Innehållsförteckning för Issue 213 från The Week Junior US

On May 1, an organization dedicated to preserving historic and cultural landmarks across the US released its annual list of the nation’s most endangered sites. They include buildings, natural areas, communities, and other locations. What happened? The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), a nonprofit organization, released its 2024 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. It includes locations in the US that are at risk of being destroyed or damaged beyond repair. The list ranges geographically from Massachusetts to Alaska to the US Virgin Islands and touches on many chapters of the nation’s history and many different cultures. Sites include one of the country’s first self-governing all-Black towns and a lighthouse in the middle of a New York river. What is the list? Since its founding in 1949,…

THE BEST BAGUETTE French baker Xavier Netry won first prize in Paris’ annual best baguette competition. His bread bested 172 others and will be served at the president’s home for a year. Netry said his recipe includes “some love and some passion.” A BIKINI BOTTOM BIRTHDAY Who lives in a pineapple under the sea—and just celebrated 25 years on TV? SpongeBob SquarePants, of course. The endlessly cheerful sea sponge’s show debuted in 1999 and is still running today. Nickelodeon has anniversary celebrations planned around the world. SAVING THE GAME Officials delayed the start of a Major League Baseball game in Phoenix, Arizona, for two hours when a colony of bees swarmed the backstop. Beekeeper Matt Hilton was called in to remove them and received a huge round of applause from…

At age 11, Mikail Akar is making waves in the global art community with his paintings. His new exhibition, No Doubt, opened in New York City in April and will be on view at the Modus10 gallery until September 7. Akar lives with his family in Cologne, Germany. He began making art at age 4 when his parents gave him finger paints for his birthday. In 2020, when museums and schools were closed because of the pandemic, he launched a virtual exhibition of his work, titled My World Is Colorful! Akar gained recognition for his expressive brushwork and use of abstract art, which involves combining colors and shapes to depict feelings and ideas. The success of his first collection led Akar to create his next series, Unbelievable, with paintings that…

This spring, 34 sea turtles made history in the state of Georgia. The turtles had been rehabilitated (restored to health) and were returned to the wild in the largest sea turtle release on record in the state. Sea turtles, like all reptiles, are cold-blooded. This means their bodies cannot control their own internal temperature and instead are affected by their environment. Because of this, when air and water temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean fall below 50º F during the winter, sea turtles can become “cold-stunned.” If this happens, they may become weak or unable to swim and can get stranded if they wash up on shore. Some turtles develop hypothermia (dangerously low body temperature) and can become ill or die. Rescue workers and volunteers patrol beaches in areas where…

Lions South Africa is working to ban the practice of breeding lions in captivity for people to hunt, the government announced. Once the ban takes effect, owners of about 350 farms will have two years to shut down their breeding centers. Smalltooth sawfish These endangered Florida fish have been behaving unusually, and more than 40 have died since October. The fish were seen swimming upside down, spinning in circles, and getting stuck in shallow waters. Experts are investigating why.…

High-speed trains are among the swiftest ways to travel. The idea began 60 years ago in Japan with the Shinkansen, also known as the bullet train. A bold innovation In 1964, Japan was preparing to host the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which would attract thousands of visitors. The Tokaido railroad connected Tokyo and Osaka, Japan’s two biggest cities, but didn’t move people and goods quickly. So in 1959, Japanese National Railways (now known as JR) began constructing a high-speed train that would be the fastest in the world. In just over five years, the Tokaido Shinkansen was complete. Sleek and speedy On October 1, 1964, nine days before the Tokyo Olympics opened, blue-and-white bullet trains glided out of their stations for the first time. A trip between Tokyo and Osaka,…

From May 3 to May 5, the Formula 1 (F1) Miami Grand Prix was held in Florida. F1 is a top class of international auto racing and features cars that are built for one driver and have an open cockpit and uncovered wheels. The winner was British driver Lando Norris of McLaren Racing. It was the first F1 victory of his career, and he narrowly beat Max Verstappen, the defending F1 champion and current top driver. The Miami Grand Prix was at the Miami International Autodome at Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins of the NFL (National Football League). A temporary 3.36-mile circuit (race course) was built on the grounds around the stadium for the competition. Twenty drivers participated in the 57-lap race. Logan Sargeant, who is from…

Coach’s Name: Amanda Clark Team: i9 Basketball “Coach Amanda is the best coach because she helps us practice layups. She is also very encouraging and teaches us well. She has helped me become a better player by incorporating fun drills and having us practice before games. She takes time to explain things and works on fundamentals. She is so positive and does a great job recognizing effort and performance. Every practice and game under her is one for the memory books!” Blake, 10, Oregon 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.…

