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3 Check It Out! 4 Gigantic Pumpkin Boats 6 The Weird Plant 10 Raising a Big Stink 11 Sock Some Seeds 12 10 Weird and Wacky Facts 14 Puzzles 16 From Fuzz to Frass 18 Weird and Wacky Teeth 19 Weird and Wacky Funnies 20 Cookie Cows 21 The Phantom Lizard 22 Kids Corner 24 Wacky Rabbit Habits 25 Draw a Rabbit 26 Buried After 121 Years 29 Max & Gracie 30 Puzzle Solutions
New Contest!
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e’ve all seen some pretty strange things. What have you looked at that is weird and wacky? With Halloween coming, we think of carving pumpkins. Imagine making a boat out of a pumpkin, one big enough to ride in! Check out the first story. Maybe you have a Halloween costume that is weird. Send us a picture. There are all kinds of odd stories in this issue, some that you may find hard to believe. Don’t be afraid. Some are true and others are just for entertainment.
Go searching for something odd outside in nature. Or look in your room, under the bed, or in the back of your closet. Read everything in this issue. It may give you some ideas! And check out the photos on this page. Can you identify each one? (If not, the answers are on page 30.) Then send us your own drawing, poem, short story, or photograph of what you consider really weird. We will send you something just for entering and publish the winners in a future issue. Happy Hunting! Email your answers to: contest@funforkidz.com Or mail your answers to: Contest, Fun For Kidz, PO Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817-0227.
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by Sue Gagliardi What kind of boat could double as a dish on your Thanksgiving table? A giant pumpkin boat! Each autumn, people in the small town of Damariscotta, Maine, host the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta™. Here, you’ll find everything “pumpkin” in a grand celebration of this member of the gourd family! The festival takes pumpkins to a whole new level of fun and creativity. Events include giant pumpkin decorating, a pumpkin race car derby, gigantic pumpkin boat racing, and even underwater pumpkin carving! Since 2007, Maine residents and visitors from all over have been treated to this amazing spectacle of pumpkin finery. The October festival, which lasts for 10 days, is a celebration of agriculture, education, and creativity. Growing giant pumpkins begins each spring on Seedling Sunday. That’s when elementary school students and townspeople volunteer to plant over 600 Atlantic Giant pumpkin plants. The goal is to grow at least 500 pumpkins weighing 100 pounds each. That’s 50,000 pounds of pumpkins! (Imagine trying to fit THAT into your wagon!) The pumpkin-grower volunteers learn how to care for their soon-to-be gigantic pumpkins by attending horticultural workshops. They chat with expert growers. Volunteers can participate in the Pumpkin Pledge Program, in which they collect pledge money per pumpkin or per pound of pumpkin grown. The money helps support local charities and helps fund the pumpkin festival events.
It all starts with giant pumpkins!
Giant pumpkins need a large sunny area with 400-600 square feet of growing space per plant. Pumpkin vines are trained to give the pumpkins room to grow – and grow and grow! Part of growing healthy pumpkins is regular feeding with liquid fish and seaweed plant food.
Racing in the Pumpkinboat Regatta
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Once the pumpkin fruit begins to grow, it’s covered with sheets for protection from too much sun. In cooler weather, pumpkins are covered with blankets to help retain heat. When it’s harvest time, growers keep part of the vine attached to the stem to help the pumpkins last longer. Once the giant pumpkins are harvested, the real fun begins!
