Innehållsförteckning för Issue 120 från The Week Junior US

A large percentage of the world’s population faced record-breaking heat at the end of July. The extreme weather sparked wildfires and created dangerous conditions for hundreds of millions of people across the globe. What is happening in the US? Scorching heat from the East Coast to the Southwest broke or tied 359 records. (A heat wave is a certain number of days above a specific temperature, depending on the location.) Tens of millions of Americans faced excessive heat warnings, which are issued when the heat index (how it really feels outside based on temperature and humidity) is predicted to reach at least 103° F. In Newark, New Jersey, the temperature reached 100° For higher on five straight days, the longest stretch since recording began in 1931. Boston, Massachusetts, hit 100°…

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS Sanu Sherpa of Nepal is a top mountaineer—twice over. The 47-year-old set a record by climbing each of the world’s 14 tallest peaks, which are all higher than 26,247 feet, twice. “I simply love climbing,” he said. MORE WAYS TO PLAY Wordle, the popular online puzzle in which players guess a five-letter word, will join family game night this fall. Owner The New York Times and toy maker Hasbro said they will release a board game version that can be played by four people. “We’re beyond thrilled,” Hasbro said. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION For the first time since 1999, astronauts from the Russian and European space agencies performed a joint spacewalk outside the International Space Station. On July 21, Oleg Artemyev of Russia and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy worked…

On June 28, soccer player Carson Pickett made history when she stepped onto a field in Utah with the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) as the team’s first player with a limb difference. “I saw the crowd and everyone chanting ‘USA,’ and I just knew that my biggest dream just came true,” Pickett told Good Morning America of her history-making moment. Pickett was born without a left hand and forearm. This can affect her balance and the way she plays soccer. But that has never stopped her from playing the sport that has been a part of her life since age 5. She began playing soccer with her father, a former college soccer player, and credits him for helping her become the player she is today. She played in college…

A new study has shown that tropical birds (those from regions of the world that are warm throughout the year) really are more colorful than birds from other parts of the world. This theory has been suspected for many years but has never been proven. Scientists from the UK and Hungary looked at more than 24,000 pictures of 4,500 bird specimens from around the world. The photos are kept at the Natural History Museum collection in England. The researchers used computers to measure the color and intensity of different feathers on each bird, producing millions of readings that could then be processed to get a scientific measurement of how colorful each bird was. The results showed that birds from West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon rainforest in South America…

Galápagos tortoises Scientists have confirmed that a tortoise in the Galápagos Islands named Fernanda is a “fantastic giant tortoise,” a species that had not been seen since 1906 and was thought to be extinct. This gives scientists hope for the species’ survival. Siberian tundra This flat landscape may vanish by the year 2500 unless greenhouse gas levels are reduced, scientists say. There is also a risk that as the planet heats up and the frozen soil melts, even more greenhouse gases will be released.…

Water parks all over the globe provide excitement for visitors. But some parks stand apart from the rest for their record-breaking attractions. Here are three examples. Most visited park Even though Chimelong Water Park in China is open only during the summer, it has 2 to 3 million visitors a year. Among its top attractions are a “water city” and the world’s first SlideWheel, a water slide that rotates like a Ferris wheel. Steepest slide The Kilimanjaro slide at Aldeia das Águas Park Resort in Brazil is named after the tallest mountain in Africa and stands 163 feet high. Riders plunge at a 60-degree angle, reaching speeds of up to 62 miles per hour, before gliding into the pool below. Tallest water coaster Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Water Park in Texas…

A new plan has been revealed for a park in Madrid, the capital of Spain, that could lower temperatures in the surrounding area by as much as 7.2° F. The park is expected to be completed in 2025. It will include a “wind garden” with tall spiral structures covered in green plants such as ferns and mosses. These plants will capture breezes, cool them down, and move them around the park. Elsewhere in the park, avenues of trees will create shady areas and special systems will water the plants to reduce temperatures. The park’s designers said that as the park and garden create cooler air, nearby streets should cool down too. This approach to cooling a city was inspired by ancient techniques in Middle Eastern countries, where cool air was…

The World Athletics Championships was held in Eugene, Oregon, from July 15 through July 24. The event, which takes place every two years, brought together more than 1,700 track and field athletes from 179 countries (plus an Athlete Refugee Team). The US had never hosted it before. Team USA won 33 medals, including 13 golds. It was the most total medals ever won at Worlds. The other top teams were Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Kenya, which earned 10 medals each. The event was filled with thrilling races and historic moments. On the final day, Athing Mu became the first American woman to win the 800-meter race at Worlds. She beat Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson by .08 seconds. The day before, the US women’s 4 x 100-meter relay beat Jamaica, the reigning champions.…

