Innehållsförteckning för Issue 167 från The Week Junior US

The German government announced that it will pay a record $1.4 billion to survivors of the Holocaust. The money, which will be distributed in 2024, is known as reparations, which are financial payments to make up for some form of wrongdoing. What was the Holocaust? The Holocaust was the mass killing of 6 million Jewish men, women, and children, as well as millions of others, by the German Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler. It is one of the most terrible events in human history. Starting in the late 1930s and throughout World War II (1939–1945), the Nazis stormed across Europe, taking over countries and forcing Jewish people to live in ghettos (neighborhoods surrounded by walls, barbed wire, or fences). Jews were also sent to concentration camps (prisons with very…

A STUNNING SALE A 55.22-carat ruby sold for $34.8 million, setting a record as the largest and most expensive ruby to sell at auction. Found last year in Mozambique, Africa, it is a rare dark red color and exceptionally clear and bright. A NEW RECORD Max Park, age 21 and from California, solved a 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube in 3.13 seconds at a competition on June 11, beating the previous world record by .34 seconds. Park, who has autism, is widely considered the world’s top “speed cuber.” “He constantly surprises us,” his father said. THE GIFT OF READING Just in time for summer, 1.2 million books were given to more than 200,000 students, teachers, and libraries in Tennessee. The program, run by a nonprofit and the Scholastic publishing company, aims to keep…

A major effort is underway to fix a bridge on Interstate Highway 95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It collapsed on June 11 after a truck carrying gasoline crashed and caught fire. More than 150,000 vehicles travel over the bridge every day, making it a vital part of the highway, President Joe Biden said after he visited the area on June 17. He pledged federal support to get the roadway reopened in two weeks. “We’re with you,” he said.…

From Toy Story to Frozen, Moana, Minions, and Encanto, animated films are huge. Timeless movies like these build magical worlds where dolls talk, little yellow creatures cause trouble, and families live in enchanted homes. Recently, studios have been making live-action versions of big animated hits. How to Train Your Dragon, which will hit theaters in 2025, is just the latest animated film to be getting a live-action remake. Some people who love the original movies are excited to see them brought to life again. Others think the animated films were so good that there’s no need to redo them. What do you think? Should there be live-action remakes? Yes—they give new life to old stories The original animated film The Little Mermaid came out in 1989. Many adults love it…

Would you get up earlier in the morning if you knew you could have your favorite breakfast? A new study has found that Skywalker gibbons get up earlier than usual when they are craving fruit. Gibbons eat a mixture of fruit and tree leaves. Over five years, researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in China studied two groups of Skywalker gibbons living in a nature reserve. The team followed the gibbons from the trees where they slept to the trees where they foraged for food. When the gibbons ate fruit for breakfast, they left their sleeping trees 30 minutes to an hour earlier than they did when they were going to eat leaves. Researchers think this is because fruit trees are uncommon and there is competition from other animals. The gibbons…

Schoolhouse Rock! In the third season of this animated TV show from the 1970s, a bill (left) waiting outside the US Capitol sings “I’m Just a Bill,” a catchy song about how bills become laws. The lawmaking process was established by Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution. See the video at tinyurl.com/TWJUS-SchoolhouseRock. Liberty’s Kids An episode of this early 2000s TV series (left), called “We the People,” portrays the creation of the US Constitution at a convention of leaders in Philadelphia in 1787, as well as the inauguration of America’s first President. You can see it at tinyurl.com/TWJUS-LibertysKids. Hamilton In the song “Non-Stop” in the Broadway musical Hamilton (left), Alexander Hamilton raps about being a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and supporting the new Constitution. He helps write “a…

Scientists with the University of Texas at Austin have developed a technology that generates text by scanning people’s brains without requiring surgery. This technology could be used by people who are physically unable to speak and improve our understanding of how the brain works. The scientists had three people listen to a podcast while they were lying inside a machine called a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. They were having specific scans called functional MRIs done. (These are known as fMRIs.) An fMRI measures brain activity by monitoring blood flow to different parts of the brain as someone performs different tasks. In this case, that task was listening to a podcast. The data from the fMRI scans was fed into a system called a semantic decoder, which uses artificial intelligence…

Contenders By Traci Sorell, illustrated by Arigon Starr (Kokila) This book describes the careers of John Meyers (1880–1971) and Charles Bender (1884–1954), who in 1911 became the first two Native American pro baseball players to compete against each other in a World Series. Ages 6–10 Illustrated Sports Encyclopedia (DK Children) More than 100 types of sports, including many that are popular in other parts of the world, are covered in this photo-packed guide. For each sport, an “Aim of the Game” section explains the rules and necessary equipment. Ages 8 and up Inaugural Ballers By Andrew Maraniss (Viking Books for Young Readers) At the 1976 Summer Olympics, the US women’s basketball team won silver. The team, consisting of unknown college players, went on to inspire a generation of women to play…

