Alan

Have you ever heard of a museum on wheels? I have: It was at my school!

It’s called the Arts Mobile, which is a miniature museum that comes to you instead of you going to it. It features different cultures at every visit. On my most recent visit, I saw Native American art from the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes. The exhibits were separated by a small, adobe room.

I like the Pascua Yaqui side, but I especially liked the Adobe Room, which had a lot of items made of straw – including my favorite, the Man in the Maze.

Throughout the Arts Mobile, I saw a variety of baskets. From tiny baskets to a large wine basket, from burden baskets to a straw bowl, baskets were all over the place.

The first room you go into is the Tohono O’odham side. You will probably smell the odor of the saguaro fruit in the first exhibit. Right before you go into the Adobe Room, you might find a long, black stick with lots of X’s, dots and squares. This is called a calendar stick, which the O’odham used to keep track of their month, day or year.

The Adobe Room is filled with items made of straw. There were animals made of straw, like a cat and a turtle. There are also a few Man in the Mazes in the Adobe Room, which is also where the majority of the baskets are.

Apart from the things made of straw, I saw a sculpture of a witch named Ho’ok from Native American legend. Although it is a great story, I’d rather not tell it, for I do not want to scare you. This sculpture is one of the main examples of how the Native Americans used nature in their art, because the base of the sculpture is really a saguaro rib.

When I went to the Pascua Yaqui side, my eyes had to adjust to the color. It had much brighter colors than the Adobe Room and the Tohono O’odham side combined. There were flowers all over the place. Besides a mannequin (cardboard statue) carving a mask, there was a mannequin band playing real instruments covered with flowers.

I had a wonderful experience looking at art, sculptures and much more. Maybe the Arts Mobile will come to your school, too!

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PROMOTING LITERACY THROUGH JOURNALISM

The Tucson Citizen is in partnership with Bear Essential News, Domino’s Pizza and KVOA to promote literacy through journalism.

Dear Boomer,

Why can’t people just read books instead of watching television? Get out and play, and when you’re sick, don’t just sit on the couch and watch TV, either. I’ve gotta go now!

Sincerely, U.P.

Dear U.P.,

Reading is a lot better for you than watching TV. It’s good for your mind, and it’s good for your imagination. I like to read a few chapters of my favorite book right before bedtime. With the great weather we’re having, I love playing outside with my buddies after school.

Readers are winners, Boomer Bear

Hey Boomer,

At my school, there’s this guy who hates me because he thinks that I like him. But I don’t. How do I tell him that I don’t like him?

A.C.

Dear A.C.,

Just because you don’t like somebody, doesn’t mean ya gotta tell the person. Unless, of course, you WANT to let him know you don’t like him so that he’ll like you more, which means that you might actually like this guy after all.

Good luck – you’ll need it! Boomer Bear

Dear Boomer,

What is your fav dog?

Your friend, G.C.

Hey G.C.,

Didja check out Bo, the adorable “first dog” that just moved into the White House? It’s a Portuguese water dog and is the first dog Sasha and Malia have ever had. Bo gets my vote for favorite dog!

Take care,

Boomer Bear

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ASK BOOMER

He’s wise, he’s cool and he’s ready to respond. Write a letter to Boomer Bear of Bear Essential News for Kids!

Bear Essential News for Kids

1037 S. Alvernon Way, No. 150

Tucson, AZ 85711

boomer@bearessentialnews.com

CHICAGO – The nation’s first swine flu death, a toddler in Texas, is tragic but health experts say not unexpected, and they advise parents to just take ordinary precautions.

Every year dozens of U.S. children die from seasonal flu; that’s one reason annual flu shots are recommended for children 6 months and older. So far this season, 55 children have died from regular flu, federal health authorities report.

While children, especially those younger than 5, are known to be most vulnerable to severe and fatal complications from seasonal flu, most children who get even the most aggressive strains of flu don’t die.

So far, flu experts say there’s no reason to think the new strain will be much different.

“Nobody should be unduly worried; everybody should be aware of what’s going on and doing things they should be doing in flu season anyway,” said Dr. Mark Dworkin, an infectious disease specialist at University of Illinois at Chicago.