Coach’s Name: Sandy Smith Team: Wildcats (U10 girls lacrosse) “Coach Sandy is an awesome coach! She is always helping us with drills. She always makes me and my teammates laugh. If we are ever holding our lacrosse sticks wrong, she comes over to tell us proper position. Before a game she always gives us a good pep talk. My teammates and I love her so very much and hope to have her during our entire lacrosse career.” Harper, 10, Connecticut To nominate a Coach of the Week, send your coach’s name, photo, sport, and team to hello@theweekjunior.com. Include your name, age, state, and a few reasons why your coach is great.…

Royal pups Queen Elizabeth of the UK, who is 96 years old, is known for her love of Pembroke Welsh Corgis. She has owned more than 30. All of them descended from her first Corgi, Susan. Fashionable feline German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, had a famous Birman cat, Choupette. Her name is a French nickname for a cute girl. She is on social media and was featured on some of his designs. Beloved bird The 18th-century classical music composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had a European starling. He loved the bird’s voice, which influenced and inspired his work during the three years they lived together.…

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (Netflix) The final season of the animated series about six teenagers trapped on an island with dinosaurs is out now. When Kenji’s dad arrives to rescue the teens, his intentions prove to be bad. They must save the dinosaurs and find another way home. Amber Brown (Apple TV+) Based on a best-selling book series, this new show follows a middle schooler named Amber, who’s been struggling with her parents’ divorce and her best friend moving away. Expressing herself through art and a new friendship with a neighbor help her cope with life’s challenges. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+) The East High students are back for season three of the High School Musical films’ spin-off. While at camp, the gang prepares for a production…

(Audible Original Podcast) This audiobook podcast begins when Mookie, age 13, goes to sleepaway camp for the third summer in a row. She wants this year to be a fresh start. Instead of investigating mysteries at camp, she hopes to learn a sport and make new friends. But not long after she arrives, she receives an anonymous letter from someone asking for help. Mookie thinks Sue, the camp’s director, wrote it. Meanwhile, Sue has also received letters from someone demanding money in exchange for keeping a camp secret. With a big pool of suspects, Mookie uses her sleuthing skills to crack the case. It’s a twist you probably won’t see coming. You might recognize some of the voices of the characters in this audiobook. Actor Jacob Tremblay plays one of…

Talent show Have friends sign up to dance, play an instrument, do a magic trick, or perform in whatever way they would like. Set a time, date, and place, then sell tickets to attendees for a small fee. Art show Create a gallery of your own artwork, and ask friends to donate theirs too. Then invite people to come to the show and bid on any art they would like to own. Lemonade stand Set up a table in your front yard with a big batch of lemonade and a sign. This is a perfect activity for hot summer days! Rubber duck race Ask people to pay a small fee to enter the race. Meet at a small pond or stream in your area and hand out rubber ducks with…

Grabbing a paper towel can be a convenient way to wipe up a mess or spill on the kitchen counter. But because paper towels are disposable, they add to the waste in landfills, which is harmful to the environment. Instead, try cleaning up with dishcloths and rags, which can be washed and reused. Keep clean dishcloths in one drawer. Whenever one gets dirty, place it in your family’s laundry basket to be washed. Once clean, return it to the drawer. It’s OK to keep paper towels on hand for times when they’re necessary. To avoid overusing them, store them out of sight, such as in a cabinet under the kitchen sink.…

A hair stylist in the UK is using mats made from her customers’ hair to fight oil spills around the world. Adele Williams creates the mats using leftover hair she sweeps up from the floor of her salon, putting it in a machine that weaves it into a mat. She then donates the mats to a charity, which uses them to clean up oil spills that harm the environment. So what do you think? Is it the truth, or is it a hair-brained lie?*…

Several years ago, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Jamie Lee Curtis (p23). She was famous for acting in numerous films and was also becoming well known for writing children’s books. I was so excited to meet her! She was extremely nice and so much fun to talk to. Now I am fortunate again because she is participating in The Week Junior’s Summer of Reading program as one of our Author Ambassadors. In this issue, you can read a review of the new season of her audiobook podcast, a Q&A with her, and a writing prompt she provided to help you with your own storytelling. Thank you, Jamie Lee! Thank you, also, to our other Author Ambassadors—Soman Chainani, Chris Grabenstein, Dwayne Reed, and Jo Rioux—who were featured…