Thomas Kail, the director of Hamilton and other musicals, has produced a new movie. World’s Best is a music-filled comedy about a 12-year-old math genius, Prem. After he learns that his father, who has died, was a rapper, Prem tries to follow in his footsteps to become more popular at school. The film is now on Disney+. Prem’s father appears in his son’s imagination and is played by Utkarsh Ambudkar, who co-wrote the film. He was a member of Freestyle Love Supreme, an improv (unscripted) rap troupe founded by Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Kail was also a founding member of the group. Ambudkar, who is of South Asian descent, grew up in Maryland. He said that when he was young, people around him weren’t familiar with his ethnicity,…

Crash Team Rumble is a new competitive multiplayer party game. It is out now for the PlayStation platforms and Xbox systems. It is the 15th console game in the popular Crash Bandicoot franchise, which launched in 1996. There are many mobile and handheld games in the series as well. Crash is a friendly and fearless mutant bandicoot. A bandicoot is a type of real marsupial (mammal that carries its young in a pouch) that lives in Australia, New Zealand, and nearby islands. The story in the games is that Crash was created by Dr. Neo Cortex, a mad scientist who has become his biggest enemy. In Crash Team Rumble, two teams of four players square off in a wild competition to collect the most Wumpa Fruit, which Crash likes to…

Which character is most like you? Jack is the character who is most like me, and the interaction among the four characters is based on me and my high school friends. I still bounce ideas off them. What comics did you read as a kid? I read a lot of X-Men and Spider-Man, but more than comics, I loved books. I particularly enjoyed Goosebumps and Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Are there any superpowers you wish you had? Yes, I’d like to have the power of invisibility so I could pull pranks on people, and I’d like to freeze time so I wouldn’t have to worry about book deadlines. How was writing this book different? I co-wrote The Last Comics on Earth with Joshua Pruett. When the dialogue we wrote…

The deadline to enter is July 31! How to enter ● Consider the judging criteria. Submissions will be judged on quality (clear, well-composed photographs that aren’t blurry), originality (the use of creativity and imagination through the camera lens), and how well they reflect the nature theme and The Week Junior. ● Choose one photo to enter. Only one photograph per entrant is allowed. ● Fill out an entry form. With a parent, complete an entry form and submit it by July 31, 2023. ● Enter the correct age group category. Children ages 8 to 10 will be judged in one category. Children ages 11 to 14 will be judged in another category. Winners will be selected from each category. The entry form for 8- to 10-year-olds is at tinyurl.com/TWJUS-2023PhotoContest-8-10. The…

I’m constantly amazed by the process of scientific discovery. While reading this week’s cover story, for example, I learned that scientists who worked on a 2021 study concluded that 2.5 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes roamed the Earth many years ago (p14). Now, two years later, a different scientific team has determined that the number is closer to 1.7 billion. The two groups didn’t work together, but each played an important part in reaching the new conclusion. In fact, the leader of the first group said the second group had improved on their research. Showing that kind of respect is admirable! Also in this issue, our Summer of Reading program continues (p23). Have you checked out our list of “The 50 Books Kids Love Most” and entered our sweepstakes? Find all the…

Show us your favorite book! If you’re enjoying our Summer of Reading campaign, we’d love to know about it. Take a photo of yourself holding a book you recommend, and tell us why it’s a good read. Have an adult email your submission to us at hello@theweekjunior.com. We will publish a selection of submissions in Issue 171. Our full list of “The 50 Books Kids Love Most” and information about how to win prizes is at kids.theweekjunior.com/summerofreading. Finally, don’t miss our interview with Author Ambassador Max Brallier on page 23! IT’S YOUR TURN Email your news, views, and photos to hello@theweekjunior.com. We want to hear from you! To have your letters, photos, nominations, recommendations, or ideas considered for inclusion in the magazine, please include your full name, age, and state…

Teacher’s Name: Ms. El-Shoubary School: Cape May City Elementary School “Ms. El-Shoubary is the best teacher because she makes everyone in our class feel special. Our school mostly has students from military families, so we come from all over and sometimes don’t stay long. She goes out of her way to connect with us and make us feel important. I’ve been lucky enough to have her as my teacher for the second and fourth grades! Thank you, Ms. El-Shoubary, for everything you do for all of us.” Troy, 10, New Jersey 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.…

