Alyce Wilson

NOTE: I will be going back and adding thumbnail images and links for the rest of these, as time permits.

Since I’m participating in a Philcon panel on the topic of Science Fiction for children, I thought I’d provide the list I created. Here’s the panel description:

• • Sun 2:00 PM in Plaza III (Three)—SF & F Books To Give To Your Kids [Family Friendly] (3534)

    What’s up and coming in YA fiction, what classics are an absolute must, and how do you gauge what’s appropriate for your child’s maturity level?

Vikki Ciaffone (mod), Russ Colchamiro, Scheherazade Jackson, Chris Kreuter, Muriel Hykes, Alyce Wilson

Since my son, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda (or KFP) online, was a toddler, I’ve been keeping a spreadsheet of the library books we read. That way, if he’d liked a particular author or book, I’d have the information on it, should I want to buy it or share it with a friend later. I went through the spreadsheet yesterday and this morning, copying the ones that have a Science Fiction or Fantasy theme. It’s too long to share in its entirety at the panel, so here it is, in all its glory, along with the original notes I made about each book. They are roughly in the order that we read them, starting with picturebooks and concluding with chapter books and middle-grade fiction.

“Imagine That! Poems of Never-Was” selected by Jack Prelutsky; ill. by Kevin Hawkes (Poems about monsters and mythical beings. It started out just silly, but many of the poems near the middle took a sinister turn and could give older children nightmares, I’m certain! I’m really not anxious to instill the fear of monsters lurking under beds or in closets.)

“Andrew’s Amazing Monsters” Kathryn Hook Berlan; ill. Maxie Chambliss (A boy draws monsters who come to life and throw him a party. KFP has been talking about monsters lately and asking for his crayons a lot, so this was a hit!)

“I Know I’m a Witch” David A. Adler; Ill. Sucie Stevenson (Cute story about a little girl who’s certain she’s a witch, even though her parents say no.)

“Mungo and the Spiders from Space” Timothy Knapman, ill. Adam Stower (Retro-looking space story where a boy writes his own ending to a comic book. Funny w/great art. Encourages creativity.)

“If You Decide to Go to the Moon” Faith McNulty; ill. Steven Kellogg (Imaginative introduction to space travel.)

David Jefferis – nonfiction Robozones books about robots

“Cosmo and the Robot” Brian Pinkney (A family living on Mars when the boy’s favorite robot goes wonky.)

“Pirates Don’t Change Diapers” Melinda Long; ill. David Shannon (A boy left watching his baby sister gets help from some reluctant pirates. Silly.)

“Blast Off! Poems About Space” ed. by Lee Bennett Hopkins; ill. Melissa Sweet (A selection of poems about space with full-page illustrations. Held his interest.)

“The Robot Book” Heather Brown (Colorful heavy-weight board book with moving parts. He loved moving the gears, even though it’s below his level.)

“Zombie in Love” Kelly DiPucchio; ill. Scott Campbell (A zombie tries to find love but is too different from everyone until he finds someone like him. Actually didn’t scare KFP despite graveyard humor.)

“Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct” Mo Willems (Edwina, everyone’s favorite dinosaur, doesn’t know she’s extinct, but one know-it-all is determined to tell her.)

“The Three Aliens and the Big Bad Robot” Margaret McNamara; ill. Mark Fearing (A space-age take on the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.)

“Alice the Fairy” David Shannon (A young girl tells how she’s a temporary fairy.)

“Doug Unplugs on the Farm” Dan Yaccarino (A robot boy learns about farm life by helping a farm girl with her chores.)

“Boy + Bot” Ame Dyckman (A boy and robot meet in the woods and play. They learn about each other’s differences and decide to remain friends.)

“Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great” Bob Shea (Cute book about a goat jealous of the new kid in school: a unicorn.)

“Robot, Go Bot!” Dana Meachen Rau; ill. Wook Jin Jung (A girl builds a robot friend, who gets angry when she works him too hard.)

“See Otto” David Milgrim (Great early reader book! A cute robot crashes onto Earth and befriends some monkeys.)

