Innholdsfortegnelse for 219 i The Week Junior

Rescue teams have swung into action across the UK after the country was hit by Storm Dennis over the weekend of 15–16 February. Hundreds of homes were flooded and several people died. It is the second storm to hit the UK in two weeks, after Storm Ciara the previous weekend. Ireland and other countries in Europe have also been affected. What happened? Wind speeds of up to 91mph swept across parts of the country, and some areas had more than a month’s worth of rain in two days. This led to a record number of flood warnings for England on 16 February, with 595 separate alerts. At the time The Week Junior went to press, more than 400 homes had been flooded, and six people had died because of the…

23 February 1633 Samuel Pepys is born On 23 February 1633, Samuel Pepys (pronounced “peeps”), who is famous for his diaries, was born in London. He wrote his diaries from 1660 until 1669. They tell us a lot about life at the time, describing important events like the Great Fire of London in 1666. In one entry, he describes how he buried a large Parmesan cheese (which was very expensive at the time) in his garden so that it would not be damaged by the fire. Pepys later became a Member of Parliament and died on 26 May 1703.…

Astrid Lindgren loved books. The Swedish author once wrote, “A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy.” Lindgren is best known for creating Pippi Longstocking, a fearless girl with superhuman strength who lives with a horse and a monkey. With her best friends, she goes on adventures and spreads laughter. This year, events are being held to mark 75 years since her first book was published (see page 20). However, the world may never have learned about Longstocking if Lindgren hadn’t hurt her ankle in 1944. At the time, as the Second World War neared its end, the author had just published her first book. Throughout…

Members of the public are being asked to help identify “lost paths” that criss-cross the countryside. In England and Wales, public access to footpaths is only protected if the routes are part of an official Government register. An estimated 10,000 miles of old paths aren’t on this register, and if they aren’t added by 2026, they could be lost forever. After that time, no more can be added to the official map, and people might be barred from walking along them. The Ramblers, a charity that encourages people of all ages to get out walking, has launched a website where people can compare old and new maps to find forgotten paths, and then work to get them added to the register. To find out how you can get involved, ask…

A species of dinosaur related to the awe-inspiring Tyrannosaurus rex has been uncovered by a team of Canadian scientists. The dinosaur, which lived around 80 million years ago, has been named Thanatotheristes degrootorum (say than-ah-toe-ther-risteez dee-groo-tor-rum). Thanatotheristes means “reaper of death” in Greek, and degrootorum is a tribute to the fossil’s discoverers, John and Sandra De Groot. They were hiking with their family in Alberta, Canada, back in 2010 when they came across fragments of its skull. John De Groot called it “an absolutely stunning find”. Researchers from the University of Calgary have now confirmed that the bones belonged to a previously unknown tyrannosaur that lived nearly 80 million years ago. That’s almost 15 million years before T. rex, and makes it the oldest known large tyrannosaur in North America.…

Demelza & the Spectre Detectors by Holly Rivers (Chicken House) Demelza Clock is a ented young scientist who loves nothing better than making crazy gadgets and gizmos – from her Magnificent Belly Button Cleaning Machine to her Remarkable Robotic Hand for Homework Haters. It’s a shock to discover she also has an unusual and not especially scientific ability – like her Grandma Maeve, she is a Spectre Detector, who can summon up the ghosts of the dead. No sooner has she discovered her new abilities than danger looms and Grandma Maeve is kidnapped. Now, with the help of her best friend Percy, Demelza must leap into action, drawing on both her new skills and her talent for inventing to solve this deadly mystery. Thiss energetic adventure is…

Meet Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking Storyteller Danyah Miller’s one-woman show has plenty of audience participation, and there are lots of chances to see it as it tours around the country, including this weekend at the Imagine Children’s Festival at London’s Southbank Centre. A Swashbuckling Musical Adventure This action-packed show is a brand-new adaptation of the stories and is due to burst onto the stage at York Theatre Royal from 31 July. Expect lots of action and adventure, not to mention piracy, as the show looks at Pippi’s pirate-captain dad. A new pop-up exhibition Although the full details have not yet been released, a new exhibition about Longstocking will launch at the Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford, London, this summer. More information about the show, and other ways to mark…

