Kajal Jani

Age 10, New Jersey

Favorite Subject: Social Studies

Book: The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Music: Indian

Extracurricular Activities: tennis, library activities, R.E.A.C.H., temple

Hobbies: playing volleyball, hanging out with friends, and reading.

As a kid reporter, Kaji hopes to interview many people. She also wants to improve her writing.

"The way I see it, writing is a skill that you really need," she said.

When she grows up, she hopes to be a teacher or a journalist.  In her spare time, she likes to read, talk on the phone, use the computer, and organize things.

Kajal is in the fifth grade in Fairlawn, New Jersey.  She has one younger sister.

My Home: Fairlawn, New Jersey

By Kajal Jani
Scholastic Kids Press Corps

Fairlawn, New Jersey is a town that has all kinds of fun activities—for adults as well as children. Fairlawn has its very own “Five Wonders," special spots that people in the community enjoy.

The first is the Fairlawn Public Library, also known as the Maurice Pine Library. The art gallery is one of the best things about the library. The children’s floor has thousands of books, DVDs, videos, computer games, and music CDs. The library also has computers with access to the internet, catalogs, and games.

The second wonder is the Fairlawn Recreation and Park Department of Fairlawn. Fairlawn has twelve parks, twenty-three playgrounds, eighteen softball/baseball fields, ten tennis courts, ten basketball courts, three walkways, two public pools, handball courts, soccer fields, football fields, and hockey rinks. In the summer, the place to be is the Memorial Pool. Swimming lessons, beach volleyball, billiards, and ping-pong tables are just a few of the things the pool offers.

The third wonder is Radburn, a small society in Fairlawn. Radburn was built about 76 years ago. It is like a community within a community. One of the best things about this area is that if you want to walk somewhere, you do not need to cross any major roads (thanks to specially-designed paths for pedestrians).

There is a weir in Fairlawn. A weir is basically a v-shaped wall of stones that catches fish. It has been here for many, many years! The Indians and Europeans used it to catch all kinds of fish. You can see the weir in the Passaic River from the Fairlawn Avenue Bridge. It is about the width of a football field!

If you go to the Nabisco Bakery, which is now the Kraft Bakery, your mouth will water! The bakery makes products like Oreo’s, Ritz Crackers, and Barnum’s Animal Crackers. The 46-year-old bakery employs over 600 people. The bakery makes about 300,000 animal crackers per hour. That’s 15,000 boxes!

Now you have read about the wonders of Fair Lawn. Don’t you wonder why you haven’t visited my town yet?