The Denver Post1

CK Reporter of the WeekMallory Moore, Littleton

This play is comedy as you like it

As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and wom-en merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.”

However, in “As You Like It,” currently at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, it isn’t a man who plays those many parts.

This particular Shake-speare play is a comedy about a young lady named Rosalind (Carolyn Jones), who has just been exiled by her uncle, Duke Frederick (J. Paul Boehmer), after she found love at fi rst sight.

Her cousin, Celia (Maren Bush), decides to go with her into exile.

After Rosalind disguises

herself as a man named Ganymede, they go together to the forest of Arden with Touch-

stone (Matt Zambrano), the court fool.

In the forest, they end up fi nding Orlando (Maurice Jones), Rosalind’s love -- yes, it’s said that the city in Flori-da is named after him -- who doesn’t see through Rosa-lind’s disguise.

Every scene is packed with a mix of comedy and mild drama involving politics and love.

Some of the men’s costumes (by Denitsa Bliznakova) looked a little more contem-porary than everybody else’s, but the effect was not alto-gether unpleasing.

However, the lighting (Charles MacLeod) on the set was outstanding, and when

combined with the high-quality acting, it made me feel like I was transported to each different setting in every act.

There were apples on the ground at an orchard, there was snow falling out in the woods, and you could clearly tell whether the current scene was outdoors in the Forest of Arden, inside a shepherd’s home, or in the Duke’s palace, which I found very impressive.

The play is staged in the Space Theater, Colorado’s only theater-in-the-round, and I thought Director Kent Thompson used the stage entrances effi ciently.

However, I was expecting to see more ac-tors going up and down the aisles and maybe interacting a little more with the audience.

Overall, the play is outstanding, and throughout it, I felt as if I were there, watch-ing the characters, not just the actors.

Also, the singing was perfectly in tune, and the guitar-playing gave the songs a little bit of extra charm.

DCPA’s production of ‘As You Like It’ runs until October 25 at the Space Theater. Tickets start at $41.

I highly recommend this comedy to anyone 9 and up, and, as with all of Shakespeare’s works, if you get the chance to read the play beforehand, you’ll enjoy it even more!

For performance times and ticket informa-tion, see the link at ColoradoNIE.com

October 13, 2015

There are many twists in this hamster’s tale

“Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible,” by Ursula Vernon, is a very good book.

In the beginning, a wicked fairy godmouse comes to the christening of Harriet Hams-terbone and lays a curse on Harriet.

The curse makes it so that on the day that Harriet turns twelve she will prick her fi nger on a hamster wheel and fall into a sleep-like death.

Harriet is totally OK with that. She knows that if she is to practically die when she turns twelve that the curse will need her to be alive.

That means that she can do anything she wants and not even get a scrape.

On the day of Harriet’s 12th birthday, Har-riet fi nds the wicked fairy godmouse in the courtyard next to a hamster wheel.

Harriet is not scared. She has a plan. Suddenly the curse takes a big spin and

everything turns backwards. This book kept me on the edge of my seat

while Harriet goes on a big hunt to help break the curse.

The story has a lot of twists and turns and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and action.

Although the novel has a lot of kissing in it, it was fairly easy to read so I would rec-ommend this book to ages 9 to 12 or grades 4 to 7.

By Amelia McAnally,11, a CK Reporter from Aurora

By Leslie Wilburn,13, a CK Reporter from Denver

Rocky Mountain National Park turns 100 in 2015. History Colorado is celebrating the people and the places of one of our most cherished spots in the We ❤ Rocky Mountain National Park exhibit, now open. The exhibit is part of a year-long, state-wide celebration of Rocky Mountain National Park’s centennial. Join us for a great day of learning just for educators!

Rocky Mountain National Park Teacher Workshop

Register online atestore.historycolorado.org/WebStore/Shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=tws&C=TWSTIC

or by calling 303-866-2394or email reservations@state.co.us

Oct 17, 2015 8:30AM - 3:30PMHistory Colorado Center 1200 Broadway Denver, CO 80203$25, light breakfast and lunch provided. Reservations required.

At top, the cast of “As You Like It,” on the theater-in-the-round stage

Below, Rosalind, in her “disguise” as the boy, Ganymede. (Adams Visual

Communications)

The Denver Post

Everyone knows the story of Peter Pan and his adventures with Wendy, but no one knows who Peter Pan was before he became Peter Pan.

The movie “Pan” tells the story of how Peter Pan came to be, and how he changed Neverland.

“Pan” begins at the boys’ home where Peter, who was brought there as a baby, lives.

He’s a typical movie-orphan, waiting for his mother to come back for him, and getting into trouble constantly. That is, until he is stolen from his bed one night and taken to Neverland.