Music-streaming service Spotify has launched a new app for young people under the age of 13 in the UK. Spotify Kids can be downloaded for iPhone and Android smartphones. It removes any music that is only suitable for adults, and there is no advertising at all. The app will have lots of playlists to listen to, including some based on popular films, TV shows and big chart hits. There will also be collections designed to provide a soundtrack for your homework, gaming sessions and parties. Spotify has been testing the app in Ireland since October 2019, but this month it finally became available in the UK. To use it, your parent or carer will need to have a Spotify Premium Family subscription. This is the more expensive plan (£14.99 a…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Storms Ciara and Dennis have been causing havoc over the past few weeks. You said... “My best friend’s neighbour’s roof got blown off.” “This was horrible. I saw it outside and was very scared.” “My fence hit my house and shattered three windows.” “We were affected by Storm Ciara and I almost blew over. Oops.” “Storm Ciara flooded places near me.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

In August 2019, the cargo ship MV Alta was spotted floating in the Atlantic Ocean with nobody on board. On 16 February, during Storm Dennis, the ship finally ran aground on the coast of Cork in Ireland. Now, the mystery of what happened to this ghost ship (a ship that is found drifting at sea without any crew) might finally be revealed. For now, Cork Council is asking people to stay away from the vessel until it can be inspected. The MV Alta was built in 1976 and was thought to have been hijacked in Guyana, in South America, where it was being repaired in 2017.…

BILLIE EILISH Billie Eilish’s James Bond theme song, co-written with her brother Finneas O’Connell, was released on 14 February. She is now the youngest person ever to write a Bond theme tune. As The Week Junior went to press, the song looked set to hit no.1 in the UK charts. A VALENTINE’S DAY SURPRISE A calf born on Valentine’s Day has become an online sensation after she was born with a heart-shaped mark on her forehead. The calf, called Be My Valentine, was born in County Antrim in Northern Ireland on 14 February. Farmer James McAuley said he’d never seen such a distinct mark on one of his animals. A DINOSAUR FAN When four-year-old Theo Bisson asked his dad for a model of his favourite dinosaur, he didn’t expect it…

On 12 October 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours. A day later, Brigid Kosgei broke the women’s marathon world record. Both wore new types of running shoes made by Nike, and not everyone was happy about it. The ones Kipchoge wore contained a special type of foam that made them springier, giving the athlete an advantage. The shoes have now been banned and new rules on running shoes have been introduced by World Athletics. These rules limit how thick the sole can be and which types of material can be used inside. Nike has released new shoes in line with the rules, but many people are still unsure as to whether athletes should use performance-enhancing technology. What do you think? Yes…

Describe yourself in three words. Honest, hardworking and funny, I guess. Whom do you love? My wife and my family. As a child, who did you want to be like and why? I wanted to be like Superman. When you were 11, what did you dream of being? I had a Superman outfit that my mum made, and when I put that costume on everyone went, “Wow, you look like Superman,” and I believed them. I got to work on Superman Returns and experience that all again. What do you do now? I try to be as honest with myself as possible. How did you get there? I’ll tell you, it just kind of happened. I got hired on one film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, because I was a…

Carrie Arnold, carnivores team leader, Marwell Zoo Animal tails can be used in many different ways. Some animals, such as hippos and zebras, flick their tail to keep flies away from their hind ends. Others use their tails for balance, and a few mammals – mostly primates – have tails they can use like an extra limb to hold on to branches. Animals that live in cold places, such as snow leopards, use their tail like a scarf. Do you have a question about an animal you would like answered? We’d love to include it in the magazine. Send your question in an email to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…