“From Bug Legs to Walking Robots” Toney Allman (Nonfiction book about how bugs and the way they walk have inspired scientists building the next-generation robots.)

“Yo, Vikings” Judy Schachner (Based on a true story of her daughter, getting really into Vikings and managing to get someone to give her a Viking boat.)

“Snow Games: A Robot and Rico Story” Anastasia Suen; ill. Mike Laughead (An easy reader book about a robot and his friend playing in the snow.)

“Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and Other Stories” Adam Rex (Collection of silly stories/morals about monsters. Some a little scary but didn’t bother KFP.)

“Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters” Jane Yolen; ill. Kelly Murphy (Monster brothers and their mommy go to a park to play and explore. Lots of good action words and colorful illustrations.)

“Good Night, Good Knight” Shelley Moore Thomas; ill. Jennifer Plecas (A knight has to help three little dragons get to bed. Repetitive but cute.)

“Frank was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance” Keith Graves (Silly book about a Frankenstein-type monster bent on showbiz. Lots of somewhat gory jokes.)

“Monster Manners” Joanna Cole; ill. Jared Lee (A monster has to learn how to behave “properly”… for a monster.)

“Marveltown” Bruce McCall (Retrofuturistic world where everyone is an inventor. Inspired him.)

“Again” Emily Gravett (Super cute. About a dragon who doesn’t want to go to bed.)

“The Moon Might Be Milk” Lisa Shulman; ill. Will Hillenbrand (A little girl asks everyone what they think the moon is made of. Sweet with great pictures.)

“Waking Dragons” Jane Yolen; ill. Derek Anderson (A young knight must wake sleepy dragons, who are his ride to Knight School.)

“How to Draw a Dragon” Douglas Florian (A class full of children each draws a dragon from different inspirations.)

“Commander Toad & the Dis-Asteroid” Jane Yolen; ill. Bruce Degen (Commander Toad, a space hero, has to find a way to help a seagull people who don’t speak toad.)

“Gravity” Jason Chin (An easy-to-understand book about the scientific principle of gravity with lovely illustrations.)

“I Will Chomp You” Jory John; ill. Bob Shea (Very silly book where a monster threatens to bite you if you keep reading.)

“Seven Scary Monsters” Mary Beth Lundgren; ill. Howard Fine (A boy scares off nighttime monsters. Good introduction to subtraction.)

“Imaginary Fred” Eoin Colfer; Oliver Jeffers (An imaginary friend meets the right boy and becomes permanent. Well-written and evocative.)

“Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters: A Lullaby” Jane Yolen; ill. Kelly Murphy (Putting some monsters to bed with a lullaby. Lots of great verbs.)

“You Can’t Ride a Bicycle to the Moon!” Harriet Ziefert; ill. Amanda Haley (Easy to understand science book about the solar system and space travel. KFP read it to himself and remembered facts!)

“Mr. Wuffles!” David Wiesner (Comic-style artwork; few words. A cat plays with an alien spaceship. The aliens befriend household bugs, who help them escape.)

“Munch” Emma McCann (A little monster gets the better of a big monster… by eating him!)

“The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space” Paul Dowswell; ill. Gary Bines & David Hancock (Easy to understand book about space, with lots of information and illustrations.)

“Stella: Fairy of the Forest” Marie-Louise Gay (Stella and Sam explore the forest, looking for faeries. Imaginative.)

“Scaranimals” Jack Prelutsky; ill. Peter Sis (Poems about imaginary animals who are combinations of other animals. Very clever! KFP was fascinated.)

�

“The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby” George Beard and Harold Hutchins (Dav Pilkey) (Graphic novel about a baby superhero. Crude humor but very funny.)

“Binky the Space Cat” Ashley Spires (Graphic novel about a cat who believes he is an astronaut and plans to build a rocket.)

“How to Potty Train Your Monster” Kelly DiPucchio; ill Mike Moon (Funny look at potty training from POV of monsters.)