Hundreds of thousands of women gathered across Switzerland on June 14 to protest a lack of gender equality in the country. Their greatest concern was unequal pay between men and women. Women there earn about 20% less than men, making it one of the worst European countries in terms of equal pay. June 14 is a significant day for women’s rights in Switzerland. Women held a mass strike on June 14, 1991, which led to the passage of the country’s Gender Equality Act. Years later, a demonstration on June 14, 2019, drew about half a million protesters. A few months later, the largest percentage of women ever was elected to Switzerland’s parliament (similar to the US Congress). But many people said there has been little progress for women in the…

A historic legal dispute about climate change has proceeded to a trial in the US. The lawsuit was filed by a group of young people against the state of Montana for not providing a healthy environment. Similar lawsuits have been filed across the US, but this is the first one to go to trial. What is the dispute? In March 2020, a group of 16 young people, who were then between the ages of 2 and 19, filed a lawsuit seeking to force Montana to take action to fight climate change. They argued that the state’s policies of embracing the use of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, were contributing to climate change, which threatens their health and careers and those of future generations. The state argued in response…

Since she was a student in middle school, Ayesha Rascoe has been interested in journalism. Growing up, she joined the staff of every school newspaper she could. Now, at age 37, Rascoe is the host of the National Public Radio (NPR) news broadcast titled Weekend Edition Sunday. Rascoe was raised in Durham, North Carolina, and earned a journalism degree from Howard University in Washington, DC, in 2007. She began her career at Reuters, first working as a reporter on energy and the environment and later covering the President as a White House correspondent. Since 2022, she has hosted Weekend Edition Sunday. Her voice has become a familiar and trusted news source for many people. Rascoe told The Week Junior, “It is an honor and something that I do not take…

Brazilian scientists think they might have found a way to reverse damage caused by deforestation (cutting down large areas of trees) and turn farmland back into forest. The secret lies in ancient local knowledge of soil. Vast areas of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down, mostly to make way for grassland for raising cattle. Scientists are looking for a way to turn grassland back into rainforest and revive forest ecosystems (communities of living things that affect one another). These ecosystems support thousands of animal and plant species, many of which are unique to the area. Forests also absorb a large amount of carbon dioxide, a gas that causes climate change (long-term changes in weather patterns). A team of researchers has been studying Amazonian dark earth (ADE), a thick, black…

Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins By Christina Couch and Cara Giaimo, illustrated by Daniel Duncan (MIT Kids Press) This book features animals that have super senses, including a dog that is trained to sniff out killer whales. You’ll see many photos and illustrations throughout. Ages 9–12 Epic Animal Journeys By Ed Brown (Cicada Books) Birds, fish, and other animals are born knowing how to migrate (move from one area to another). How do fish cross oceans and birds journey to a different continent—and not get lost? With compelling descriptions, this book explains how they do it. Ages 6–11 Passionate About Penguins By Owen Davey (Flying Eye Books) Find out about six types of penguins and how to identify their different-colored bills, eyes, and feathers. Discover what they eat, where they live,…

A recent study conducted in Germany calculated that a total of 1.7 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes have walked the Earth. This is a reduction from 2021, when a different study estimated that 2.5 billion T. Rexes had existed. One of the greatest known predators, the T. rex likely lived 68 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Fossils (impressions or traces of ancient plants and animals preserved in rock) of the mighty dinosaur have been found in the western US and Canada. The T. rex went extinct (when a species no longer exists) 66 million years ago, in a mass event that wiped out all non-avian (bird-like) dinosaurs. The 2021 study was conducted by a team of scientists led by Charles Marshall of the University of…

Exoplanets By Wendy Bjazevich, illustrated by David Miles (Bushel & Peck Books) There are more than 5,000 exoplanets outside our solar system. This book explains how scientists find them, what they look like, and why they are important. Ages 9–12 Plants to the Rescue! By Dr. Vikram Baliga, illustrated by Brian Lambert (Neon Squid) This book focuses on how plants can help people tackle climate change. For example, scientists are growing plants that glow in the dark to learn how to save electricity. Ages 8–10 Science Comics: The Periodic Table of Elements By Jon Chad (First Second) In this graphic novel, a villain wants to poison atoms in the Land of Elements, and a girl tries to save the day by using what she knows about the Periodic Table of…