A giant peacock pumpkin boat
The town of Damariscotta hosts a Weigh-off each fall to find which pumpkins weigh the most and which proud pumpkin parents get to take home the prize money. About 70 of these giants are carved, painted, and decorated in a big way to be displayed during the festival. The giant pumpkins arrive on trucks. They can range from 200-1200 pounds and stand 4 feet tall! When the festival is over, these pumpkins are recycled as pig feed for some lucky pigs at local farms. Participants with small pumpkins weighing 14-18 pounds (like the ones you’re likely to find at your local pumpkin farm or market) can design their own pumpkin car racers to compete in a Pumpkin Derby. Competitors can hollow out the pumpkin to make it lighter. They can add wheels, axles, and decorations to create a pumpkin racer weighing 20 pounds or less. Pumpkin racers compete for prizes as they race down the track to take home the checkered flag. Other prizes are awarded for funniest, scariest, and most creative pumpkin racers. The highlight of the festival is the Pumpkinfest Regatta. Known as the “extreme sport of gardening,” pumpkin boat racing is quite a unique way to explore the water! Participants can go to pumpkin-boat-building workshops and learn how to make a pumpkin boat. The pumpkins, weighing over 500 pounds each, are hollowed out, decorated, and equipped for a splashy ride down the Damariscotta River. Paddleboat racers propel their boats using regular boating oars. Powerboat racers are equipped with real outboard motors to help them glide along the water. In addition to speed races, participants can join in relay races and competitions. In Pumpkin Boat Polo, they use nets to retrieve balls to place in special rings. As you’re thinking of what to do with your pumpkins this autumn, remember to think “outside the pumpkin” – and inside too! You just may end up seeing your pumpkin in a whole new way. Go to the Fun For Kidz Facebook page to see a video of these giant racing pumpkins in action!
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by Maria Parrott-Ryan
When you think of flowers, you probably think of small delicate blossoms with a sweet perfume scent. Did you know there’s a giant flower that’s taller than a person and smells like rotten meat? It sounds too weird to be real, but it is. The titan arum is a tropical plant that lives in the Indonesian rainforest. Titan arum blossoms can grow to be 6 to 8 feet tall. The largest blossom on record was over 10 feet! The blossom puts out its stinky, rotten smell for the same reason that nice-smelling flowers put out theirs: to attract pollinators, such as beetles, flies, and bees. (Yes, some insects actually love the stink!) This plant is strange in other ways too. It can live for 40 years, but will bloom only 4 or 5 times. And then, the flower only lasts for 48 hours. This is because it takes a lot of energy for the plant to produce the huge flower, and it needs years of rest between blossoming periods. The titan arum is made up of a tall, skinny spadix and a large outer skirt called the spathe. When the spathe opens up, the flower starts to stink. On the first night it blooms, the spadix heats up to spread the foul odor and attract pollinators from far and wide. After two days, the spadix falls, and the spathe closes up. The funky odor dies down and disappears. Fewer and fewer of these odd plants are growing in the wild. Luckily, botanical gardens and greenhouses all over the world grow their own titan arums to help save them. When a titan arum is in bloom, it’s big news. People visit to get a whiff of the awful stink. This is pretty weird, you have to admit. But it’s also totally worth it to experience one of nature’s strangest creations.
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This titan arum is over seven feet tall!
In the fall, plants make seeds. These seeds will sprout and grow into new plants the following spring. It is amazing how many seeds the fall plants make. This experiment will show you.
What You Need: • a pair of BIG old wool socks (adult size) • your feet
What You Do:
T he Science Secret
2. Pull the two old wool socks right over your shoes.
Take off your socks and LOOK. If you have a magnifying glass, it will be even more fun to see how many different kinds of seeds are on your socks. Can you IMAGINE how many seeds there must be in that field? Probably millions!
1. In the fall, go out into a field or vacant lot or anywhere weeds are growing. This experiment will not work in the spring, when plants are just beginning to grow. 3. Go STOMP AROUND the field. Rub your ankles against the plants that are standing. Jump up and down in them. Dance around. Twirl and swirl your legs. Jump, hop, kick, skip, spin, run, and do cartwheels. Have a ball!
The whole time you are swishing around and having fun, you will be collecting seeds! Seeds from dozens of different field plants will be sticking to your socks.
When you are done looking, you may do one of two things. You can brush off the seeds and toss them back into the field so they can grow into plants next year. OR, if your socks are really old, you can dig a shallow hole and PLANT YOUR SOCKS! Then you will be able to see how many of the seeds grow into new plants next spring. Do you think they will grow into a sock-shaped garden?
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Peanuts are one of the main ingredients in dynamite.
There are about a quadrillion ants on Earth.
Koalas hardly ever need to drink because they get all the moisture they need from eating leaves.