That includes covering your cough, washing your hands often — and telling children to do the same.

Dr. Carlos Perez-Velez, an infectious disease specialist with National Jewish Health system in Denver, says a good trick to get kids to wash their hands long enough to kill germs is to tell them to recite the alphabet A to Z before they quit washing.

Parents should also avoid sending children with fevers or other signs of illness to school, and should skip work if they have those symptoms — usual precautions when they or their kids are sick.

Some wonder about keeping children home from preschool or day care — often called “germ factories” — even when their kids aren’t sick and no flu has been reported.

Dr. Kathryn Edwards, a Vanderbilt University flu specialist, said there’s no reason to keep healthy children home or restrict their activities.

“We need to respond to the swine flu just the way that we respond to seasonal flu,” Edwards said.

The death in Texas, of a 23-month-old boy visiting from Mexico City, “is very, very sad, but we do not have any evidence to say that the swine flu is more severe and will cause more deaths than other flu,” she said.

While there’s no vaccine to protect against the new swine flu strain, some are in development. Experts say parents should still be sure to get annual vaccines to protect children against seasonal flu.

According to the CDC, more than 20,000 children younger than age 5 are hospitalized every year because of seasonal flu. In the 2007-08 flu season, the CDC received reports that 86 children nationwide died from flu complications.

In the 2003-04 season, one of the worst in recent years, at least 153 children died. Even so, the highest death rate was among infants younger than 6 months, and that was just 0.88 per 100,000 babies.

In that season, one-third of children who died had an underlying illness that put them at particularly high risk for severe flu complications and death. Illnesses known to increase children’s susceptibility include asthma and heart and lung problems.

Authorities say the boy who died in Texas had an underlying illness.

Young children are vulnerable to flu complications because their immature immune systems aren’t efficient at fighting off germs, said Dr. Kenneth Alexander, pediatric infectious diseases director at the University of Chicago.

Also, young children have small airways that can swell when flu hits, predisposing them to pneumonia and fluid accumulating in the lungs, he said.

Alexander said parents should watch for classic flu symptoms, including fever of at least 100.5, cough and runny nose. Children old enough to talk might complain of sore throats and body aches. Young children sometimes just have a runny nose and a fever with the flu, and they’re more likely than adults to have vomiting, too, he said.

Parents should contact their physicians if children have these symptoms, but experts said most cases won’t even be flu, let alone swine flu.

Young children with these symptoms who also are having trouble breathing, or who seem less alert or unable to drink liquid should see a doctor right away because these could be signs of dangerous complications, said Dr. Andrew Bonwit, a pediatrician at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

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ON THE WEB

CDC: www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/children.htm

WASHINGTON – Kids in the U.S. are improving in reading and math, with low-achieving students making the biggest gains.

The 2008 scores come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test considered the benchmark of how students perform across the country. In a report issued Tuesday, reading and math scores were measured against long-term trends.

Results were particularly noticeable on reading. Reading scores tend to lag behind math scores, but in 2008, students in every age group — 9, 13 and 17 — made gains. That hasn’t happened since 1975.

In math, scores improved for younger children, but scores for 17-year-olds remained flat.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he was pleased but not satisfied with the results.

“We still have a lot more work to do,” Duncan said. “Our focus on raising standards, increasing academic rigor and improving teacher quality are all steps in the right direction.”

Results were in line with long-term trends, said Darvin Winick, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, the bipartisan panel that oversees the test.

Over time, schools have done rather well with elementary school kids, better with middle school kids and stalled with high school kids, Winick said.

The biggest gains came from low-achieving students. That is probably not an accident — the federal No Child Left Behind law and similar state laws have focused on improving the performance of minority and poor children, who struggle the most.

“The big pressure for the last six, eight years in this country has been on bringing the lower-performing students up,” Winick said. “And what this long-term trend says is, generally, that’s what’s happening.”

Tom Loveless, an education expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the progress in reading is noteworthy.

