How to talk to kids about God; Rabbi Bradley Artson offers parents this script - Cleveland Jewish News

Brown, Ellen Schur
Cleveland Jewish News
01-07-2005
Parents talk to kids about sports, about school, about what's for dinner.
We freely answer our children's questions about politics and interpersonal
relationships. Why, when they ask about God, do we squirm in our chairs or
tell them, 'Ask a rabbi'?

Parents needn't be intimidated when children ask difficult questions, said
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, co-author of I Have Some Questions about God
(Torah Aura Productions, 2002. 118 pp. $11.95), who spoke here at the
United Jewish Communities General Assembly in November.

In I Have Some Questions, six different rabbis answer real questions from
kids -- and they don't always offer the same answers.

When children ask about God or why bad things happen, Artson, dean of the
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of California's University of Judaism,
encourages parents to start talking. His best hint for parents is to tell
children that no one has all the answers.

'It's all right to give an answer like, `Well some people think this, but
other scholars think this,' or `Great question -- let's look it up,'' he
said. Just entering the conversation sends the message that talking about
religion is important to you.

'Don't say, `Ask the rabbi,' because that's code for saying real people
don't worry about this,' he said.

Here are some common questions kids ask about God -- and a way to start a
conversation.

1. Who made God? Does God have a Mommy?

This is a question about the nature of God's existence. Maimonides teaches
that physical things have a beginning and an end, but God is not a physical
thing. God has no beginning and no end.

Feel free to tell your child this is a very big question, and people spend
their whole lives thinking about it, Artson suggested. Emphasize that there
is no single right answer.

2. How do we know God is real?

Artson has a handy trick: Ask your child to touch your arm or your
forehead. Easy. Now ask the child to touch your love. Tell your child, 'You
can't touch my love because it's not a physical thing. But you feel it, and
you know it's real.'

We sometimes make the mistake of thinking things are most real when they
are concrete. That's backwards, said Artson. Patriotism, virtue and loyalty
are more real than the clock in your first apartment. Even though you saw
that clock every day, you probably can't remember it now.

3. Did God make everything? Did God make dinosaurs?

Even very young children see this problem because they learn there are no
dinosaurs roaming the world, and yet, here's Barney, a big purple dinosaur
on TV. Are grownups lying? They are really asking how to integrate science
and belief.

Explain that there are different kinds of questions. Science answers 'How'
questions like, `How does the sun light up the earth?' Religion answers
'Why' questions, and when it's a question of meaning, we find truth in the
Torah.

The Torah is a poem, meant to be read as metaphor, commented Artson.
Genesis may not be factually scientific, but we can stake our lives on the
truth of the story that God created humans. 'That all people are created
equally is a religious concept,' he continued, because clearly some people
are more intelligent, more beautiful or more athletic than others. 'If your
child agrees that all people are created equal, then they believe in the
Torah, and they believe that God created everything.'

4. Why did Grandpa have to die?

When children ask about death, it's often the deal breaker for their
believing in God, suggested Artson. He offers this analogy for children:
When you get a haircut, your hair is on the floor, but that's not you on
the floor.

'You use your body in this world, but you are not your body,' he said.
'When a loved one no longer needs that body, we take care of it to show
respect and love for the dead person, but now their spirit is with God.'

Many Jews don't realize that Judaism believes in life after death, Artson
Added, because to them it sounds like a Christian concept.

5. Why did my Mom get sick? Why do bad things happen -- like, for example,
the recent earthquake and tsunamis?

People want suffering to be some kind of divine punishment, but that's not
always the case. Explain that there are different reasons why human beings
suffer, Artson counseled, whether it's a natural disaster (like a tsunami)
or a personal tragedy (like not getting picked for the soccer team).

The universe works in a certain way. Physical things end. They crumble or
die, or they are destroyed by fire or flood. That's the nature of the
physical world.

'You may feel sad, but you can't blame God,' said Artson.

