If you have a tween in your house, we’re sure you’ve heard (and heard and heard) about the Disney Channel’s new original movie, Camp Rock, slated to premiere in late June and starring the only teen celebs on the planet capable of overshadowing Miley Cyrus: The Jonas Brothers. (Our take on the flick based solely on the trailer: High School Musical meets Cinderella, with a dash of School of Rock thrown in.)

Of course, the movie will be a hit of colossal proportions. And when your tween tires of seeing it (maybe, say, in the fall) you can take them to the book store. The Disney Book Group announced yesterday they’ve signed the first-ever book deal with Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas: a tome (such an underused word) which will offer fans never-before-seen photos, along with exclusive commentary of the boys on tour.

Sayeth the Jonas Bros in the official press release: "We have such an amazing time performing at our concerts, and to be able to chronicle all of the fun for our fans and readers is just incredible for us. We hope our fans get to relive our shows and discover things they haven’t seen before through our book."

Now, do you think they all said that at the same time?

It was only a matter of time, right? Olivia, everyone’s favorite bossy bovine, is stepping out of the pages of Ian Falconer’s books, and into her own half-hour show on Nickelodeon. Expected screen date: 2009.

So, quick! Weigh in, before the show goes into production. Any thoughts on voice-over artists, music and animation? Here’s hoping the powers that be don’t screw it up. Does anyone remember Dilbert? Not a kids’ show, of course, but a nice lesson for producers on How To Screw Things Up.

Even if you’re not a celebrity hound, it is sort of interesting (in a socially anthropological-type way) to hear what kids of celeb parents watch on TV. Case in point: Calista Flockhart’s son, Liam, is a total fan of Caillou. So much so that when Harrison Ford was recently on The Tonight Show to promote the new Indiana Jones flick, he talked about it. And brought a picture. And even did a passable impression.

Check out this YouTube video.

It’s the shortest clip we could find because we know a) how busy you are, and b) you’re not a celebrity hound.

Here’s yet another reason to buy a DVR and fast-forward through ads.

New research conducted by a graduating senior at the University of New Hampshire shows that TV commercials influence what we want to do in our lives.

Sociology major Valerie Hooper studied over 1,500 commercials during a week’s worth of primetime viewing. Not too shockingly, men in the ads were more likely than women to be working outside the home. Very shockingly, only 2.1 percent of the ads showed men performing a domestic task, like – um — caring for their kids.

But even more interesting was audience reaction. Men viewing ads showing their peers in nontraditional roles were more likely to emphasize domestic goals in a discussion that followed. But if they only saw businessmen on TV, they later gave off a "Work is more important than family" vibe. (We’re paraphrasing.)

The results for women were not significant. Is this because we’re such good multi-taskers?

So here’s what we’d like to know. If adults are so influenced by images we see on TV, what’s the effect on kids? Are Bratz ads way more hazardous than previously thought?

Check out the UNH press release .

You found us! Smart News is now officially a blog. Check back everyday for lots of Smart News-ish type stuff – kids’ TV news and research, guest posts from parenting bloggers, q & a’s with people behind the scenes at your offspring’s favorite shows…you get the idea.

According to a new Ohio State University study ,
kids think eyeglasses make other kids (note use of the word “other”) look smart. We like to call this “The Velma Effect.”

But as we all know, there’s a thin line between looking smart and being geeky, and researchers at London Metropolitan University believe they’ve found it. Here’s the bad news. It’s called “Math.”

Apparently, a “substantial majority” of high school and university students said no thanks to pursuing math because they think mathematicians are all “old, white, middle-class men who lack social skills and have no personal life.” Even Einstein was labeled by the study group as “not normal.”

So we’re thinking we need some kind of math-genius-super-hero show to prove to kids that being good at math doesn’t doom your personal life. Think Wordgirl with crime-fighting fractions…and she should totally wear glasses.

Tell Us What You Think!
Which TV shows get your offspring excited about math?

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Want your preschooler to be on TV – but not in a creepy, stage mom-type way? PBS KIDS Sprout, the 24-hour preschool destination for kids 2-5 — has the answer. Their brand-new afternoon show, The Sharing Show, highlights viewer-submitted videos – kids singing, dancing, “helping” Mom (like our use of quotation marks?) and general “Look what I can do!” moments.

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Blogger Anne-Marie Nichols’ daughter wants to be a karate master, chef and mom when she grows up. Thank you, Alton Brown and the Power Rangers!

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Spin Off
Oh, Sesame Street , how do we love thee? Let us count the ways. Or better yet, let’s have Babble do it. If you haven’t yet checked out our absolute favorite parenting website, here’s a good reason to. They’ve compiled their fifty fave clips from Sesame Street, which you can watch here. Rubber Ducky, you’re still the one.

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Poll
What TV show is teaching your kids diversity?

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Bugs totally get a bad rap. Snakes? They sorta deserve it, if you ask us, but most creepy-crawlies are pretty innocuous. Nick Jr.’s on the same “Be nice to bugs” wavelength, which is why they’re rolling out a week of special bug-themed shows, starting Monday, May 12. We’re especially looking forward to the new Go, Diego, Go! ep in which everyone’s favorite bilingual animal rescuer magically shrinks down to bug size. So long as those mischievous Bobo Brothers don’t decide to wear tap dancing shoes, all should end well.

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