OCTOBER 2017

www.Highlights.com

G
I N
S WOn
Monster
PARTY A GIANT
Spider Web
In!
Page 21 Page 36
 onth Sukkot lasts

Fu n This M
It’s Link the Dragon’s
first time trick-or-
eight days and
nights, starting
October 4 at
sundown.

Halloween treating, and he’s a

little nervous. Can you

FRIGHT help him and his friend

reach the first house?

Celebrate
Sukkot!
• Sukkot (sue-COAT) is a
Hebrew word that means
“booths” or “huts.”
• This Jewish holiday recalls
the 40 years that the ancient
Israelites wandered the Sinai
Desert. It also marks the fall
harvest season.
• People build their own
sukkot during the holiday
to remember how their
Answer on ancestors lived in temporary
page 38.
shelters. Palm fronds and
other branches are often
A Day Full of Apples used as roofs for the sukkot.
Fall is apple-picking season. Can you • Palm, willow, and myrtle
think of clever ways to include apples branches—together called
in every meal you eat for a lulav—are waved in the air
one whole day? during blessings.

Find the
M
Picturdes
Tongue Can you fin
Twister each of these 10
r
pictures at anothe
ns w

Bison is m ag az ine?
place in th
er on pag

biting
burritos.
38 e
.
 Dear Reader By Christine French Cully
OCTOBER 2017 • VOLUME 72 • NUMBER 10 • ISSUE NO. 792 Editor in Chief
Founded in 1946 by Garry C. Myers, Ph.D.,
and Caroline Clark Myers
Editor in Chief: Christine French Cully
Vice President, Magazine Group Editorial: Jamie Bryant

Making
Creative Director: Marie O’Neill
Editor: Judy Burke
Art Director: Patrick Greenish, Jr.
Senior Editor: Joëlle Dujardin
Associate Editor: Linda K. Rose

Friends
Assistant Editor: Allison Kane
Copy Editor: Joan Prevete Hyman
Editorial Assistant: Channing Kaiser
Senior Production Artist: Dave Justice
Contributing Science Editor: Andrew Boyles
Editorial Offices: 803 Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431-1895. Today, I answered an e-mail from
E-mail: eds@highlights.com. a nine-year-old reader named Maddie,
To submit manuscripts, go to Highlights.submittable.com.
(Writers younger than 16: please use the postal address above.) whose family is planning a move. Maddie
CEO: Kent S. Johnson was worried about leaving her friends and
Vice President, International: Andy Shafran
Senior Editor, International: Julie Stoehr the house she loved. In our e-mail exchange, we talked about
Business Offices: 1800 Watermark Drive,
P.O. Box 269, Columbus, OH 43216-0269. looking at the move as an opportunity. She began to see that
Copyright © 2017, Highlights for Children, Inc. moving offered her a chance to make new friends, create new
All rights reserved.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN is published monthly. family traditions, and even redo her room. Now, she’s looking
ISSN 0018-165X (print) forward to the change, and I think she’ll make new friends fast
fast.
ISSN 2330-6920 (online)
Designed for use in the classroom. In “Dear Highlights” this month (page 42),
Sometimes we make our list of customer names and addresses
available to carefully screened companies whose products and a reader named Clarice wrote to say thatt
services might be of interest to you. We never provide children’s
names. If you do not wish to receive these mailings, please contact she’s a military kid who moves often.
us and include your account number.
But, as Clarice says, even kids who
Printed by RR Donnelley, Glasgow, KY.
Periodical postage paid at Columbus, Ohio;
move a lot can find it hard. I think we
Toronto, Ontario; and at additional mailing offices. gave Clarice good advice. Do you agree?
U.S. Postmaster: Send address changes to Highlights for Children,
P.O. Box 6038, Harlan, IA 51593-1538. For many kids, a new school year mean ns
Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065670. Return
undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 99 Stn. Main, Milton, a new school. Put yourself in their shoes andd
ON L9T 9Z9.
think about how you’d feel. Then look around. Do you have
To order, make a payment, change your address,
or for other customer-service needs, such as changing a Maddie or a Clarice in your class—someone who is new
your contact preference, please contact us:
• Online: www.Highlights.com
to your school and looking for a friendly face? Do you think
• Call: 1-800-255-9517
• Write: P.O. Box 5878, Harlan, IA 51593-1378
that friendly face could be yours?
As part of our mission to help make the world a better place
for the children of today and tomorrow, Highlights is committed
Your friend,
to making responsible business decisions that will protect our
natural resources and reduce our environmental impact.

AWARDS Highlights has been given awards by The Association

of Educational Publishers, The Education Center, LLC, Family
Write to me!
Choice Awards, Freedoms Foundation, Graphic Arts Association, Christine@Highlights.com
iParenting Media, Magazine Design and Production, National
Association for Gifted Children, National Conference of Christians
and Jews, National Parenting Center, National Safety Council,
Parents’ Choice, Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Awards, and
Printing Industry Association. HighlightsKids.com is a participant in
the Kids Privacy Safe Harbor program of the Children’s Advertising
Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
This magazine of wholesome fun
is dedicated to helping children grow in basic skills and knowledge,
in creativeness, in ability to think and reason,
in sensitivity to others, in high ideals and worthy ways of living—
for children are the world’s most important people .
®
 c ber
NUMBE 92

Dear Highlights, Def inition,

Please!
October 16 is
National Dictionary
—A.D., North Carolina Day. What’s your
favorite word?
Communicating can be difficult. We hope these tips help!
1 Try to read people’s 2 After each sentence, 3 Take a full, deep breath
facial expressions for clues pause for a moment. Let every now and then to help
that you’re speaking too fast. the other person speak. you slow down.

24

10 16
6 BrainPlay 14 Hidden Pictures® 16 Touching the Sky
When have you felt brave? Puzzle Kai Lightner climbs
Halloween fun for animals. to the top.
7 The Grumpy Skunk
Splash and dunk— 15 Jokes 18 Bot Spot
the skunk has shrunk! A book never written: RoboBee—ready for takeoff!
Ghosts and Spirits by
8 Goofus and Gallant® Sue Pernatural. 19 The Timbertoes®
Gallant writes thank-you The moon is big and bright.
notes.
21 Secrets of a
9 Gallant Kids Monster Maker
Ethan Katz designed a T-shirt Paper artist Jared Schorr
to help shelter dogs. shares his tips.

10 Sam Sleuth 24 The Ghost of the

Move over, Sherlock. Apple Orchard
Sam Sleuth is on the case! Who’s eating the apples?

12 My Sci 26 Crafts
Do vampire bats really Make and play the game
drink blood? Eyeball Memory Match.

4 OCTOBER 2017
 Reach
for It!
Kai Lightn
er,
a professio
nal
climber, h
opes
compete in to
the
2020 Olym
pics.

36 Untangling a Giant
Web Mystery
Caterpillars or spiders?
What made the web?
28 You Finished
the Story! 38 Riddles
Read kids’ endings to Why did the pony lose
“The Mysterious Manor.” the karaoke contest?

29 What’s Hiding in
39 Wolf
Guardian of the wild night.
the Cave?
Send us a drawing of the 40 Ask Arizona®
creature that’s hiding! Arizona wants to be in
two places at once.
30 Career Day at
Pixie Academy 42 Dear Highlights
Faylie’s idea is different from Being the oddball out
the normal pixie tricks. is hard.

34 Your Own Pages 43 Picture Puzzler

See more drawings from Penguin ice-hockey
creative kids like Liam! Liam Boyd hidden objects!
Age 7 • Maryland
OCTOBER 2017 5
 Name RT
things TA ke a
y
r
ou hike
!

What migh
that S Ta on
ai
n
peo
p le g
t
curl up. br
at
be alH ive
lo out ZZ
si we Z
de
sc en
an
dy
?
I’m a
PE NCIL, big fan of
fans!

or PE N ,

CRAYON—
how do you
decide which What does it mean
to say that you are When have YOU
to use? A BIG FAN OF felt brave?
SOMETHING? If you like
milk and
you like
What orange juice,
would it would you
Are you more likely be like if like them
akes to recognize a fruit if people
What m ing a you see its INSIDE or kept mixed
h
somet growing
DEED?od
together?

taller
GO O D o its OUTSIDE? Why or why
a t kinds of g o do?
Wh
s d o you l
ike t Why? not?
throughout
deed
their lives?

What
kinds
THE
END of careers
might be
good for What do
someone who you do to
is curious? REL A X?
 The grumpy skunk was in a funk.

The He held his nose because he stunk.

Thought it might help to splash and dunk.
He jumped into a pond, kerplunk.

Grumpy When he climbed out, the skunk had shrunk!

Now grumpy skunk is small and dinky,

Skunk
By Judie Farnsworth
Half as big and rather slinky,
Half the fur both white and inky
Right down to his little pinkie.
Art by Christina Brown But at least he’s half as stinky.

OCTOBER 2017 7
Goaondfus There’s some of Goofus and Gallant in us all.
When the Gallant shines through, we show our best self.

Gallant
®

“Check out those claws!”

says Gallant.

“Let’s see what it feels like,”

says Goofus.

Dear Jordan, Thank you for

the cool robot, writes Gallant.

“I thanked Jordan when he

gave it to me,” says Goofus.

