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Lois Lane, cub reporter, is back

ByMichael Thal

About Lois Lane: Double Down, Entertainment Weekly says,” …it’s basically Lois Lane in a Veronica Mars-esque plot, which sounds like all kinds of awesome.” And it is. In her second Lois Lane book, author Gwenda Bond has recreated Lois as a teenage cub reporter for the Daily Planet. Her editor, Perry White, pressures teen Scoop…

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SCWBI Summer Reading List could boost kids’ reading ability

ByMichael Thal

School in Los Angeles begins August 16, 2016. It’s been a long hot summer, so slow the pace a bit, kick back, and read a book. It’s so important that the reading skills of children remain sharp. According to an article in Reading Rocks, “Summer Reading Loss,” thirteen academic studies covering 40,000 students discovered that…

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Koolura Series character Leila Marvi speaks out

ByMichael Thal

Leila Marvi is deaf. She’s also the main character in Koolura and the Mayans, and a secondary character in Koolura and the Mystery at Camp Saddleback.  She has a few things to say about herself, BFF Koolura Akopyan, and the two novels she appears in.   Can you tell us a little about yourself? My name is Leila Marvi….

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How Netflix protects kids and parental responsibility

ByMichael Thal

Netflix, a global provider of streaming movies and TV series, has over 75 million subscribers. It started service in 1998 as an American DVD-by-mail service and began streaming in 2007. Recently, it has produced award-winning programs such as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” The company also cares about kid programming that includes…

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Changes in the GED HS Equivalency Exam

ByMichael Thal

A GED Certificate is equivalent to a high school diploma. Michael Ormsby says in his article, “Three Reasons to get a GED Certificate,“ in the United States “39 million adults don’t have a high school diploma.” Since the population of the US is about 323, 343,000, there are about one out of ten adults functioning…

Become a diplomat: Host an exchange student

ByMichael Thal

EF High School Exchange Year, the top high school exchange program in the United States, has promoted global awareness through student exchanges for more than 30 years. Since 1979 it has connected more than 100,000 international students with caring host families from the Carolinas to California. The non-profit organization is designated by the U.S. Department…

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Pop’s blog plans to expand scope to parenting and teen Issues

ByMichael Thal

Back in 2009 I was an aspiring author trying to establish a reader base. I looked into several opportunities, but the Los Angeles Examiner offered the most attractive home for my writing. They accepted my “Dear LA Teacher” premise where parents, teachers, and students wrote in asking important and not so important questions about Education,…

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Modern Day Slavery

ByMichael Thal

Think the slave trade stopped with the Civil War? Petra knows better. Petra, a beautiful Hispanic girl, just finished a snack with her friend at the Pizza Parlour. When the companions separated, Petra headed home to finish her homework. When she was about to cross the street, powerful hands grabbed, shot her with a taser,…