Four out of five volcanic eruptions occur underwater
More than half of your body is made of water.
Studies have shown that an octopus can learn quite easily, often by watching another octopus.
King Tut was only nine years old when he became a pharaoh and only nineteen when he died.
Elvis Presley was a natural blonde.
Most of the dust in your home is actually little tiny pieces of dead skin.
Americans buy 3 billion pizzas every year.
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5 7 8 10 LBS LBS LBS LBS
by Evelyn B. Christensen
A new school year is underway. Hunter, Isaac, Lauren, and Wendy are all commenting about how heavy their backpacks are. Use the clues to decide whose backpack weighs 5 pounds, 7 pounds, 8 pounds, and 10 pounds. 1. Lauren’s pack is two pounds heavier than Isaac’s. 2. Wendy’s pack is lighter than Hunter’s. 3. Isaac’s pack weighs more than Wendy’s. If you like, use the grid to eliminate possibilities. Put an “x” in a box if you know a weight doesn’t go with a student. Put an “o” if you know it does.
Hunter Isaac Lauren Wendy
by Heather Walker
HELP! I can’t find my way up the tree to the hole where I store nuts without crossing any lines. Please draw a path starting at the arrow in front of me and ending at the arrow by my hole. And remember, I can’t cross any lines!
Agonizing about the apparent absurdity of your answers?
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ICE SLED RACE BACK by Jane Beem STEER Find the words in the list. Look forward, SPEED backward, up, down, and diagonally. Write the leftover letters on the lines below to discover SPIKES why the luge is a wacky kind of sport. CHUTE SPIRAL ________ ___ __ _____ CURVES _____ __ ____ _____ GLOVES ___ _____ ____-_____ VIKINGS ____ __ ___ _____ WINTER _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. OLYMPICS
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The first 1/2 of FISH The last 1/2 of SAND The last 2/7 of CABOOSE The middle 1/2 of WASH The first 1/4 of HEADREST The last 1/4 of PAIL The last 2/5 of SEALS What is something you won’t do in a pile of leaves or in the snow?
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by Michelle Benjamin
What’s small on top but big below, where most people can’t C? Read the clues to C if U can tell what I may B. The letter I begin with is in BLIZZARD and WHITE. The letter at the end shows up in IGLOO and in NIGHT. The letter in the middle is in BUBBLE and in BOAT. Letter number 6 is found in FLOOR but not in FLOAT. At number 2, the letter is in OCEAN, not in SEAS. Letters 3 and 5 appear three times in the word FREEZE.
What am I?
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by Evelyn B. Christensen
See solutions on page 30.
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by David Lindo
Find the letters described by the fraction in each statement. Print the letters you select, in the order provided, into the boxes.
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A fun autumn activity is to find your way through a corn maze. Farmers create a corn maze in their field by cutting a path through the stalks of corn. Fill in the squares so that each row, column, and 8-square section has the letters C-O-R-N-M-A-Z-E.
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by Liana Mahoney You’re outside, and you see something fuzzy crawling on the sidewalk. A caterpillar! Can you take it home? Before you do, here are some things you should know. Fluffy caterpillars are covered in hairs, or quills. These quills can fall out and stick in your skin, making you itchy. You could even get a rash. Some caterpillars have poisonous quills, but it’s hard to tell which are poisonous and which are not. Look at this picture of an imperial moth caterpillar. Fully grown, this caterpillar is as big as your thumb! It has white hairs and strange knobby spikes all over its back. At first glance, this caterpillar looks poisonous. But those spikes, called tubercles, are just a fancy costume. This gentle giant is perfectly harmless. So why not bring a caterpillar like this one home?
imperial moth caterpillar covered in hairs and tubercles
It can be fun to watch a caterpillar grow in a jar. But they can only grow if they eat. Caterpillars are picky eaters. Most eat only a specific type of plant. Imperial caterpillars, for example, eat the needles of pine trees. If you put an imperial caterpillar in a jar with only grass, it will starve to death. Without the right foodplants, caterpillars will soon die.
an imperial moth caterpillar feeding on a pine needle
Another problem is keeping the plant food fresh. Leaves dry out when branches are cut from trees. If you put the branches in water, the caterpillars could drown! The best thing to do is replace the food often. Add fresh food every day. This is lots of work! Since caterpillars eat so much, they produce many droppings, called frass. If frass touches the caterpillar’s food, it spreads diseases to the caterpillar. Frass can get moldy, and mold can kill even the healthiest caterpillar. If you keep a caterpillar, you need to clean out the frass each and every day. Yuck!
imperial moth caterpillar frass
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Raising caterpillars can be tricky. But if you can’t resist taking one home, follow these tips: zz Use a paintbrush or a stick to gently collect a caterpillar. zz Never pull a caterpillar off a branch. Instead, carefully clip the branch with the caterpillar still on it. zz Check a field guide so you can identify the caterpillar and its foodplant. zz Cover the jar with material that lets air get in and out. A stretched square cut from nylon tights works well. zz Keep only one caterpillar in the jar to avoid crowding. zz Do not put water in the jar. The caterpillar will get all the water it needs from fresh plants. zz If your caterpillar won’t eat, let it go in the same place you found it. zz A caterpillar that suddenly looks sick might be shedding its skin or pupating (making a cocoon or chrysalis). During this time, the caterpillar is very delicate. Leave it alone!
This caterpillar looks sick because it’s about to make its chrysalis.
newly formed chrysalis
zz Take pictures and notes so you remember the details of caring for a caterpillar. From fuzz to frass, there’s a lot to learn about caterpillars!
an adult female imperial moth
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Welcome to the weird world of teeth! Sink your choppers into these facts: Elephant molars weigh as much as 10 pounds each. The fangs of poisonous snakes are actually hollow teeth. Ready for more wacky facts?
Crocodile
Let’s start with your own pearly whites. People have 20 “baby” teeth and 32 permanent teeth. Would it surprise you to learn that you will spend about 38-1/2 days brushing these teeth over your lifetime? Some animals, like crocodiles and alligators, never worry about a lost tooth. A new tooth quickly grows in its place. The walrus has the longest canine teeth in the animal kingdom. Wait! Don’t walruses have tusks? Yes, they do. Their tusks are just overgrown canines. But aren’t elephant tusks longer? Good eye! Again, yes, but elephant tusks are enlarged incisor teeth. Fish have some of the oddest teeth. Many have teeth on the roof of their mouths, on their tongues, and even in their throats. Some fish have several rows of short, closely packed teeth or sharp, spiky teeth. There are fish with eerie, human-looking teeth. Then there’s the sea lamprey. This snake-like fish has teeth in full circular rows!
Lamprey
Here’s one last fact to chew on. The largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, eats only tiny shrimp and fish because it has NO teeth!
Washington’s False Teeth
Poor George Washington. He was troubled by toothaches and other painful dental problems all his adult life. One after another, his teeth were lost to tooth decay, until only one tooth was left. Washington wore false teeth, but they were not made of wood. Mount Vernon, Washington’s home, which is now a museum, has the only full set of his dentures in existence. They are made of animal and human teeth, lead, and ivory.
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Photo courtesy of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Walrus
Stanley! You know what Doctor Smith said about your diet. No snacking between meals.
by James Hanson
by David Sung
by Singer Media Between 1962 and 1963, 900 Ugandans caught a virus called “the running sickness.” Victims of the epidemic would run madly until exhausted. To make this even more odd, it was reported that many of the Ugandans clutched chickens as they ran!
“My shell is in the shop. It sprung a leak.” by Joe Bore
by R.C. Warne
“I don’t care if the Olympic bobsled team tryouts are next week. You can’t practice in here.”
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by Marcia Strykowski Have you ever seen cows that remind you of crème-filled chocolate cookies? If so, you may have spotted Belted Galloway cattle. These unique cows are quiet, agreeable, and fascinating to discover on farms throughout the country. Belted Galloways originated more than 300 years ago in the Galloway district of Scotland. “Belties” have shaggy fur with a wide white band, or belt, around their middles. They are a very hardy breed and do well in hilly areas and cold climates. Underneath their long, wavy fur, which they shed when the weather gets hot, they have a short, sleek undercoat. At birth, Beltie calves usually weigh from 60 to 80 pounds. By age five, a mature Belted Galloway can weigh about 2000 pounds. Whoa! That’s some big cookie!
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by Anne Sparks • illustrations by Ginny Pruitt If you rode your bicycle along a hot Texas dirt road, you could find what looks like a flat rock. As you get closer, you realize that rock is no rock! It’s a small, fierce-looking reptile with horns! It sensed you coming and squatted down to blend in with the soil. This creature is waiting for you to pass so it can continue sunbathing and eating harvester ants. This is what the disappearing Texas horned lizard likes best. This lizard’s nickname is “horny toad.” Years ago, there were many more of them. Children could easily catch the lizard to observe its antics up close before freeing it. They would rub its belly to make it sleepy. The horny toad got its nickname because its face looks like a toad’s. Its body is round and flat, also like a toad’s. The “horns” on their heads are really pointed scales. Two rows of pointed scales grow along their sides, and more pointed scales grow on their backs. They live in desert or semi-arid areas in much of the American southwest and northern Mexico. They like the heat there. Although they look fierce, they aren’t. But don’t scare them! If it feels threatened, a running lizard will stop and squat so it doesn’t cast a shadow. A predator will run on by. If the lizard is really upset, it will bloat up and hiss and squirt blood from its eyes at the mouth and eyes of its enemy! Weird! Why is the Texas horned lizard disappearing? The lizards lose many of their homes when people move into their areas. And many have been collected as pets. The state of Texas now protects the lizard. It was even named the Texas state reptile. If you live in horny toad country, ride your bike carefully. You may be lucky enough to meet one of these critters!
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, an d Dear Rea ders ork, poetr y, w rt a r u o y s us Sen d u lication! Write b u p r fo s n k abo ut other creatio hat yo u thin w ll te d n a yo u! a letter, hearing fro m ve lo e W . z id , For K
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dz.co m ner@funforki or sc d ki : to l ox 227, Emai Corner, PO B s id K : to l or mai 45817- 0227. Bluffton, OH
Warthogs Warthogs, warthogs, Pesky little creatures. Not the cute barn animals, But ferocious when guarding young. Stay away, or you will be sorry! by Camille Tuite, age 8
The Best Season Ever When the crispy leaves alter their color from green to orange and float slowly off the treetops. When the birds migrate away, searching for greener pastures, one by one, sailing on cool currents of air. That’s when it’s time to harvest your pumpkins. When the air is as cold as a frosty day in Norway. You can’t help but love this season. The mouth-watering smells fill and heighten your senses. Your taste buds fill with wonderful sensation. Then you are hooked. You must have more. You just can’t wait for your senses to soar. You know what season it is, right? As we fit on our warm winter coats, we store our summer clothes. It is the season called fall, obviously, best of all. Some people say it’s bitter and cold. I say it’s warm as solid gold. Don’t you see? Fall, a fantastic season. It’s great. What is there to hate? All in all, there’s nothing wrong about fall. It’s beyond compare. It’s even better than Times Square. You can’t resist one thing. You get to hunt for your costume. Halloween is a lighthearted blast. It’s even better than being on a broadcast. As you see, there’s no competition. Thanksgiving is a lovely tradition. Don’t you see the best out of the four? I don’t want a war. Now it’s settled. I’m sure you see a winner. Do not be a sore loser, and eat some of my delicious chicken dinner. There’s no way you can beat the juicy Thanksgiving meat. Please don’t cry. Here, have some apple pie. Fall can’t be beat. Want some of my Halloween candy? It’s so sweet. As you see, fall is like a beautiful tree. It’s the best season of all.
by Nathaniel Ireland, 5th grade
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Dear Editor, My name is Natalia, and I am 9. The things I like best about Fun For Kidz are the cartoon stories and Max and Gracie. Those are two funny dogs! I am glad you publish the drawings and poems that kids send in. It’s fun to see what kids can do. Keep up the good work. I can’t wait to receive another issue! Love, Natalia Valdez Denver, CO
Dear Editor, My sister and I like the Fun and Fascinating issue of Fun For Kidz. We want to try everything in it this summer. I got a bike for my birthday. The photo of the old-fashioned bike is so funny! I want to build a sand castle and catch lightning bugs. I am 11 years old, and my sister, Jessica, is 8. Your friend, Jake Palmer Mason, TN
Giraffes
Gigantic and tall creatures. I am smaller than a giraffe. Really, their tongues are purple-bla ck. Also, they have hearts that are two feet long. Finding a giraffe is probably hard. Finish your meal, and look up the se mammals. Everybody loves giraffes!
Animal Tracks
Animal tracks Are behind your backs. So follow me, And you will see ts. And learn all of the fac
by Jordynn Bass, age 9
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What is this rabbit saying with its ears? “I hear something!”
Rascally rabbits are smart and fast – and they know it! They live in meadows, forests, deserts, marshes, mountains, and even in your own backyard. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you may see some of these wacky bunny behaviors for yourself. • Rabbits often dig their nests right in the middle of grassy areas or open fields. This may seem foolish, but it’s actually very clever. They are hiding in plain sight! Many of their natural enemies shy away from open spaces.
During winter, Eastern cottontails eat twigs, bark, and dried leaves. For extra nourishment, rabbits eat their own droppings!
• When making quick getaways, rabbits run in wild zig-zag patterns to confuse a predator. Sometimes, they just freeze in place or lie flat on the ground to blend in with their surroundings. • Rabbits can see what’s behind them (and what’s above them) without turning their heads! That’s because their eyes can rotate nearly all the way around. Rabbits have just one blind spot – right in front of their noses. • Can you make each of your ears turn a different way? Rabbits can! This lets them hear in two directions at once. Their stretched-out ears have other jobs too. They release extra body heat, keeping rabbits cool when it’s hot outside. This is very important because rabbits can’t sweat or pant. • To warn of danger, rabbits thump the ground hard with their hind legs to make a LOUD sound. They will flick an ear, twitch their noses, tilt their heads, and grunt or growl to communicate something in rabbit language. • To play, a rabbit will jump straight up while another rabbit races under it. They will do this again and again. Or they run fast and leap up, twisting their bodies in mid-air. Don’t they ever get tired? Have you ever observed the wacky habits of rabbits? Let Fun For Kidz know!
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Leaping over your playmate requires perfect timing.
1 written and illustrated by Andrew Wales Some rabbits are wild. They usually are brown or gray in color. Others are domestic, or tame. They come in a variety of colors, sometimes with spots. Some rabbits have long hair, and some have short hair. Today we are drawing a wild rabbit. He is standing on his hind legs to look over an area as he often does.
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1. Start by lightly sketching three ovals. No matter how complicated something seems to draw, it can always be broken down into basic shapes. Always sketch your lines lightly at first. Sometimes, it takes a few tries to get your shapes just right. Erasing is easier when your lines are light. (Fig. 1) 2. Now it’s time to connect the ovals and add the legs and other parts of the rabbit. Don’t think about details right now. Of course, the ears are long! (Fig. 2) 3. Now you are ready to draw the basic features. Notice that a rabbit’s eyes are on the sides of the head instead of the front, as ours are. (Fig. 3) 4. Quick, sketchy strokes give him a furry texture. Notice that the fur on his chest, belly, and tail is lighter than the rest of his fur. (Fig. 4) Now that your rabbit is finished, think about a background. Where will your rabbit be? Try drawing rabbits that are running or lying down.
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Send your drawing to Fun For Kidz, PO Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817-0227, or scan and send to kidscorner@funforkidz.com. Be sure to include your name, age, and where you live. You might see your drawing in a future issue!
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by Lois Greene Stone illustrations by Pamela Harden • colored by Gaurakisora Tucker John’s story is as bizarre and chilling as Count Dracula — except that it’s not make-believe. The name of the man in this tale is probably familiar to you. What you probably don’t know is that he died in 1792, but he was not given a hero’s burial until 1913, 121 years later! John was born in Scotland in 1747. He died in France. Yet, he is hailed as an American patriot. Life for John wasn’t made up of math problems and baseball games. The world had not yet seen the wonders of TV, radio, cars, airplanes, or electricity. He was destined to become a sailor. Before the age of 13, he had already become apprenticed to a ship owner and had made a trip by sea. He had felt and witnessed floggings and had seen slavery, sickness, and mutiny. When he fell ill with fever (assumed to be malaria), no one comforted him. John lay sick aboard ship for a long time. That illness damaged his kidneys. History has no record of John from the ages of 25 to 27. When he appeared again, he was in Virginia. He had made his real last name his middle one by adding a new last name to himself. That same year, 1774, he put the American flag on a naval fighting vessel for the very first time. He had lung trouble and recurring malaria, but that didn’t prevent him from becoming a naval commander for the American colonies. The colonies were fighting for their independence from England. Once he became a hero, though, he couldn’t get a job. French officials commended him but could not give him a ship to command. The American Congress congratulated him but could offer no employment.
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He set sail in a 30-foot open boat to join the Russian navy. He needed a job, and this was the only one offered. Imagine the waves, the cold, and the dampness on an open boat. When he arrived, he had such a bad case of what was thought to be pneumonia. He was so sick, he could not even speak. Later, he won a victory for the Russians, but envious men credited themselves, not John. So he went elsewhere in Europe. Illness was destroying his body. As his kidney disease worsened, his legs and abdomen became swollen. On July 18, 1792, in Paris, France, John was found dead half-standing up. He was alone when he died. The American ambassador in France felt that John was a pest. He would not cancel dinner plans to respond to the plea for help from this frightened and seriously ill man. Whether John was trying to get into bed or out of bed can only be guessed. He was found standing on his feet with his face on the bed. Didn’t anyone want him even after his brief life had ended? The French figured the Americans might decide to take him eventually. They put him in a lead coffin and filled it with alcohol and straw. A cheap funeral was ordered, and John was buried in France. During the next 113 years, John became famous in the United States. In 1905, John’s coffin was found and opened. Just as Dracula emerges intact when he leaves his box-bed, the alcohol had actually preserved John. An autopsy was conducted. People no longer had to wonder about his illnesses. It turns out he did have a chronic kidney disease, and he did suffer from bronchopneumonia. Other organs offered much valuable information to medical people. All was not yet over for John. Plans were made to bring him back to America, and many cities wanted him. But first, his new coffin was draped in an American flag and taken on a farewell procession through the streets of Paris, France. Then John was loaded onto the ship USS Brooklyn. More than a century after death, John was sailing again.
continued on page 28 . . .
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In 1906, at Annapolis, Maryland, a ceremony was held for him. However, he had to wait again to be hailed as a hero. For seven years, while Congress considered where to bury him, his coffin lay on sawhorses stuck under a staircase. Finally, 121 years after he died, John was placed in a tomb at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. “Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!� shouted John Paul Jones in 1779 from the warship USS Bonhomme Richard. He had given prestige to the American Navy. But he received little pleasure or recognition while on Earth, and his body did not rest in peace until years after his death. And this is not make-believe.
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San Francisco, California 5:15 PM an easy, breezy day! Max and Gracie and their owners, Linda, Craig, and their seven-year-old son, Ed, are driving the back roads of America. Perhaps you have seen Max and Gracie with their heads out the window. If not, here is a letter describing their most recent adventure.