“The gains are not huge, but they’re gains,” he said. “Something’s going on in reading. That’s a good thing.”

No Child Left Behind prods schools to improve test scores each year, so every student can read and do math on grade level by the year 2014. It holds schools accountable for progress among each group of kids, including those who have disabilities or are learning English.

The law was due for a rewrite in 2007, but the effort stalled in Congress. The Obama administration and Congress are gearing up now to make another attempt.

The House Education and Labor Committee chairman, Democratic Rep. George Miller of California, called it “deeply troubling” that high school students did not show improvement.

“We must redouble our efforts to ensure that all students, at every age, in every state, get a world-class education that fully prepares them for college and careers,” Miller said in a statement.

The long-term trend report issued Tuesday was based on a nationally representative sample of more than 26,000 public and private school students. It tracks student progress in reading since 1971 and in math since 1973.

Because it is aligned with older tests, the long-term trend may give a more conservative picture of how kids are doing. It is separate from the main NAEP assessments, which are given in nine subjects and have shown greater progress in math scores.

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ON THE WEB

National Assessment of Educational Progress: nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

Michael Luria, co-owner of the recently closed Café Terra Cotta, has been named the new executive director of the Tucson Children’s Museum, 200 S. Sixth Ave.

He had served as interim executive director for the past five months and before then was the president of the museum’s board of directors.

Luria was the face of the museum in the past two years in efforts to get a new Tucson Children’s Museum included in the now-delayed Tucson Origins museum complex west of the Santa Cruz River and south of Congress Street.

“Michael has a contagious enthusiasm and dedication to the museum that we have seen in action throughout the years,” board President Louise Sternberg said.

Hey, Boomer,

I LOVE singing. I want to become a singer when I grow up. But two problems – how do I become a singer? And what if I don’t sing well? I sing like a bluebird to myself, but in public I’m too shy. I sing only to my friends. I’m even afraid to sing in front of my parents. Should I just get over it? HELP!

Friends, S.T.B.

Dear S.T.B.,

If you have the desire, you at least owe it to yourself to see if you have the talent! What kind of singing do ya like? A good place to start is by joining a choir at your school.

You might not be so nervous when you’re with a bunch of other kids on stage. Plus, it’s an affordable way to get started and to be coached a bit. Your choir director could also suggest a private vocal teacher, if you show some promise. And don’t forget about the Tucson Girls Chorus, which I hear is a blast, too.

Hittin’ the high notes, Boomer Bear

Dear Boomer,

Why don’t we get more vacation?

P.A.

Dear P.A.,

Didn’t you just finish your spring break? I know, with all this testing, school can be sort of stressful and boring. But the end is in sight! Most of my buddies in schools around here are getting out in about a month. I always love a strong finish, so keep working hard!

Your buddy,

Boomer Bear

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ASK BOOMER

He’s wise, he’s cool and he’s ready to respond. Write a letter to Boomer Bear of Bear Essential News for Kids!

Bear Essential News for Kids

1037 S. Alvernon Way, No. 150

Tucson, AZ 85711

boomer@bearessentialnews.com

Why do kids love Red Bull and Rock Star? Do teachers and other adults drink these energy beverages to get through the day? Are these drinks good for you? Can they be harmful?

These are just a few of the questions we had, so we asked Safford teachers and students about their energy drink consumption. We also decided to do a little research on the effects of these wildly popular drinks.

Anna Larson, an English teacher, says that she drinks Red Bull in the morning so she can wake up. “I enjoy the taste of Red Bull, but I know it’s not good for me,” Larson says.

In fact, drinking energy beverages can cause your energy to shoot way up and then plummet so that you’ll need to drink another one to stay awake.

Student Javier Gomez says, “I like energy drinks because they taste good and they make me happy and hyper.”

This makes sense if you read labels. A Red Bull has about 80 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce serving. On the Rock Star label it states that the drink “is not recommended for children, pregnant women and people sensitive to caffeine.”

In the end, what you drink is up to you. But, at least now you’ll know the facts about what you’re drinking and its effects.

