Have you ever read Roald Dahl’s story “Matilda”? Saguaro City Music Theatre is bringing Matilda to life this holiday season Dec. 22 to Jan. 7. I got to interview Miriam Howell, who is playing the title role of Matilda. She is a Tucson native and is part of a theater family. I feel lucky to be a cast member of Matilda, too!
This year, two schools from the Tucson area were nominated for the National Blue Ribbon, a prestigious award given to schools from around the country. The schools were Senita Valley Elementary School and Sunrise Drive Elementary School, which I attended. I am very proud of my former elementary school winning such a distinguished award, so I decided to interview the Sunrise Drive principal, Andrea Davidson. Principal Davidson has been in the Catalina Foothills School District for 37 years and is delighted that the school has been chosen.
After being around for almost 50 years, Bookmans is a staple of Arizona. When you think about our humble state, you think of Bookmans. And between the huge array of items, helpful staff, and year-round events, it’s not hard to see why. That’s why it was an obvious decision to open a new location (4841 N. Stone) off Stone and River. The grand opening of the new Bookmans was Nov. 10, and it lived up to the word “grand.”
I recently received the picture book “Under the Desert Skies: Hiss, Sigh, Squawk!,” by Ana Lewis and Corinne Lewis. This book’s art is very collage like. It looks as if the authors cut out newspaper strips and painted them to look colorful. If you have a sister or brother 2 to 5 years old, then you should buy this book at Amazon or your local bookstore.
Worlds of Words is a center on the University of Arizona campus where children can explore global literature. The center is located in the College of Education and its mission is to have children learn more about literacy and the world through books. There is a large collection of about 40,000 books representing many global cultures and in a variety of languages. The center hosts school field trips and tours to help bring global literacy into classrooms.
Do you know about the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater? I saw the show in October at Fox Tucson Theatre, and it was really interesting! It was fun watching all of the pets come out and do their cool tricks. I really like animals. They are so cute, no matter what they are.
In 1983, the famous El Tour de Tucson bicycle race was founded. It all started when a man named Richard DeBernardis was traveling around the United States on his bicycle. Upon visiting Tucson, he fell in love with the weather and thought this would be a perfect place for a bike ride. He checked the Old Farmer’s Almanac and learned the best time to have this event would be in the fall, the week before Thanksgiving, because it rarely rains that week.
Over the summer myself and 14 other Girl Scouts went on a nine-day trip to Tokyo, Japan and it was amazing! We earned this trip by each of us selling over 5,500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.
I absolutely loved Japan, the people were super nice, the culture was interesting and the food was delicious! I also felt very safe in Japan. My favorite highlights were: Mt Fuji, Tokyo Sky Tower, Shrines and Temples, dressing in a Kimono, and also going to Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea!