Bing Bong Riley, the main character in 2015’s Inside Out, imagined this jolly hybrid creature whose body is made of cotton candy. He lives in her long-term memory. Harvey The 1950 classic film Harvey, which was based on an award-winning play, is a comedy about Elwood P. Dowd, a cheerful man who claims his best friend is a 6-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey. His family and friends, however, do not believe Harvey is real. Total In Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, a 2020 film based on a book series of the same name, a boy runs the Total Failure Inc. detective agency with his partner, Total, an imaginary 1,500-pound polar bear.…

Pokémon Horizons: The Series (Netflix) This installment in the popular franchise follows two young trainers, Liko and Roy, on a quest to visit new lands and collect new Pokémon. In Part 2 of their adventure, which was just released, the pair head toward the Galar region, seeking truth about an ancient mystery. Pompeii: The New Dig (PBS.org) (PBS App) In the year 79, the ancient Italian city of Pompeii was destroyed by a volcanic eruption and preserved under stone and ash. This documentary features scientists discussing what they’ve learned about life in Pompeii through their recent discoveries. Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (Apple TV+) The original Fraggle Rock was developed by Muppets creator Jim Henson. It was rebooted in 2022, and the second season of the new series is…

What inspired this book? I wanted to write this book because I grew up in poverty, and I wanted to describe how that feels. Did you like comic books? I loved how I could understand what was happening to a character through the artwork. Were you close with your grandmother? Yes, everything just felt magical when I was with my grandmother. She helped me believe that everything would work out. How can kids show kindness? Remember that small actions, such as sitting next to a child who’s alone at lunch, can make a big difference in someone’s life. What superpower would you choose? I think about this a lot! I would choose the ability to fly.…

Wild birds need our help. Nearly 30% of the bird population in North America has disappeared over the past 50 years because of issues like habitat loss, pollution, and climate change. Some of the most affected species include sparrows, warblers, finches, and blackbirds. By making a few simple changes, you can help create a safe haven for birds near your home. Here’s how to get started. Offer materials for nesting. Spring is nesting season, and birds like to pick up natural materials to build their homes. Instead of clearing the materials off your lawn, leave twigs, small sticks, bark strips, pine needles, and leaves where they are so the birds can easily get to them. Be sure to leave only materials birds would find in nature, not synthetic products like…

Crisscross Each of these herbs and spices fits into this grid. Can you find where each one goes to complete the grid? 4 letters DILL MACE SAGE 5 letters CLOVE CUMIN 6 letters GARLIC 7 letters BAY LEAF CHERVIL 8 letters CARDAMOM ROSEMARY 10 letters CELERY SEED LEMONGRASS 11 letters HORSERADISH MUSTARD SEED ALL THE SAME Each answer contains the letters P-U-T. Those letters have been placed for you. Can you figure out the words? Take five Five 5-letter tabletop games 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 the bottom of the page.) SUDOKU To complete the grid, place the…

Thank you to all our readers who have sent in photos of themselves celebrating Earth Day! You can see a few of the many submissions we received at right. Thank you, also, to everyone who has sent in a pledge form indicating how you will help the Earth. (See one of the responses in the “Earth Helpers” box below.) We have conducted several surveys to gauge children’s opinions on a wide variety of topics, and protecting the environment always scores near the top in terms of causes you care about. I am very proud of any child who takes even the smallest step to make a difference. And of course, just because Earth Day has passed doesn’t mean your efforts need to stop! We encourage you to take action anytime,…

“Recycling is a good thing, but it’s always hard to toss The Week Junior!” Eric, 11, and Lizzie, 10, Idaho “To honor Earth Day, I helped out in my backyard garden!”Aarnav, 11, California “I was happy to receive the Earth Day issue because I like to help the planet and do service projects.”Mirabel, 13, Missouri…

Give a gift of The Week Junior for a smart start on summer reading fun! Our Summer of Reading program includes book lists, author interviews, and an exclusive three-book reading challenge with a chance to win an amazing bundle of books! It’s a wonderful way to support a child’s literacy over the summer and to continue to develop a love of reading that will last a lifetime. Perfect for birthdays, graduation, or anytime you want to delight a child you love. To order, SCAN HERE: SUBSCRIBE BY MAY 29 TO JOIN THE FUN. To order a 25 weekly issue subscription of The Week Junior and save 66%, visit theweekjunior.com/smartfun…

