Find and recognize everyday heroes in your town, and learn how you can be a hero too. Learn with some of Hooper's favorite programs and characters or some of your own.

View

• Clifford - "Islander of the Year"
  The library sponsors an essay contest for Islander of the Year, and the children all submit their ideas. Somehow, as they tell their tales, Clifford keeps turning up -- and he is ultimately chosen as the winner. The kids learn that sometimes a real hero is the one you least expect.
• Arthur - "Buster Baxter, Cat Saver"
  A cat gets stuck in a tree and Buster Baxter saves the day! Risking life and limb! (Well, actually, the cat just jumped and landed on him.) It's not every day that your best friend is lionized, canonized and just plain admired... and Arthur, for one, is sick of it.
• Reading Rainbow - "Max"
  Max is the son of superhero parents who is destined to be a superhero – that is, once he learns to fly. However, when he's faced with an emergency, Max's soaring abilities are brought to life – unleashing the hero within. LeVar spends the day at a firehouse, and learns what inspires firefighters. We also follow Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons as they rescue, rehabilitate and release an injured goose. Finally, through an upbeat song, we celebrate the heroes that surround us every day.

Do in Class

• Arthur: Everyday Heroes - Design and present awards to everyday heroes you know, including yourself.
• Caillou: Hero Helper Award - Print a share a hero helper award with a deserving person you know.
• Clifford: A Hero is a Hero! - Identify heroes that you know, and design plaques out of paper plates to add your choices to a "Gallery of Heroes."
• George Shrinks: I Have a Dream - Learn about modern day heroes, discuss students' wishes for a better world and illustrate with drawing and words one thing they will do to help make the world a better place. (Section 3)
• Maya & Miguel: Talk about a Hero/Heroine! - Define in conversational language what a hero/heroine is, and identify a person of heroic status. (Advanced Activity)
• Reading Rainbow: Max - Look through newspapers and magazines to find articles or pictures about heroic deeds. Start a collection of these articles and pictures to make a "Heroes Scrapbook."
• Reading Rainbow: The Tin Forest - Give a plant to a local hero or family member as a way of saying thank you.

Play and Watch Online

• African American World for Kids: Big Picture - Match African American heroes with the events that made them famous.
• Reading Rainbow: Draw Your Hero - Use an online drawing tool to draw and print a picture of your hero.
• Reading Rainbow: Max - Listen to a reading of a portion of the book "Max" and think about the qualities of a hero. List community workers who do heroic things every day.

Read

• I Dream of Trains
  By Angela Johnson and Loren Long
  Published September 2003 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
  The son of a black Mississippi sharecropper toils in the cotton fields and dreams of a better future promised by the whistle of the legendary Casey Jones's north-bound train. When Jones is killed in an accident, the boy's father assures him that there will be other trains. This is a beautifully illustrated tale of dreams, heroes, and memory.
• Kate and the Beanstalk
  By Mary Pope Osborne, Giselle Potter
  Published October 2000 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
  As the title suggests, this is a retelling of the familiar beanstalk tale. This time when the hero, Kate, climbs the beanstalk, braves the appetite of the giant, and saves her mother and herself from starvation, an unusual twist justifies the thieving. This picture book is for children 4-8.

*As most PBS children's programs offer one year extended taping rights for teachers, please feel free to tape them now and save them for use in your classroom during the school year.