West Hills

'The Secret of Kells' MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Playing: At the Landmark, West L.A.; Regal Westpark 8, Irvine; Fallbrook 7, West Hills

Kurt M. Keller, the boys' basketball coach at Kilpatrick, a juvenile detention center in Malibu, always wonders what will happen when rival gang members from the Crips and the Bloods are brought together on the same team. Sometimes they cooperate, sometimes not. "We have kids who in the past would rather shoot at each other than pass the basketball to each other," he said. Not this year. That Kilpatrick has advanced to Thursday's Southern Section Division 6A final against West Hills West Valley Christian at Ontario Colony is something to celebrate.

When 6-foot-11 Gilles Dierick x went home to Belgium for Thanksgiving, his former basketball teammates didn't realize how much he had changed from spending a year in the San Fernando Valley until he got onto the court. "All my old teammates were yelling at me, 'Why are you making all these fouls? Stop making fouls.' And I said, 'That's just how I play now.' " Dierickx enrolled last January at West Hills Chaminade as a tall, lanky sophomore who wanted nothing to do with going into the key. He was comfortable shooting shots from the wing, which is typical for many European players.

There were the fidgeters, the yawners, the blinkers and the slouchers. There were those who nailed it on the first shot, perfect posture and a sparkle in their eyes. Then there was Diego Legaspi, his tiny feet wiggling off the wooden stool, his body leaning to the right as if trying to escape. "Say cookie!" the photographer called out from behind the lens. "No," the first-grader grimaced. "Say pizza!" "No," he whispered. "No pizza." Finally, a smile -- albeit teeth-locked and forced -- appeared on the boy's face.

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel must be feeling pretty good about the Bruins' chances in next week's game after watching one of the worst performances by USC in 10 years against Stanford. The Trojans' football program came dangerously close, at least for one week, to achieving Neuheisel's No. 1 goal: parity with USC. Anthony Santich San Pedro :: Now we know why Pete Carroll is so enamored with Matt Barkley: He watches him play every day against the USC defense in practice.

Re "Getting over the wall," Opinion, Nov. 8 I am the son of a Berliner who celebrated her 85th birthday this month and grew up in the Kreuzberg district. My mother is a living eyewitness to Berlin's history and the nightmare of mankind's darkest days -- World War II. We were most pleased to see the excellent coverage you gave on the destruction of the Berlin Wall, as we had relatives cemented in by the Soviets' bricks. It is our great regret that my mother's parents did not live long enough to see the wall torn down.

"The Party" David McPhail This book is about a boy, his toy animals and his dad. The boy is planning a party with his toys, but his dad falls asleep. The boy decides to party anyway. So he and his toy animals jump on the sleeping dad. They tickle him. They take him to the kitchen on a toy elephant and feed him sandwiches. They take him back upstairs. It is not easy. I like this book because it is funny and has great pictures. Reviewed by Natalie, 7 Welby Way Magnet West Hills "Fairy Realm #6: The Unicorn" Emily Rodda Both worlds, the Fairy Realm and the Human, are in danger.

"Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" Robert C. O'Brien This story is about a mom and her son. They are field mice. The mom's name is Mrs. Frisby and her son's name is Timothy. Timothy gets bitten by a spider, so Mrs. Frisby has to look for a doctor. She goes out in the world and meets all kinds of animals who help her. Will she save her son? Read the book and find out. Reviewed by Elijah, 9 Horace Mann Elementary Glendale "Harry in Trouble" Barbara Ann Porte Harry keeps losing his library cards all the time and gets in big trouble.