Astronomers say they have detected a strange signal in deep space. The signal is called a fast radio burst, or FRB, and has a regular 16-day cycle. FRBs are powerful radio emissions coming from outside our galaxy that have baffled scientists since they were discovered in 2001. So far, more than 100 FRBs have been observed, but they’ve been hard to study because they mostly come and go in less than a second. This newly detected signal is the first to show such a regular repeating pattern. FRBs last only a few milliseconds, but are created by something that generates tens of thousands of times more energy than the Sun. According to Cambridge scientist Anastasia Fialkov, an FRB is like an incredibly powerful torch that can penetrate the fog of…

Manchester City Women In the Women’s FA Cup they beat Ipswich Town 10-0 to reach the quarter-finals. City are the current FA Cup champions and are top of the Women’s Super League, while Ipswich play three leagues below them and had never reached this stage of the FA Cup before. Pauline Bremer, Jess Park and Georgia Stanway each scored hat-tricks (three goals) in the win. Laura Muir & Jemma Reekie Muir won the 1,000 metres and Reekie the 1,500 metres race at the Indoor Grand Prix athletics competition in Glasgow. Shaun Murphy On 16 February, Murphy won the Welsh Open snooker title after beating Kyren Wilson by nine frames to one in Cardiff.…

Is Demelza based on anyone in real life? Snippets of “younger Holly” definitely seeped into the writing of her! I loved drawing and creating when I was little, and some of the inventions in the book are actually things I dreamed up as a girl. What was your favourite subject at school? Why? I adored art at school and remember my teacher, Mr Roberts, with much fondness. Sometimes my friends and I would bunk off PE lessons to spend time in the art room. Where is your favourite place to visit in the UK? It would have to be Cornwall. I lived in Falmouth for a while and miss it a lot. The rugged landscape, the sea, the mythology, the sea shanties, and of course, Cornish pasties – it’s a…

Spotify isn’t the first big streaming service to launch an app for young people. YouTube released its YouTube Kids app in early 2015. Two years later, YouTube created a new mode for the app for older children who wanted more gaming, vlogging and music videos, and last August it launched a YouTube Kids website. Meanwhile, Facebook has tested a version of Facebook Messenger for under-13s, called Messenger Kids. It isn’t available in the UK yet. Most internet companies set a minimum age of 13 to use their full services, partly because there are rules in many countries about advertising to young people and collecting information from them.…

Have you ever been outside at night and looked up to see hundreds of stars? Stargazing is exactly that – staring up at the night sky and enjoying all the stars, colours and shapes you can see. It can be done anywhere and without any equipment, but some people use binoculars or a telescope for a closer and more detailed look. With a bit of practice – and research from books or specialist websites – stargazers are able to recognise particular stars and groups, called constellations. Stargazing is simple and can be done at any time of the year. For the best results, try to choose a clear, non-cloudy night when the Moon is not very bright (you can find out how full the Moon is on any date at…

A story that caught my eye this week is tucked away at the bottom of page four – our Week in History. It’s about Samuel Pepys (pronounced “peeps”) who wrote diaries about his life between 1660 and 1669. Thanks to his  writings we have a glimpse into some of the biggest events in 17th century England – the plague of 1665, the Great Fire of London and the coronation of King Charles II. Pepys also sounds like he would have been quite good fun. He had a pet lion, and one of his entries recounts how he spent a night playing a musical instrument on the rooftop of his house with a neighbour, talking and singing by the light of the Moon. Do you keep a diary? There are all…

Join up with your schoolmates or youth club to enter the Childnet Film Competition. Here, young people aged from seven to 18 are given the chance to create and direct their own short film on this year’s chosen theme “We want an internet where we’re free to…” There are two categories: primary and secondary, which specify different film lengths. Finalists from both categories will have their entries screened at the British Film Institute. Winning prizes include a camera and filmmaking equipment. Films must be sent in by Wednesday 3 June. Go to tinyurl.com/ TWJfilmcomp to find out more and to read some top tips for young filmmakers.…