Because people are free, they are free to do bad things and abuse their
freedom. If people could only do the right thing, there would be no free
will. 'So when Nazis kill Jews, that's not God's problem, it's humanity's
problem;' he said.

In one ancient legend, there is a secret room in the heavens where God goes
to cry because of all the terrible things people do to each other.

In the face of tragedy, we can praise God by helping to comfort the
survivors and giving tsedakah, according to the book I Have Some Questions.

Never tell children that suffering is not bad or that it's for the best in
the long term.

Sometimes just validating the question helps children find their own
answers, Artson concluded. 'Ask children what they think, because sometimes
what they want to know is much simpler than the question we think they're
asking,' he said. You'll be surprised when you clarify the question how
often children come up with great answers for themselves.

Article copyright the Cleveland Jewish News.
V.95;

Author talks to kids about the difference between being poor and being broke. - Herald & Review (Decatur, IL)

Byline: Valerie Wells

Jan. 12--DECATUR -- John W. Fountain did not grow up 'poor,' though he thought so at the time.

'I used to say, as a kid, that I was poor,' Fountain told Renee Saunches' fifth-graders at South Shores School on Wednesday. 'Later I learned I wasn't poor, just broke. I may not have had everything I needed, but I had people who cared about me, who loved me.'

Fountain is the author of 'True Vine,' an account of how a combination of faith, determination and encouragement from people who loved him helped him escape the fate of many of his childhood friends. True Vine is the name of the church where his grandfather was pastor in the Chicago neighborhood where Fountain grew up, and his grandmother was such a significant influence on his life that he dedicated his book to her.

Saunches read the book last summer and was so impressed she wrote to him to tell him she'd bought copies for her sister, daughter and best friend and intended to recommend it to her students' parents, too.

One thing she loved about it was that Fountain told his story unflinchingly, but without any inappropriate language or content that she or her students' parents would find unsuitable for the kids.

'It's an adult book,' Saunches said, 'but anybody in this class could read it without reservation.'

His message, Fountain told the students, is that education is the key to making your life what you want it to be.

'You have a better chance of being hit by lightning than making it into the NBA,' he told the class. 'Some of the best basketball players I've ever seen were on the west side of Chicago. And you know what? They're still on the west side of Chicago, playing on the playground.'

Making it in professional sports is as much a matter of luck as skill, he said, but if you study to be an engineer, you will be an engineer.

Students were already familiar with him, because in response to a request from Saunches he had sent a motivational poem that the students repeat every day.

'It makes me want to do something for the world,' said Jared Sheppard, 11. 'So I'm going to be in the Army someday.'

Tyler Taylor, also 11, said Fountain's example makes it clear that she can only achieve her dreams by avoiding anything that could hamper her.

And when Saunches asked her class, after Fountain's talk, to tell her what they'd learned from him, Marcus Lahr put it succinctly:

'To get, you have to give.'

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@;herald-review.com or 421-7982.

Copyright (c) 2006, Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

Oz is new kid in Hall - The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

00-00-0000
Oz is new kid in Hall -- Wizard takes Yellow Brick Road to Cooperstown By JOHN KEKIS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Date: 07-29-2002, Monday Section: SPORTS Edtion: All Editions.=.Two Star B. Two Star P. One Star B Biographical: OZZIE SMITH

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Go crazy, folks! The Wizard is in the Hall of Fame.

Fighting back a tear or two, Ozzie Smith joined baseball's elite Sunday, accepting his position in the pantheon of great stars of yesteryear with a wonderful speech that aptly described his storybook life.

"This is tough," Smith, the only former player to be elected this year, said, halting to brush away a tear after his son, Dustin, read the inscription on his plaque. "I've faced many challenges in my career, and if I was to rank them by difficulty, this moment in Cooperstown would rank at the top of the list. It's almost an impossible task to express in 20 short minutes a journey that has taken me over 20 years to complete."

Not surprisingly, the man who took the defensive aspect of the shortstop position to another level during his 19-year career accomplished that - thanking everyone from his mom, Marvel, to his high school coach, to the man who brought him to St. Louis, former manager Whitey Herzog.