YOUR Goofus and Gallant Moments

“I felt like Goofus
when I forgot my trumpet
on the bus.”
Carson, Age 11, Colorado
“I felt like Goofus when
I made a mean face at my
teacher.”
Sabina, Age 6, Oregon
“I felt like Gallant
when I watered my
neighbors’ flowers when
they went away.”
Michael, Age 10, New York

8 OCTOBER 2017 Art by Leslie Harrington.

 Gallant
K ds
Shirts for
Shelter Dogs
Ethan Katz loves dogs. He
enjoys playing with his golden
retrievers, McFly and Brooklyn,
and he often helps his grandma
feed and walk her five dogs. For
his ninth birthday, Ethan came
up with the idea to sell T-shirts
for his favorite charity, City Dogs
Rescue in Washington, D.C.
Both of Ethan’s dogs were
adopted from animal shelters.
Most shelters have limits on
the number of animals they
can care for. City Dogs Rescue
removes dogs from overcrowded
shelters. Volunteers, called
fosters, care for the animals
until they’re adopted.
Ethan’s parents, grandma,
and aunt have all fostered dogs
for City Dogs Rescue. Ethan said,
“I decided to do something for
that rescue organization and
raise money for them.”
Photo by Fred Schilling Photography.
“I felt like Gallant
when I brought in
firewood without being
asked.”
Myrica, Age 7, Wisconsin
His love for his own
dogs inspired Ethan
Katz to help others.
With permission, Ethan
went on a Web site for T-shirt
designing and fund-raising.
He typed a paragraph about
his project, designed a T-shirt,
and priced each shirt at $20.
Every time someone bought
one, part of that money went
to City Dogs Rescue.
A Fund-Raising Success
As word spread, many people
bought shirts. “My original goal
was to sell 75 shirts, and I went
above that in, like, three days,”
said Ethan. By the end of his
30-day fund-raising drive, he
had sold 179 shirts and raised
$2,640. That money helped
City Dogs Rescue save 10 dogs
from overcrowded shelters.
But Ethan wasn’t finished.
People continued to contact his
parents and City Dogs Rescue
“I feel like Gallant
every week when I
help preschoolers
do work.”
Drew, Age 10, Ohio
about buying shirts. So Ethan
decided to run the fund-raiser
for another month. At the end
of that time, he’d sold 562 more
shirts. Through T-shirt sales
and other donations, he raised
more than $14,500 in all.
Jodi Sirotnak, fund-raising
coordinator at City Dogs
Rescue, said, “Kids often
feel as if they have no say
in things, and Ethan shows
them that they can have a
real impact.”
Ethan wants to keep helping
dogs. When he’s older, he might
like to work for City Dogs
Rescue or an organization like
it. “I would like to help dogs
find the best family,” he said.
Dogs in D.C. are lucky to have
Ethan as their friend!
Highlights is proud to know
this Gallant Kid.
—Sara Matson
Tell us when you’ve felt like
Goofus or Gallant! Visit
HighlightsKids.com or write to
Goofus and Gallant Moments
803 Church Street
Honesdale, PA 18431
OCTOBER 2017 9

Sam
Sleuth
By Leone Castell
Anderson
Art by Pierre Colle
t-Derby
“I’m Sam Sleuth,
the new Sherlock Holmes,”
Sam announced as he and
his sister, Sadie, packed their
backpacks for school. “I’ll ask
the right questions and follow
clues, just like Sherlock.”
“If you say so,” said Sadie.
“I’ll solve mysteries, just like
Sherlock!” said Sam.
“If you say so,” said Sadie.
At that moment, their mom
came rushing into the kitchen.
“I’m running late and can’t
find my car keys! Has anyone
seen them?”
“Sounds like a job for Sam
Sleuth,” said Sam. “Let’s see. You
sat at the table to eat breakfast.”
He lifted his mom’s cup. Her
saucer. Her plate. No keys.
Sam noticed his mother’s
handbag. “Let’s see. Did you
check all the pockets of your
bag?” he asked.
10 OCTOBER 2017
“I’ll solve mysteries,
just like Sherlock!”
His mom dug deep into each
section of the bag. She shook her
head. “Not here.”
“The keys must have fallen,
then,” Sam said. He dropped to
the f loor and crawled around,
carefully inspecting every inch
of the kitchen. No keys. He
moved into the living room
and slowly scanned the room.
“Hmm,” he said. “Where could
those keys be?” He pulled the
cushions off the couch.
That’s when Sam heard it.
The clank of the garage door
opening, followed by the roar of
the car’s engine. Sam ran to the
front door. Mom was already
Sam
carefully
inspected
every
inch
of the
kitchen.
backing out of the driveway.
“I’d left the keys in the car!”
Mom called out the open window
as she blew him a kiss good-bye.
“Thanks for your help!”
“Case closed,” said Sadie,
who was standing behind Sam
and smiling.
Sam and Sadie went back
to the kitchen to get their
backpacks. Dad was washing
the breakfast dishes.
“Mom left a yummy pack
for me to take to school, but
I don’t see it,” said Sadie.
“Sounds like a case for Sam
Sleuth,” said Sam.
“If you say so,” said Sadie.
Sadie’s “yummy pack” would
be a little container of dried
cranberries, almonds, raisins,
and maybe figs. Sam opened the
cupboard doors. Bottles of spices, surrounded him. “We heard What would
bags of sugar and f lour. No you’re the new Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock do in a
yummy pack. Is that true?”
Where would Mom have put Sam nodded. At that moment, case like this?
it? He opened the refrigerator the bell rang.
door. Sour cream. Peanut butter. Their teacher, Mr. Douglas, “Sam?” Mr. Douglas called.
Marmalade. Dill pickles. said, “Good morning, class. What would Sherlock do in
“Did you check your lunch Please put your research papers a case like this?
bag, Sadie?” Dad asked. on your desks.” “Your sister is here to see
“Dad’s right,” said Sadie from Sam reached into his you,” said Mr. Douglas.
behind Sam. “Mom already put backpack. He dug around. Oh Sadie dropped Sam’s
it in my lunch bag.” She zipped no! Where was his homework? research paper on Sam’s desk.
up her backpack and slung it He had done the assignment. He “You accidentally put it in
over her shoulder. “Case closed.” had written about Sherlock my bag,” she whispered,
A horn sounded. Sam and Holmes, of course. “Sherlock.”
Sadie hugged Dad good-bye and Think, think, he told himself. “Thanks,” Sam said and
rushed outside to board the What could have happened to it? sighed. “Case closed,” he said
school bus. He had sat at his desk in his to himself, “with a little help
“I lost my dollar,” moaned a bedroom. He’d finished writing from Sadie.”
second-grade girl as Sam and it. He’d read it aloud. But then he remembered:
Sadie walked down the aisle Did I take it downstairs to even Sherlock Holmes had a
toward their seats. show Mom? he wondered. Did I little help from his sidekick,
“I’m Sam Sleuth, the new leave it on the kitchen counter? Dr. Watson.
Sherlock Holmes,” said Sam.
“I can find anything.”
“If you say so,” said Sadie.
“Where did you last have it?”
Sam asked the girl.
“On the bus,” said the girl.
“It was in my hand.”
“Did anything unusual
happen?” Sam asked.
“I tripped,” the girl said.
“Aha!” Sam turned to the
other kids on the bus. “Please,
everyone, check under your seat
for a dollar bill.”
There was a lot of commotion
as everyone searched around.
No dollar.
“Time to sit!” called the bus
driver. “We have to get going.”
That’s when the second-
grader tapped his arm. “I found “I
it,” she said. “It was in my
pocket the whole time.”
found
“Case closed,” said Sadie. it.”
At school, when Sam entered
his classroom, a couple of kids

OCTOBER 2017 11
 A thin red layer, the

MY SC chromosphere, is just
above the blindingly
bright surface and is
This big flare, called a
prominence, is gaseous
material the Sun cast
off. Gravity will pull
the lowest part of the most of it back down.
Sun’s atmosphere.
Sun in the
Spotlight
By Ken Croswell, Ph.D.
Every day, the Sun is a
star player in our lives.
From 93 million miles
away, its energy gives us
light, warmth, and food.
To help us learn more
about our Sun, space
agencies in the United
States and Europe worked
together to send an
unmanned spacecraft
into orbit beyond our
atmosphere. The craft’s
special telescope can
photograph a wavelength
of light that’s blocked by
our atmosphere, giving us a
close-up image like this one.

The outer atmosphere, or corona, The Sun shines because

The Sun is so hot
is extremely hot: over 1,000,000°F! it’s so hot. Its surface
that it’s a gas—
Some scientists think millions of is 9,940°F—about
a very dense gas.
explosions (nanoflares) erupt on the five times hotter than
Sun’s surface each second, heating lava erupting from
the corona to extreme temperatures. a volcano.

Candy Question
By Loralee Leavitt

Plop! Kenny dropped candies with a colorful sugared coating into

a dish of water. Minutes later, the candy colors were spreading out
at the bottom of the dish. Why would that happen? Think of your
best answer, then read our explanation on page 38.
 Chilesaurus
CHEE-lay-SAW-rus
Its full name is
Chilesaurus
diegosuarezi,
“lizard from Chile”
to honor the
By Dougal Dixon person who
Art by Robert Squier discovered the
Chilesaurus had a body type first bones, seven-
that was similar to two-footed year-old Diego Suárez.
meat eaters like Tyrannosaurus Diego was on a field trip with
rex and Allosaurus. But his geologist parents when
Chilesaurus was a plant eater. he dug up two fossil bones.
Beak suited to
plucking vegetation Blade-like
teeth that Shape of hips suggests
could chop they probably supported
plants a big plant-eater’s belly

Do vampire
bats really
drink blood?
A Highlights Reader (by e-mail)

Yes—vampire bats,
which live in Central and
South America, eat only
blood. But they are
nothing like the fictional Slimmer
vampires in stories body than
and cartoons! many plant
A vampire bat will WHERE: eaters had
approach an animal, like Chile
a chicken or a sleeping
cow. (Different species
of vampire bat prefer
different blood.) With
heat sensors near its
nose, it finds a spot on
the animal where blood Four
HOW LONG: toes
is near the skin surface. Three
10 feet
It uses its sharp little fingers,
teeth to make two tiny two with
cuts, which are usually claws
painless. The bat’s
saliva keeps the blood WHAT IT ATE: WHEN:
from clotting as the bat Low-growing plants 150 million years ago
licks up its meal. The
252 201 145 66 Present
tablespoon of blood it
Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Cenozoic
drinks typically doesn’t
hurt its host.

