The Times-News from Twin Falls, Idaho • 30

FAMILY LIFE 6 SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011 FEATURES EDITOR VIRGINIA HUTCHINS: 735-3242 VIRGINIA HUTCHINSLEE.NET Lalah Williams, left, 10, and fellow Girl Scout Hilary Foinding, 9, organize their orders in Upper Marlboro, Md. Williams used face-to-face sales and the Internet to sell 1,003 boxes last year. Technology boosts Girl Scout cookie sales PaWPgwEBF The first cookie sale by Girl Scouts was in 1917 when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Okla baked cookies and sold them in the high school cafeteria During cookie season from December to March, Lalah asks absolutely everyone she meets if they want Girl Scout cookies and sends order forms to work with her parents. But for the past couple of years, she has also had some high-tech help for her already strong selling skills, using a program called Cookie Club to track her sales online. She can use it to set sales goals, see her progress and, perhaps most important, to send official cookie order e-mails to potential customers.

Instead of going up to them and having them take Not everyone has a Girl Scout coming to their door so they call us and say, Where do I find them? said Lidia Soto-Harmon, chief executive of the Girl Scouts Council of the Nations Capital. Now we can tell them theres an app that makes it easy. Soto-Harmon said boosting sales is important, because its the main way that troops get their funds, keeping about 70 cents for each $4 box of cookies sold. Getting more people to booth sales also builds girls personal selling skills. We have to make sure our QWhy did you become a writer? A Before my son was bom (hes now 21 years old), I was writing for grown-ups.

I started reading books to my son and started writing for kids and knew that was what I was meant to do. I owe my whole career to my son and the My Weird School series to my daughter (who is now 15). QWhat advice would you give to kids who want to become writers? A I write my first draft on my computer and then I read it out loud. I pretend Children author Dan Gutman: Me never forgets to laugh This year, the Girl Scouts are rolling out another high-tech device to boost cookie sales: a cookie finder app for smartphones. This free app contains information on all the upcoming Girl Scout cookie booth sales so people can simply enter their city or Zip code to find an upcoming booth sale in their area.

Booth sales end March 27. very much intrigued by these offbeat tourist sites: tire Pez museum, the worlds largest ball of twine. But I knew that just those wacky places alone wouldnt make a cool story. But if someone were trying to kill the kids, that would be really cool. Kindof like Alex Rider.

An action-adventure-mystery that has much more humor than Alex Rider. There will be four books in The Genius Files series, and the second one concludes at the National Museum of American History in five minutes to decide what cookies they want, they can just send me an e-mail, Lalah explained. That means it takes less time for Lalah, but it also gives the buyer more time to decide how many boxes to buy. Lalah said her e-mail customers almost always buy more than face-to-face purchasers, she said. group of kids than with the teachers.

I get a sense of how (kids) eat, talk, dress. Its not work to make it sound like average kids talking. I used to write for grown-ups, but I wasnt successful at it. Thats probably because I relate better to kids. How would you describe 'The Genius Files se- AI combined a lot of components that I like.

I never took a cross-country trip as a kid, but I would love to (so I de -cided to have my characters go on that kind of a trip). I was SARAH I VOISINWashington Post girls understand the importance of a face-to-face sale and a handshake, Soto-Harmon said. We cant lose that piece. This year, Lalah already has plans for her new portable DVD player -which she expects to earn for selling more than 1,000 cookies. Her troop is planning a trip to Savannah, the birthplace of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low.

The girls will get a special patch for the trip. Its going to be a nine-to-12-hour ride, Lalah said. Im going to take that with me to watch movies. DEB LINDSEYfor the Washington Post that. Im a kid or a librarian.

When Im reading it through someone elses eyes, I can see where I can improve it and see the mistakes Ive made in it. Dan Gutman is at the scene of the crime in his new book, 'The Genius Files: Mission Gutman says the book, which is part of a series, is an action-adventure-mystery with a lot of humor. (And yes, the arrow through his head is intentional!) By Margaret Webb Pressler The Washington Post For 10-year-old Lalah Williams, the magic number is 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, that is. Last year, the Upper Marlboro, fifth-grader was one of her regions top sellers of Girl Scout cookies, selling 1,003 boxes of Trefoils, Thin Mints and other favorites. She earned every award for selling certain numbers of cookies, including T-shirts and stuffed animals, all the way up to the top prize for selling more than 1 ,000 boxes.

Education of Afghan girls still in jeopardy The Washington Post Can you imagine not being able to go to school because you are a girl? That was the situation for girls in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban, which controlled the country from 1996 until 2001. The education of women was illegal in Afghanistan, and one of the biggest gains since the change in government has been allowing girls to go to school. Now those gains are in jeopardy because of lack of money to train teachers and lack of security in the south-central Asian country, according to a new report. Today there are 2.4 million Afghan girls enrolled in school, but about 20 percent do not attend classes regularly. Girls miss class because it can take three hours to get there; parents are also concerned about school safety.

There are more than 12 million children younger than 15 in Afghanistan. (The countrys population is about 29 million.) But only 12 percent of girls can read and write at age 15, compared with 43 percent of the boys. An educated woman is better able to stand up for her interests, raise a healthier family and contribute to the economy," said researcher Abdul By Tracy Grant The Washington Post Dan Gutman is one goofy guy. He has written, by his count, 98 books. Thats more than twice the number of plays written by William Shakespeare.

And were pretty sure that being compared to Shakespeare would make him laugh. Thats because Gutman laughs an awful lot. Recently, we talked to the author about his special kind of writing for kids, why he be -cameawriterandhowhisnew book, The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable, came to be. After the interview was over, we had a hard time understanding the notes because its really, really hard to take notes while youre laughing out loud. A Your books are silly.

VThere are 35 in the My Weird School series, and the lead characters in this book are named Coke and Pepsi. Do you try to be different? A I really worry about boring readers. When I open a book and the author goes on for page after page describing characters, I find it boring. So I try to cut to the chase. If I can throw you off your stride a little bit, youll keep turning the page.

The kids in your books very likable and be-Why do you think thatis? A When I visit schools, Id rather eat with a small 2009 Photo by NINA WALLACE.