A man has appeared in an Australian court after he was spotted using his mobile phone while riding a horse. Under Australian law, a horse is considered a vehicle when it is on a road, therefore mobiles can’t be used. The man, whose name hasn’t been published, was told by a judge that he should have had a hands-free device fitted to the animal. He had been travelling at around 6mph when he was stopped by the police.…

A new challenge has been sweeping the internet: making a broom stand up on its own. Thousands of people have taken part in the #broomchallenge since the start of February, when it first started gaining attention on Twitter. The key to success appears to be finding the correct angle before letting go of the brush. Some people claimed that the position of the Moon had an effect on how well things could balance on Earth, but this isn’t true.…

1 Why was a fundraising concert held in Australia? a) To promote Australia’s beaches and countryside b) To celebrate the launch of the country’s new flag c) To raise money for those affected by the recent bush fires a ■ b ■ c ■ 2 True or false? A painting by David Hockney has sold for more than £230 million. 3 What costume did a man in Indonesia wear to clean up rubbish? 4 Who was the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours? a) Eliud Kipchoge b) Mo Farah c) Usain Bolt a ¦ b ¦ c ¦ 5 True or false? Author Pippi Longstocking created a character called Astrid Lindgren. 6 What colour can male Amazon river dolphins turn as they get older? 7 What…

On 13 February, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made changes to the team of politicians who run the Government. This is known as a Cabinet reshuffle. What is the Cabinet? The Cabinet is a group of the most senior members of Government, who are chosen by the Prime Minister. Once in the Cabinet, these politicians are known as ministers. They represent different Government departments, such as health or the environment. What happened in the reshuffle? Johnson made changes to his Cabinet, which he had put together after his party, the Conservatives, won the general election in December last year. The biggest change was made in the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer (the person who manages the country’s money). Sajid Javid resigned (stepped down) as Chancellor. Why did Sajid Javid…

Now that you’ve read a bit more about it, tell us what you think by voting in our poll at theweekjunior.co.uk/polls. Vote YES if you think that using performance-enhancing technology is OK, or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. The aim of the Big debate page is to present two sides of an issue fairly and objectively, in order to stimulate discussion and allow our readers to make up their minds. The views on the page do not reflect those of The Week Junior, and the page is not funded by third parties. The page is created in association with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping young people discover their voice and realise their full potential. For more information, please see esu.org…

Anew study suggests that the UK’s future athletes might not reach their full potential because of air pollution. It says that more than a quarter of children’s sports grounds in five big UK cities have dangerously poor air quality. The pollution may be affecting the development of young people’s lungs, which makes it more difficult for them to exercise and train, according to scientists. The study was organised by the Air Team, a group of campaigners, parents and teachers on a mission to clean up the UK’s air. They tested pollution at 94 sports sites in Birmingham, London, Greater Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield, including places where famous sports stars like Christine Ohuruogu, Mo Farah and Raheem Sterling once trained. The team found that 25 sites broke the World Health Organization…

Environmental filmmakers A film about plastic pollution made by pupils at the Blaenau Gwent Film Academy in Wales will be shown around the world. Life of a Plastic Cup shows how single-use plastics affect sea creatures. Students aged from eight to 15 used puppets, live action and computers to make the film. Bumblebees A study in Europe and North America has found that global bumblebee populations are continuing to fall. People in North America are nearly 50% less likely to see the bees than they were before 1974. The data shows the drop in numbers affecting lots of different habitats.…

On 11 February, Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the go-ahead for the HS2 high-speed rail project, despite delays and rising costs. The decision has caused a lot of debate. Some people think it will be a great engineering achievement that will connect cities in England; others say it will cost too much and damage natural habitats and wildlife. What is HS2? HS2 is a new railway line that will be built in two phases. The first will run between London and Birmingham. Once that is complete, the plan is to build rail links up to Manchester and Leeds. Trains on the new line between London and Birmingham would travel at speeds of up to 250mph, making that journey shorter by 22 minutes. Trains will be 400 metres long and have…

