Here's a sampling, complete with one youth's evaluation. Kids makes no pretense at covering new. It features a Bits 'N' Pieces department, with two-inch stories on topics ranging from Whitney Houston to college aid. Kids needs a makeover. Only eight inches long, the News For Young Readers column has been answering youngsters' questions on virtually any topic since it started in January.
Reporters answer the questions deftly, in a clear, uncomplicated manner.
Some of these efforts are later published. In recent days the page has tackled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. Census report and what it reveals about the nation, and the history of the Soviet Union's current crisis. The big Story has recently examined what it's like to be a gay teenager, the stereotypes that members of various racial minorities must cope with, and the lives of high school dropouts. Quotes from teenagers in The Big Story are eye-opening and honest. I think if I had stayed in school I wouldn't have had to live in a U-haul truck for a summer.