Sign up and follow @theweekjuniorus on PopJam, a social media platform for kids 7–12. Ask an adult to download the app from iTunes or Google Play. We asked: If you had a telescope that could see into space, what would you want to view first? “Saturn, because of its beautiful and vibrant rings!” “A planet that might have alien life!” “The Moon—it has craters and goes through phases.” “Pluto, because it’s such a mystery.” “Other galaxies” In the big debate, we asked: Should kids run errands alone? “No, they might not understand what to get.” “I think they should if they are around the age of 12. ” “They could have their parents waiting in the car.” “It depends on what age they are.” Now tell us: What is your…

1 An Idaho man set a world record for walking the longest distance while balancing what instrument on his chin? a) Flute b) Violin c) Guitar a □ b □ c □ 2 True or false? Ada Limón has been named the 20th US poet laureate. True □ False □ 3 A Gálapagos Islands tortoise named Fernanda belongs to what species that was thought to be extinct? _________________________ 4 In the video game Bear and Breakfast, how many different items are there to decorate rooms with? a) 180 b) 220 c) 260 a □ b □ c □ 5 Track and field athlete Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record in what event at the World Athletics Championships? a) Hurdles b) Long jump c) Javelin a □ b □ c…

The US House of Representatives (one half of Congress, the branch of government that makes laws) passed a bill on July 19 that would protect the right of people of the same sex and of different races to be legally married. The bill passed 267–157, with 220 Democrats and 47 Republicans voting in favor of the legislation. What does the bill say? The bill, called the Respect for Marriage Act, would make same-sex marriage and interracial marriage legal in all 50 states under federal law. It would ensure that the legal definition of marriage includes those who are of any race or sex. If states or communities don’t comply with the law, people could take legal action to ensure that their rights are upheld. Why was the bill written? The…

France Danish cyclist wins Tour de France On July 24, Jonas Vingegaard, a 25-year-old Danish cyclist, won the Tour de France, the world’s most difficult bike race. This is his first time winning the race, beating two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who placed second. Vingegaard is the second Dane ever to win the Tour de France. The race, which began on July 1 and finished in Paris, covered more than 2,000 miles through several countries. Catalonia, Spain Town purchases unusual building The town of Esplugues de Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain, has purchased Espai Corberó, a building that is also a work of art, for $3 million. The work is by the sculptor Xavier Corberó, who died in 2017 and was known for his huge public artworks. Espai Corberó has staircases…

Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Nevada The Spring Mountains are a range of mountains that includes Mount Charleston, one of the tallest peaks in Nevada. It reaches more than 11,900 feet high and is covered in bristlecone pine trees. The Spring Mountains are the only place where the Palmer’s chipmunk can be found. Wild horses and burros, or donkeys, roam about freely, and rocky mountain elks, desert tortoises, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats also dwell in or near the mountains. Numerous butterfly species, such as the Mount Charleston blue butterfly, live here as well.…

Freddy, 11, Connecticut Marco Wendt Wildlife ambassador, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Koalas need to sleep a lot to give them time to digest their food. Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves. Most plant eaters can’t tolerate eucalyptus because of certain toxins, but koalas specialize in it! They don’t get many calories from this diet, but they save energy by sleeping up to 20 hours each day. Do you have a question for a zookeeper? Send it hello@theweekjunior.com. Find out more about the San Diego Zoo at sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org.…

Three astronauts with the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) have nearly completed their first two months at the nation’s new space station, Tiangong (Chinese for “heavenly palace”). Commander Chen Dong and astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Liu Yang live and work on the station’s core module, called Tianhe, as part of the Shenzhou-14 mission. The astronauts will spend six months aboard Tiangong to help complete construction and setup. They are the third crew to visit the station, which was launched in 2021. So far, the team has performed many experiments, including tests on the water, air, and microorganisms (tiny life forms) inside Tianhe. They have also installed a system to improve air quality aboard the ship, tested spacesuits to be used in future spacewalks, and updated computer systems. The astronauts have…

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the world’s leading visual effects company, is the focus of the new six-part documentary series Light & Magic. ILM was founded in 1975 by director George Lucas when he was working on the first Star Wars film. It forever changed the way movies are made. The series is now on Disney+. Visual effects are images created by people such as artists, technicians, and software engineers that are made to look like part of real life. Over the years, ILM has worked on effects for more than 350 films, include the Marvel and Jurassic Park movies. ILM is also working on the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Light & Magic relies on interviews and vintage footage to tell ILM’s story. The first two episodes…