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PROMOTING LITERACY THROUGH JOURNALISM

The Tucson Citizen is in partnership with Bear Essential News, Domino’s Pizza and KVOA to promote literacy through journalism.

Parents like to joke that children are addicted to video games. A new study shows they might be right.

Almost 1 in 10 American children, ages 8 to 18, are addicted to video games the way people are addicted to drugs or gambling, researchers at Iowa State University found in the largest study of its kind.

So-called “pathological gamers” were glued to games for 24 hours a week, about twice that of other players. They were more likely to be boys and twice as likely to have doctor-diagnosed attention problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The findings suggest the United States could be a few years behind more tech-savvy countries such as South Korea, which has opened more than 100 clinics to treat video-game addiction, researchers said.

Scores of studies have suggested video games bring out the worst in children, but they usually target violent behavior. The addiction findings surprised even skeptical researchers.

“I started with this idea that parents just weren’t part of the video game generation and didn’t understand it,” said Doug Gentile, an ISU child psychologist who studies how advertising and other media drive behavior. “This seems to be a real problem for a lot of kids. I think parents probably have been right.”

Parents also might have played a role in the problem, the study shows.

Most addicted gamers had sophisticated game systems in their bedrooms. Of the nearly 1,200 children surveyed for the study, half had rules at home that limited access to games.

“One of the things we know from other addictions is that a major risk factor is access,” said Gentile, whose paper will be published in the May edition of Psychological Science, the journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Gentile said video games fire up the brain’s “reward centers,” which set off the type of rush that drug addicts feel. But the impulse to play is like pathological gambling.

“It is behavior pattern, and it gets out of balance with the rest of your life,” he said.

Gentile used standards for gambling addiction to identify young video game addicts.

The addicts in Gentile’s study were more likely to report fighting, stealing, poor grades, health problems – for example, hand or wrist pain made worse by long hours of play – and attention problems. The study didn’t explore a link between those problems and video games.

Gentile says his findings spark more questions than answers. He wants to know which ages are most vulnerable, why boys make up the majority of addicts and how the dependency can be treated.

Answers might take years, he said. It also might be awhile before the public takes video game addiction seriously, Gentile said.

Shane

Are all-star casts, 3-D graphics and extremely enjoyable family movies your thing? Then check out “Monsters vs Aliens.”

The film is DreamWorks’ first 3-D movie and, for me, is one of the funniest films released this year. It is one hour and 34 minutes long and stars Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Will Arnett, Hugh Laurie and Rainn Wilson. Stephen Colbert and Amy Pohler have cameos.

On Susan Murphy’s (Witherspoon) wedding day, she is clobbered by an asteroid moments before the ceremony is set to begin. As Susan gets ready to say her vows, she suddenly grows into a giant. The wedding is canceled and the government captures her. When she wakes up, Susan has no clue where she is. She soon finds out that she’s in a secret facility and that her new name is Ginormica. She also finds out that she is not alone. There are other monsters there. They are The Missing Link (Arnett), a misunderstood sea creature; B.O.B. (Rogen), a gelatinous blob; Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Laurie), a mad scientist who turned himself into a cockroach; and Insectosaurus, an oversized bug.

Out of nowhere, an alien ship comes and begins attacking San Francisco. The team defeats it and soon the evil alien Gallaxhar (Wilson) comes down to take over the Earth. Will the team defeat Gallaxhar? Will the Earth be saved? See the flick to find out.

All in all, I give the movie four stars. I really enjoyed it. It is a fun, lighthearted movie. It’s hilarious, and Rogen’s B.O.B. steals the show. He was my favorite character. Honestly, coming from the perspective of someone who paid the extra money to see it in 3-D, it was totally worth it.

If you want to take your family to see a film that is out of this world, then go see “Monsters vs Aliens.”

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PROMOTING LITERACY THROUGH JOURNALISM

The Tucson Citizen is in partnership with Bear Essential News, Domino’s Pizza and KVOA to promote literacy through journalism.

Hey, Boomer!

I need advice . . . and I mean BIG advice! My friend has changed overnight.