There, he meets Blackbeard, the formidable pirate, and a man with whom he quickly makes acquaintances with: James Hook.

Soon after meeting, Peter and Hook find themselves with Tiger Lily and her tribe.

They learn that Blackbeard poses a threat to Neverland and its creatures, and Peter is the only one who can save it.

“Pan” will transfix all viewers and draw them into the world of Neverland.

With astonishing effects and excellent acting, this movie will have everyone glued to the screen. It was cast perfectly, and also has a riveting soundtrack, which includes some popular pop songs as well as instrumental music.

The film is rated PG, but is probably not for young children who are frightened easily, as some of the pirates are rather scary-looking. It is also violent, but there isn’t blood throughout the whole movie.

People who saw and enjoyed the original Peter Pan will enjoy this, because it is not a remake, but a story about how Peter Pan became who he is.

“Pan” is for everyone who loves action, everyone who loves fairy tales, and everyone looking for a good movie to see! So grab your popcorn, because this is not a movie you will want to miss!

2

One girl’s courage comes to film

By Cara Dulin,13, a CK Reporter from Castle Rock

An ancient relative? Examining homo naledi for clues

You’ve got another relative now, though at least this one won’t pinch your cheeks

and try to kiss you at holidays.Not unless you’ve got a time

machine, because you’d have to go back at least a million years and maybe more to have a family reunion with homo naledi.

Nobody is really sure yet.This newest old member of the

human species might not even be human: Scientists are still trying to decide if Naledi is really part of our species or belongs with

Australopithecus, ancient ones that were very much like humans, but were not quite human.

This latest discovery began two years ago, when some cave ex-plorers in South Africa came upon an underground chamber that had been undisturbed for many thousands of years, and contained fossilized bones of human-like creatures.

They had the good sense to leave the bones undisturbed and alert paleontologists, who are still trying to sort out what this important

discovery means.To begin with, the skulls and

the feet and hands of the skeleton fossils suggest something closer to modern man than to the ancient fossils of Australopithecus.

The feet suggest that Naledi walked upright, while the hands are shaped to have used crude tools.

Most interesting of all is the idea that the skeletons were purposely placed in the cave as a tomb.

Stay tuned to this one: There will likely be some very interesting discoveries yet to come!

By using words powerful enough to make the sun rise and set and to cause brilliant moonbeams to illuminate the sky, Malala Yousafzai has brought global awareness to the millions of girls

without the privilege to be educated. “He Named Me Malala” is a movie about this empowering 18-year-

old advocate for women’s rights, and she says in the movie that it is not only about her, but about the over 40 million girls who can’t go to school.

The movie is not actors reenacting what happened to Malala, but a documentary combining an interview, snippets of videos involving her, sketched animation, and footage of her spending time with her family.

This setup was a bit choppy and hard to follow. It would be a good idea to watch this movie with some background information.

It starts on a battlefield, showing a mythical girl named Malala. She fills the troops with passion and courage to fight for their cause

and against their enemy, but, while she is giving them hope, she is shot and her life is taken from her.

This is who Malala was named for, and, throughout the course of the movie, it is evident that she lives up to her name.

She is the world’s portrait of resilience, painted by her experiences. Malala spoke out for girls to have the right to go to school because

she truly believes that”one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.”

The Taliban has an opposite view on women’s education, though. They were furious that Malala had a different point of view and shot her in the head because of what she believes in.

There are videos in this documentary about the Taliban that contain violent content.

But, mostly, this is a journey of Malala’s strength and how she re-gained it after the assassination attempt on her. Her story gives hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, and courage to the fearful.

She will inspire you and give you a voice to speak up for what is right. Malala Yousafzai stated,”We realize the importance of light when we see darkness.”

By Kira Zizzo,11, a CK Reporter from Highlands Ranch

How Pan began

The Denver Post3

This odd little fellow may not be the cut-est critter to come along in recent years,

but he is the newest: The hog-nosed rat.In a world in which we have way too many

animals becoming extinct, it’s not bad to welcome a new mammal to the list of crea-tures on the Earth.

So here, ladies and gentlemen, is the hog-nosed rat, recently discovered on Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia, by naturalists from Australia’s Museum Victoria, Louisiana State University and the Dutch Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense.

This newly-discovered rat is something like an American kangaroo rat in that it has long back legs, but it is a carnivore, which makes it quite different than those plant-eat-ing desert animals.

The least surprising aspect of fi nding this strange little critter may be where it comes from: Although Sulawesi is one of thou-sands of islands in Indonesia, and has ani-mals from both Asia and Australia, it is also somewhat separate and nearly two-thirds of the mammals found there are found no-where else in the world.

