Josh Hutcherson in Journey 2

The new 3D adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (rated PG) begins when seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. Unable to stop him from tracking the signal to its source, Sean's new stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), joins the quest that will take them first to the South Pacific, and then to a place few people have ever seen . . . or lived to tell about.

Josh Hutcherson was here to tell us a bit more about the movie. (PS. He also talked about his role as Peeta in The Hunger Games, but you will have to wait until March to read that part of the interview!)

Kid Power! My First Heartbreak

Kid Power! Kids can make a difference! Every Thursday on Ink Splot 26, we'll show you a new idea for how YOU can make the world a better place.

Have you ever felt really nervous or had jittery stomach butterflies around someone? Don't worry, you're not sick! It happens to all of us: crushes. Once upon a time, when I was 11 years old, I had a crush who was really mean to me. He ended up breaking my heart, but I definitely learned a lot from the experience.

He used to hang out with my neighbor, so I would see him around the neighborhood a lot. One day, he and his friend were riding their bikes past my house, and I heard him yelling really mean things about how I was ugly and had no friends! Harsh, right? The first thing I did was go inside and cry my eyes out.

But then I realized something. I am not ugly. I have never been ugly and I never will be ugly. I have wonderful friends who think I'm awesome just the way I am. OK, maybe not a lot of friends; maybe just 2 really good friends, but here's the important thing I realized: HE DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE ONE OF THEM! He does not deserve any of my attention whatsoever.

I ignored him after that, just completely shut him out. When I saw him, I kept walking as if I didn't know him at all. All during middle school and high school, I gave my love and attention to my true friends who saw the awesomeness and beauty in me that I knew was there. I lived happily ever after because I did not let him write MY life story!

How will this help you make the world a better place? It's all about kid power! Heartbreak is a part of life, but you always have the power to write your own life story. Don't get sidetracked by anyone who doesn't think you're awesome. Don't let anyone stop you from doing the amazing things you were born to do!

— Glory, Scholastic Intern (a.k.a. CupcakeChateau4)

2012 New Books Preview!

2012: New Books for the New Year

A new year. New resolutions. New trends. New hairstyles. New pop stars. And of course . . . NEW BOOKS! We've got the scoop on the hottest books coming out this year, from The 39 Clues to Gordon Korman, to awesome new sci-fi adventure series & more. AND we've got exclusive chapter excerpts, so read on to find out more!

Celebrity Match: Who Would Win?

This week's Trivia Quiz is inspired by CakeCandy57 who has written a series of Celebrity Match Votes on the Fan Fiction Message Board. I thought it was a great idea, so I put together a bunch of celebrity match questions of my own.

Who would win?

Super Bowl Trivia Quiz Answered!

Are you ready for some answers? Last week, I posted a Super Bowl Trivia Quiz. After a hard week of punting, passing, running, blocking, and kicking, I have the answers! Check below to see how much you really know about the Super Bowl!

Writing Prompt: The Sunny Entrance

This week's Writing Prompt is inspired by eighth-grader Mimi Shang, who won a Gold Medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her Mixed Media artwork titled "The Sunny Entrance."

In this piece, I see a lot of purple and blue, which are not so happy colors to me. But in the corner on the wall, there is a mirror with a reflection of a window, and there is yellow and light there. To me, that represents hope for tomorrow.

With this in mind, my caption for this artwork would be:

"Mom, I would love to clean the house and all, but tomorrow looks more promising."

Doing chores is something that we all probably have to do at some point in our lives, and I hate cleaning my room! But it has to get done eventually, right?

Look at this image, and find symbols you can relate to. Then come up with a creative caption and share it in the Comments for everyone to see. I know you all have some great ideas, and we want to hear them!

— Glory, Scholastic Intern (a.k.a. CupcakeChateau4)