News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 210

B4 THE NEWS-PRESS, CAPE LIFE SOUTH, SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2008 mmrSrinfiiriff ji Chatter Box Wacky Facts V. SI a 8 II Si fll f' The hula is the traditional dance of Hawaii. WVi i 11! 1U If iff I just love chocolate and I can't give it up. It was popular for centuries before it was banned bv I find myself eating it all the time, even when I don't want to be. It just appears in my mouth!" I CapL James Cook, an English explorer who landed in Hawau in 1778.

However, the dance didn't Vanessa Hudgens "High School Musical 2 on People.com. die out, and is still popular today. World Almanac for Kids jr St Sff' COURTESV RAZOR AND TIE The group Kidz Bop is touring the country for the first time. In The News urban clubs where DJs sampled songs to its present-day significance as a force for social commentary and political change. Young Musically themed books for guitar heroes music fans can also check out other books in the series, featuring such artists as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah.

"Never Mind! A Twin Novel" by Avi and Rachel Vail (HarperCollins, $16.89) ItaU began when Meg Kidz Bop singers rock on the road The stadium was dark except for the stage, where multicolored spotlights shone brightly on 12 band members. Thousands of excited young music fans stood up from their seats, clapped their hands and danced to the music. NOT YOUR TYPICAL CONCERT It was a rock concert designed especially for kids and performed by kids. Time For Kids kid reporter Yun Hee Hyun was there this winter when fans started bopping to pop tunes at a Kidz Bop rTlT 1 A World Tour conceit in New York. I I VA JH The Kidz Bop band played their 5 versions of tunes, including Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend," The All-American Rejects' "Move Along" anc Kelly Clarkson's "Since Been Gone." The crowd went wild when the group performed Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape." Children and adults alike sang along and clapped their hands to the music.

GETTING TO KNOW THE GROUP Kidz Bop was formed in 2001. The group takes popular songs and rerecords them so that they appeal to a younger audience. The group's first CD, "Kidz Bop 1," was released on Oct. 9, 2001. Since then, the told a popular girl that her under-achiever twin brother was By Claire Abraham McClatchy Newspapers really a gifted musician or Have you been playing "Rock Band" or "Guitar Hero 2" nonstop with your friends? maybe it began when Edward then promised the same girl that his Do you plan your weeknights around "American Idol," which just began its seventh season of looking for the next pop superstar? Then have we got the reading list for you: Books about making it big in the music biz, with char imaginary band, Never Mind, would play at her birthday party.

Either way, Edward and Meg are ef both headed for complete humiliation as Edward pre-pares for a hilariously awful group has sold more than 10 million CDs. performance that rivals any of those bad auditions from "American Idol." acters both real and fictional who made it to the top without having to weather the criticism of Simon Cowell. Read on, and rock out! ELEMENTARY GRADES "Backstage at a Music Video" by Holly Cefrey (Children's Press, $6.95) Do kids still want their MTV? A generation In October, Kidz Bop launched a nationwide, 80-city tour that will continue through "Born To Rock" the spring. Now, fans can see the performers live in concert for the first time. Davide Schiavone, 12, is a mm after the music network began, videos are part of our everyday life.

This book uses simple words and full-color photographs on every page to take you through the entire process of creat I by Gordon Korman (Hyperion, $8.99 paperback) Meet Leo Carraway, an ul-traconservative Young Republican, headed for Harvard University on a scholarship. ing a music video. "Melvin Beederman, Superhero: The Grateful Fred" by Greg Trine (Henry Holt and $5.99) singer and dancer for Kidz Bop. He joined the group because he thought it would be fun to travel and perform in front of large audiences. His favorite part of his job, he says, is signing autographs for fans What does he do when he's not entertaining? "I have fun, play games, talk to my cousins, and hang out with my friends," he told Time For Kids.

Any advice for aspiring rock stars, Davide? "You have to just follow youi dreams and pursue your life," he says. Yun Hee Hyun 2008 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks 0) Time Inc. When an unscrupulous principal gets his scholarship revoked because of bogus accusa Meet Melvin Beederman, third-grade superhero! Melvin's miffed because somebody's been sending threatening letters to his favorite rock group, The Grateful Fred.

When a bomb ex tions of cheating, Leo gets a job working as a roadie for plodes in the middle of their concert, Melvin and his trusty sidekick Candace go in search of Joe the Bad Guy and his his biological father evil cloning machine. MIDDLE SCHOOL "Hip-Hop: A Short History" Why did Marion X. McMurphy, notoriously destructive lead singer of the punk rock band Purge. A fun read, and just out in paperback this month. What's Mozart get rid of i the difference between his chickens? -V.

tie I They kept saying by Rosa Waters (Mason Crest Publishers, $7.95) Hip-hop isn't just a music genre; it's a culture and a way of life. Waters explores hip-hop from its origins in a fish and a piano? You can't tuna fish! What type of music do balloons hate? "Bach, Bach!" Claire Abraham is a children's librarian at the Fort Worth, Texas, Public Library. DUCKSTERS.COM Pop music! No real 'Revolution' in latest version of game Rips Raves exciting. The quest mode is better organized than last time, but it's still clumsy and confusingly presented. The solid but unspectacular dance mat returns unchanged.

Unless you want a second mat, you're fine buying just the game disc. any level of dance style and ability. All games should strive to be this accommodating. Thing is, everything you just read The incremental growth is a product of a game that already was doing so much. While "DDRU2" is easy to recom SHOW SCRAMBLER Can you unscramble these wintry words? u.

a vi' r( yjjj OH fJi lljJJJj A It 0 5 II It I 1 1 I 1 I MM'! i i If it wasn't possible for one game to be both the absolute best of its kind and a disappointment, it is now. "Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2" proves it. As "DDR" games go, "DDRU2" rules all. The backing of the Xbox 360 gives it a visual edge over its PS2 and Wii counterparts, and that's to say nothing of the online capabilities of Xbox Live. More importantly, though, "DDRU2" features a ridiculous array of ways to play.

Listing and describing them all in this short space would be impossible, but there's a reason a game that involves little more than stepping on a dance pad in time with music comes with a 42-page instruction manual. Bemani also allows gamers to tinker settings large and small in order to cater the game to just about applies to the previous "DDRU" game as well, and if you played that game last year, you're about to experience some serious deja vu. "DDRU2" has a new soundtrack, of course, and it refines a few modes and adds some new ones, including a freestyle mode for people too mend to anyone who loves the scries, if only because it presents new songs to conquer, it'd still be nice to see "DDR" blow our minds again. (Trans lation: It's time for custom sound hopeless to play the game as intended. But for gamers who do play "DDRU2" as intended, the changes aren't terribly track support.) Rated: Everyone 10 (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) Billy Keefe iilUUMUNa idOHbWUNi UUVU'tlAAUNb MU IdMONb NvftMONb.