The Chatterbox

The Chatterbox

News and views from the staff of FamilyEducation.
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archives

March 23, 2012
What the Heck Is "Hunger Games"?
Brace yourself for your local movie theater to be taken over by millions of shrieking fans -- not of wizards, werewolves, and vampires -- but of... warring teenagers? I thought you just had to go to your local junior high hallways to take that in. Hmm... I haven't gotten caught up in The Hunger Games mania yet, but I am planning to read the book(s) to find out why in the world it's all the rage. My loose understanding of it, based on the movie trailers I've seen, makes it look like some mix of Gattaca and Gladiator -- a futuristic world of fights to the death. But kids (...
Hunger Games, Pop Culture, Teens, young adult fiction
March 14, 2012
The Death of Encyclopaedia Britannica
I must admit, when I heard the news that Encyclopaedia Britannica will no longer be printed, I felt like I do when I learn that an old movie star who I thought had died a long time ago has just died. Nonetheless, as a lover of published books and history, it's sad and strange to me that the renowned 244-year-old encyclopedia series has been pulled from the presses. (The Britannica company said it will focus on its online product.) What adult these days can forget growing up with their family's classy-looking set of encyclopedias lined up neatly on their bookshelf (...
digital age, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Internet, libraries, Media, nostalgia
March 9, 2012
The Ideal Age to Become a Mom Is...
In your 30s... Not a huge shock, but that's what a small new study published in the journal Human Reproduction concluded. The University of California, San Francisco, study asked 107 parents who used in vitro fertilization to have their first child at age 40+ about the pros and cons of having kids at that age. Some of the pros they cited: being more self-confident and understanding; one of the big cons: lacking physical energy they had in their 20s and 30s. The participants were also asked the "optimal age for parenting," and 80 percent of the women and 70...
IVF, older parents, Parenting