OCTOBER 2017 13
 Want ae?
challeng 5
k page 1
Fold bac the
to hide
clues.
picture

Halloween Hijinks
By Gary LaCoste

In this big picture, find the eyeglasses, tack, bowl, horseshoe, envelope, french fries, golf club, slice of pizza,
coin, boomerang, ruler, scrub brush, bell, hockey stick, megaphone, drinking straw, carrot, bat, and spoon.

14 OCTOBER 2017 Check out our Hidden Pictures app!

 JOKES
Picture Clues

“Knock, knock.”
eyeglasses
tack
“Who’s there?”
“Police.”
bowl “Police who?” Li
Liam: How
H did you gett th
thatt scratch?
t h
Sampson: See that tree branch?
horseshoe envelope “Police pass Liam: Yeah.
the salt.” Sampson: Well, I didn’t.
Gus Tvedt, Montana
Adela, North Carolina
A book never written: Ghosts and
coin Andy: Hey, look! A koala!
Spirits by Sue Pernatural.
Mary: It’s so cute. I should James Condelles, Pennsylvania
take it to the zoo.
french The next day, Mary still
slice of
fries
pizza golf has the koala. Make us laugh!
club Andy: I thought you took Send a joke or riddle, along with your
the koala to the zoo. name, age, and address, to
Mary: I did. And tomorrow,
ruler we’re going to the movies! 803 Church Street
boomerang Naima Schopf-Malon Honesdale, PA 18431
Massachusetts

bell
scrub
brush
Which Critters Fit?
Figure out which animal should go in place of each question mark
so that each row and column contains all four animals.
hockey
stick
megaphone
drinking
straw
carrot

spoon bat

BONUS
Can you also
find the pencil,
heart, banana,
and kite?

Answers on HighlightsKids.com. OCTOBER 2017 15

Answer on page 38.
 the

Y
c hing
u
o
K
By Channing Kaiser

T
l im ber
c
Teen ghtner
i
Kai L s with
ete
com p
e pros.
th

How did you get into

climbing?
I was always climbing things as
a kid, and someone gave my
mom the address of a local
rock-climbing gym. She took me
there days later and I was
hooked instantly.

Do you climb year-round?

What’s your schedule like?
Straight A’s? Yes, I climb throughout the year.
Check. I usually take three weeks off
Win gold at the Youth World Championships? during November or December.
Check. That’s when I eat lots of
Compete in the Olympics? junk food and forget about
We’ll see! maintaining a healthy
Despite his jam-packed schedule, 18-year-old climber eating routine!
Kai Lightner took time to answer questions for Highlights In general, I train two days
about his life as an athlete. Read ahead to feel inspired! in a row, rest on the third day,
then repeat the cycle.

Fast Four
FAVORITE THING TO
G
DO BESIDES CLIMB ING

FAVORITE EMOJI

FAVORITE FOOD

FAVORITE SUBJ
IN SCHOO L

How do you balance
school with traveling
and climbing?
I do a lot of homework on
airplanes and in hotel rooms.
My mom is a professor, so doing
well in school is always required.
As soon as I come home from
school, I spend two to three
hours completing my homework
before going to the gym.
What is the biggest
challenge you’ve had
to overcome?
Growing really fast over a short
period of time! I grew about 10
inches in 18 months. Every week
it seemed like I was climbing in
someone else’s body. I hope most
of my major growth spurts are
behind me (fingers crossed).
When you’re facing a
tough climb, what helps
you keep going?
I relax, stay focused, and trust
in my training. I try not to think
about the overall challenge that
I am facing and instead focus on
the climb, one move at a time.
Who is your dream
climbing partner?
Ellen DeGeneres. I think she
would be a really cool person
to teach how to rock climb,
and she’d make me laugh
the whole way up.
What climbing
accomplishment are
you most proud of ?
Winning a gold medal
at the 2014 Youth World
Championships. Before that, the Questions
first and only time an American
had won at that event was in
from Kids!
1995. Since my 2014 victory,
the United States has won How scared are you when
nine more gold medals at you climb? —Brielle, Age 10
Youth World Championship My mom is usually on
competitions. the other end of the rope,
keeping me safe when
Who inspires you the most? I climb. That makes me
My mother. Despite being a feel pretty safe.
single mom, she has been my
main supporter in climbing,
spending countless hours on the How long does it take you
other end of my climbing rope to get to the top?
and making sure I stay on task. —Gracie, Age 9
Whenever I have a problem, I never time myself on
she is the first person I ask outdoor climbs, but I am
for advice. a pretty slow climber. I like
to take my time and enjoy
What are some goals the scenery.
for the future?
I have always dreamed of Have you ever felt like
competing in the Olympics. you were touching the
I hope to compete in the sky? —Bella, Age 9
2020 Olympics in Japan
Yes. I did a climb once that
and earn a gold medal for
was 500 feet high. When I got
the United States.
to the top, I looked down
at the treetops and birds as
they f lew past. I felt like I
was as high as the clouds.
OCTOBER 2017 17
 Each wing has its own
RoboBee is the first robot
mechanical muscles.
that can fly and swim.
Researchers pilot the
Like a puffin, it swims by
robot by controlling the
slowly flapping its wings
wings separately.
underwater.

RoboBee perches
under glass,
wood, or leaves.
The team added
It Flies, It Swims, a patch above
the wings that

It’s RoboBee! uses static

electricity to
make it “stick”—
This bug-sized robot does like a balloon!

many things, but it never stings.

By Andy Boyles, Contributing Science Editor

RoboBee is the size of an
insect—and it f lies like one.
The robot can also perch and
swim. Engineers have solved
some tough problems to invent
this small wonder.
A research team at Harvard
University, in Massachusetts,
started by copying the f light of
a housef ly, not a bee. They chose
an insect with only two wings
instead of four because it would
be simpler and lighter. Also,
other scientists have learned a
lot about how f lies f ly, so the
team knew how their robot
would have to f lap its wings.
Making Tiny Robot Parts
To build RoboBee, the
engineers had to invent a new
way to make tiny parts. They
used lasers to slice materials
into layers thinner than a
human hair. Then they glued
together layers of different
materials to make the stiff
body, the f lexible wings, and
the mechanical muscles.
The muscles replace
electric motors. Even tiny
motors are too big for RoboBee.
The muscles are piezoelectric
(pea-AY-zoh-eh-LEK-trik)—
made of materials that bend
when electricity passes through
them. The team uses electric
pulses to control the wings and
make RoboBee f ly or swim.

18 OCTOBER 2017 Photos by Kevin Ma and Pakpong Chirarattananon.

Art by Rich Powell.
 The
Timbertoes
®

By Rich Wallace • Art by Ron Zalme

What is
Spot howling
about?
Come
on out.

Is that the
moon?

The moon slowly grew bigger. It’s so Finally, it was up.

bright!

What a lovely moon.

Ma and Pa danced. Tommy and Mabel sang. Spot joined in.

OCTOBER 2017 19
 Autumn
Chores
By Sally Lucas • Art by Alyssa Bermudez

It was a warm autumn day. The was shining. were falling.

sun Leaves

Colton got his and from the .

bicycle helmet garage

“No riding now,” said Mom. “Let’s do chores while the is shining.”
sun

Dad washed . Mom painted the . Colton raked .

windows fence leaves

Plop, plop, plop! fell on Colton’s head. Colton looked up.

Acorns

A was shaking in a .
squirrel branches tree

“Stop!” Colton called to the . But the did not stop.

squirrel squirrel

Colton ran back to the and put on his . He smiled.

garage helmet

“Now it’s safe for me to rake ,” he said.

leaves
20 OCTOBER 2017
Secrets of a

Monster Maker wn cut-paper creature

s! Article and
ro
my tricks to create you Paper Artwork
Use by Jared Schorr

“CUT!”
Some artists draw on paper, but
I draw with paper. As a professional
artist, I create 3-D paper art for a
living. I cut it, curl it, fold it, fringe it,
and morph it into . . . whatever I want!
I really love making monster art.
Monsters can be all shapes and sizes,
with whatever goofy details I imagine.
Using a few simple tools, you can take
your own paper from flat to “look at that!”
Turn the page to learn some tips.
(Continued on next page)
 FAN-NG
FOkeLaD I ion
cco r d n g
Ma o ldi
s by f
pleat r one way,
pape he other,
then nd over.
t
ve r a
o

(Continued from page 21)

Cut It Out
Just Play! When you use a hole punch, save the punched pieces.
They make great fingernails, scales, and monster dots.
Use construction paper,
magazine pages, cardstock, Rip it! This creates a nice rough border (called a “deckle
and newspaper to get edge”). It works well for a watery or fabric-like effect.

different effects. What’s From fanfolded paper, you can cut strips. Try using them
best for your beasts? for hair, wavy plants, or maybe swinging arms.
 TABLE
TOP
Protect PE R
you
surface r work
.
plastic m I use a
n e ws p a , b u t
at
pe
work, to rs
o.
CHOMPP
CHO M
e out a
Bit
e d e d ge
scallop hole
Paper Capers
usin a .
g
p un ch To speckle a sheet of paper,
dip an old toothbrush into
paint, then point it at the
paper and drag your finger
back across the bristles.
Cut shapes from the paper.