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has had a memorable first month of the 2023 season, with some players recently delivering thrilling and even historic performances. On June 18, the New York Liberty’s star forward Breanna Stewart helped her team beat the Phoenix Mercury, 89–71. Stewart scored 28 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, and dished out seven assists in the win. She has been playing so well that she is now the first WNBA player to rack up at least 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 40 assists in the first 10 games of a season. Five days earlier, a rookie made history. On June 13, Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston led her team to an 87–66 win over the Washington Mystics. Boston, this year’s number one draft pick, scored 23…

The latest release from Disney and Pixar, Elemental, is now in theaters. The animated film is a romantic comedy that has messages about family relationships and opposites finding similarities in each other. Elemental is set in Element City, where beings that are made of fire, water, earth, and air live. The story centers on short-tempered fire girl Ember, who meets Wade, a sensitive water guy, when he comes to inspect her father’s shop. As they get to know each other, Wade challenges Ember’s beliefs about the world they live in, a place where fire people often encounter discrimination. The awakening causes Ember to question what she and her father had imagined for her future. Director and co-writer Peter Sohn said Elemental was inspired by his own life. His wife is…

“This is my favorite show. I usually watch it at night because it’s very calming. Bob paints mostly scenic paintings, and he uses phrases such as ‘happy little trees’ and ‘floater clouds.’ I like the sound of his brushes on the canvas and his painting knife when he cuts through the paint. I love to see how Bob makes the blank canvas into a masterpiece. Sometimes he makes oval paintings by cutting contact paper into an oval and putting it on a canvas. Sometimes I will watch his show and bring out my easel, brushes, and painting knife and start to paint.” Liam, 10, California Do you have a film or TV show to recommend to other kids? Send your review to hello@theweekjunior.com.…

(Viking Children’s Books) In a graphic novel spin-off, the four main characters from The Last Kids on Earth decide to write their own comic after realizing that there won’t be any more issues of their favorite book, Z-Man: Protector of Apocalyptia. Jack, Quint, June, and Dirk each come up with their own superhero identities complete with cool powers. Quint becomes “Doc Baker: Super-Inventorist Dude,” while June is “Moonstar: The Quasar Warrior.” They write about their superhero origin stories and then dive into writing the action scenes, which become part of the book’s story. Racing across the city of Apocalyptia, they encounter talking dinosaurs, giant-size ants, and more. Each superhero tries to show off, and the results are disastrous. When a villain and his dog attempt to take over the city,…

Nature photography is about capturing natural elements of the outdoors, from wildlife to plants to weather. It can be done anywhere, with a camera or with your phone. “Nature photography is an amazing tool that you can use to capture and share what’s important to you,” professional nature photographer Jesse Burke told The Week Junior. Here’s how to get started. Choose a setting First, decide where you want to take nature photos. If you’re a beginner, you can start in your own neighborhood or in a local park. You can plan to shoot local wildlife, like birds or squirrels, or magnificent trees. As you get more experience, you can use what you learn when you visit other natural settings, like a state or national park. Try to tell a story…

Keyword crossword Once you have completed the crossword, transfer the letters in the yellow boxes, in order, into the boxes below to get the answer to the Keyword question. ACROSS 1 Item on a rooster’s head or in a barber’s hand 3 Age-old “computer” that uses beads, not bytes 8 Car with a roof that tucks away for open-air driving 9 Weird 11 Sport enjoyed by NASCAR fans 14 It’s pressed in an elevator 15 Number of fingers held up in a “peace” sign 17 High or low number predicted in a weather report 20 Felt-tipped drawing tool that might come in different colors 21 Shelter put up during a campout DOWN 1 “Changing room” spun by a caterpillar 2 “That’s one small step for ___ …” (first words on…

“I’m catching up on The Week Junior while waiting for 15 million bats to emerge from the Bracken Bat Cave.” Kevin, 9, Texas “I reused some of my The Week Junior magazines and made two collages with them to decorate my room.”Surabhi, 11, California “I was so happy when I saw that Latvia had won bronze because I am Latvian and I love hockey!”Teo, 10, Washington, DC…

1 Which theme park received the most visitors in 2022? 2 True or false? A butterfly was named Saurona after the villain in The Lord of the Rings series. True ☐ False ☐ 3 Who was named the Most Valuable Player in hockey’s Stanley Cup playoffs? a) Adin Hill b) Mark Stone c) Jonathan Marchessault a ☐ b ☐ c ☐ 4 In the video game Crash Team Rumble, what food do players try to collect? 5 In the movie Elemental, Ember meets Wade, who is made of what element? a) Water b) Earth c) Air a ☐ b ☐ c ☐ 6 True or false? A recent study found that 2.5 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes existed. True ☐ False ☐ 7 What is the name of the National Public Radio…