Comparing his life to Dorothy's journey down the Yellow Brick Road in the "Wizard of Oz" and holding a copy of the famed children's book in his hands, Smith recounted every critical aspect of his baseball life and detailed what made him a success: the mind to dream that the Scarecrow cherished, a heart to believe that the Tin Man ached for, and the c-c-c-c courage of the Lion to persevere.

"Ozzie Smith was a boy who decided to look within, a boy who discovered that absolutely nothing is good enough if it can be made better, a boy who discovered an old-fashioned formula that would take him beyond the rainbow, beyond even his wildest dreams," said Smith, who was flanked by 46 Hall of Famers, including former Cardinals greats Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, and Red Schoendienst.

Smith, who holds six career fielding marks for shortstops, including most assists (8,375), double plays (1,590), and chances (12,624), revealed a couple of the secrets that made him such a deft fielder.

His first glove was a paper bag, and he used to lie on the floor of his house in the tough Watts section of Los Angeles, close his eyes and toss a baseball into the air, then catch it without looking at it. Over and over. He also would throw a baseball over the roof of the house, then try to run around and catch it.

"No, I never caught it," Smith, who won 13 straight NL Gold Glove awards, said with a smile. "But it never stopped me from trying. Luckily, I didn't just experience the dream for a moment and then dismiss it as foolishness."

Smith, also holding a baseball that was sliced in half, said the core of his journey was a dream that took shape in his heart one day when he was 12 while sitting on the front steps of his home.

"I remember I was exhausted from playing yet another game," he said. "I let the dream come into the playground of my mind. I embraced it. I embellished it to the point that I would select the position I would play."

Smith, 47, who retired after the 1996 season, said beforehand that he didn't know how he would react on the dais. There was no trademark back flip, but in a summer that has been hard on St. Louis fans with the deaths of longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck and pitcher Darryl Kile, Smith gave them and the audience of 19,000 present a reason to smile.

"I sincerely believe that there is nothing truly great in any man or woman, except their character, their willingness to move beyond the realm of self and into a greater realm of selflessness," Smith said before reading a poem he dedicated to the memory of Buck, whose call of Smith's game-winning home run against the Dodgers in the 1985 National League playoffs incited fans to 'Go crazy.'

"Giving back is the ultimate talent in life," Smith said. "That is the greatest trophy on my mantel."

Also honored were longtime Detroit sports writer Joe Falls, who was given the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for his six decades of work, and Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas, who accepted the Ford C. Frick Award.

Illustrations/Photos: PHOTO - ASSOCIATED PRESS - Shortstop wizard Ozzie Smith wearing a wig as a joke while addressing the crowd during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony Sunday. Keywords: PROFESSIONAL, BASEBALL, ATHLETE

Kinsella a 'comeback kid' with quirky, captivating tale of baseball, butterflies - Winnipeg Free Press

The comeback kid -- the phenom whose prowess at bat and in life faltered, who famously recovers his potential at a critical moment to take his team to the top -- is a well-known baseball archetype.

At age 76, B.C.-based W.P. Kinsella is probably too old to be called a kid. But he has made a phenomenal comeback in his first novel since a car accident in 1997 impaired his ability to concentrate. The author of 1982's Shoeless Joe, which American actor Kevin Costner turned into the Hollywood hit Field of Dreams, Kinsella continues to give his treasured sport credibility in the literary world.

Baseball and butterflies converge in this fabulist magical-realist story, set in the mythic country of Courteguay, 'a tiny landlocked country nestled like a snail between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in the shape of the moon of a fingernail, and not much larger.'

Crafted from two short stories Kinsella wrote in the 1980s, Butterfly Winter makes for a quirky, captivating read.

As in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, it's important to keep track of the changing situation. Kinsella creates unique characters that die and rise again; his unreliable and manipulative narrator is a shape-shifting wizard with a taste for flashy capes.

Life in beautiful Courteguay is pleasant, but not dull. Baseball is the national obsession, such that prospective brides must prove they can play passably before the wedding can be held.