“Ninja Bunny: Sister Vs. Brother” Jennifer Gray Olson (Ninja bunnies team up to steal a super carrot. Cute!)

“Incredible Fact Book” Mary Pope Osbourne and Natalie Pope Boyce (A book crammed full of scientific facts about humans, animals, and the world.)

“Superman Family Adventures” Art Baltazar & Franco (Superheroes as young teenagers)

“Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs. The Uranium Unicorns from Uranus” Dav Pilkey; ill. Martin Ontiveros (Comic by the author of Captain Underpants.)

“Guinness World Records: Remarkable Robots” Delphine Finnegan (Easy reader book of facts about robots.)

“Zinc Alloy: Super Zero” Donald Lemke (Graphic novel about a boy who uses a robot and becomes a hero.)

“Captain Fact: Space Adventure” Knife & Packer (Comic book superhero exploring facts about space.)

“Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6!” James Howe; ill. Brett Helquist (A meta-story with a puppy writing his own pulp fiction novel.)

“The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner” Terry Pratchett (Humorous short stories set in fantasy settings.)

“Let’s Draw Robots with Crayola!” Emily Golden (Directions on how to draw robots.)

“Noodleheads of the Future” Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss (Comic where the Noodleheads, who are anthropomorphic pasta, predict what will happen in the future.)

“The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” C.S. Lewis (The classic children’s story of magic and family.)

“Usborne Mysteries & Marvels of Science” Phillip Clarke, Laura Howell & Sarah Khan (Nonfiction book on a lot of scientific topics.)

“CatStronauts: Robot Rescue” Drew Brockington (Graphic novel about cats in space.)

“My Weird School Fast Facts: Space, Humans and Farts” Dan Gutman; ill. Jim Paillot (Facts presented in a silly manner about space and the human body.)

“What’s Science About?” Alex Frith, Hazel Maskell, Dr. Lisa Jane Gillespie & Kate Davies; ill. Adam Larkum (Illustrated science book packed with facts and fun illustrations.)

“Captain Underpants” Dav Pilkey (This book and its many sequels take an irreverent look at superheros through the eyes of two middle-school comic artists.)

“Space Cows” Eric Seltzer; ill. Tom Dsibury (Easy to read with lots of rhyming. super cute.)

“How to Code in 10 Easy Lessons” Sean McManus (Introduction to computer programming.)

“Science Verse” Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith (Poems about science)

“Bunnicula” Deborah and James Howe (Original tale of the vampiric bunny and his animal friends. We also read all the sequels, which always have a mysterious/scary setting that turns out to be normal. They are always funny.)

“Coding in Scratch for Beginners” Rachel Ziter (Basics on the easy online computing program run by MIT.)

“The Everything Kids’ Scratch Coding Book” Jason Rukman (Learn to code and create your own cook games.)

“Marvel Rising” Devin Grayson; ill. Marco Failla (Superheroes Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel)

“Robot Workers: All About Machines That Think” David Jefferis (Nonfiction. About robots used in the workplace )

“Robot Brains” David Jefferis (Nonfiction. About robots that have artificial intelligence.)

“Film and Fiction Robots” Tony Hyland (Nonfiction. About robots in films and fiction)

“Robotics Engineering” Ed Sobey (Nonfiction. How to build simple robotics)

“Real-World Robots” Paul McEvoy and Tracey Gibson (Nonfiction. About today’s robots and what they do)

“Robot Universe” Lynn Huggins-Cooper (Nonfiction. History and development of robots)

“Star Wars: Millennium Falcon, A 3-D Owner’s Guide” Ryder Windham; ill. Chris Trevas, Chris Reiff (Detailed book of plans of the Millennium Falcon with 3-D layers on each page.)

“Frank Einstein and the Bio-Action Gizmo” Jon Scieszka; ill. Brian Biggs (Continuation of the story about a kid scientist.)

“The Powergirl Girls: Picture Perfect” IDW Publishing (Comic based on everyone’s favorite girl superheroes.)

“Neil, Buzz and Mike Go to the Moon” Richard Hilliard (Higher level picture book on the moon landing.)