Hog-nosed rat becomes the newest member on the mammal list

In 2010, the North African na-tion of Tunisia became the fi rst

where people rose up to oppose an unfair government in what came to be known as “The Arab Spring.”

As in other countries, people went into the streets to demon-strate, and, while they were op-posed by the army and police for a time, they used social media and their own bravery to gain the support of their country and force their government to resign.

But in other countries like Egypt and Libya, the overthrow of one bad government simply led to the start of another, and there was bloodshed, arrests and no improvement.

For a time, it looked as if Tuni-sia’s “Jasmine Revolution” would also collapse into violence and bad government, but four groups came together to work out their problems.

This “Tunisian National Di-

alogue Quartet,” formed from labor unions, attorneys and hu-man rights groups, managed to talk through their diffi culties and persuade their members and the majority of people in Tunisia to cooperate and form a democracy.

Friday, the Nobel Committee in Oslo gave the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet.

In its announcement, the No-bel Committee praised the group for helping form a government in which people had a voice, no matter what their sex, religious values or political opinions.

The committee said that they realized Tunisia still faces many challenges, but that they hope “this year’s prize will contribute towards safeguarding democracy in Tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the world.”

Tunisian negotiators win Nobel Peace Prize

Shiver me timbers me hearty! If yer plea-sure be to find a book worthy of swash-bucklin’ tales and a booty of doubloons,

then rest assured that yer choice of “Shivers - The Pirate Who Is Afraid of Everything” by Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White be a fine, worthy tale . . . otherwise to Davy Jones’ locker with ye and yer fellow scurvy dogs!

Lily-livered landlubbers and buccaneers beware!!!

Seriously, I think that this is a fascinating book.

The story is of a pirate named Shivers who is afraid of everything, even the ocean!

Snails are, in Shivers opinion, his number one enemy and greatest fear.

His best friend is his pet goldfish ‘Albie’ who is his first mate and also his encourager.

Shivers is a land-loving pirate whose family (Mom Tilda the tormentor, Dad Bob, and old-er brother Brock) is captured while searching for the Treasure Torch (from the Statue of Liberty).

He receives a letter from their captor, Mus-tardio, demanding that Shivers come rescue them.

Meanwhile, Mustardio’s real motive is to capture Shivers as well.

I won’t tell you any more about the story, but let’s just say that it involves using a pia-no as an anchor, nearly falling into a circle of sharks, a lobster sword battle, and, of course, a treasure of gold. Will Shivers’ fears get in the way or help?

This is a hybrid novel, with a lot of sketch-es that help you see what the plot is.

For example, I thought the mom was going to be a scrawny mom who carries a sword everywhere, but instead she was the exact opposite and was very strong.

She did, however, carry a sword, so I got that part right!

Kids my age (7-12) will enjoy this book be-cause it is funny, pretty easy to understand, and not too long: It is only 175 pages.

Petrifi ed pirate makes for a fun, fast story

By Ben Vanourek,10, a CK Reporter from Littleton

photo/Museum Victoria

Rules: Every row across, every column down and each of the six smaller boxes must contain numerals 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, one time and one time only.

The solution to this week’s puzzle is on Page 4.

On this day in 1775, the Continental Congress established our fi rst Navy, so our answers this week will each begin with “N.”

1. Tennessee’s capital, and the “capital” of country music, too

2. Poseidon, when he’s in Rome instead of Greece

3. The only US President to resign before his term was over.

4. A spice that is grated from brown, egg-shaped seeds, or to kick a soccer ball between your opponent’s legs

5. The country you’d have to travel to if you wanted to climb Mt. Everest

6. The center part of an atom, and of many types of cells in your body

7. This large dog, known for its ability to haul fi shing nets and rescue drowning people, is named for Canada’s easternmost province.

8. Udon, vermicelli, pho and ramen are all types of this food.

9. The Durango & Silverton is this type of railroad.

10. In a popular movie, a father named Marlin travels to Sydney to fi nd this youngster, his missing son.

(answers on Page Four)

The winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015, from left to right: Wided Bouchamaoui, president of the Tunisian employers union, Hou-cine Abbassi, secretary general of the Tunisian General Labour Union, Mohamed Fadhel Mafoudh, presi-dent of the National Bar Association and Abdessattar ben Moussa, presi-dent of the Tunisian Human Rights League, as seen at a meeting in 2013

(AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

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coloradokidseditor@gmail.comWe welcome your comments.

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(see Page Three)

10 right - Wow!

7 right - Great!

5 right - Good

3 right - See you next time!