Born are a set of twins who remember playing catch in the womb. Julio and Estaban Pimental sleep opposite to each other in the crib -- Julio with his arm stretched in a sidearm curve, Estaban curled in a permanent catcher's crouch.

Julio is unbeatable, but he can only pitch to his mediocre brother, and the greedy big leagues snap them up while they are still small children. Kinsella uses their tenure there to comment on the racism the 'cinnamon' Central Americans experience in baseball despite their talent and numbers, and the convenient way born-again Christians interpret religion to rationalize infidelity, among other hypocrisies.

Although the story is full of humour, satire and irony, it also mirrors the history of Central America and the succession of tinpot dictators the U.S. helped install there for 100 years. The political sickness that plagued Central America infests the paradise of Courteguay, too, with similar violent, cruel results at the hands of a former chiropractor.

The battle to restore the balance of good over evil challenges the strategies and skills Julio and Estaban learned on the diamond; love adds further complications. It's like a baseball game -- unpredictable and heart-wrenching.

The narrative weaves back and forth in time; short chapters alternate mostly between the recollections of the lying Wizard and a gullible Gringo Journalist.

The journalist can't seem to sort the magical from the real, a task made especially difficult because of surprising plot twists.

While best known for his baseball stories, Kinsella's long list of credits includes moving Prairie novels (Box Socials, The Winter Helen Dropped By), poems and short story collections set on the First Nations community in Hobbema, Alta., Dance Me Outside, The Fencepost Chronicles and The Miss Hobbema Pageant, among others.

Now plagued by health problems, Kinsella has nevertheless regained his creativity, his sharp edge and writing prowess.

Published by the literary imprint of Winnipeg's Great Plains Publications, Butterfly Winter is a welcome return for one of Canada's most prolific and masterful writers, who reportedly finished another book this past summer.

Reading Kinsella, as the Wizard describes baseball, is like spending 'an afternoon beside a clear brook, birds singing, sun shining, flowers blooming.' Who could ask for more?

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg.

Butterfly Winter

By W.P. Kinsella

Queen Latifah writes children's book to inculcate self-respect in kids - Hindustan Times (New Delhi, India)

Report from the Asian News International brought to you by the Hindustan Times

New York, Oct 29 -- Hip-hop legend and Oscar nominated actress Queen Latifah is probably best known to millions as the memorable Mama Morton in the blockbuster film Chicago.

And now, the rapper-turned-actress can also add 'children's book author' to her list of accomplishments, as she has written a book 'Queen of the Scene' that is meant to teach kids about self-respect.

The protagonist of the book is a brassy and ambitious young girl who dominates any sport or game she tackles from hoops to hopscotch.

'Really, the book is all about having a state of mind that makes you feel you can do anything,' The New York Daily News quoted Latifah, as saying.

'I wrote it for all the shy kids out there who are on the verge of trying something new but are afraid. It's for any kid who wants to be somebody ... whether they want to read a poem to the class or try out for the talent show or the lacrosse team,' the 36-year-old added.

Born Dana Owens to a police officer and a high school art teacher in Newark, Latifah takes confidence building seriously. Eariler she also wrote a book 'Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman' (1999) to promote higher self-esteem in women.

Kids' Hallmark: Made by Hand - The Washington Post

IT'S THE HOLIDAY season-a time for exchanging greetings,entertaining friends and relatives, and, of course, giving andreceiving surprises! If you have children in the house, you've knownfor months the items topping their Christmas and Hanukah gift lists.Selecting gifts for kids is easy; the hard part is reminding themthat the holidays are for giving as well as receiving.

You can help instill this spirit and solve a few gift-ideadilemmas at the same time by encouraging your children to make theirown gifts for others-especially presents for adults in the family,including grandparents who often don't seem to need much of anything.

Last year we not only came up with a way to remind our 5-year-oldson how wonderful the giving part of the holidays can be, but alsoallowed him to create some memorable, one-of-a-kind presents. Theidea was simple: using fabric paint, he would hand paint inexpensivesweat shirts and sweat pants. The results were comfortable'designer' fashions with a smile.