This park protects the ancient cave homes of a group of people that scientists named the Mogollon. Experts estimate that the Mogollon lived in these caves for about 30 years at the end of the 13th century. Today, visitors can take tours of the dwellings. The settlement is surrounded by the Gila National Forest, where plants such as prickly pear cacti, juniper trees, and ponderosa pine trees live. The wilderness also supports 84 mammal species, including the Mexican gray wolf, javelina, and white-nosed coati; 44 reptiles; and more than 300 kinds of birds.…

Potoos have gone viral on social media after a video of one was posted online. There are seven species of potoos, which got their name from their peculiar cry. They are solitary and active at night, earning them the nickname “ghost birds.” ● LIFE SPAN: Unknown in the wild● HABITAT: Central and South America ● SIZE: 11 to 27 inches on average ● DIET: Insects such as moths and beetles ● FUN FACT: Potoos can blend in with trees by staying still, peeking through slits in their eyelids.…

A new research study has found that the key to reducing feelings of anger is not what many people think. It turns out that letting the angry emotions out is less effective than doing calming activities such as yoga or meditation. The study was published by Sophie Kjaervik and Brad Bushman from Ohio State University. They wanted to explore the theory that doing activities that get you fired up is a good way of getting rid of anger. The team looked at 154 previous studies on anger, involving 10,189 people from a range of ages and backgrounds. In their study, Kjaervik and Bushman defined anger as “an emotional response to a real or imagined threat.” Anger also stirs up a physical response in people’s bodies. Their heart rate and blood…

Lunar Lander: Beyond is a new sci-fi simulation game. It recently came out for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation platforms, Xbox systems, and PC. The original Lunar Lander was an arcade game that was released in 1979, 10 years after Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. It was built by the famous video game company Atari and challenged gamers to land a space shuttle on the Moon’s rocky surface. The game used simple graphics that looked like squiggly lines. The team that developed Lunar Lander: Beyond worked with Atari to fully reimagine the original game. It takes place in a future where humans have to leave Earth and find a new home. It has beautiful animated graphics, a big new story, new controls, and five colorful…

“Melody isn’t your average kid. Not that she has magical powers—she can’t move, talk, speak, or walk. She has cerebral palsy, and her life can be miserable. She’s trapped inside her mind until something new comes into her life: a machine that can let her speak. Life feels amazing, and she even scores a spot on her school’s academic team. But will she truly belong? This book is funny and sad.” Finn, 12, Colorado Do you have a book to recommend? Send your review to hello@theweekjunior.com.…

At the European Championship of Gull Screeching, shrieking cries fill the air as competitors do their best impressions of seagulls. This year, 9-year-old Cooper Wallace from the UK won the juvenile category with 92 points—the highest score in the competition. Wallace, who competed in a gull costume, learned to imitate the seabirds after one bit him at the beach. He had hopes of becoming “Seagull Boy,” just as Peter Parker became Spider-Man after a spider bite. “My school friends thought it was annoying at first,” Wallace said, “but not now.”…

“For the past year or so, we have been trying to design and produce affordable biodegradable diapers. We got started while completing a research project for a competition held by eCybermission. We also began volunteering for the nonprofit She Believes in Me, and we learned that the group distributed regular disposable diapers to families in need because eco-friendly diapers were expensive to purchase. We decided to hold a diaper drive at our school to collect sustainable diapers, and we donated what we got to She Believes. We are continuing to work with North Carolina State University to create eco-friendly diapers using a STEM-in-action grant we received.” Have you done something interesting or raised money for a cause you care about? Whatever you’re up to, we want to hear about it…

NASA, the US space agency, released new images of the Horsehead Nebula, a dense cloud of dust and gas that looks like a horse’s head popping out of clouds of white dust. The images were captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful telescope ever put into space. Webb, which launched in December 2021, is operated by NASA with support from the European and Canadian space agencies. It has special cameras that can see infrared light (a type of light that humans normally can’t see) and spot galaxies up to 13.4 million light-years away. A light-year is the distance light travels in one Earth year, about 6 trillion miles. The Horsehead Nebula is about 1,300 light-years away from Earth and was discovered in 1888 by a Scottish astronomer.…

Social media is full of people living peacefully with their wild pets—from adorable otters to colorful chameleons, big-eyed sugar gliders, sleek leopards, and furry foxes. The owners often have millions of followers, some of whom have bought an exotic pet based on what they’ve seen online. But critics say the reality of owning an exotic pet can be very different. These animals require expertise, space, money, and resources that most people don’t have. And cute baby critters can grow much bigger and stronger than owners expect, which often leads people to try to re-home them or even release them into the wild. What do you think? Is it OK to keep an exotic pet? Yes—they’re cooler than cats and dogs Dogs, cats, and goldfish are great, but chinchillas, monkeys, and…