Crumple paper in your

hand, then uncrumple
it. Cut from the wrinkled
result. Great goblin skin!

Close your eyes, and

scribble on paper for
a loopy, wild look.

Depth and
“POP” Shadows
AR
Make a T
app ear sh ap e Fanfold a short strip, then
pop ou to float or glue it behind shapes to
tb
pieces y gluing
f o a m o of craf t make them pop or droop.
r sp
behind onge
it .
Cut the same shape from
different shades of a
color. Make the shapes
smaller or larger as the
paper gets darker. Stack
them to make them pop
3-D Effects out or in, as I did for my
little sun dudes above.
Wrap strips of paper around a pencil to make curly fur
or eyelashes. When one paper will show
through a hole in another,
Create a “score” mark by pressing down with the tip of your add space between them
scissors or a toothpick as you run it across paper (without with drops of tacky glue
cutting through). It’s easier to fold paper along a score. or wads from a glue stick.

Roll a narrow paper strip around a toothpick. Let the coil unroll
slightly, then glue it down on its side for a swirly eye.

Photography by Kevin Mann. OCTOBER 2017 23

 Apple Orchard
By Valerie Marchini
Art by Cory Godbey
“L uke! Amy! We need some
apples,” said Grandma.
Amy looked outside. Dark
shadows fell in the yard. She
didn’t want to go up to the
orchard. Her cousins had told
her it was haunted.
Amy’s brother, Luke, sneaked
up behind her. “Boo!”
Amy jumped.
“Afraid of the ghost?” Luke
chuckled and grabbed two
containers. “Let’s go.”
On the way to the orchard,
24 OCTOBER 2017
they saw Mr. Smith feeding
a carrot to his horse, Sandy.
“Would you like to pick apples
with us, Mr. Smith?” Amy asked.
It’s silly to be afraid,
Amy told herself.
Mr. Smith shook his head.
“That hill is too steep for me.”
“We’ll pick some for you,”
Amy said.
Snap! !
Cr un h
What was that?
“That would be a treat.”
Mr. Smith handed her an empty
box from his porch. Then a
buzzer sounded. “Oh, that’s my
kitchen timer. Excuse me.”
Mr. Smith went into his house.
Amy and Luke started up the
hill. It’s silly to be afraid, Amy
told herself. She’d never seen the
ghost. She’d only heard stories.
When they arrived at the
orchard, apples were all over
the ground.
“Looks like the ghost had
 Amy gasped. “Some of
my apples are missing.”
Luke looked over. “What’s up?”
Amy listened, but now the
sound was gone. “Never mind.
Can you help me carry
Mr. Smith’s apples?”
Together they lugged the box
down the hill to Mr. Smith’s
house and set them on his porch.
“Wow. Thank you!” said
Mr. Smith as he stepped outside.
“And these are for you.” He gave
them each a cookie to eat while
they walked.
When they arrived back it’s you, Sandy! You scared me.”
at the orchard, Amy gasped. “Now we know who ate our
“Some of my apples are missing,” apples,” said Luke, laughing.
she whispered. “You found my horse,”
“Some of mine are, too,” Mr. Smith said when he saw
Luke said. He sounded worried. Amy and Luke walking down
“Let’s pick a few more and go.” the hill with Sandy. “He’s always
He scrambled up a tree. running off.”
Amy quickly picked apples Amy smiled. “Did you know
from the lower branches. he’s the ghost of the apple
Snap! Crunch! Leaves rustled. orchard?”
“Who’s there?” Amy looked “Oh my!” Mr. Smith shook his
around. Branches reached out head. “I heard odd things were
like twisted arms. Something happening up there. I didn’t
brushed against her back. know it was Sandy.”
She screamed. “Whinny!” CRUNCH!
“What’s the matter?!” shouted The “ghost” was getting
Luke, scrambling down the tree. into the apples again.
“Whinny! Whinny!”
an apple fight.” Luke laughed. Amy turned. She exhaled. “Oh,
He climbed a tree and started
picking apples.
Amy stood on the ground to
“I heard odd things
pick from the next tree over. were happening.”
Luke filled Mr. Smith’s box
halfway with apples, then
started filling his own container.
Amy filled her basket, then
filled Mr. Smith’s box to the top.
Amy tried picking up the box.
“Ugh!” Too heavy.
Snap! Crunch! What was
that?
“Luke!” Amy called. “Luke?”
Crafts Make
Us Next
Month!

Diwali
Candle
Holder
By Channing Kaiser

Diwali (dee-WAH-lee)
is the Hindu festival
of lights. Clay lamps
called diyas symbolize
the human body. The
light represents the soul.
Hindus believe that light,
or goodness, chases away
darkness, or evil,
during Diwali.
1. Shape a candle holder
from air-dry clay. Wet
your finger and press
gently to smooth out
any cracks. Let it dry.
2. Create decorations,
such as f lowers, from
the clay. Let them
dry. Glue them to the
candle holder.
3. Glue craft gems, beads,
and other decorations
to the holder. Place
a battery-powered
candle into the middle.

Craft Challenge! Make a spooky Halloween costume using only recyc

led mate rials.

26 OCTOBER 2017
 The mor
e
eyeballs,
the
Halloween harder t
game!
he

Pencil
Toppers
By Marie E. Cecchini
1. Cut a bat or
pumpkin from
Eyeball TO PLAY:
thin cardboard.
Trace and cut out Memory Flip all the
cups upside
the design from down and mix
felt twice. Glue
the cardboard Match them up. Take
turns trying to
to one of the felt A Game for 2 or More Players find matches.
shapes. The player
2. Outline one By April Theis with the most
shape with glue, matches wins.
leaving room at 1. Cut out the cups of a white egg
the bottom for a pencil carton. Glue a cotton ball in each.
to fit in. Glue the two 2. Using colored paper, cut out irises,
shapes together. two of each color. Add details using
3. Decorate the pencil topper pens and markers. Glue one iris to
with glitter glue. Let it dry. each cotton ball.
Place it on a pencil.

Kitty Napkin Holder

By Edna Harrington
1. Cover a box with yellow scrapbook paper. Glue them to the box.
paper. For stripes, cut out and glue 3. Cut out paws and a mouth from
on strips of orange scrapbook paper. white cardstock. Add details
2. Cut out ears and a tail from thin with markers. Glue them on.
cardboard. Decorate them with 4. Add wiggle eyes.

Craft samples by Buff McAllister, except Kitty Napkin Holder OCTOBER 2017 27
by Edna Harrington. Photos by Guy Cali Associates, Inc.
YO U Finished
the Story!
We asked you
to finish “The
Mysterious
Manor.” Here
are a few of the
creative endings
we received.

“This house always gives me the creeps,”

Out came St. Patrick
said Priyanka as she and Dan passed the ,
asking, “W here are all
the
blue house on the corner. They walked by it snakes? ” St. Patrick
took his staff
every day on their way to and from school. and loudly tapped it th
ree times.
The ground shook wi
Nobody had lived there in years. th a loud
thunder and then we
nt silent. As
“My brother says it’s not a house at all,” St. Patrick looked arou
nd, he said,
said Dan as he ran his fingers along the iron “There. All the snakes
are gone.
My job here is done. Ire
fence that surrounded the yard. “He says of snakes.” He went ba
land is free
ck through
it’s really a magic portal.” the door, never to be
seen again.
Just then, the door on the house burst Alex Connor
open and . . . Age 9 • Massachusetts

Terrified, they walke

d
halfway into the yard
when Some birds f lew out with
e
the gate shut behind
them! Priyanka and papers in their beaks. They cam
Dan said, “Well, there closer and closer to Priyan ka and
’s no Dan walked in. The
turning back now.” Th
ey went Dan, then dropped the papers.
inside and saw a huge door shut behind They looked through them and
portal.
Priyanka f lipped a sw
itch and
them. They looked realized it was their homework,
the portal f lashed on
. Huge around. There and it was finished! Even the
monsters jumped out.
were cupcakes stuff they hadn’t started!
“A hhh!” the kids screa “W hen I touched the fence,
med. everywhere. They
The monsters moaned
, “We I wished for no schoolwork,”
have come to . . . have
a dance
were in cupcake Dan said.
party!” And for the res
t of the land! And from then on, that
night, they had a wond
erful Laura Fitzpatrick old house was called the
dance party! Age 9 • Montana Wishing House. Any wish
Brody Eller
would come true!
Age 10 • Maryland Meg Winters Taylor
Age 8 • Colorado
28 OCTOBER 2017
 A two-foot-tall Ve
nus f ly trap “ROAR!”
came out. ed Dan.
“It’s a werewolf !” scream
Dan said, “Cool.” They saw a “Run!”
Priyanka said, “W ay, the
hat do you spinning portal. As they were running aw
mean ‘cool’? Venu me and
s f ly traps are They jumped into werewolf called, “Wait! Co
scar y! ” The f ly tr me!”
ap, using its share my sandwich with
lower stems and it and went to the d wit h puzzled
leaves as feet, They turned aroun
f lopped up to Dan future. They saw why not?”
. It hugged looks on their faces. “Sure,
him tightly. Then into the
a pony rushed aliens. The aliens they said. Then they went
out the door. yummy
had 61 feet and manor, took a tour, and ate
Priyanka said, “P an d ban ana
ony! ” The
35 eyes. Dan and peanut butter, jelly,
pony ran over to frie nd.
Priyanka. Dan sandwiches with their new
and Priyanka w
alked away. Priyanka just Lauren Geist
Together they sa stood there for a Age 7 • Washington
id, “That
was W EIRD!”
minute. Then the
James King
Age 6 • North Ca
aliens jumped
rolina Two men came out, followed by
into the portal. a woman.
Dan and Priyanka “Yes, I think I will buy this hou
se,”
they jumped in, too,
They were curious, so she said.
10 friendly A couple of days later, there was
went inside and saw and caught the a
ec rs
ke moving truck at the old house.
ghosts. They played ch aliens. They A few
ey decided more days later, the woman saw
and Connect Four. Th Dan
rm soup, went back home and Priyanka on their way hom
to light a fire, eat wa e from
and drink hot cocoa . Then and said, “What school and asked if they and the
ir
yed parents would like to come over
Dan and Priyanka pla a day!” for
e ghosts. some snacks. They did, and the
hide-and-seek with th Bergan Lefdal woman
d the kids became their newest friend.
It was getting late, an Age 7 • Nebraska
th e ghosts
had to get home. So Lena Pickering
that took
made a magic portal Age 11 • Tennessee
hat a
the kids home fast. W
ter rif ic spooky day!
Sara and Sofia Harb
Age 5 • Ohio What’s Hiding Did you see that?
There’s something hiding