Actually, it all worked out rather well. I was surprised byRyan's creativeness and it wasn't a big mess-a high priority in mybook this time of year. For his grandmother who lives in Florida andloves the beach, he drew an ocean scene complete with sea gulls anddolphin. For my bike-riding husband he drew all three of us onbicycles, then for high drama added a fire engine and burning housewith lots of black smoke on the side of one pant leg. I'm happy toreport this usually quite conservatively dressed man wears hiscustom-made outfit frequently.

Grandparents will probably chuckle over hand and footprintspressed up and down pant legs, scattered over a shirt-wherever youand your child think best (or, perhaps more accurately, wherever apaint-smeared hand happens to land). This is a cute way to decoratean outfit if your child is an infant.

You can also add a few words to go with the drawings. Since mymother is such a sport about getting down on the floor to play trucksand cars with our son, I wrote 'Grandsons keep you young' across thefront of her elaborately designed shirt. And on all of his creationsRyan added his own messages of love and that all-important signature.

Here are a few tips if you've never attempted this kind ofproject before:

Start a few days early. This is not a Christmas Eve ornight-before-Hanukah effort. Unless your child is a true artist atheart, he or she may not have the patience to do more than one shirtat a time.

Fabric paints and crayons are available at most craft stores,and will include specific instructions. Fabric crayons may be easierfor young hands to master but, even when applied according toinstructions, I've had trouble with their fading after a fewwashings. I've had more success with fabric paints.

Keep anything you don't want painted out of the way, and don'twear good clothes as you assist your little artist. Fabric paints donot wash out of clothes; a mistake is a mistake is a mistake. Don'tforget to put cardboard or aluminum foil inside the garment to keepthe paint from soaking through to the other side.

If possible, have your children draw their designs with chalk orpencil first. But if they eyeball that new tube of scarlet andinsist on having at it with wanton abandon, try to grin and bear it.After all, it's their present to make and to give.

There are other ways to incorporate your children's talents intospecial gifts. Since we did shirts last year, I've decided toattempt something new this holiday. With our son's help, I plan tocompose an 'original' poem about little boys, then ask my artisticbrother to write the words in calligraphy on attractive vellum. Tofinish, Ryan can stamp his handprints beneath the poem and I'll haveit framed.

If you aren't feeling creative, 'Granger's Index to Poetry'(Columbia University Press) or a book of quotations such as 'The HomeBook of Quotations,' selected by Burton Stevenson (Dodd, Mead &Company), may help you find appropriate words.

If your children are extremely articulate, you may want toconsider playing newscaster with them. Record on audio or videotapea holiday 'This Is Your Life' interview focusing on theiraccomplishments during the year, current interests and specialmessages for relatives. You could also ask your children to producetheir own tape. Perhaps they could assign everyone in the family aparticular role (meteorologist, reporter, anchor, etc.) and be incharge of a family television or radio program. Audio and videotapesare especially nice if you won't be able to spend the holidays withrelatives.

And finally, for those of you with little literary types in thehousehold, why not ask them to write and design a book? You couldhelp by typing in the words (their words, no cheating even to correctgrammatical errors), then let them illustrate the pages. The bookcould be tailored for the recipient ('When I Stay With Grandma,''Helping Uncle Roger on the Farm,' etc.). Punch holes, tie ittogether with yarn, and you have an attractive little bestseller(well, sort of) for grandma and grandpa.

Another plus for letting children make special gifts is thelesson they learn about the fun of keeping secrets. You may beamazed to find out how well they can keep the surprise a surpriseonce they are in on a project. And encouraging children to create agift-out of love and by using their own talents-can help us all getback to the real meaning of the holidays.

KIDS CORNER - The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY)

Treasuring summer

I remember:

The sun shining on my face.

The thoughts that drift along in my mind.

Riding a bike along a never-ending road.

Smelling the freshly cut grass.

Wishing for something that couldn't be granted.