She’s acting all snobby now. And I’ve tried talking to her, but she just says, “What are you talking about?” And she doesn’t talk to me at all.

She’s best friends with this other girl, and whenever I hug my boyfriend, they make gagging noises! What kind of friend is that?

Seriously, Boomer, I need help fast!

Sincerely, R.A.

Dear R.A.,

It’s almost like someone flipping a light switch – kids around your age change how they act, what they like and even who their friends are. But don’t give up hope, your friend may come around someday.

Give her some space and focus on your other friendships and other things that are important to you!

And if she’s too immature to be around you and tu amigo, maybe you should find other classmates to hang with.

Friends always,

Boomer Bear

Dear Boomer,

Why doesn’t (President) Obama come to my school to talk about the economy?

K.A.

Dear K.A.,

Visiting schoolkids is high on the president’s list whenever he travels around the country.

But I think you need to invite him and give him some compelling reasons why he should make a stop at your terrific school the next time Air Force One makes a stop in Arizona!

Good luck, Boomer Bear

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ASK BOOMER

He’s wise, he’s cool and he’s ready to respond. Write a letter to Boomer Bear of Bear Essential News for Kids!

Bear Essential News for Kids

1037 S. Alvernon Way, No. 150

Tucson, AZ 85711

boomer@bearessentialnews.com

Anthony Silvain did some rock-climbing at Rudy Garcia Park during a previous Healthy Kids Day. Rock- climbing is just one of many activities available to kids this year..

Tell a kid it’s time for cardiovascular endurance training, and you’re likely to get a blank stare.

But offer up a little “Dance Dance Revolution,” Wii Fit, a rock-climbing wall, jumping castle or even toddler yoga – and your little one is far more likely to get moving.

Finding ways to make family fitness fun is the goal of Saturday’s free Healthy Kids Day, sponsored by the YMCA of Southern Arizona and Pima County Public Library.

With nearly 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds being obese and a third of all teens overweight, the message is more important than ever, said Berlin Loa, program outreach director at the Jacobs/City YMCA Program Center.

“In 1991, we saw a trend had begun of children sitting still, with video games and TV as the baby sitter,” Loa said.

The shift in how children spend free time has resulted in heavier kids, and the YMCA and library are trying to lighten things up.

Fun events will be held Saturday at three YMCAs:

• 8:30 a.m. to noon, Northwest center, 7770 N. Shannon Road

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ott center, 401 S. Prudence Road

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jacobs center, 1010 W. Lind St.

Events also will be held at library branches throughout Tucson.

Activities include a kids’ “Y-Athalon,” with swimming, walking and running; modified Junior Olympics; a jumping castle obstacle course; family relays; a checkers game using baby carrots and broccoli pieces that you can eat after capturing them; electronic sports wall games; toddler yoga; a climbing wall; Zumba dance aerobics; and “Dance Dance Revolution” tournaments.

Parents can take home a free Healthy Family Home Starter Kit that includes games, activities and self-tests related to health, activity levels, nutrition and spending family time together.

At least 3,000 Tucsonans are expected to take part in the events, which are held in more than 1,700 YMCAs nationwide.

Loa said the program is especially important during the economic downturn, when more kids are expected to stay home this summer instead of attending camps or sports programs.

“We will show families fun things to do at home, whether you live in a house, an apartment or a mobile home,” she said.

“The key is to make it fun.”

Hula hooping like Alexandra Osorio is a great way for kids to stay active.

Ezekiel Ortiz (foreground), Eddie Alvarez (at left in background) and Tina Lynch get a work out on a minitrampoline at a previous Healthy Kids Day.

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More Fitness Fun

Looking for other ways to inspire your family to get healthy?

The Tucson Children’s Museum is holding A Wealth of Health, Family Health and Wellness Fair, also on Saturday.

Live entertainment, hands-on activities, prizes, healthy snacks, a jumping castle, Wii Fit and more will be featured.

When: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

Where: 200 S. Sixth Ave.

