changemaker

In Kindergarten I learned that frog populations are on the decline. Herpetologists discovered one-third of amphibian species are disappearing all over the world. They are shocked that so many frogs are dying. Frogs are indicator species. They breath and drink through their skin and this makes them sensitive to the environment. Sick frogs are telling us that the planet needs our help. Frogs have been alive for thousands of years. It made me sad to hear that frogs could go extinct. Frogs are interesting animals. It’s amazing that frogs start off as tadpoles. Also, I like all the bright coloured frogs. My favourite frogs are strawberry dart frogs, mossy, frogs, and the glass frog. All these frogs make the world more magical! My goal is to tell the world about the frogs. I want people to know frogs are telling us the planet needs our help. I want to teach people to take take of our planet. I started to sell toy frogs to my friends, family, classmates and neighbours, to raise awareness.

When children are immersed in nature, they gain self confidence, grit, and problem solving skills that they can use to thrive in all areas of their lives. At Wasatch Nature School our goal is to help each child plant seeds of the wonder that will sprout into a lifelong connection to nature and learning.

Kristy Nuttall, Marketing Director/Head Nature Teacher

Photo by @karribrantleyphoto

My name is Brayden Eaton, I’m a 13 year old actor that is based in Los Angeles, CA. I am originally from Detroit, MI, and I have been a professional actor now for 3 years. Since I was 5 years old, I had begged my parents to become an actor. Being the good parents they are, they made me wait until they knew I was really serious, which was when I turned 10 years old. They allowed me to do local stuff like musicals and local commercials, but I wanted to do more. I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It wasn’t a hobby, it’s something I loved to do, so much so, I wanted it to be my job. I’m excited to be sharing my story with you today as an example that no matter your age, if you believe in yourself while pursuing your dreams and you work hard enough, you can make them happen.

Brayden Eaton, Actor

When I taught kids in the classroom with the set out curriculum, I found myself more drawn to teaching them lessons about social skills, health, and overall mental wellbeing. I strongly felt that these concepts were not taught enough in the everyday curriculum and that schools are focussed too much on academics. I think society and the education system needs to support kids to be empowered and healthy in addition to knowing what the square root of a number is. 

– Alana Schober, Founder and Owner of Sparx Studio

Written & Illustrated by Saraa, Age 12. Saraa lives in Vancouver, British Columbia

My name is Saraa and I am twelve years old. I’m really excited that my story will be shared on Kids News and Reviews. It’s about how I feel about this Thanksgiving. I am excited about this because I think that a lot of other kids might be feeling the way I do too, and that is why I’m writing this story.

I think a lot of other kids might be feeling like me this Thanksgiving even if they do not have to write an assignment about it.

-Saraa

Growing up in Brazil and living in six different countries provided me an amazing opportunity to learn a lot about the children I worked with in all these multicultural environments. These children inspired me to create an imaginary world – one full of animals and fantasy. 

Lucia Matuonto, Children’s Author & Illustrator

Interviewed by Lorrie Holmes

KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself. Why you created your children’s books and what they are about. 

LUCIA:  I am a physiotherapist. I specialize in working with children with special needs, and I have enjoyed doing this for the past 14 years. For many years, I taught and treated children with motor and cognitive disabilities, and I have learned a lot about children through these experiences.

HALLOWEEN WINDOW ART REVIEW

By CELESTE & NINO, aka the @rockinsiblings!

This is Celeste and Niño from Rockinsiblings. We are two creative kids who like to keep busy doing all sorts of fun things and are so excited to be sharing our first review with you today for Kids News & Reviews! We had a chance to review the Halloween Window Art Kit from @window.art.kits and we have nothing but good things to say for the product. First of all, it is proudly made in Canada. If you are like our parents who have been trying to find locally made products, then this is good to have in your toys to love. 

The message from my book that I want to bring to other people is how to be accepted; how to learn and adapt to new environments, and to just be proud of who YOU are. 

Isabella Murphy, Award Winning Youth Author & Poet

KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS:  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

ISABELLA:  I’m the author of From Dark To Light. It’s a popular picture book for children and their families. I’m also the proud recipient of First Place Winner of the Penn Craft Award in the category of children’s books. I also write poetry and won the 2018 Half Moon Bay Library Teen Poetry Contest for my poem, “I Felt Rhapsodic,” inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson. I have presented numerous readings of my work to youth and adult audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. I love writing and sharing my stories, and also enjoy acting, playing guitar, singing, and golf.

For this mom-daughter homeschooling duo, books are only the starting point to setting up more learning. From activities to adventures, their favourite titles inspired them to try new things, explore new places, craft their days away and ultimately, create their own blog at My Kidz Bookshelf!

As part of our Back To School theme, we are exploring many different ways to learn – from outdoors to in-class, online to at home. We will continue to share these resources for families during these unprecedented times. Today we are happy to include this homeschooling story about a mother and her daughter and how they went about finding their own resources for learning at home, and how this all grew into a joint project that has continued on.

What started out as a common interest in reading, creating, and exploring new places lead us to become the bloggers of My Kidz Bookshelf. We recently celebrated our one year ‘Blogiversary’ and are so excited to be featured by Kids News & Reviews today!

April