Lying alone in a field thinking to myself, life is good.

Trying to touch a star that you know you can't.

The endless day that was once present but now past.

-- Matt Shiesley, 12,

Williamsville

Untitled

Sayanora swallowed salad

in Shreveport

Scheherazade smelled something

smelly in Switzerland

Syania sat on a shark

while savoring starfish

Sorlane was shy in Spain

Shannon sung in the shower

Susie saw skittles in her

spaghetti

-- Ajalon Williams, Buffalo

Love

Love can be warm

Love can be cold.

Love can be new

Love can be old.

These are my feelings

Now I have told.

-- Holly Tomasello, 10,

Williamsville

Toys and toys

Toys, toys

Won't you play with my toys.

I wish you would

I wish you could.

Would you, could you

Play with me?

-- Bryan Szarletta, 9,

Williamsville

Butterflies

Butterflies are all different

Colors like red, pink, yellow, orange and green

They fly about everywhere

You know what I mean

The one I found is very pretty

Sometimes he looks very silly

He flies around everywhere

Showing off his stripes of pink and red

He flies off in front of my friends

He's showing off I think

-- Cara Petrucci, 7, Buffalo

The so-called game

Some say it's just a game,

To me it's life

Hockey

The true sport of life,

we need no cheerleaders just our sticks, skates and souls

Gliding, shooting, passing, checking and the always present

SCORE!!

The sweet sensation of scoring, and the feeling of coldness

when you walk into the rink

and tie up your skates

Getting up at 6 in the morning just to practice

The sweat pouring

down your face,

the burn in your muscles from

pushing your body past the limit,

Hockey

The tournaments, getting less than seven hours of sleep

Having the last game of the tourney come to a shoot-out

Scoring the winning goal

of the shoot-out and

being presented with

the gorgeous trophy

Hockey

When the whistle blows it is no more fun and games

IT IS LIFE!!

Hockey

-- Joey Gawlak, 13, Clarence

Kids hook prizes for whopping fish tales.(Neighbor) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Connie Powers

How did all those monster goldfish get into Lake Ellyn?

That's the question kids answered to enter the Glen Ellyn Park District's 'Whopping Tale' contest.

'It's basically the biggest lie you could think of in 150 words or less,' said Mary Defiglia, recreation supervisor for the park district.

Entrants with the wildest stories in their age division were declared winners.

Emily Kowalski, 8, won her division with her theory that the goldfish dropped into the lake during a storm when it 'rained geese and goldfish.'

Another winner, Mark Miller, 11, wrote about a boy who, while wearing a goldfish-printed swimsuit, was yanked into Lake Ellyn by a huge fish. After climbing out, the boy noticed his suit was blank, and the fish that had decorated it were now swimming in the lake.

Elizabeth Kos, 13, took the prize for her division with her tale of sinister goldfish who chose Lake Ellyn as their headquarters for world domination.

Kevin Sobocinski, winner of the ninth-grade through adult division, credits a fictional character named John Gold, who helped dig the hole for Glen Ellyn. While excavating, Gold stumbled upon a little dead fish and placed it into the lake. The fish's spirit looked favorably on Gold's good deed, so the next day the lake was filled with his namesake fish.

Children also entered poems, art, even a newspaper, complete with headlines, horoscopes and a sports page, all about fish.

'They weren't what we asked for, but we sure couldn't discount them; they were so good,' Defiglia said about the atypical entries. 'We ended up creating a couple more categories.'

Most Creative Whopping Fish Tale went to the newspaper entry by Brian Connelly, 12, and Kevin Klein, 12. Honorable Mention for Best Whopping Fish Tale Poem was awarded to Emily Peck, 12, while Most Artistic Whopping Fish Tale went to Kristy Eggert, 13.

Winners will present their whoppers at the park district's annual fishing derby June 21 at Lake Ellyn Park, 645 Lenox Road, Glen Ellyn.