in the Cave?
in the cave! Part of it is
A huge pile of snow poured out. showing, but we want you
“Ahhh!” yelled Priyanka. to draw the rest. Send your
“Cool!” said Dan. “Let’s go drawing to
over there!”
“OK, but only for a second.”
They walked over to the house
What’s Hiding in the Cave?
and saw a girl’s head pop out of 803 Church Street
the snow! “Is this Henderson, Honesdale, PA 18431
Nebraska?” the girl asked.
“Yes.” Please include your
“Finally! This is where I live. name, age, and complete
I walked over here one day, and I address. We must receive
got stuck in this portal! I haven’t your reply by November 1,
been to school for two months!” 2017, to consider it for
Ava Stebbing publication.
Age 11 • Nebraska

OCTOBER 2017 29
 “I turn faucets on just
enough so they drip.”
AY
E E R D job interests you.”
R
CA at Pixie emy
Acad
By Bradford H. Robie • Art by Lorian Tu-Dean
“You’re 12 years old,”
Faylie’s mother said, fretting.
“Most pixies your age know
what they want to do by now.”
“I’m not sure Career Day
will help,” Faylie said.
“It’s free, and you’re going,”
Mom insisted, nudging Faylie
into the classroom.
30 OCTOBER 2017
Faylie landed in a seat and
folded her wings against the
back of her chair with a sigh.
She nodded to the other pixies,
who all seemed more excited
to be there than she was.
“Good morning!” said Mr.
Impish, the school counselor, as
he darted through the window,
leaving behind a shimmering
trail of pixie dust. “I hope you’ll
all have fun hearing about
different career opportunities.”
Faylie shifted uncomfortably
in her seat. Pixies were expected
to choose a profession before
they turned 13, but Faylie
didn’t have a clue what she
wanted to do.
“First and foremost, we are
pixies,” Mr. Impish said. “And
what pixies do is play tricks
on humans. Even the humans’
dictionary defines us as
‘mischievous elfish creatures.’
It’s just a matter of choosing
your specialty.”
Faylie noticed several older
pixies hovering eagerly outside
the classroom.
“I see our guest speakers
have arrived,” Mr. Impish said,
beckoning the visitors inside.
After introducing them, he
explained they would give short
presentations about their jobs.
“Then you’ll get a chance to
follow one of them through a
workday and decide if his or her
Faylie did her best to listen to
the presentations. Surely there
would be a job she liked.
First was Mr. Gremmerlin,
who specialized in hiding
humans’ belongings, such as
keys, phones, and homework.
“Annoying people” was what he
said he liked best about his job.
Next was Ms. Elfstein, whose
job was to knock things over
when people weren’t looking and
to make irritating noises. “I turn
faucets on just enough so they
drip,” she said gleefully.
By far the most creative was
Ms. Sprightly. “When people
store their Christmas lights
 Every pixie had
a specialty.
away and wonder why they
don’t work the next season, it’s
because of me,” she said proudly.
“I burn out the light bulbs over
the summer.”
“I don’t think I’d like
annoying people.”
Mr. Impish himself had a
part-time job mixing up pairs
of socks and putting things in
the wrong places. He laughed
as he described putting sugar
in the saltshaker.
Faylie raised her hand.
“I don’t think I’d like being
annoying,” she said.
“But we’re supposed to
be annoying,” Mr. Impish
said. “Why don’t you give it
a try? You can accompany
Mr. Gremmerlin one day
and Ms. Elfstein the next.”
Faylie really didn’t have a
choice, so she agreed. But after
she helped Mr. Gremmerlin hide
a boy’s math homework, she felt
guilty when she realized the boy
had to do it all over again. And
after she and Ms. Elfstein let a
mouse into a house, Faylie felt
sorry for the people who were
kept awake all night listening
to the mouse scurrying in the
walls. So she shooed the
mouse outside.
“I feel bad playing pranks
on people,” Faylie explained
to Mr. Impish afterward.
“But it’s all in good fun,”
Mr. Impish said reassuringly.
That’s when Faylie had an
idea. What if she did things that
helped humans? What if she
played un-tricks? To experiment,
she moved keys and eyeglasses
into plain sight if their owners
happened to leave them where
they might forget them. She
tied people’s shoelaces so they
wouldn’t trip. She made sure
coffee lids were on tight.
“It isn’t normal,” Mr. Impish
said when he heard about it.
“You’re supposed to be
mischievous.”
Faylie smiled. “According to
the dictionary, mischievous
means being ‘playfully
irresponsible.’ I’m just being
playfully responsible.”
Faylie moved keys
and eyeglasses
into plain sight.
“That’s changing the very
definition of what we do!”
Mr. Impish said.
“Will you come along with me
and see?” Faylie pleaded.
Mr. Impish reluctantly
agreed. But the next day, upon
noticing the look of relief on a
girl’s face when Faylie led home
the girl’s lost dog, he understood.
“I still think it’s an odd
occupation,” he remarked. “But I
can see you’ve found your niche.”
Faylie had a long, successful
career after that. In fact, many
of the younger pixies began to
imitate her. Soon there was
a whole generation of pixies
playing un-tricks on people.
But that was only the first
half of her career. After
Mr. Impish retired many
years later, Faylie
enjoyed a second
job—as the new
counselor at Pixie
Academy.
 House
Hunt
By Clare Mishica

The geography club is

having its first meeting at
River’s house. He gave the
club members the following
directions. Can you find
his house?
1. I am south of B Street.
2. I live on a corner.
3. I am north of C Street.
4. There is a blue house
directly north of my house.

BORN US !
nd
iver’s frie
When from
s h e a d s home els
Atla
h o u s e , he trav
River’s ses east
, two
two hou th, and then
nor
houses west. W
hich
h o u s e
one Atlas’s?
house is

Answers on page 38.

Use the clues to think of words

R You Ready? By Kristen Kirwan Browning
that start and end with the letter R.
EXAMPLE: A person moving fast
around a track is a RUNNER.

1. It says cock-a-doodle-doo. 6. It keeps food fresh and cool.

2. A cousin of the caribou.
3. A desert bird that’s fast.
4. To think about the past.
5. A sharp shaving tool.
32 OCTOBER 2017
7. A lion’s loud warning call.
8. What’s in a bouncy ball.
9. She tells the news on TV.
10. He loves the library.
Answers on page 38.
 a w s nd
Tennis Match P a
Think

What are some similarities

between tennis and other sports?
What are some differences?
What equipment is needed to play
tennis? What are some ways you
could work on tennis skills when
you’re by yourself?
I’ll get the
A tennis match can be one player balls that go
against one player (singles) or out of bounds!
two against two (doubles).
Which version would you
rather play? Why?

Art by David Coulson.

 Your Own
Pages
Ode to Summer
Thank you, Summer,
For melting ice cream
Sticky on my fingers
For sparkling lakes and
Sunscreen slimy on my skin.
Fall
The colors
You give me
the rain
Flip-f lops and sunglasses
the sun
Ice-cold lemonade
everything—
And sweet iced tea.
it’s all
so
You give me your own lullaby
important
Of sof tly chirping crickets
to me.
Avery Bennett Soothing me to sleep.
If you look at the clouds, they Age 7 • Virginia Crackling fires and
change color.
Coos of delight
If you look at the ground, it
Your s’mores bring.
stays colorful.
Everything looks so pretty.
Please come back, Summer.
The sun, the trees, the leaves,
Winter has moved in
it’s all so beautiful.
With its howling winds.
You need to take the
Hurry, Summer,
time to look.
For I miss you so much!
I hope you like the fall, too.
Darlene Miller
Nakai Moore
Age 14 • Indiana
Age 8 • California

My mom is so caring.
On days I need help, she helps me.
My mom loves to cook.
Erin Bourque
Age 7 • Massachusetts Airplane
Paxton Smith
Age 7 • Arizona
Megan Chu
ampshire
Hoot Hoot Age 7 • New H
Brown Trout
Their talons are as sharp as kni
Jack Deardorff ves.
They can see in the dark like lase
Age 10 • Pennsylvania rs piercing a stone.
Their head moves like Ear th on
its axis.
They f ly like sailboats on an und
isturbed bay.
They are as still as a statue.
The colors on an owl are a rainbow
of darkness.
Owls’ feathers are as smooth as
paper.
They hunt like a cat look ing for
a mouse.
Owls are as loud as a f lea.
F. Keith Hartman
34 OCTOBER 2017 Age 9 • Rhode Island
 Bluebird
A bluebird sat in the old apple tree.
I said, “Mr. Bluebird, won’t you
sing for me?”
Then he whistled and tweeted and
f lapped his wing,
And six tiny redbirds came
to sing.
I watched, so delighted by that
little bird choir
As their sweet little notes f loated
A Feathered Dinosaur—T. rex higher and higher.
Soon the whole world had come
A T. rex hides behind a tree to see
While its tail twitches impatiently. The little bird choir in the old Elise Purnell
And then comes what it’s waiting for . . . apple tree. Age 6 • Minnesota
An extra-juicy brontosaur!
Anna Beth Turner
It leaps out from behind the tree
Age 9 • North Carolina
To make an ambush—1, 2, 3! The Storm
Dinner is served. The wind picks up;
h.
Theo Karakotsios trees begin to sway back and fort
Age 9 • California Big, dark, ominous clouds
turn the world black.
The sky gives a soft rumble.

Rain pounds the ground,

sky,
and lightning f lashes across the
ld for a brief
illuminating the wor
moment.
A sudden boom follows,
resounding through the sky.
Evelyn Hauser
Age 6 • Illinois Eventually, the wind and rain
die down,
my fear recedes,
and I see the ear th
Beautiful Night smiling up at me.
Emma Hobbs
Night Age 12 • Missouri
Dark but bright
Night
Black but white hare Your
Night r ative Work
’d love to see it!
Like a giant splash of ink Art mu be on unlined paper.
ems ust have fewer than
Night wor s. All submissions
Beautiful constellation must e created by you.
Patterned canno
Me Includ your name, age,
Ice Pop return your
and dress. Mail to
so you
Like one unique star Finley Peterson o
Jaiden Archer Age 8 • Nebraska ep a cop
Your Own Pages
Age 10 • Ohio 3 urch Street
nesdale, PA 18431
 i ng a
What creature draped these trees in silk?
White sheets of webbing
blanketed tall oak trees along
the shoreline at Lake Tawakoni
State Park in Texas. Webbing
drooped from tree to tree,
wrapped branches in cocoons,
and formed canopies overhead.
The air hummed with the whine
of mosquitoes and tiny insects
called midges that were trapped
in the web’s sticky strands.
The web covered
an area larger than
a football field.
“I knew when I saw the web
that this was something very
unusual and amazing,” said
park superintendent Donna
Garde. She grabbed her camera.
Soon, her photos were on TV,
on Web sites, and in newspapers.
She sent images to the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department.
Scientists there had never seen
such an enormous web in the
United States. They e-mailed
the photos to entomologists
(scientists who study insects)
and to arachnologists (scientists
who study spiders).
Some thought caterpillars
had made the web.
By Tracy Vonder Brink
But Ms. Garde’s pictures
showed spiders, not caterpillars.
Could the mysterious super
weavers be spiders? Scientists
didn’t think so. The spiders in
the photos were long-jawed
orb weavers. Creating a giant
web would take thousands of
spiders working side by side.
Long-jaws prefer to live alone.
Soon, rain and wind began to
damage the megaweb. Slippery,
gummy sections fell off the
trees. “I unfortunately had to
walk across some that had fallen Webbing covered entire trees,
to the ground, and it was like but the leaves inside the webs
had not been eaten. That clue
walking on giant globs of
mucus,” Ms. Garde said. made scientists think that
Dead mosquitoes and midges caterpillars were not the
were rotting. The web had web builders.
turned brown and musty.
web, and they drop lots of frass,”
Scientists Take the Case he said. Instead, he saw spiders.
Two experts investigated: He spent more than 100
Mike Quinn, an entomologist for hours at the park. By his second
the Texas Parks and Wildlife visit, the web had been rebuilt.
Department, and self-taught “It was pure white in the sun,
arachnologist Joseph Lapp. but when the sun set behind the
Mr. Lapp expected to find web, it would form circles of
webworm caterpillars. But he silky-orange fire,” he said.
saw no caterpillars in the web Mr. Lapp watched the spiders
and no caterpillar droppings, day and night. He covered his
called frass. The tree leaves had head when he was under the
not been eaten. “Caterpillars web, and he heard a steady
eat the leaves that they wrap in plop-plop-plop on his hat.
Photos: pages 36–37 (center) by M. Merchant, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension;
(spider) Stefan Sollfors/Alamy Stock Photo. Web illustration by iStock/timurock.

“It was raining spider poop,” he
said. He took pictures and shot
video of the spiders. The females
were spinning orb webs. The
male long-jaws crawled from
web to web, looking for mates.
Meanwhile, Mr. Quinn
collected samples of spiders
with a beat sheet, a piece of
light-colored cloth attached to
a wooden frame. He placed it
under the trees. Then he shook
and poked the branches, making
spiders fall onto the cloth.
He collected 250 spiders
and took them to scientists at
Texas A&M University to be
identified. Most of the spiders
were Guatemalan long-jawed
orb weavers. The researchers
think long-jaws were the main
architects of the web. Other
spiders may have also helped.
But long-jaws usually don’t
share webs. Why had they
built the megaweb?
Other kinds of spiders are
known to share webs when food
A long-jawed
orb weaver
More Megawebs
Since the Lake Tawakoni
megaweb appeared in 2007,
other giant webs have been
found, including one in
Baltimore, Maryland,
in 2009 and another in
Rowlett, Texas, in 2015.
The Guatemalan
long-jawed orb weaver
was the main builder of
all three massive webs.
is plentiful. At Lake Tawakoni,
millions of insects had hatched
during the unusually warm, wet
summer. With so many bugs to
eat, the long-jaws didn’t need
to avoid one another.
The megaweb surprised the
experts. It also changed how
Ms. Garde thinks about webs.
She used to scoff at giant spider
webs in movies. “I told myself
I could never think that way
again because this web looked
exactly like those.”
OCTOBER 2017 37
 Tongue wisters D
RI DL ES
T
Tootie wears a
turquoise tutu.
Gracie Nelson
What do you call it
Age 7 • Minnesota when sandwiches fall
down a mountain?
Eston Fowler, Rhode Island

Why was the rabbit

sad?
y
2
Scarlett , New Jerse
Gerald gathers
gourds gladly.
Ivan Lapp Why are political
Age 13 • Pennsylvania candidates always fit?
Sydney Rochefort, New York

page 15 Dick’s
Which What was Moby- 4
favorite dinner?
Answers Critters Fit?
Sara Be rgstedt , Montan
a

page 2 5 What has

Fun This Month
Halloween Fright
page 32
House Hunt
18 legs
Atlas’s House and catches
River’s House
f lies? Lisa Bontrager, Missouri

Mystery Photo —Battery. Where do french fries

R You Ready?
1. ROOSTER. 2. REINDE
go on vacation? 6
page 12 3. ROADRUNNER. 4. REMEMBER.
Madison, Illinois

My Sci 5. RAZOR. 6. REFRIGERATOR. 7. ROAR.

Candy Question—As the sugared 8. RUBBER. 9. REPORTER. 10. READER.
coating dissolves in the water, What type of dog has
its sugar and dye molecules page 43 7 a silent bark?
mix with neighboring water John Cashmir, North Carolina
molecules. This sugar-water Picture
mixture is denser (heavier) than Puzzler
Where do rabbits go
the rest of the water, so it sinks when
to the bottom of the dish, below they are sick?
the “pure” water. (In time, the Isaac Davidson, Ke
ntuck y 8
sugar and dye will diffuse, or
spread out, through all the water.)
lose
Covers: Swing On In! by Gary LaCoste; What’s Wrong?® by Barry Gott Why did the pony
es t?
Illustration credits: Page 2: Kevin Zimmer; 6: Erin Mauterer; 13: vampire bat by Sydney Hanson; 15: Jokes by
9 the karaoke cont
Rich Powell, Which Critters Fit? by Rob McClurkan; 28: Mike Petrik; 29: Dave Mottram; 32: House Hunt by Shaw Jayna, Nebraska
Nielsen, R You Ready? by Rich Powell; 38: Gillian Flint; 39: “Wolf” by Hatem Aly, Check . . . and Double Check by
Gina Perry. Photo credits: Page 2: iStock/DimitrovoPhotography; 3: Gina Lenz; 4: (dictionary) iStock/Gannet77;
4–5: (Kai Lightner) Karma Photo; 6: (kitten) iStock/Rumo, (pretzels) iStock/Floortje, (pencil) iStock/pidjoe, (pen) was a little hoarse.
iStock/PaoloGaetano, (crayon) iStock/jhuting, (dog and fan) iStock/cynoclub, (apple) iStock/NASTYApro, (girl) 7. A dogwood. 8. The hop-spital. 9. Because it
iStock/DarrenMower, (orange juice jug) iStock/karammiri, (milk jug) iStock/buyit, (boy) iStock/Polke; 12: (top) © 4. Fish and ships. 5. A baseball team. 6. Greece.
ESA/NASA-SOHO EIT, used with permission, (bottom) Guy Cali Associates, Inc.; 13: Photo by Rita de la Cruz;
16–17: Nathan Welton, Welton Media Inc; 16 (inset) Karma Photo.
hare day. 3. Because they run for office.
Answers: 1. An avalunch. 2. It was having a bad
 Wolf
You are the guardian
of the wild night.
The one who leaps across
the starry light.
Yours is the shadow
that spills into the lake.
You sing the song
that keeps the moon awake.

—Eileen Spinelli

Check . . . and Double Check

Compare these two pictures. Can you find at least 18 differences?

OCTOBER 2017 39
 Ask
izona ®
Make a Copy of
Me for Halloween!
By Lissa Rovetch • Art by Amanda Morley
Dear Just One Kid,
I’ve always dreamed of
having a copy machine that
would let me go in as one person
and come out as two. That way,
I could be in two places at once.
Just like you, I recently made
a promise to do one thing, and
then another fun thing came up.
“Hey, ’Zona,” said my little
sister, Indi, “we have an idea for
the coolest Halloween costume,
but we can’t do it without you.”
My little brother, Tex, pointed
to a photo in a magazine. “It’s
a pea pod! There are three kids
and each kid’s face is a pea!”
“That’s so cute,” I said. “But
40 OCTOBER 2017
I’m about 10 feet taller than you
guys. There’s no way our heads
would fit into the costume at the
same time. Why don’t you two do
a double pod instead?”
“I really wanted all of us
to have a costume together,”
said Indi.
“Maybe we can come up with
a different group costume then,”
I said.
“We could be the three little
pigs!” said Indi. “You know, the
ones who didn’t want the big bad
wolf to huff and puff and blow
their houses down.”
“Yeah!” said Tex.
“I love that idea,” I said.
We found an old book of fairy
tales and read “The Three
Little Pigs.”
“I want to be the pig with the
brick house!” said Tex.
“I want to be the pig with the
straw house!” said Indi.
“I guess I’ll be the pig with
the stick house,” I said, smiling.
Making the costumes took a
lot of work, even with our mom
helping. And the whole time,
Indi kept saying “Won’t it
be so fun when we all go
trick-or-treating?”
“I really wanted
all of us to have a
costume together.”
So you can see why there
was no way in the world I could
change plans when I received
an invitation to a Halloween
party at Stephany Morrison’s
house. Stephany is a really
nice girl from karate, and her
house has incredible Halloween
decorations every year. The
invitation described the best
party possible, with “gruesome
games and creepy snacks.”

“Won’t it be so fun
when we all go
trick-or-treating?”
“Why aren’t you eating your
dinner?” my dad asked that night.
“I guess I’m not very hungry,”
I mumbled.
“Only a week until Halloween!”
Indi cheered.
“Yay!” I said, trying my best to
sound excited.
After helping with the dishes,
I went to my room, where I read
the invitation again. From 4:30
to 8 on Halloween night, come to
Stephany’s house for some fun
and some fright! I sighed. I’d be
leaving to trick-or-treat at 4:30.
That’s when it dawned on
me. We were usually back from
trick-or-treating around 6:00, so
it was possible I’d still have time
to make it to half of the party!
I returned to the kitchen to
talk to my parents about it, and
my dad agreed to drive me to
Stephany’s after Tex and Indi
and I came home.
On Halloween, I put on my
stick-house pig costume and
had the best time going door to
door with my adorably excited
pig siblings. Then I headed over
to Stephany’s. By the time I
arrived, the “eyeball” cookies
were gone and I’d already missed
the “haunted house” tour. But the
“poison apples” were delicious,
and I wasn’t too late to play some
of those “gruesome games.”
It’s important to
stick to your
promise.
So, dear Just One Kid, it’s
bound to happen once in a while
that something comes up after
you’ve agreed to something else.
And it’s important to do the right
thing and stick to your promise.
But at times, you might be able to
find a way to do both, like I did.
Maybe you can see if your
friends would go to the movies
on a different day. Or, if they’re
doing something after the movie,
maybe you can join them for that
part. It never hurts to ask, right?
And if it doesn’t work out, there’s
always next time!
Ciao for now,
Arizona
I wasn’t too late to
play some of those
“gruesome games.”
 Dear
Highlights
I have this
partner at school I’m a military kid,
who always asks and we move around a lot.
me for help. But We usually move to a military
base, but this time, we moved
then I fall behind. to a town where everybody
How do I help my knows everybody. Being the
partner and get my oddball out is hard, and I’m
terrible at making friends.
work done at the Any suggestions?
same time? Clarice (by e-mail)
Kyla, California
It’s not easy to settle into a new
You sound like a caring person and a good student. The place when you move often. But
next time your partner asks for help while you’re working, there are a few things you can do
you might say “Sure, I’ll help. I just need a little time to catch to help you make new friends.
up on my work first.” When you’re feeling like the
You might also talk this over privately with your teacher. “oddball out,” it may seem easier
Explain that you’re happy to help your partner, but you’re to stand back and wait for other
concerned about getting your own work done. Since your kids to speak to you. Don’t be afraid
teacher knows what’s expected of you in class, he or she may to be the first to say a cheerful “Hi!”
have some helpful ideas. Participate in activities you enjoy.
Ask to sit with a group at lunch or
look for other kids who are sitting
alone. Even kids who have lived in
Sometimes I listen your new town their whole lives may
to music and then feel the way you do about making
friends. They are just waiting for a
I can’t stop singing
new friend like you!
the same song You and your parents might also
over and over. talk to your school counselor, who
What should I do? may be able to connect you with kids
Charley (by e-mail) who share your interests.

When a song gets stuck in your head, it can seem impossible

to get it out. Some people suggest imagining yourself turning Write to us!
off the song in your head. Others say that it helps to listen to a Please include your name, age,
different song that you don’t know very well to clear the memory and full address. Mail to
of the catchy tune. You can also try doing a word puzzle or a Dear Highlights
math problem to help your mind focus on something else. For 803 Church Street
more ideas, ask your friends and family what works for them. Honesdale, PA 18431
Or e-mail us at Letters@Highlights.com.

42 OCTOBER 2017 Art by Keith Frawley.

 Puz zler Art by Neil N
umberman

Picture
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ision,
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Answers on pa
ge 38.
 What’s
Wrong?
®

Which things in this

picture are silly?
It’s up to you!

Visit our Web site!

 U S !
BO N
OCTOBER 2018
YOUR School
Stories
Here are a few stories
that kids sent to us about
school days they’ll always
remember!

Author at School Home Run Visit from Thunderfoot

In fourth grade, an author
visited my school. I thought
it would be a bore until she
told us some stuff about
herself. She told us that
her favorite color is red
(so is mine) and her favorite
animal is the bottlenose
dolphin (mine, too!). Her
name is Tammy; so is my
mom’s! She’s an author, and
I want to be one, too.
Rachel
Age 11 • Minnesota
for Dad
I’m not the best but
I’m also not the worst
on my kickball team at
recess. Sometimes my
dad comes to watch,
but it’s very uncommon. One time he
was there, and I thought, “I’m going
to make a home run just for him.”
And do you know what? I did! The
bases were even loaded. I’ll always
remember how proud and happy I
was, just because I did it for my dad!
Preston
Age 10 • Arizona
My unforgettable day at school
was when former pro football
player Herman Weaver came to
my school. He played for the
Detroit Lions and the Seattle
Seahawks. He was one of the
best punters the NFL ever had.
His nickname was Thunderfoot.
He talked about how dangerous
beer, cigarettes, and other drugs
are to your body. He passed out
his football card to all of us.
Isaac
Age 12 • Indiana

Wacky Clothes Day
When I was in third grade, we had
Wacky Week. One day during the week,
we dressed up for school in our
wackiest clothes. I had on a pink
striped shirt, mint green pants, orange
and blue socks, and an orange scarf.
Even our teachers dressed up weird.
We laughed so much we were in tears!
It was one of the funniest days of my
life. I almost didn’t recognize my
friends; it was that weird. Some kids
wore their pants inside out.
I will never ever forget that day.
Ashley
Age 9 • Pennsylvania
Emergency
One day, when recess was
over, we were running back to
class. When I was running, I
accidentally bumped my head on
someone else’s. First, my head
started to bleed. Second, Ms. Fiz,
my P.E. teacher, took me to the
principal, Mrs. Peterson. Third,
she called my dad and mom.
My parents took me to the
emergency room. The doctor
there gave me five stitches! Mrs.
Peterson told us always to walk
to avoid accidents like mine.
Bill
Age 8 • Oregon
Art by Erin Mauterer.
 Teacher of the Year
In sixth grade, my friend
Danielle and I entered our math
teacher in a Teacher of the Year
contest. We didn’t think he’d
have a chance because it was a
nationwide contest. But toward
the end of the year, a teacher
announced that Mr. Kelley had
won and that people were coming
in the afternoon to give him his
award. We had to keep it a secret.
We went into the room where
people were waiting with balloons
and a huge check. It was exciting
when Mr. Kelley walked in and
everyone was cheering for him.
Kelly
Age 13 • Missouri
Feathered Friend
One day, I walked into my
class and noticed everyone
staring at
something. A
bird was up on
a beam! It flew
around a bunch,
then slept in the
corner for a bit. The
people from the
main office chased it
out the window. We
couldn’t stop talking about it for
the whole day.
Madeleine
Age 10 • Massachusetts
A Special Show-and-Tell
I do not ever want to forget
a day in grade one. My granny
came all the way from Scotland
to talk at my school about her
place. She said what it was like
when she was a little girl. She
was my show-and-tell. It was a
great day because my friends got
to know her.
Alisdair
Age 6 • Saskatchewan, Canada
Baseball Day
One day at school, we had
Baseball Day. It was so much
fun! We had a game. We did not
count points. We had popcorn,
peanuts, and Cracker Jack for a
snack. We had hot dogs and fries
for lunch. I had lots of fun.
Emmanuel
Age 7 • New York
A Difficult Good-Bye
After a big storm, my school
hosted a boy and his sister while
their house was getting fixed.
Before they went back home,
we had a good-bye party for
them, and a lot of kids cried.
We gave them a lot of things
to remember us by.
Lauren
Age 10 • Wisconsin
Baby-Chick Chase
Last year, my
second-grade class
hatched chicks. Their
names were Fluffy,
Butterball, and
Speedy. Well, Speedy
was fast. One day, we were
playing with the chicks, and
Speedy got loose! He ran out of
the classroom and down the
hallway. Someone yelled,
“No running in the hallway!”
We finally caught him.
Sarah
Age 8 • Louisiana
Farm Trip
Last year, my class went on a
field trip to a farm. I was really
excited to go. At the farm, we
got to see the animals, pet the
horses, and hold piglets. We
also took a hay ride and picked
out a Christmas tree. Zach’s
mom read us a book while we
were there.
Georgia Marie
Age 4 • Georgia
How I Met Nick
When I was in first grade,
I saw a boy on the playground
equipment. I went up the ladder,
and the bell rang. On the way
inside, I asked him what his name
was. He said, “Nick.” My name is
Scott. Now we are friends.
Scott
Age 7 • Michigan
Old Fashions
Every year at
school we have a
day called Old-
Fashioned Day. We
dress up as old-time people.
Last year I dressed up as a
cowboy. I wore a bandanna, a
black cowboy hat, blue jeans, and
a Western shirt. I won the prize
for the most “old-fashioned”
looking clothes.
Jaymison
Age 13 • Pennsylvania
 uea l y S c h o l a r
Sq By Jill Esbaum
Art by John Nez