Marcus Kronforst Professor, University of Chicago Butterflies tend to be active in daylight, so they have bold color patterns to communicate with one another and with predators. Moths are active at night, so color patterns are not very useful. There are some exceptions, like Urania moths, which are active in the day and have bright patterns. Do you have a question for an animal expert? Send it to hello@theweekjunior.com. Find out more about the Kronforst Lab at kronforstlab.org.…

A new device lets potted plants interact with humans. Called PlantPetz, it has sensors that are inserted into the soil. They detect moisture levels and make the plant sensitive to human touch and sounds. When PlantPetz determines that the soil is too dry, it makes a bubbly sound that tells its owner to water it. When a person touches the leaves or rotates the pot, the plant moves and makes chirping or cooing sounds. The battery-powered device also has Bluetooth to play music, which makes the plant “dance.”…

A new film has set out to answer the question: What happens to forgotten imaginary friends? IF, which stands for “imaginary friends,” combines live-action and animation and follows a girl named Bea who can see the IFs left behind after the children who created them grew up. It arrives in theaters on May 17. In the comedy, Bea (Cailey Fleming, now age 17) starts seeing other people’s IFs after she goes through a hard time. Her neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds) is the only other person who can see them. They go on a journey to unite IFs with their former companions or help them meet new ones. IF was written and directed by John Krasinski. He said the idea for the film was inspired by his daughters, now ages 10…

“This show rebooted the popular Ninjago series, which ran for 16 seasons. Ninjago: Dragons Rising is an epic series that features new characters and a story that begins after 16 worlds have merged into one. It starts with adventurous ninja going to different places to find three dragon cores to save the world. At the same time, the wicked queen of Imperium wishes to use the dragon cores’ power for herself. I couldn’t wait to finish the show after seeing the first episode! The new second season of Ninjago: Dragons Rising premiered in March.” Nipun, 10, Washington Do you have a film or TV show to recommend to other kids? Send your review to hello@theweekjunior.com.…

Comic books help Joe get through his challenging life. The sixth-grader notices that the superheroes in these stories often have “and then, boom!” moments when everything goes wrong, but it all turns out OK in the end. Joe clings to the hope that one day all his family’s problems, like living out of a car with his grandmother, will be resolved. The situation improves when one of Joe’s classmates tells him about an opening at a low-cost mobile park where he lives. Joe and his grandmother move into the mobile park, and the manager kindly offers them free furnishings. A teacher gives Joe extra food and supplies, which are a big help because his grandmother often runs out of money by the end of each month. Joe and his grandmother…

Baseball Biographies for Kids By Dean Burrell, illustrated by Brenna Daugherty (Callisto Publishing) This book spotlights baseball legends, including shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. and catcher Iván Rodríguez. It has many “fast facts” and describes the longest game in MLB history, which lasted 26 innings! Ages 8 and up Curveball By Pablo Cartaya, illustrated by Miguel Díaz Rivas (Disney/Hyperion) In this new graphic novel that features colorful comic panels, Elena is the only girl on her baseball team. While an injury prevents her from participating in a baseball camp, spending the summer at home with her younger brother may be just what she needs to ignite her passion for the game. Ages 8–12 Extra Innings By Fred Bowen (Peachtree Publishing) Mike is the pitcher for his baseball team and takes his role…

With the weather warming up, spring is a good time to clean the car. Start with the interior. Throw away trash, and remove items that don’t belong there, like hoodies or toys. Use a small portable vacuum cleaner to clean dirt or crumbs off the floor. Next, take a damp rag and wipe down the seats and other surfaces. Once you’re ready to tackle the exterior, fill a bucket with warm water and add a few squirts of car soap. (Other soaps like dish soap can damage the car’s paint.) With a big, soft sponge, scrub down the entire car, especially extra-dirty spots like the tire rims, then rinse with a hose. Finally, use a window cleaner spray and a microfiber cloth to spritz and wipe down windows and lights.…

Benny, an 8-year-old from California, told us he will plant trees and pick up trash in his neighborhood and at the beach to help the Earth. He hopes the planet will be healthy and clean five years from now. If you’d like to share your ideas for protecting the Earth, go to kids.theweekjunior.com/activities to print out a form like the one at right. After you fill it out with your ideas and a drawing, have an adult email it to us at hello@theweekjunior.com. We will feature some of the submissions on this page in future issues.…

Teacher’s Name: Señora Day School: Rex Mathes HSAP “Señora Day helped me understand Spanish better. She makes learning a new language fun. She turns it into a game and also gives us candy sometimes. She is really pleasant and acts like a friend more than a teacher. You can tell she really enjoys being around us and is just a very good person.” Cole, 13, Iowa 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.…