Hot Stuff

Yes we can! One of this year's hottest children's characters, Bob the Builder, is building an addition to his fun construction line of books. Both Scrufty Helps Out and The Very Busy Day (Random House; $9.99 each) include plastic tools to help do the job. Two pop-up books, Bob's Animal Rescue and Bob Saves the Day (Random House; $5.99 each), have colorful surprises. Bob's Team (Random House; $14.99) has five of Bob's favorite trucks with parts that move just like real machines.

Family Fun

Play time: Things getting too quiet in the family room? How about a game whose object is to get families talking to each other? Insight Out is a new talk-your-way-out-of-this-one board game that is the softer side of Truth or Dare. Questions like "What is/was your hardest subject in school?" and "How does God answer prayer?" allow families to reveal their feelings without being teased by an older sibling. Two groups of game cards ask age-appropriate questions for young children and teens. $25 at (800) 778-1762, Ext. 2.

Shauna Scott Rhone

More Family Fun

Leafing fun: Keep the colorful leaves of autumn all year with this fun activity from Go Outside! Over 130 Activities for Outdoor Adventures by Nancy Blakey (Tricycle Press; $13.95):

Collect fallen leaves and place them between the pages of a magazine until you're ready to use them.

Tear two pieces of wax paper, each about 18 inches long. Place one piece on an ironing board and lay a nice arrangement of leaves on top of the paper. Don't put leaves too close to the edge.

Place the other piece of wax paper on top of the leaf design, and with a hot iron, seal the pieces together. Trim the mat if necessary, and seal edges with colored masking tape.

Advice

Kid munchies: Ease the after-school feeding frenzy by designating areas of the refrigerator and pantry as snack shelves for kids.

Kathy Walsten, a nutrition educator with Kansas State University Research and Extension, says good choices for the pantry shelf include canned fruit, tuna, vegetable soup, nuts, peanut butter, pretzels, whole grain crackers, ginger snaps, bagels and pita bread.

In the fridge or freezer, good choices include yogurt, cheese sticks, low-fat milk, fruit-juice pops and fresh fruit.

Knight Ridder News Service