Sydney Fredette has a lot of things to deal with. Not only is she a high school student, but she has also set up her own organization, Beary Merry Christmas. She volunteers to serve poor kids and families in Orange County in California, US.

    To remember her best friend who died of cancer nearly 10 years ago, Fredette decided to serve those in Orange County who are less lucky than she is. She began with the simple idea of collecting donated Build-A-Bears, the popular toy animal that is made by children themselves in the stores' workshops. Fredette then gave them as gifts to the homeless children in California.

    With donations at more than 100 bears a year, Fredette and volunteers in her organization hold activities every year. They not only give out the bears, but also many other things.

    Fredette now also holds other activities for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween, providing the chance for her volunteer team to make a difference through the year.

    "I love making relationships with the people I serve." Fredette said. "The thanks they have, hearing their stories and seeing how happy they are, it's so cool."

    Future plans for Fredette include building a public food bank and providing a self-development class for students in her school who will soon attend college. Heading to college herself in the fall, Fredette is looking to stay local and continue to help out in her hometown. In fact, she was regarded as a "Dreamer & Doer" not long ago for her work in improving her community, along with 32 other high school students.

    What's My Line (台词)?

    "One of my actors is sick! He has just one line and you're the only one who fits his clothes!" One afternoon, the school drama(戏剧) director suddenly shouted to me. She seemed so nervous and worried that I felt sorry for her and said, "OK".

    "You will be fine. It's easy!" she said. But it wasn't easy at all. On the stage(舞台), four other actors and actresses spoke their lines, and I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. I couldn't even breathe. I just wanted to leave. The next thing I knew, I was running off the stage.

    As I was running off the stage, I accidentally knocked over a glass of grape juice that was on a table. T he purple juice hit the girl next to me – Andrea, the leading actress of the drama. She gave me a nasty look. I thought s he was going to kill me!

    But then, Andrea quickly said, "Darling, you're so silly! Let's toast(干杯) to my darling's silliness! Cheers!" She quickly took another glass of grape juice and drank it. The other actors quickly followed Andrea's lead and saved the scene(场面). The audience(观众) thought my mistake was part of the play!

    I said sorry to everyone after the play. To my surprise, they were not angry with me. They told me, "It's all a part of being on stage." I could be wrong, but I think I liked being on stage. I think I will try again.

    Doctor Seuss was born in 1904

    In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read well. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He hadn't received training in art. Yet, he drew pictures for most of his books.

    By the middle 1950s, Doctor Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books were very popular with young readers. They enjoyed the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.

    In 1957, Doctor Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old child was able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it too. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books with very few words for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book was called Green Eggs and Ham.

    In 1984. Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize. He was honoured for education and enjoyment that his books provided for American children and their parents.

    Doctor Seuss died in 1991 at the age of 87. But his influence remains. Today his books are still very popular. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books help change the way American children learn to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people."