“The Pathfinder Mission to Mars” John Hamilton (Nonfiction about NASA’s Pathfinder mission.)

“Explore the Cosmos Like Neil DeGrasse Tyson” Cap Saucier (Introduction to space science)

“Party Science” Peter Pentland & Pennie Stoyles (Science related to party activities.)

“So You Want to Be a Comic Book Artist?” Philip Amara (Nuts and bolts of creating comics and eventually turning it into a profession.)

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles – Patricia Wrede (The series starts by following an independent-minded princess as she lives with dragons. Other characters include a headstrong witch, a caring magical king, and dastardly wizards who always try to make trouble.)

“The Wild Robot” Peter Brown (A robot washes up on an island and learns to survive, eventually finding animal friends.)

I wrote a message to my legislators several weeks ago, expressing my concerns about the Trump administration’s policy of separating undocumented families from their children at the border. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D), just sent me a very thorough response.

Dear Ms. Wilson:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the separation of immigrant families by the Trump Administration. I vehemently oppose the policy of family separation, and I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.

I have heard from many Pennsylvanians who are opposed to the Trump Administration’s policy regarding the apprehension and detention of immigrant families upon their arrival in the U.S. On May 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a so-called “zero tolerance” policy toward individuals apprehended crossing the U.S. border between official ports of entry. Thousands of immigrant children have been separated from their parents at the U.S. border since October of 2017, and this policy has caused a steep increase in family separations. Under the “zero tolerance” policy, once families are separated, adults go to the custody of the U.S. Marshals and/or to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Children considered “unaccompanied,” either because they arrived alone or because they are separated from their parents, are transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Not only is tearing families apart unconscionable on a moral level, it is also damaging to the development of children. Studies show that the separation of children from parental figures during their youth and adolescence is detrimental to the child’s development of social and cognitive skills. Trump Administration officials, including Attorney General Sessions, have stated that this proposal is intended to deter families from crossing the border into the U.S. I believe this policy is inhumane and intentionally cruel, and there is no evidence to support the assertion that it would act as a deterrent.

On June 20, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order that he characterized as reversing his family separation policy and ending the separation of families. While this order changes the most egregious aspect of his policy, the separation of families, it still instructs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary to “maintain custody of alien families.” In essence, it exchanges family separation with family detention. The order also instructs Attorney General Sessions to go to court to seek modification of the Flores settlement, a settlement that outlines basic child protection standards and which limits the length of times that children can be detained.

While it was long overdue for President Trump to change the most egregious element of his cruel family separation policy, substituting a lesser form of cruelty for a greater form is still cruelty. Family detention is far from the only or best solution for the majority of families at the border. In addition, for thousands of children, the damage is already done. Medical experts have said that the long-term impacts of this barbaric treatment could be lifelong health problems, such as heart disease and substance abuse disorders. The Trump Administration has an obligation to ensure that children whose health has been adversely impacted by this policy receive appropriate medical services and must take steps to reunite every child that has been separated from their parents.

I am proud to have joined with many of my Senate colleagues in the minority party in cosponsoring legislation that would end this practice and in sending letters to the Trump Administration urging it to end this inhumane practice immediately. Before the policy of family separation was officially announced by the Trump Administration, I sent two letters to DHS asking for more information about rumors of family separation practices and demanding that DHS refrain from implementing such a policy.

After Attorney General Sessions announced in early spring the new Trump Administration immigration policy, I sent a letter along with 39 of my Senate colleagues to President Trump demanding that his administration end the abhorrent policy of separating immigrant children from their parents. This letter cites research describing the short-term and long-term harm these traumatic separations can do to children and their families and repeatedly asks President Trump to end his practice of family separation. In late June, I signed onto additional letters to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services asking for an investigation to be opened to investigate the treatment, care and reunification procedures that are in place to carry out the family separation policy. I am pleased that in response to this letter the Inspector General’s Office at HHS announced it is opening an investigation to complete a comprehensive review of the operations of the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program.

Additionally, I have cosponsored bills in the Senate that would expand the rights of children whose families are affected by immigration enforcement proceedings. I am a proud cosponsor of S. 3036, the Keep Families Together Act. This bill is a direct counter to the Trump Administration’s policy of family separation. It prohibits DHS officials from separating children from their parents, except in extraordinary circumstances. Furthermore, I am a cosponsor of S. 2937, the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act, which aims to protect children affected by immigration enforcement actions taken against their parents. Through this bill, if a parent is having immigration enforcement actions taken against them, the parent would first be allowed to make calls to arrange for the care of their children and ensure that children can call and visit their parents while they are detained. These protections will provide some small peace of mind for parents and children as they go through immigration proceedings.

On Tuesday, June 26, a federal judge in California issued an injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union that calls for all children who have been affected by the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy to be reunited with their parents within 30 days. I am pleased that this injunction has set specific timeframes for the reunification of separated families. I will continue my strong oversight of the Trump Administration’s actions to ensure it is complying with the court order and that families are being reunited as quickly and safely as possible.

The Trump Administration’s systematic policy of family separation is inhumane and has inflicted trauma on children, parents and families. The administration must reunite all families. I have been vocal in my opposition to the policy and will continue to conduct critical oversight until every family is reunited and treated in a manner consistent with our Nation’s values.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

 For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov . I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,

Bob Casey
United States Senator

KFP has now joined his Daddy’s videogame streaming marathon, playing “Plants Versus Zombies” right now. They are trying to raise money to help the Animal Coalition of Delaware County, a no-kill shelter that helped us find out kitty 12 years ago.

They are getting close: 65 percent of the way there! Only a few donations will help them make their goal.

Please check it out, donate to help homeless pets, and listen to KFP getting silly with his daddy!

https://tiltify.com/@toanstation/thank-you-acdc

Share the love!

Join my husband, Toanstation, in supporting the Animal Coalition of Delaware County’s pet rescue efforts. Watch live gameplay, or even join him, and give to help ACDC find forever homes for animals on Feb. 3rd & 4th.

https://tiltify.com/@toanstation/thank-you-acdc

In the past, I’ve posted about adopting our own cat, Luke — who is now officially a senior — and because of that, I wanted to provide some tips for people who are interested in adopting their own pets.

Over the holiday season is a popular time to adopt a new furry friend. What should you consider when doing so? Hopefully, the following article will help:

“Ultimate Guide to Pet Adoption”

Joyful wishes to you and your family — and possibly new furry friends — this holiday season!

I got my panel requests in late this year, so I’m not sure they’ll be on the official schedule. Here they are:

Fri 7:00PM in Plaza V (Five) – Learning to be an Effective Panel Moderator

Moderating a panel is more than just showing up and asking people to quiet down if a discussion gets out of hand. Learn what the best mods do to prepare for and handle the panels they are responsible for managing.

Sat 2:00PM in Plaza V (Five) – SciFi from the Parents’ Eye

How to shepherd our children through the modern age of SF.

Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza II (Two)—If Christianity Had Never Come Along

Imagine what the 21st century would be like without Christianity in history. Would we be worshipping a different god or gods? Or would society have developed in a different direction? What fiction is already exploring this idea?

Hope to see you there!

A couple weeks ago, I sent some letters about environmental issues that had been written by the Environmental Defense fund, including one expressing concerns about Scott Pruitt as the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Here is Senator Robert Casey (D-PA)’s response. I appreciate how detailed it is!

---

Dear Mrs. Wilson:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding environmental policy under the Trump Administration and the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.

President Trump’s statements denying the reality of climate change are short-sighted and threaten to undermine the progress that Pennsylvania and the Nation have already made to address environmental issues. His statements ignore the growing evidence that indicates that adding large amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide or methane, to the atmosphere is a leading cause of climate change. Greenhouse gas pollution poses a threat to public health and the environment, particularly for vulnerable populations like children with asthma or the elderly, and failing to act on climate change could lead to, among other things, disruptions in food production, malnutrition, water scarcity and childhood stunting.