The event will be expanded beyond fishing this year to include games, crafts and a 'special aquarium,' in which several of Glen Ellyn's 'big fish' - Fire Chief Stu Stone, County Board member Mike Formento, and Village President Joe Wark - will be dunked.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 21. Registration is $5 for residents, $7.50 for nonresidents, and participants should bring their own fishing poles.

For more information, call (630) 858-2462.

Chalk art

The community is invited to see Ben Glenn, a nationally known chalk artist, present his program of 'Living Art' at 9:40 a.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn in the fellowship hall, 500 Anthony St., Glen Ellyn.

Using brightly colored chalk on a black screen lit with spotlights, Glenn tells stories that challenge and inspire preschoolers through adults.

'Its something that's good for all ages,' said Trevecca Okholm, director of Christian education for the church.

The program is free.

WASHINGTON TODAY: Fictional critters teach kids about Supreme Court - AP Online

LAURIE ASSEO Associated Press Writer
AP Online
06-19-1998
WASHINGTON (AP) _ There are mice at the Supreme Court, but do not call the exterminators. These are friendly critters, portraying the justices themselves in a new book intended to teach children about the Constitution and the highest court in the land.

``Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse: A Tail of the U.S. Supreme Court'' uses drawings and verse to take kids on a tour of the court building and explain how the justices go about interpreting the nation's laws.

``We're trying to teach children about government in a fun and interesting way,'' says Peter W. Barnes of Alexandria, Va., who wrote the book with his wife, illustrator Cheryl Shaw Barnes. ``They're learning without realizing that they're learning.''

The book shares space in the court's gift shop with another child-oriented volume, ``Travels with Max!'' a koala who interviews the chief justice about how the court works. The book, written by Nancy Ann Van Wie of Laguna Hills, Calif., uses picture clues and math problems to help children answer questions about the court.

The mouse justices in the Barnes' book stand upright, and they dress an awful lot like the real members of the court.

The mouse chief justice wears four gold stripes on the upper arms of his robe, just like those worn by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. One mouse has a bow tie, like Justice John Paul Stevens, and the women mice sport ruffled collars like those favored by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The drawings show the mouse justices on the bench in the stately courtroom and meeting in their private conference room, and depict their mouse clerks doing research in the court's beautiful library.

The color illustrations are quite accurate, except that mice replace the human figures in the pediment over the building's massive entrance, in the courtroom friezes and in the library's woodwork.

Then there are the turtles - one hidden somewhere in every drawing for a sharp-eyed child to find. The real Supreme Court has sculptures of turtles too, representing the slow and steady path of justice.

The mouse justices have a case to decide: Can the Mouse Congress require everyone to eat a certain kind of cheese each day?

The poem takes readers from oral arguments to the justices' private conference and the announcement of a ruling. In an authentic-looking printed decision, the court strikes down the law and declares freedom of cheese for everyone.

The story closes, ``Each decision makes sure that we all understand that our great Constitution is the law of the land!''

Children who read Van Wie's book about Max, the traveling koala, find out who was the first chief justice (John Jay), who was the only president who also served as chief justice, (William Howard Taft), and what happens during an oral argument.

They learn that the nine justices always shake hands with all their colleagues before each court session, and they learn about one of the most important court rulings affecting children: the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision that outlawed racial segregation in public schools.

The koala is intended to help kids relate to the idea of laws and courts.

``If it's taught properly, I think children can understand it easily,'' says Van Wie, whose book came out in 1994. ``They're not intimidated, but adults are. You say 'judicial branch' and they say, 'whoa, forget it.'''

Because of the legal subject matter, she and the Barneses say these books were harder to create than their books about Congress and the White House. Court officials helped them get the details right. In fact, Van Wie's book was commissioned by the Supreme Court Historical Society.

In putting together the courthouse mouse book, Barnes said he and his wife ``wanted to make sure kids understand there are things called laws and they're important.''

As Cheryl Barnes said, it's ``a mice way to learn about government.''

---

EDITOR'S NOTE - Laurie Asseo covers the Supreme Court and legal issues for The Associated Press.


Copyright 1998 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved.