A MINI PAGE Q&A WITH BETTY DEBNAM

What do you think is the secret to The Mini Page's success?

I think The Mini Page has been successful because we have always kept our focus on producing a high-quality publication that is educationally sound. We do very thorough research on all the subjects we cover, and because of The Mini Page's reputation, we have access to excellent sources. Teachers and NIE coordinators know they can count on the information in The Mini Page -- many of them actually laminate each issue so they can save them and use them with classes in the future. Kids really enjoy the puzzles and activities that allow them to interact with the material being presented.

How have your young readers changed over the years? Have you had to change the topics you cover or the way you cover topics as your readers have changed?

Children's lifestyles have changed a lot. They are spending more time indoors watching television or using the computer, and increased safety concerns keep children indoors more than their counterparts 30 years ago. Because kids use computers, television and the Internet, they have more information at their fingertips than they used to. In spite of these changes, though, our surveys have shown children really are interested in most of the same subjects they've always cared about. When we ask kids what they want to learn about, sports, animals, space and dinosaurs are still among the most popular topics. So we make sure to keep covering those kinds of subjects.

We feel it's critically important to keep children informed about current issues and trends, though, so over the years we have covered an ever-changing selection of topics from current events. Endangered species, technological innovations such as the Internet, Y2K, the development of new sports like inline skating, the energy crisis in the 1970s ... all are examples of stories we have run to educate children about the times in which they live.

How do you keep in touch with what children are interested in?

We regularly solicit children's suggestions via The Mini Page for topics they would like us to cover. Our staff uses these surveys to help develop topics for future issues and to keep in touch with the entertainment and fads that children are interested in. We also receive a lot of letters from children and teachers, and that is another way we keep in touch with what's on students' minds.

At the same time, it's important that we avoid simply catering to children and providing them only with information they want to read about -- as educators, it's our job to expand kids' minds and expose them to information they need to know. By providing a mix of pop culture and solid educational topics, we are able to draw children to The Mini Page and educate them once they're there.

What topics have you most enjoyed covering in The Mini Page? Why?

I honestly have enjoyed covering all the topics we have written about in The Mini Page. One of my fundamental beliefs is that the world is a fascinating place, and we try to show that to our readers by exposing them to a wide variety of subjects. If we can introduce young readers to a subject they know little or nothing about, and if the readers find this subject interesting and want to find out more about it, then we have done our job.

What's in the future for The Mini Page?

My staff and I are busily working on a number of interesting subjects for the coming year, including stories on the millennium; famous people of the past century; and food, clothing and shelter through the ages. Universal Press Syndicate and The Mini Page will be launching an online Mini Page product in late 1999. Now, The Mini Page can be seen at www.uexpress.com