Price: Free admission; healthful food available for purchase

Info: 792-9985, tucsonchildrensmuseum.org

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If you go

What: YMCA Healthy Kids Day

Where: Three YMCA branches and several Pima County Public Library branches (see story)

When: Saturday, various times

Price: Free

Info: For a schedule of YMCA events and times, go to www.tucsonymca.org/events/ hkd.php. For a schedule of library events, go online to library.pima.gov/about/news/?id=1251.

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Teen Iron Chef

Are you a kid who likes to create edible concoctions?

Show off your skills at the Healthy Kids Day Teen Iron Chef competition Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at the John Valenzuela Youth Center, 1550 S. Sixth Ave.

Teams of six teens will battle one another in creating a healthful snack within a set time.

The winning snack will be chosen from a panel of celebrity judges, and prizes will be awarded.

The competition is organized by University of Arizona library science students, said Sol Gomez, librarian at the Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Library, who is helping with the event.

Participants won’t know until competition starts what ingredients are available to them.

“They will come up with healthy snacks, something they could put together when they come home from school, that taste great,” Gomez said.

To register for the contest, call 594-5265.

Luis Soto of Sergio Salazar Painting works on the trim of the Tucson Children's Museum.

New paint and decorative banners are giving the finishing touches to a yearlong effort to spruce up the 1901 classical revival Carnegie Library building at 200 S. Sixth Ave.

The Tucson Children’s Museum and city Parks & Recreation Department are collaborating to improve the looks of the historic building that had been largely obscured by a block wall since 1960.

“The goal is to bring new life to the Carnegie,” said Michael Luria, interim executive director at the children’s museum, which occupies the former library building. “Once the wall came down you could see all the peeling paint.”

Parks & Recreation, which owns the building, tore down the wall in front of the Carnegie from April to June 2008 and replaced it with a wrought-iron fence to reveal the colonnaded structure to people at Armory Park and those walking down Sixth Avenue.

Parks & Recreation last week and this week is repainting the facade using about $5,000 that was left over from the $233,200 1997 Pima County Capital Improvement Project bond used to remove the wall and build the fence, said Howard Dutt, landscape architect at Parks & Recreation

The children’s museum will drape two banners on each of the five street light poles on Sixth Avenue and the seven light poles on Scott Avenue. Each banner will display images of children who use the museum, Luria said.

He expects the Sixth Avenue banners to be installed in early May and the Scott banners to be up by the end of May. Private funding is paying for the banners, he said.

The Scott banners will go up just as the streetscape project finishes to bring wider sidewalks, more trees and shrubs and benches to Scott Avenue from Broadway to the Temple of Music and Art.

Bob Seaberg, a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, works on a new children's playhouse that will have the same color scheme as the Tucson Children's Museum.

Rincon Rotary club member Ann Strug and Andrew Zlaket, 12, paint picnic tables.

WASHINGTON – Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents, a report says.

The study released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center highlights a growing dilemma in the immigration debate: Illegal immigrants’ children born in the United States are American citizens, yet they struggle in poverty and uncertainty along with parents who fear deportation, toil largely in low-wage jobs and face layoffs in an ailing economy.

The analysis by Pew, a nonpartisan research organization, estimated that 11.9 million illegal immigrants lived in the U.S. Of those, 8.3 million were in the labor force as of March 2008, making up 5.4 percent of the U.S. work force, primarily in lower-paying farming, construction or janitorial work.

Roughly three out of four of their children — or 4 million — were born in the U.S. In 2003, 2.7 million children of illegal immigrants, or 63 percent, were born in this country.

Overall, illegal immigrants’ children account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Illegal immigrants also have become more geographically dispersed, increasingly passing up typical destinations like California in favor of jobs in newly emerging Hispanic areas in Southeastern states like Georgia and North Carolina.

In 2008, California had the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, double its 1990 number, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey. Still, California’s 22 percent share of the nation’s illegal immigrant population was a marked drop-off from its 42 percent share in 1990.

The latest demographic snapshot comes as President Obama is preparing to address the politically sensitive issue of immigration reform later this year, including a proposal to give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

Though their numbers have soared over the past two decades, the total number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has declined or remained flat in the last few years. Demographers attribute that to slower rates of migration into the U.S. caused in part by the recession, as well as to deportations and stepped-up immigration enforcement during the Bush administration.

