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EXTRA! EXTRA! THE WHO, WHAT,
WHERE, WHEN AND WHY OF NEWSPAPERS
Granfield, Linda
Reviewed by Trina Preece
Volume 22 Number 1
Experienced author Linda Granfield does a thorough, clear and fascinating job of explaining the five "Ws" of newspaper publishing. The first two chapters recount a day in the life of a fictional newspaper, The Clairuille Chronicle. Here, the story of how the people at the Chronicle gather and deliver the news is divided into short sections such as "The Comics," "Fine-Tuning the News" and "Start the Presses!" Interspersed with the text are shorter boxed items that offer news trivia, some particularly Canadian content, information on related subjects such as propaganda, and snippets of newspaper history. Some of these boxed items are thought-provoking activities. For example, kids are asked to choose a photo to accompany a certain story, select the version of a story with the least bias, and design a catchy advert. In the chapter entitled "Publishing Your Own Newspaper," more informative, well-presented activities show kids how to write, edit and print their own version of the news. Extra! Extra! is u nusual in offering a final chapter full of projects that make use of old newspapers. This attention to recycling is both admirable and, given the subject matter, relevant, but the crafts section is perhaps a bit of a let-down after the narrative excitement of understanding and making news. The author has been careful to define and index any terms--such as "cropping," "deadline," "op-ed" and "caricature"-- which might be new to her readers. Illustrations by Bill Slavin have a lively kid appeal and work well with the design to clarify a dynamic a nd fact-packed text.
Trina Preece is a librarian with the Scarborough Public Library in Scarborough, Ontario
The materials in this archive are copyright © The Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission Copyright information for reviewers
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