me with this crazy r. Ed decided to entertain Gracie and We were stuck in traffic for a good hou in town. She ness Southampton, England, had some busi story. It all started when a woman in dog and one of her see to 20-minute ride. She was shocked ped the ticket caught the train and settled in for the stop She r. doo conductor behind a locked glass his best friends sitting alongside the collector. she inquired. “What is my dog doing on this train?” ctor asked. “You know those dogs?” the ticket colle e.” “Why, yes. The tan-colored one is min every day? You owe have been taking the train to the park d frien his “Do you know your dog and us six months of fare!” his friend got off the ched as three stops later, her dog and Surprised and very confused, she wat across a very busy way r thei e wed them while they mad follo she nd, erra her ut abo g ettin train. Forg two hours playing with where the good friends spent the next , park a was side r othe the On . road other dogs. s went back over the erved nap. Upon waking, the two dog Afterward, they lay down for a well-des ned the door to his ope tor duc into the stop, the con ing Pull . train PM 5 12:4 the ht caug n they arrived busy road and s and greeted him with a few licks. Whe step the up ran s dog The t. men part small com e. wagging, as they made their way hom at their local stop, they departed, tails e, which I understand plac around in a van going from place to How odd! I mean, Gracie and I ride play in the park? to d frien a train every day with your best is not a typical dog’s life. But catching Actually, that’s pretty cool!
Max
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Backpack Logic Puzzle on page 14
Fraction-nition on page 15
Hunter’s backpack is 7 pounds, Isaac’s is 8 pounds, Lauren’s is 10 pounds, Wendy’s is 5 pounds.
What is something you won’t do in a pile of leaves or in the snow?
Squirrel Fun on page 14
FIND SEASHELLS
Corn Maze Sudoku on page 15
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Check It Out! Wild Animal Planet, May 2016 Jordynn Bass Altadena, CA
E C N M
Megan, Rachel, Elena, and Esther Han New Hyde Park, NY
THANKs
Eden Hurst Goldthwaite, TX
Under the C on page 15
Isaac Fairhurst Rolling Hills, AB, Canada
ICEBERG
The Luge on page 15 A G T H L
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1. This is a damselfly, a long, slender insect. 2. Some fungi glow in the dark! This fungus growing on wood is known as “bitter oyster.” 3. This is a wacky face shape that formed on tree bark.
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Athletes lie on their backs on luge sleds and speed feet-first down an icy chute called a spiral.
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Check It Out! Photos from page 3
Photo Credits: Pixabay: 3 (bottom-left, bottom-right); Crocodile 18; Walrus 18; Rabbit 24 (top). Wikimedia Commons: Ylem (Own work) [Public domain] 3 (mid-right); John Paul Jones portrait [Public domain] 28; AnRo0002 (Own work) [CC0] 20. Courtesy of Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & RegattaTM 4, 5 (all photos). NPS.gov: Eastern cottontail - public domain 24 (middle). The Great Lakes Image Collection: Sea lamprey {{PD-USGov-EPA}} (Public Domain) 18 (lamprey).
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V i s i t U s O n l i n e ! F a c e b o o k . c o m / F u n F o r K i d z • w w w. F u n F o r K i d z . c o m Vol. 15 No. 5 • SEPT/OCT 2016 Publisher: Thomas M. Edwards Editor: Marilyn Edwards Associate Editor: Diane Winebar Graphic Design: Gaurakisora Tucker Marketing Director: Jonathan Edwards
FUN FOR KIDZ (ISSN 1536-898X) is published bi-monthly by the Bluffton News Publishing and Printing Company, P.O. Box 227, 101 N. Main St., Bluffton, OH 45817-0227. Telephone: 419-358-4610. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fun For Kidz, P.O. Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817-0227. Periodical postage is paid at Bluffton, OH and Preston, ID.
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FUN FOR KIDZ, INC. accepts no responsibility whatsoever for Article, Photo & Artwork Submissions: We accept and any injuries arising out of the use or misuse of ideas, materials, encourage article, photo and artwork submissions. Unsolicited and activities featured in its publications or products. materials will be considered for publication and will be returned Science Editor: Larry White Copyright © 2016 by the Bluffton News Publishing and Printing if accompanied by sufficient first-class postage. Guidelines are Co. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be available with a SASE. The publisher accepts no responsibility Science Illustrator: Alan Wassilak reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Riding ... with Max & Gracie Editor: Lisa Rehfuss FUN FOR KIDZ™, and the FUN FOR KIDZ logo™, are trademarks for unsolicited material. of FUN FOR KIDZ, The Bluffton News Publishing and Printing Co. Submissions should be sent to FUN FOR KIDZ, INC. Cover Artist: Chris Sabatino P.O. Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817-0227.
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