Amanda had a little pig,

as pink as an eraser,
and when Amanda went to school,
he leaped a fence to chase her.

The teacher didn’t send him home

(for he could not be lifted).
Besides, the pig was friendly and
unusually gifted.
 He learned to oink the alphabet,
he mastered long division,
he finger-painted chickens with
remarkable precision.
He memorized the science book,
he learned all fifty states,
he volunteered to help with lunch
by licking dirty plates.

His tuba solo left the band

agog with admiration,
and everybody loved his
origami demonstration.

ee

-w
ee
w
wee-

He wee-wee-wee’d the whole way home,

hip-hopping through the grass,
already looking forward to his
second day of class.

Need to Relax?
BREATHE!
By Jean Masukevich
Art by Wilson Williams
Listen to the sound of
your breath right now. Is it
noisy or quiet? Fast or slow?
Like a river, your breath just
f lows—you don’t have to
think about it or work at it.
But feeling tense can
cause you to take quick,
short, shallow breaths—
which can then make you
feel more uptight! At such
times, breathing exercises
can help you take slower,
longer, deeper breaths,
which can signal your body
to relax. Then you may be
able to think more clearly
and act more calmly.
FEELING FRUSTRATED?
Try Volcano Breathing
1. Stand tall with your feet
about 12 inches apart.
Imagine that you are a
strong, solid mountain.
2. Lightly press your palms
together in front of your
chest. Breathe in as you
slowly raise your hands up
high. Then explode your
hands out to the sides as
you breathe out, making
the sound of an erupting
volcano—fwooooooshhh!
Imagine that your frustration
is lava bursting out and
away from you.
3. Repeat this five times
or more.
4. Finally, stand tall again, with
FEELING UPTIGHT? your hands at your sides, and
let yourself breathe normally.
Try Balloon-Belly How do you feel?
Breathing
1. Lie f lat on your back
or sit up tall in a chair.
Close your eyes.
2. Rest your hand
on your belly.
3. Imagine that your
belly is a balloon. As
you breathe in, imagine
that you are filling the
balloon with air. As you
breathe out, let the air
f low out of the balloon.
4. Take 10 or more
balloon-belly breaths.
Notice how you feel.
JOKES
Taylor: “Dad, would you ever
scold me for something I
didn’t do?”
Dad: “Of course I wouldn’t. Why
do you ask?”
Taylor: “Well, I didn’t study for
my test today.”
Kerry: “Mom, can you write your
name in the dark?”
Mom: “I think so.”
Kerry: “OK, when I turn off
the lights, will you sign my
report card?”
Art: “How did you like the test
questions?”
Bart: “The questions didn’t give
me any trouble. It was the
answers that were hard.”
Ethel: “Do you know how to
spell Mississippi?”
Ethan: “Which one, the state or
the river?”
Willie: “Why were you late for
school, Tillie?”
Tillie: “There are eight people in
my family, but the alarm clock
was set for seven.”
“Those are spelling be
es.”
Teacher: “Judy, what is your
favorite flower?”
Judy: “A chrysanthemum.”
Teacher: “Spell it.”
Judy: “I changed my mind.
I like roses much better.”
Lulu: “Teacher, I don’t want
to worry you.”
Teacher: “That’s OK, Lulu.
What is it?”
Lulu: “Dad said that if I don’t
get better marks soon, s that
ensen gave u
someone is going to be “When Ms. J ay
ath h o m ew ork, did she s
grounded.” m ”
‘Simon says’?
Mo: “I went home and told my
parents I needed sneakers
for gym.”
Bo: “What did they say?”
Mo: “They said to tell Jim to buy
his own sneakers.”
ting me
“And stop tex
hen other
from class w
ve!”
kids misbeha
Teacher: “What is the definition
of climate?”
Benjamin: “That’s what kids do
when they see a tree.”
Teacher: “Who can tell me
“OK, OK . . .
what happened at the I’ll upgrade
Boston Tea Party?”
your project fr
om
Sandy: “I don’t know. a B+ to an A
Now put my .
I wasn’t invited.” desk down.”
2,000-Year-Old
HOMEWORK!
By Joli Allen • Art by David Coulson
D r. Todd Hickey opens a
rusted tin box filled to the
brim with tattered pieces of
2,000-year-old paper from
Egypt. Dr. Hickey, a papyrologist
(pap-eh-ROL-ah-jist), is excited
about this rare treasure. It isn’t
covered in gold, but it is priceless.
That’s because those tattered
pieces of paper are papyrus.
Papyrus tells us much about the
secrets of life in ancient Egypt.
The Egyptians made this
paper from papyrus plants that
grew near the Nile River. Before
papyrus, Egyptians mostly used
copper chisels to carve words
called hieroglyphs into stone.
Papyrus made writing easier.
Writing to Go
With papyrus, Egyptians
Unroll a wad
of paper and
discover the
secrets of
ancient Egypt.
could write signs and symbols
using brushes, reed pens, and ink
made from soot scraped out of
cooking vessels and oil lamps.
And they could take their
writing wherever they went.
Dr. Hickey has already studied
hundreds of the papyri. Some
contain spells that the Egyptians
wrote down and carried with
them. They believed spells gave

them magical protection or
power. Other papyri give
directions for making powerful
medicine. Archaeologists even
found 2,000-year-old homework.
A schoolboy had copied his lesson
over and over with a reed quill.
From Trash to Treasure
When papyri weren’t
needed anymore for writing,
they were tossed in the trash.
The Egyptians reused these
unwanted papyri to make
papier-mâché. They shaped
masks for human mummies
or used the papyri to wrap
animal mummies.
“Think of it as the ancient
Egyptians’ form of recycling,”
says Dr. Hickey.
Dr. Hickey works to uncover
valuable writings in the waste
paper. And that is no easy task.
It can take days to unroll just
one wad of paper. First it is
dampened to help it soften and
relax. Then the paper is unrolled
a bit. Dirt and gunk are
carefully scraped off. The
papyrologists must be careful
not to scrape away the ink or
paint underneath the dirt.
The paper is unrolled a
bit more. When the papyrus
is completely unrolled,
papyrologists look for torn
pieces that fit together.
After the pieces are joined,
is the job finished? No. The
secrets from the past are still
Photo courtesy of Dr. Todd Hickey.
hidden, because words are
missing from the worn bits of
papyrus. The handwriting is
faded and in ancient languages.
It’s All Greek to Me
To decode papyri, Dr. Hickey
needs to know other languages
besides Egyptian. Ancient Egypt
was ruled by the Greeks
and Romans at different
times, so he has to read and
think in Greek and Latin.
Once he figures out
what a sentence means,
he tries to guess what the
missing words or letters
are in the holes of the
papyrus.
“It’s a challenge, but
it is not impossible for
papyrologists,” Dr. Hickey
says. “‘H——e’ would lead
me to think ‘horse’ in some
contexts, ‘house’ in others.”
History leaps to life
from each repaired
papyrus. Dr. Hickey and
other papyrologists found a police
report to a royal scribe about a
missing person. It reads: “On the
5th of the present month when
patrolling the fields near the
village . . . I learn from the
villagers that Theodotos son of
Dositheos, having set out in that
direction, has not yet returned.
Dr. Todd Hickey studies
ancient writings on pieces
of paper made from
papyrus plants.
I make this report.”
The reporter also says
that he found clues, but not
the missing person.
Another piece of papyrus
gave the dinner menu for a
town’s sacred crocodiles. The
crocodiles were to be served
meat, wine, and honey.
Some papyri give
archaeologists a good idea of
what Egyptians read for fun.
They enjoyed adventure stories,
poetry, plays, and myths.
It will take years for
Dr. Hickey to study all the
papyri in the tin box. He picks up
a completed papyrus covered in
protective glass. The writing on
the papyrus forms a triangle,
and the words can be read in
several directions. It says the
Greek nonsense phrase for a
magical spell—similar to
abracadabra.
Too bad it can’t be used
to make all the papyrus bits
in the tin box fall together
instantly. But we can look
forward to learning more
about Egyptian life as each
piece is connected.
 Founded in 1946 by Garry C. Myers, Ph.D.,
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