Published 02.24.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
Google announced Latitude, to its mobile maps service.
Google Latitude enables you to share your location with your friends, and see where your friends are (or at least where they want you to “think” they are). Through Latitude, you are able to connect with friends by sending them a text, chatting via Google talk or even getting directions to your friend’s location. It works on any phone that can run Google Maps My Location.
What do Tween Girls think about Latitude? We asked 219 AllyKatzz tween girls to give us their “pulse-check” on friend-tracking:
Main reason they don’t want to be tracked? They say it’s “stalkerish.” Translation: They’re being followed.
Published 02.20.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (2)
Tween girls LOVE Sudoku. Will they love KenKen?
A 14-year-old tween girl showed me the way to KenKen - is a little bit like Sudoku, except KenKen is a numerical logic puzzle and requires the BIG M - Math. KenKen means "cleverness squared."
"They" say the rules are simple: Fill the grid with digits so as not to repeat a digit within any row or column, and so the digits within each heavily outlined box (called a cage) go together using the arithmetic operation shown to make the target number indicated.
So far, I'm totally confused, but that makes it very similar to my first reaction to Sudoku. (That was before my tween daughter showed me the way.)
KenKen was invented by the Japanese educator Tetsuya Miyamoto, who founded and teaches at the Miyamoto Math Classroom in Tokyo. Students attend his class on weekends to improve their math and thinking skills. Mr. Miyamoto said he believes in “the art of teaching without teaching.”
I think I could get hooked on KenKen.
Published 12.22.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (1)
I was at the bookstore this past weekend with some tween girls (the girls are older tweens - they're 12-15 years old). In case you need some last minute gifts, here are the top 3 books that are on their "Gotta Read List" this week! Or if you're shopping after the holiday with their gift cards, show them what a cool mom you are and lead them to these books. I love it when they wonder, "How does she know about this?"
1. Girls who want to hang out with southern girls, are picking The Peaches Series. It's about three very different girls: Birdie would rather eat Thin Mints and sulk in the A/C. Leeds would prefer to sneak off with her boyfriend, Rex. Murphy would much rather cause a little mischief. Together these three girls discover the secret to finding the right boy (Hey, I have some friends that should read this!), making the truest of friends, and picking the perfect Georgia peach.
2. Girls who love the supernatural, went with Love is Hell. Reviews from the book's website: Sure, love is hell. But it,s totally worth it. In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers—Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Scott Westerfeld (Specials), Justine Larbalestier (Magic or Madness), Gabrielle Zevin (Elsewhere), and Laurie Faria Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares)—love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.
From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard-and-fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good-looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever.
3. Ink Exchange is the sequel to one of their favorite books, Wicked Lovely (for girls 12+): This is a review from one of the girls: "After everything that happened to her friend Aislinn, Leslie is questioning the paranormal stuff that is happening around her. It started off as getting a simple tattoo, a tattoo that would be a part of her forever, and the one that she chose changed her life and she is sucked into a world full of fairies and hard decisions. If you read Wicked Lovely, you will devour the Ink Exchange, it's an amazing sequel."
Published 12.17.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
Twilight was "the next Harry Potter" for a short time... until our fave wizard scribe released her spin-off, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
It has sold almost five times as many copies in its first few days after publication as its nearest rival, Guinness World Records 2008.
The success of the 109-page collection of short stories, which Rowling did not originally intend for publication, underlines the powerful hold she continues to exert over readers – and the book industry.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard – mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the latest book in wizard boy series – sold 367,625 copies in the first three days after publication on December 4.
More Story Here: Harry Potter: The Tales of Beedle the Bard becomes fastest-selling book of 2008
Photo source
Published 12.16.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
Twentieth Century Fox has optioned rights to “How to Talk to Girls,” a newly published advice guide written by Alec Greven, a 9-year-old published-author on the subject.
The advice seems simple enough to follow: Greven’s tips range from the facts of life ("Sometimes, you get a girl to like you, then she ditches you. Life is hard, move on!”), to getting a girl’s attention (”Show off a skill, like playing soccer or anything else that you are good at.”) to talking to girls ("You also have to be aware that girls win most of the arguments.”) to dealing with crushes ("It can be very hard to get a girl to like you. Sometimes it takes years! Whatever happens, just don’t act desperate.”).
Full Story Here: Fox learns "How to Talk to Girls"
Published 12.15.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
From a California punk to a Georgia drag queen, the pride and passion of a generation coming of age.
More photos at MSNBC.com This photo and the others excerpted from It's Complicated: The American Teenager by Robert Bowman.
Published 12.12.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
TWEEN GIRLS are “flippin tired of all the junk ppl have been saying about her!!!”
"And she’s like old Britney with the long blond hair, toned-up body and making sexy videos, and that’s resonating with her old fans,” Davis says.
Weiss says the star deserves credit for knowing her audience well and changing with the times: “Despite all the craziness and paparazzi and people chasing her around, she’s not that dissimilar to a lot of the girls buying her records.”
Published 12.11.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
I read the following today and thought, "Wait til these kids become tweens... this book will be in their pile of "ways my mom embarrassed me!"