Bear and Breakfast is a new simulation game that takes place in the woods. It has just been released for the Nintendo Switch and PC, and it has features that are similar to the popular game Animal Crossing. The game is about a bear who has set up a type of lodging known as a bed and breakfast (B&B). At a B&B, guests are given a bedroom as well as a meal in the mornings. In Bear and Breakfast, gamers play as Hank, a bear who starts a B&B with his friends after they discover an abandoned building in the forest. It was part of the old Pinefall Resort, once a beautiful tourist attraction. Now it only attracts dust and spiderwebs. Hank and his pals decide to spruce up the…

Jamie Lee Curtis has written more than a dozen children’s books. She is also an award-winning actor and producer. In Letters from Camp Season 3, Curtis voices the character of the camp director. Did you go to sleepaway camp? Yes, I did! I loved being able to have a fresh start and that my life didn’t follow me to camp. I enjoyed trying new things and making new friends. Sleeping in a bunk bed was fun too! Favorite camp activities? Archery, horseback riding, and waterskiing. Did you write letters home? The only time I wrote home is when I got hurt or I was sick. I would write something like, “Dear Mom and Dad, I sprained my toe.” What’s the best way to make s’mores? I prefer the marshmallow warmed,…

Jumping rope is a fun way to get exercise and spend time outside. Here’s how to do it. 1. Adjust the rope’s length. Hold one handle in each hand and then step on the middle of the rope and pull the handles up toward your shoulders. The bottom of the handles should be at your armpits. If the rope is too long, pull it through the handles and then knot it. 2. Get in position. Hold the handles about 10 inches from both sides of your body, and let the rope hang in a U shape in front of you. Step over the rope so it’s behind your feet. 3. Try jumping. Start by practicing swinging the rope up and over your body. Make circles with your wrists to swing…

Crisscross Each of these things associated with summer camp fits into this grid. Can you find where each one goes to complete the grid? 3 letters DIP HOT SUN 4 letters BOAT POOL 5 letters CANOE HIKES TRAIL 7 letters COOKOUT RAFTING 8 letters HOMESICK 9 letters COUNSELOR SING-ALONG 11 letters CARE PACKAGE SLEEPING BAG TRADING POST ALL THE SAME Each answer contains the letters H-O-P. Those letters have been placed for you. Can you figure out the words? Take five Five 5-letter words associated with puzzles (like the ones on this page) are hidden in this grid. For each one, the first letter is somewhere in the first column, the second is somewhere in the second column, and so on. Can you find all five? (NEED A HINT? Check…

David Rush, a man from Idaho, has achieved a Guinness World Records title for the longest distance walked while balancing a guitar on his chin. Rush walked for an hour and seven minutes before the guitar fell. He completed13 laps around a track, for a total of 3.4 miles. Afterward, he had to lie on the ground to recover from the effort. Rush has been breaking records to promote the value of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.…

“Author Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote, ‘I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.’ We both read and write books on a daily basis. They consume our lives in the best possible way. Our love of reading led us to want to build a Little Free Library to share our books. We built our library with the help of our parents and chose to paint it blue and yellow to show support for the Ukrainian people. Even though we are in a very rural area, we have had several visitors. Our library has a wide variety of books. We also made special bookmarks that people can take and color on.” Have you done something interesting or raised money for a cause you care…

“My sister and I like vanilla with chocolate syrup on top!”Juliette, 8, and Evangeline, 6, Illinois “I brought the magazine on a recent trip to Mexico! No better place to read it than overlooking the Pacific Ocean!”North, 10, Wisconsin “I really enjoyed my sunshine waffle lunch bowl. It brightens my day. Simply delish!”Zoie, 10, Virginia…

On July 21, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated its Red List, which tracks the risk of extinction (when a species no longer exists) for 147,517 of the world’s plant and animal species. Updated at least twice a year, the list identifies animals as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, and Extinct. This helps experts identify which species need the most support. In a sign of progress, the IUCN counted 3,726 to 5,578 wild tigers worldwide, a 40% increase since 2015. The group said the tiger population has stabilized or increased due to efforts to protect their habitat and engage people who live nearby in saving them. Tigers are still listed as Endangered, but conservation programs are working “and recovery is possible,” the…

President Joe Biden was diagnosed with Covid-19 on July 21. By July 25, his symptoms, including nasal congestion, were said to be mostly gone. Biden’s doctors said he likely avoided serious symptoms because he is vaccinated and has had two booster shots. He was also treated with Paxlovid, a drug that can prevent serious Covid symptoms if it’s taken soon after infection. “Keep the faith. It’s going to be OK,” he said in a video from the White House.…

