The Dark Dreamweaver, by Nick Ruth

In The Dark Dreamweaver, as in many a fantasy book, a boy sets out on a strange and magical journey to change the world -- or at least himself.  Dark Dreamweaver is the second book in a series called "The Remin Chronicles" and provided much fodder for discussion among my kids -- between the mysterious nightmares plaguing the main character, David, at the beginning of the book and the life-science facts of monarch butterflies, there was no chance of them not being drawn in. They both have science twice a week at school, where they get to investigate animals both exotic (an iguana) and extremely local (a pregnant cricket found in the sandbox), so the butterfly stuff was very interesting to them. And as for the drama of a young boy with nightmares actually taking action and not only braving his worst fears, but eventually saving the world (well, pretty much) -- needless to say, this was an empowering concept. As a grown-up, the writing was engaging enough to keep me interested in it as the kids read the book aloud each night at bedtime. I'd definitely recommend the book to kids old enough to read chapter books on their own. And now we're going to check out the first book in the series!

(You can see more about the book here at www.reminchronicles.com and you can find more reviews of the book at MotherTalk)

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Allergy-Free

For all of you parents out there struggling to feed a child with food allergies, it seems you’re not alone. For reasons that are apparently inexplicable, in the five-year period from 1997 to 2002, the number of Americans with food allergies doubled – up to 12 million. The number of children diagnosed with nut allergies also doubled in that five-year span. With nut, wheat, and dairy allergies on the rise, most parents will no longer be feeding their kids good old pb&j’s with a tall glass of milk for lunch.

Luckily, regardless of what has caused the increase in food allergies, manufacturers are responding in full force. First came the stream of organics as Americans struggled to eat healthier and more environmentally friendly food. And now right alongside those all-natural products come the allergen-free foods. While things like gluten-free snacks may once have been hard to find, they are now a staple in many of the more naturally oriented grocery stores.

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Goodbye, Jane

This July brought the announcement about one of the newest publications to bite the dust–Jane magazine. After providing life and style information to women for nearly a decade, Jane became the latest in an increasingly long line of magazines (Life, ElleGirl, Child, etc.) to become “obsolete.”

Is this a case of war between print medium and the Internet? Many think so, as some of these magazines ditched the printed copy only to reappear online, and even newspapers have been registering fewer sales and more Internet hits of late. (Sadly, Jane is not one of the magazines simply making a shift to the online world.)

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The Britney and Kevin Saga Continues

After the inundation of articles on the Britney and Kevin custody battle, I couldn’t resist weighing in. It seems things have been heating up, with Britney determined to mother her children and Kevin worried that sharing custody with his ex-wife could be detrimental to their sons.

It’s pretty hard to believe that now Kevin actually looks like a decent parent choice. Remember, this is the guy with four children by two different women, whose rap career was widely snubbed, and who was repeatedly rebuked by Britney for allowing marijuana and shady friends around their children. Of course, now that he’s cut his hair and worked to get his career back on track (by trading in the rap songs for TV appearances), Kevin is the model of good parenting compared to Britney.

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