We as a Nation have a moral obligation to address this issue. I believe that we must rise to the challenge and revitalize our economy by increasing our efforts in the areas of energy efficiency; developing and adopting cleaner ways of producing electricity; and creating jobs. I support the need for a comprehensive climate change plan and EPA’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon pollution from new and existing power plants.

As Pennsylvania transitions to clean energy, there must also be a strategy to maintain multiple forms of electricity generation including clean coal, nuclear energy, natural gas and hydropower. In addition, I believe that we should be encouraging the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, which will enable fossil fuel power plants across the world to dramatically reduce carbon pollution. Finally, it is critical that the Administration and Congress focus on policies that help those workers in the energy sector who have been adversely affected by changes in the energy economy.

On December 8, 2016, President Trump announced he would nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be the next EPA Administrator. Mr. Pruitt’s record is clear: he fought to dismantle the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, anti-pollution programs that target ozone and mercury in the air, the agreement to clean up the Chesapeake Bay watershed and denied the science of climate change. Attorney General Pruitt is also leading the effort to overturn the Clean Power Plan, which is vital to getting control of our energy future and creating clean energy jobs. I do not have confidence, based on Attorney General Pruitt’s record, that the EPA under his leadership would enforce our environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Therefore, I have determined that I will vote to oppose the confirmation of Attorney General Pruitt to be Administrator of the EPA.

Please be assured that I will remain committed to defending sound environmental policies while cultivating new clean energy jobs, re-energizing the manufacturing sector in Pennsylvania and revitalizing the national economy. I will keep your views in mind as the U.S. Senate considers Cabinet nominations, as well as legislation related to climate change.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,

Bob Casey

United States Senator

Yesterday, I was pleased to receive a response from my congressman, Patrick Meehan, regarding my concerns over possible cuts to the school lunch program and, specifically, to those programs, such as CEP, designed to fund school meals for low-income communities. You can read my letter in my previous post. Now, while his letter doesn’t specifically mention CEP, it does indicate that he shares the concerns about funding for school lunches for needy children. Hopefully, he will continue to vote in line with what he says in this letter.

I have now signed up for his newsletter and am also following him on Twitter, so I can keep up to date with news about what he’s doing in Congress.

---

February 21, 2017

Dear Mrs. Wilson,

Thank you for contacting me regarding childhood nutrition. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefit of your views.

I share your concerns about America’s youth and ensuring at-risk kids do not go hungry. I voted against cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because I felt the proposed bill would hurt many of the families and children who the program is intended to help in the first place. Compromise legislation was later reached to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely and appropriately while meeting our responsibility to needy families. It passed on a bipartisan basis and became law.

As Congress works on Child Nutrition Reauthorization this year, please know that I will keep your concerns in mind as we work to ensure no child in America goes hungry.

Again thank you for contacting me regarding this issue. I appreciate hearing from you. For more information on my work in Congress on your behalf, please visit my website www.meehan.house.gov, where you can sign up for my e-newsletter. Please follow me on Twitter @RepMeehan.

Sincerely,

Patrick Meehan
Member of Congress

Recently, I read an excellent article in the Huffington Post about the School Lunch Program and how important it is to continue a little-known aspect of the program, the Community Eligibility Program, established by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The article also referred to high-profile comments from some congressmen about the possibility of defunding the program.

Doing my own research on the program, I learned that roughly 6 million children received free lunches in impoverished school districts back in the 2014-15 school year and, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that number was expected to increase.

Our legislators will be actively discussing the budget soon. Now is a good time to make certain they understand their constituents’ priorities. Following is a letter I sent to both my senators and to my congressman. You can find out how to contact your legislators at at USA.gov.

Feel free to use my letter as a starting point, and to share it with your friends!

---

Dear Legislator:

As the mother of a first grader, I know the importance of proper nutrition to a child’s health. That’s why I urge you to look out for low-income children through continued funding of the Community Eligibility Program, established by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296), which provides free lunches to the most poverty-stricken eligible school districts.