Among the findings:

• One-third of the children of illegal immigrants live in poverty, nearly double the rate for children of U.S.-born parents.

• Illegal immigrants’ share of low-wage jobs has grown in recent years, from 10 percent of construction jobs in 2003 to 17 percent in 2008. They also make up 25 percent of workers in farming and 19 percent in building maintenance.

• The 2007 median household income of illegal immigrants was $36,000, compared with $50,000 for U.S.-born residents. In contrast to other immigrants, illegal immigrants do not earn markedly higher incomes the longer they live in the United States.

• About 47 percent of illegal immigrant households have children, compared with 21 percent for U.S.-born residents and 35 percent for legal immigrants.

• About three-quarters, or 76 percent, of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are Hispanic. The majority came from Mexico (59 percent), numbering 7 million. Other regions included Asia (11 percent), Central America (11 percent), South America (7 percent), the Caribbean (4 percent) and the Middle East (2 percent).

Children of illegal immigrants hold a delicate place in the U.S. On the one hand, the Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that these children — whether they were U.S. citizens or not — were entitled to a public school education. California and a few other states also provide some college tuition breaks to illegal immigrants.

At the same time, the immigrants and their families are among the poorest people in the U.S., easily exploited by employers and subject to arrest at any time. Children who are U.S. citizens cannot petition for their parents to become legal U.S. residents until they are at least 21.

Earlier this year, the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general found that more than 100,000 parents of U.S. citizens were deported over the decade ending in 2007, prompting the department to say it would gather more information about families before deporting immigrants.

The Pew analysis is based on census data through March 2008. Because the Census Bureau does not ask people about their immigration status, the estimate on illegal immigrants is derived largely by subtracting the estimated legal immigrant population from the total foreign-born population.

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ON THE WEB

Pew Hispanic Center: pewhispanic.org

The federal stimulus plan is providing $51 million to Arizona for child care and $4 million to purchase vaccines to immunize individuals in underserved families, U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva announced Thursday.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe will get $215,000 for child care and the Tohono O’odham Nation will receive $461,000 for child care. The money will provide vouchers to needy working families so they can get child care and continue to be employed.

Dear Boomer Bear,

I like that polar bears live in Alaska. I like that their mouths are very powerful and that they are one of the most deadly animals. I like the color of your fur because it is white. I like polar bears because they are big, fluffy and like cold water.

I like polar bears because they have a good diet. I like them because they drink Coca-Cola. I like them because they are like angels, and they like to eat sushi.

What do you like most about polar bears? Do you have friends? What are some of their names? What are your mom’s and dad’s names?

Thank you, Room 28

Hello, Room 28.

I love that you’re into my new blog. Thanks for the thoughtful (and funny) words. What I like most about polar bears is that I am one! I have thousands and thousands of young readers whom I consider to be my best buddies. From Norma in Nogales to Frank up in Flagstaff, I have friends and fans everywhere! As for my folks – I just call them Mom and Dad.

Keep up the great work, Boomer Bear

What’s up, Boomer?

I want to become a member of the press. Please help me by accepting me into the Young Reporters Program.

Your friend, P.J.

Dear P.J.,

I love it when kids like you are so motivated! Anyone in grades 3 through 8 can become a Young Reporter and write for Bear Essential News, the Tucson Citizen and go on TV with KVOA-TV. To print out the sign-up forms, visit BearEssentialNews.com and click on “Young Reporters,” following the buttons to “Young Reporter Forms.”

When you mail them in, I’ll send you your official Young Reporters kit so you can start reporting for us.

You’ve got the “WRITE” stuff!

Boomer Bear

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ASK BOOMER

He’s wise, he’s cool and he’s ready to respond. Write a letter to Boomer Bear of Bear Essential News for Kids!

Bear Essential News for Kids

1037 S. Alvernon Way, No. 150

Tucson, AZ 85711

boomer@bearessentialnews.com