smaLL BITES

Young Writers Contribute Good
Now Ear This ^
Advice

Harriet Orley of West Bloomfield
I sent us this impressive work by her
son, Ryan, who is 10. "Ryan was
asked to write about a memory for
his fourth-grade class," she says.
"My Astonished Soul" is his memo-
ry of Israel.

My Astonished Soul

As I stood there, I knew my soul's
past lay before me. The men
wearing their holiest outfits had
their eyes sealed shut and were
mumbling a prayer so soft I could
only hear the tune of their
thoughts. It was a soothing tune.
My thousands of brothers and
sisters stood by my side and

placed little sheets of folded
paper into the cracks in the
huge rocks that towered
above me to form the holiest
sight that would ever
appear to my astonished
body. I knew what I was
seeing. I was seeing what
books had failed to
describe. I knew what I
was smelling. I was
smelling the air from my
dreams. I knew at
that moment I would
cherish this sight forever.
It was the Western
Wall.

Has your child written a
poem or essay on a
Jewish subject you
would like to see in The
AppleTree? If so, please
send it our way, Material
should be no more than
two double-spaced typed
pages. We will be glad to
publish photos of the author,
as well. Enclose a self-
addressed, stamped envelope if
you would like your picture
returned. Send to: Young Writ-
ers, c/o The AppleTree,
27676 Franklin Road, South-
field NV 48034.

-

I Love You You Love Me,
Now Tie ur pie Guy as
Own Movie.. .So Eat A reac Y i

,

•

That's right. He's big. He's purple.
He's the star of his own him.
Barney's Great Adventure: The
Movie has lust opened on the big
screen -- and some Jewish Holly-
wood types were there to help him
along!
The producer of this screen gem
is Ben Myron, while Jerry Herman
(of Hello, Dolly/ fame) wrote the
original title song for Barney's
Great Adventure.
It seems like only yesterday that
Barney was just getting started,

5/15
1998

76

along with the perky little young-
sters who
each day
grow a lit-
tle taller,
get bigger,
not smaller,
and grow
a little
friendlier,
tool But in
fact Barney
has been part of the PBS lineup
since 1992, and continues to

attract 11 million — that's right,
11 million --
viewers each
week. So
what could
these little
viewers possi-
bly learn
about Barney
that they don't
already
know? Here's
a sneak preview of Barney's Great

Adventure:

_y

Linda Kent believes that every child
has the right to feel safe, be curious,
be supported and be creative.
She also believes that parents
deserve a little help in learning how
to make their children develop their
curiosity, feel supported and be
heard. So she started a newsletter,
called "Imagine: Children Reaching
Their Potential."
Ms. Kent, who holds degrees in
special education, has been in pri-
vate practice in Troy for 15 years.
Her special interest is how nutrition
affects learning and behavior. She is
offering a free copy of her newsletter
to all interested parents. Just call her at
(810) 264 0824 to request a copy.

As the story begins, 9-year-old
Cody Newton and his family,
along with his sister's best pal, are
on their way to their grandparents'
farm.
Cody isn't exactly the cheerful
sort as is usually seen on Barney
shows — in fact, he's downright
cranky. He even dares to steal his
sister's favorite stuffed animal (can

you guess who it is? He's purple;
he's soft ...). Then Barney comes
alive and that, of course, is when
the fun begins.