1. Nashville 2. Neptune 3. (Richard) Nixon 4. nutmeg 5. Nepal 6. nucleus 7. Newfoundland 8. noodles

9. narrow gauge 10. Nemo

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The Priest and the Tanuki (Japan)

Once upon a time, in a small, plain hut near the town of Hi-tachi, there lived an old priest.

He was not famous for his wisdom or his learning, but his neighbors knew that he spent his days in prayer and meditation and they respected him greatly.

Because the priest lived without even a child to help take care of him, his neighbors would bring him food, and, when his home needed repairs, someone would do it without dis-turbing his prayers or thinking to ask anything in return.

Night and morning he prayed and meditated and did nothing else.

One very cold night, the priest heard a noise and opened his door to find an old tanuki standing there. An ordinary man might have been fright-ened, because the tanuki is a magical beast and often does mischief. But the priest, being the sort of person he was, showed no sign of fear and simply asked the tanuki what it wanted.

The tanuki respectfully bowed said: “I have lived all my life in the mountains, and have never been bothered by the snow and frost. But now I am growing old, and this severe cold is more than I can bear. I ask you to let me warm myself at your fire so I may live through this bitter night.”

The priest was filled with pity and said: “That’s a very slight matter: please, come in and warm yourself.”

The tanuki came into the hut, and, squatting down by the fire, began to warm itself; while the priest went back to his meditation.

When two hours has passed, the tanuki got up from the fire, thanked the priest and left.

After that the tanuki came every night to the hut. In time, the priest became friendly with it, and got used to its company; so that when there was a night that the tanuki did not come, he would miss it, and wonder why it stayed away.

When winter was over, and spring had warmed the mountains, the tanuki came no more; but, when winter returned, the tanuki also returned, and visited the priest again each night.

This went on for ten years. Then one spring the tanuki said, “Through your kindness, I have been able to pass the winter nights in comfort. What can I do to repay you? If there is anything that you wish for, please tell me.”

The priest smiled and said: “My life is complete as you see it. I have no desire and no wishes. I am pleased that you wish to help me, but there is nothing that I can ask you to do for me. As long as I live, when the winter comes, you shall be welcome here.”

The tanuki admired the priest’s generous spirit, but felt hurt at not being able to repay him.

He brought it up again and again, until the priest at last said, “Since I have shaven my head, turned my back on the world, and given up all earthly plea-sures, there is nothing I want. My food and clothing are provided by my neigh-bors, so there is nothing I need. And yet, since you have expressed such kind feelings, I will admit that I would like to possess three gold coins, so that, when I die, I could offer them at some holy shrine where prayers would be said for me.”

The tanuki looked so puzzled that the old man was sorry he had said anything at all.

“Such honors, of course, are the wish of ordinary men,” he said. “A priest ought not to think about such things, so, please, pay no attention to what I have said.”

The tanuki nodded, then returned to the hills as usual. After that evening, the tanuki came no more, and the priest worried about

him. He imagined either that the tanuki stayed away because it was embarrassed to come without the money, or that it had been killed in an attempt to steal it; and he blamed himself, and prayed for the tanuki.

Three years passed when, one night, the old man heard a voice calling to him. Recognizing the voice of the tanuki, he jumped up and ran to open the door,

crying: “And so you are safe and sound, after all! Why have you been away for so long? I was hoping to see you again!”

The tanuki came into the hut and said: “If you had asked for money to satisfy your greed, I could easily have stolen as much as you wanted; but I knew you could not use such money for the purpose you intended. So I went to the island of Sado, where they take gold from the ground. There, I gathered the sand and earth which had been tossed aside by the miners, and fused it afresh in the fire. It took a great deal of time, but I have your coins.”

As the tanuki finished speaking, the priest looked at the money which it hand-ed him, and saw that it was bright and new and clean.

He took the money, and received it respectfully, raising it to his head. “And so you have done all this work and gone to all this trouble on account of a foolish speech of mine? I have obtained my heart’s desire, and am truly thankful.”

In reply, the tanuki said: “In doing this I have simply fulfilled my own wish. Please, I hope that you will not tell anyone about this.”

The priest thought for a moment, “I must tell this story. When people see a poor old priest with such a sum of money, they will think it very suspicious, and I shall have to tell the truth. But I shall say that the tanuki that gave me the money has ceased coming to my hut. That way, you need not fear being bothered by anyone, but can come here as you always have, and shelter yourself from the cold.”

To this the tanuki nodded agreement; and as long as the old priest lived, it came and spent the winter nights with him.

text c. 2005, Mike Peterson - illustration c. 2005, Marina Tay

For a teaching guide, go to http://tinyurl.com/ckserial

Folk Tales & Fables