People have been creating realistic art for thousands of years. Early humans made cave drawings of animals, ancient Greeks sculpted highly detailed figures, and painters filled canvases with faces and places. In the early 1900s, however, people started to think that kind of art was boring and restrictive. Artists began creating abstract art full of color, squiggly lines, paint splatters, and geometric shapes, which was meant to convey emotions and ideas. To this day, abstract art lovers say it is more exciting and original. But fans of realistic art say it takes more skill to make and is less confusing. What do you think? Is abstract art better than realistic art? Yes—abstract art is more exciting Abstract art is more interesting, surprising, and modern because artists aren’t bound by rules…

For adventurous people throughout the world, summer wouldn’t be summer without a visit to a water park. Today’s parks are packed with exciting attractions, but they started as simple slides. Beginning with the basics One of the earliest known water slides appeared at the 1906 International Exhibition in New Zealand. People piled into a small wooden boat and splashed down a ramp onto a lake. Other slides were designed in this “Shoot the Chute” style, but by the 1920s, “water toboggan” slides, which featured wood sleds, became popular. Rides were eventually developed so that people could slide with just their bodies, but it would be years before other water attractions were created. The first water parks In 1962, Lake Dolores opened in California as a water-themed resort with slides, bumper…

From July 20 to July 24, the seventh annual Baseball for All national tournament was held in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest all-girls baseball tournament in the US. More than 400 players, ages 6 to 16, from three countries competed on nearly 40 teams. The national tournament is run by Baseball for All, a nonprofit organization created in 2010 by baseball pioneer Justine Siegel. One of her accomplishments is being the first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball organization. Since baseball has traditionally been played mostly by boys and men, girls are often told they can’t play the game. Her mission is to provide opportunities for girls to play, coach, and lead in the sport. “Why wouldn’t you want others to have a better experience than you…

The latest comic book characters to become movie stars are not superhumans; they’re superanimals. DC League of Super-Pets, which is now playing in theaters, follows a group of pets on a mission to save the world. In the film, Krypto the Superdog (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) fights crime with Superman in the city of Metropolis. Like Superman, Krypto can fly and has x-ray vision and super strength. After a space rock lands in a pet shelter, the animals that live there get powers. An evil guinea pig decides to use her new abilities to kidnap Superman and the rest of the Justice League (Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Green Lantern). To rescue them, Krypto must teach the other shelter pets to master their super skills. Director and co-writer Jared…

The Tale of Despereaux (2008) (Amazon Freevee and other platforms) This animated film set in the kingdom of Dor is based on the 2003 book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. The kingdom is a happy place until a rat named Roscuro accidentally falls into the queen’s soup, which causes her to have a fatal heart attack. As a result, the devastated king bans soup and rats. Meanwhile, a tiny mouse named Despereaux is born. As he grows up, he dreams of becoming a knight, but when he breaks mouse rules by talking to the king’s daughter, Princess Pea, he is banished to the rat world. There, he meets Roscuro and tries to help him apologize to the princess for his role in the queen’s death. A series of events…

MAGNETIC VIBRATIONS tinyurl.com/TWJUS-Magnets YouTube creators who play with and study magnets collaborated on this video. It highlights how the shifting of a single element can cause an entire design to move in surprising ways. You’ll also see how placing magnets in different patterns can generate satisfying vibration sounds.…

If you and your family like reading, you may have many books in your home that you no longer need. One way to make room on your bookshelves is to host a used book sale and donate all or part of what you raise to a cause you care about. By selling books at a reduced cost, you also ensure that the books you loved will continue to be enjoyed by others. Here’s how to get started. Gather books Let friends and family know you’re looking for book donations. You can accept all books, or you can specify donations of certain books. For instance, you could do a used book sale of only picture books and first chapter books. Consider leaving a large box at your front door labeled “book…

A hedgehog in the UK walked into a rabbit’s hutch and made itself at home. The hedgehog built a nest from straw and then gave birth to four babies inside the hutch, which belonged to a pet rabbit named Rufus. According to Rufus’s owner, Andrea Finbow, the hedgehog and the rabbit were “quite happy in each other’s company.” The hedgehog and her young soon moved on, but Finbow thinks she may come back from time to time to say hello to Rufus.…

Teacher’s Name: Mr. Aguilar School: Robert Eagle Staff Middle School “Mr. Aguilar is the band teacher at my school. I play saxophone in his symphonic, jazz, and marching bands. He gives us more opportunities to play than many high schools get. We’ve performed in parades and even at a half-time show for a professional basketball game! He gives us challenges to work. I admire Mr. Aguilar because he works really hard for our band.” Fenix, 12, Washington Nominate your teacher for Teacher of the Week! Send your reason for the nomination, a photo of your teacher, and your school’s name and address to hello@theweekjunior.com.…