A Conversation With Magic

Former basketball star Magic Johnson, who has tirelessly worked to educate people--particularly young people--since announcing that he was HIV positive, and host Lind Ellerbee, talk with a group of kids about HIV and AIDS in this candid discussion which originally aired on the Nickelodeon channel. During the question and answer period, Johnson, Ellerbee, and the kids themselves address the ways the HIV virus can be transmitted (there's also an excellent rap video shown on the ways HIV cannot be transmitted), discuss the feelings that people with HIV or AIDS have (two of the kids in the studio group are HIV-positive), and emphasize the importance of all people being helpful and hopeful. The tape is available in two versions; in the longer one, the group frankly discusses the use of condoms in having safe sex, and Ellerbee demonstrates (using her fingers as a model) how to apply one. While a safe sex discussion might seem a little odd for a group of what appear to be 10 and 11-year-olds, this is an area where it's probably safer to assume a low estimate of the age that a person may become sexually active. Still, the gap is somewhat foolishly (and presumptuously) emphasized when Johnson addresses what appears to be a 5th-grade boy, saying: "heterosexuals like us..." This aside, A Conversation With Magic will catch kids' interest and is highly recommended. (Available from: Aylmer Press, P.O. Box 2735, Madison, WI 53701; (608) 251-0890.)