Bald eagles are no longer endangered On June 28, 2007, the bald eagle, the national bird, was removed from the Endangered Species List. It was placed on the list in 1978 in an effort to help prevent it from becoming extinct (to no longer exist). The years of protection allowed the bald eagle to thrive. In 2007, officials counted at least 10,000 mating pairs of the species. Today, there are about 300,000 bald eagles living in the US.…

The US Constitution is the supreme law of the US, which means that all other laws in the nation must follow its guidelines. What is a constitution? A constitution is a statement of the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or group. It typically describes the powers and responsibilities of a government. A constitution often states the rights of the people and might also lay out a set of guidelines that should be followed. Most countries today have a written constitution. A few, however, including Israel, Canada, and the UK, do not. (They have other documents that serve a similar purpose.) Of all the written national constitutions, the US Constitution is the oldest and the shortest. How was it created? After declaring independence from England, the 13 American…

On June 13, the Vegas Golden Knights became the National Hockey League (NHL) champions after beating the Florida Panthers, 9–3, in Game 5 of the seven-game Stanley Cup Final. It is the team’s first title. The Golden Knights joined the NHL before the 2017–2018 season, and they are the second fastest team to win the Stanley Cup since the league began expanding in 1967. They made the final in their first season but lost to the Washington Capitals. The Golden Knights entered the postseason as the top-seeded (ranked) team in the Western Conference, while the Panthers were a wildcard team and seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the Panthers upset the top-seeded Boston Bruins, the best team during the regular season. The first two games of…

Coach’s Name: Willie Little Team: Athlead Indy Track & Field/Cross Country “Coach Willie is a motivational coach for many track and field and cross country athletes. I joined his team after an injury, and from the first time I met him until today, he has continued to push me to do my very best. He helps us set personal goals, both on and off the track, and create healthy habits. He shares his own personal challenges and strengths with us and is an outstanding role model for our community.” Domenic, 10, Indiana 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.…

Original song Singer-songwriter Lauv worked with composer Thomas Newman on the film’s song “Steal the Show.” It plays during a scene in which Ember and Wade get to know each other and as the credits roll. Scenic style Element City’s buildings were designed to look like a chemistry set with test tubes. It also has a park shaped like the periodic table, a chart used by scientists that has rows of boxes with information about the chemical elements—such as iron and oxygen. Bonus film The animated short Carl’s Date, featuring beloved characters from the film Up, plays before Elemental. In that film, Carl gets nervous to go on a date, and his dog, Dug, steps in to calm his jitters.…

The Wonder Years (ABC) Wednesdays at 9 pm ET This sitcom follows Dean, a Black boy in Alabama in the late 1960s, a time when segregation (the unjust separation of Black people from white people) was common in the state. In new episodes, he visits New York and joins a sports team at school. His parents also consider moving. Lovely Little Farm (Apple TV+) Jacky and Jill are sisters who take care of the animals on their family farm, where some of the creatures can talk. This season, they continue to care for their beloved duck and pony but face an unexpected challenge after two baby dragons hatch from mysterious golden eggs. The Flash (In theaters) In DC Comics, police scientist Barry Allen was struck by lightning, got super-speed abilities, and became…

Which character’s alter-ego do you think is the most clever? Why? Do you think the kids should keep Z-Man in their new comic? Why or why not? What did the superheroes learn about teamwork? Did you like the format of having a comic book within a comic book? Why or why not? Would you rather be a superhero or a sidekick? Explain your preference. How do you feel about cliffhanger endings? What do you think should happen in the next book?…

Jesse Burke He uses his work to tell the story of the relationship between people and nature. He is known for his photos that document the road trips he takes to introduce his three daughters to the joy of the outdoors. See his work at jesseburke.com. Angela Ledyard She was inspired to try photography at a young age when her grandfather showed her how to use his camera. Today, the landscape and nature photographer specializes in taking super close-ups and using tools like drones to capture sweeping overhead views. See her work at angelaledyard.com. Ami Vitale In her work as a photographer, filmmaker, and writer, she has traveled to more than 100 countries. She views her work, which sheds light on human and environmental injustices, as a tool to create…

Now you can “catch ’em all” — home addresses, that is. A new neighborhood in Nevada has named its roads after Pokémon characters. Construction manager Andrea Miller, whose child suggested the theme for the street names at the housing development, hopes that living on roads named after Squirtle and Snorlax will bring joy to residents. If “you had a bad day,” she said, “and you have to turn on Jigglypuff Lane, that will make you smile.”…