School supplies can be colorful, fun and practical

Just because the recommended supply list from your child's school is the same old blah this year doesn't mean you have to send your child to class that way. Here are some supercool new items that could help elevate your kid's popularity (or his target status with larcenous bullies).

Crayola Wild Notes notebook and pen

$4.99 at Walgreens

The pen here changes colors along with your child's mood -- randomly and without warning -- midstroke.

"I've never seen anything like it before," says Jackie Landy, familial shopping consultant and proprietor of myvegasmommy.com. "It'll make writing in just one color seem boring."

Also, it will make the teacher correcting your child's homework wonder if she should adjust her blood pressure medication.

Pilot G2 Retractable Gel Ink Rolling Ball Pen

$1.99 at Walgreens

Gel ink is way cooler than liquid because it writes smoother and there's less mess when you remove it to create a paper blowgun.

Expo Neon black dry-erase board and markers

$9.99 at Walgreens

The letters will be as colorful as the words they spell when your daughter, from inside her locker door, proudly announces her current classroom crush and least favorite teacher.

WWE pencil case and binder

$4.99 each at Kmart

Junior can take his notes to the mat as he fantasizes about world domination instead of paying attention in geography.

Hello Kitty book covers

$1.99 at Target

A perennially popular anime character both for the teenage girl who wants to appear multicultural or the teenage boy who wants his books knocked out of his hands in the hallway.

PocketBac hand sanitizer

$1.50 each for the sanitizer and stretchy holder at Bath & Body Works

The sanitizer keeps the cooties at bay between hand washings. The stretchy holder keeps the jerks at bay by doubling as a painful slingshot.

Acer Aspire 1 netbook

$299.99 at Kmart

This netbook is smaller than a history textbook (its screen measures 7-by-10 inches) and much more fun. Alas, computers and cell phones can't be used in Clark County School District classes without special permission. But they can aid in the library with homework and e-mail checking.

Liv Crayola notebook, folder and binder

$3.99 each at Target

If you buy a separate $3.99 pack of blank covers, your child can print whatever he thinks is cool on them and slide them into the front windows. (Chances are, it won't be photos of you.)

Selena Gomez "Wizards of Waverly Place" backpack

$11.99 at Kmart

Jadyn Crosier, a 6-year-old we ran into at the Kmart on North Rancho Drive and Craig Road, would not be caught dead at Bilbray Elementary School without this accessory. (Selena Gomez, in case you don't have access to a preteen, is the 18-year-old Disney Channel star, Auto-Tune-corrected singer and Hannah Montana of the moment.)

According to Jadyn, Gomez's series ("The Wizards of Waverly Place") is "good." Jadyn says she strongly recommends this particular backpack because both Gomez and the flowers are "pretty."