Anew paint designed at the University of Liverpool soaks up heat made by old buildings and releases it when it’s cold. The paint, which could be used to cut energy use and heating bills, contains tiny particles. These particles soak up heat as they solidify but release it when they melt back into a liquid. Another “smart paint” harnesses energy from light to break up harmful air pollutants into safer substances. Last year, this paint was used to create a huge pollution-eating mural on a building in Rome. Enjoy these stories? Find more in this month’s The Week Junior Science+Nature magazinesciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk…

RSPB Birds: Explore Their Extraordinary World by Miranda Krestovnikoff and Angela Harding (Bloomsbury) Take flight into the world of birds with this book packed with stunning illustrations. It features lots of different habitats and all sorts of birds, including the finches that nest on freezing glaciers and the peregrine falcons that live in the busiest cities. WildLives: 50 Extraordinary Animals that Made History by Ben Lerwill and Sarah Walsh (Nosy Crow) Bringing together the amazing stories of 50 courageous creatures, this is an animal book with a difference. It will introduce you to a series of real-life animal heroes, telling their moving and inspiring tales that come from all around the world and throughout history. The Bat Book by Charlotte Milner (DK Children) Take a journey into the upside-down world…

Pippi Longstocking – the star of many books, films and TV shows – is about to turn 75, and it could be her biggest year yet. The famous Swedish character, known for her bright red pigtails and courageous spirit, first appeared in 1945. In 2020, she is the focus of a new show, musical and exhibition. Longstocking was created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren to entertain her daughter during the Second World War (1939–45). Since then, more than 70 million copies of the books have been sold in 70 languages. In the popular tales, Longstocking is an adventurous girl who lives in Villa Villekulla, in Gotland, Sweden, with a horse and monkey. Her father is missing at sea, and her mother has died, so she lives by herself. She spends…

Live Six Nations Rugby From 2.15 on 23 February, ITV and BBC One On Saturday, winless Scotland and Italy meet in Rome. This is followed by Wales hosting France in Cardiff. On Sunday, England will play a home game against Ireland, who are joint top of the table with France. Back in Time for the Corner Shop 8pm on 25 February, BBC Two Join the Ardern family as they travel through time to find out how corner shops have changed. Their great-grandparents were shopkeepers, and to learn about how their ancestors lived, the Arderns visit the Victorian era.…

How can I spot Orion? “It’s towards the south, the same direction that TV satellite dishes on people’s homes point,” explains Emma Marrington. “On a clear night it’s very bright.” Look for a rectangle, and three stars in a row on top of it. Orion looks like a hunter and that line is his belt. In a dark sky you may be able to count more than 30 stars inside Orion. Where’s best to stargaze? Although cities and the countryside are both suitable for stargazing, heading to a beach or open hilly area can often provide the best views and results. To see the difference, try stargazing when you visit other parts of the UK, and if you go abroad. Any other tips? When you’re stargazing, using normal torches or…

For the last 100 years, Save the Children has worked to support the rights of every child. Its main aim is to tackle the difficult problems that children face around the world, including poverty and disease, especially in countries where there are wars, like Syria in the Middle East. The charity has helped millions of children who have been made refugees (people who have been forced to leave their homes because of the threat of war or violence). To find out more about their efforts go to savethechildren.org.uk…

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Teacher’s name: Mr Whittle School: Freemantle Church of England Academy, Southampton “I was scared when I started Year 2, but Mr Whittle was kind and made me feel safe and confident. He inspires me to work hard every day and says, “Challenge yourself, Everley”, which I do! He is a great teacher and we’re lucky to have him!” Everley If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll sendyourschoolthreefreeissuesof The Week Junior. Send your nominations, along with a picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…