You are no doubt aware that the CEP benefits more than 14,000 high-poverty schools in more than 2,200 school districts across the country, serving more than 6 million children. Because of this program, eligible schools have greatly increased access to healthy meals while reducing paperwork for parents/guardians and administrators alike.

Thanks to the nutrition provided by the CEP, students whose schools use the program benefit from stronger thinking skills, behavior and health, all of which impact academic performance. According to the 2014 paper, “Nutrition and Student’s Academic Performance” by Wilder Research, multiple studies have demonstrated the academic benefits of healthy eating, while other studies have shown the negative impacts of junk food on academic performance.

Reducing the funding for CEP would create a hardship for the school districts and children who have come to depend on it. In contrast, continuing full funding of CEP will lead to countless benefits for the children, their schools, and by extension, our nation. Please keep CEP in mind while assessing priorities in upcoming budget discussions in Congress.

Sincerely,
Alyce Wilson

In honor of one of my Philcon panels today, “Muppets! Muppets! Muppets!” I am reprinting a piece I originally published on the now-defunct Yahoo! Contributor Network.

---

The new Muppet movie, “The Muppets,” will relaunch the brand with the classic characters, along with some new faces. After so many years, the Muppets are like old friends — or better yet, like family. So who’s who in our Muppet family?

Kermit the Frog, The Perfect Dad

No matter how perfect your real dad might be, there’s no way he’s as patient, as gentle, and as understanding as Kermit. The soft-spoken father figure of the Muppet clan leads his misfit crew with TLC, offering support and advice where necessary, mediating disputes, and occasionally sending family members to their (dressing) rooms. Even his rage is cute.

Miss Piggy, The Flamboyant Stepmother

Dad remarries to a glamorous diva who never really wanted children to begin with (unless they’re part pig). She insists on being called “Miss Piggy” and will never answer to “Mom.” But at times she is a lot of fun: telling stories about the celebrities she’s met, demonstrating her martial arts skills, and singing us to sleep with operatic bedtime lullabies.

Gonzo, The Weird Uncle

Just about everyone has one: the uncle whose bachelor pad is festooned with a quirky collection of his personal memorabilia, the one who makes archaic references you don’t get but that make your dad go “tsk-tsk.” The guy who has absolutely no idea other people think he’s odd, even while he’s wearing skates, balancing a bowling pin on his head, and juggling chickens. At times, it’s hard to believe he’s related.

Rowlf the Dog, The Cool Uncle

Rowlf is the uncle who’s in a band, gives you backstage passes for his concerts, and teaches you how to play chords. He tells you that you’re talented and introduces you to all his cool music-making friends. Even though Kermit is the perfect father figure, there are times you wish that, instead of plinking away on his wimpy little banjo, he’d rock out on the keyboards with a bluesy growl like Rowlf.

Fozzie Bear, The Daydreaming Older Brother

Ever since he was born, older brother Fozzie was convinced he was destined for greatness. Unfortunately, his chosen profession was comedy, and as everybody knows, Fozzie isn’t terribly funny. But with plenty of support from dad Kermit (after all, he even put Fozzie in his show), Fozzie continues to follow his dreams. He might still be living in his old bedroom, but he knows one day he’ll make it big, get his own place, and bask in the adulation reserved for a star.

Scooter, The Geeky Younger Brother

While Fozzie is a dreamer, Scooter is practical, which is why he helps run the family business, serving as a stage manager for the Muppet Theater. Everybody knows that someday it will be him and not Fozzie who takes over for dad Kermit. He is young but detail-oriented and eager to please. If you need someone to fix your computer, ask Scooter.

Statler and Waldorf, The Wisecracking Grandfathers

Retirement was the best thing to ever happen to Statler and Waldorf; it freed them from any real responsibilities. Now they can just sit back and criticize the world around them. If you listened to just their words, you’d think they hated everything their family does. But as much as they claim that sitting through it is sheer torture, they make sure to get a box seat to every performance.