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BODY SWAP: Catastrophe!!!
Swapping bodies might be fun for some, but when 12-year-old Jack Stevenson wakes up from a freak accident one day and finds himself in his dad’s body, his life abruptly becomes one huge disaster after another. When he realizes that his dad will have to go to school in his place, things instantly get much, much worse. Will he be able to remain captain of the school football team, and what will happen to Holly, the prettiest girl at school? She is also the girl he has a huge crush on and is hoping to be his girlfriend. What will all his friends think of his strange behavior, and how will he ever cope with the sudden catastrophe he’s been faced with?
This hilarious book for girls and boys of all ages with have you laughing from start to finish and keep you wondering what is going to happen next.
From author Katrina Kahler for Readers 8-13.
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Cat Behavior—Decoded
Wish you had a secret decoder that explained strange cat behavior? Get ready to decode their body language, understand their instincts, and discover the hidden messages behind those mesmerizing eyes. So, put on your detective hats, sharpen your observation skills, and let’s embark on a purr-fect journey into the captivating realm of cat behavior!
What is normal cat behavior? Stick with us and we will tell you—beginning with purring. Cats often purr when they’re feeling relaxed, but they may also purr to self-soothe if they are feeling stressed or are injured. When kittens are born, mama cats purr, creating a vibration to guide kittens to mom’s nipple to nurse. Cats will also purr to socialize with other cats and communicate with their owners that they want something.
When cats expose their bellies to us, they are saying they trust us. But when we take them up on this ‘offer’ by rubbing their bellies, they may retract it with a bite or a scratch, as it was only meant as communication.
Wagging its tail doesn’t mean the same thing that when a happy dog wags its tail. With a cat, the thrashing tail means ‘stop what you are doing or I am going to get angry and might bite you.’ Or else your cat is in hunting mode. Then you need to stay out of his way while he zeroes in on his prey.
You might have noticed that your cat loves napping and seemingly sleeps all the time. This trait has developed so that they can conserve energy for hunting.
Besides purring and meowing, another common cat noise is chirping. You might find your cat chirping as it stares out the window from the perch at a bird or when it greets a fellow feline. A cat’s chirp tends to mean one of two things: Its hunting instincts are activated as it spies a bird, bug, mouse, or toy. As it chirps, the cat’s tail twitches back and forth and its pupils dilate. Or, a cat may also chirp when it’s excited to see someone, be it a fellow cat…or you.
If you’ve spent any amount of time with a cat, you’ve likely seen them bat at something on a table until it falls off. This could be because of boredom, attention-seeking, hunting, or playfulness. They respond to the outcomes, too. If something rolls, it may become prey ‘running away’ and they will chase it. When you suddenly stop what you’re doing to run to your cat, your cat receives a reward that it can test over and over and over again.
Scratching—is a deeply ingrained behavior in cats. Cats have scent glands on their paws, and releasing the odor allows them to “mark” objects as their own. Other reasons include releasing energy or excitement, sharpening their claws, and simply because scratching is fun and feels good.
A cat will lick their humans to show care and affection. When your cat licks you, they are creating a special social bond with you. This licking behavior stems from kittenhood when a mama cat licks her kittens to groom and show affection. Along with licking you, cats tend to lick themselves—a lot! This is because they’re self-cleaning creatures, and their grooming habits are quite impressive. This means you don’t need to worry about routine baths and grooming in the same way you do for a dog.
You’re sitting there minding your own business, and here comes your kitty making all sorts of weird noises and carrying an object in her mouth. If you’re lucky, it’s one of her favorite toys, but cats are also known to bring their humans dead bugs, rodents, and birds. Your cat may bring you a prey item—such as a toy or mouse—presenting it to you as a gift. This is your cat saying you are part of their pack and they want to make sure you are well fed. They may also do this to repay you for feeding them, mimic their mother, or give you a gift.
Kittens use meows to communicate with their moms, but grown cats employ them solely to communicate with humans. Some cat breeds are chattier than others, but if your cat goes from not-that-frequent to frequent talking, it could be a sign that something’s off. A vet visit can help you figure out the issue.
Okay cat detective, now that you can decode your cat’s behavior—what is your cat saying to you?
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Anyone Can Draw Anime: Easy Step-by-Step Drawing Tutorial for Kids, Teens, and Beginners.
This is a great how to draw book for kids!
In this beginner’s drawing book, every mini drawing lesson is broken down into easy-to-follow step by step instructions.
This How to Draw Anime: Step by Step beginners drawing for kids is the only sketch book you’ll need to turn your creativity into artistic confidence, by learning how to draw cool stuff!
From author Robby Bishop for Readers 8-18.
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Volcanoes—Nature’s Fireworks
Hey there, curious minds! Let’s embark on an exciting journey to discover the amazing world of volcanoes. Strap on your adventure boots and get ready to be amazed! Volcanoes are majestic mountains with a fiery secret. Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, molten rock called magma builds up over time. When the pressure becomes too intense, the magma bursts out, creating a volcanic eruption. It’s like a natural firework show!
What is a volcano?
A volcano is an opening in a planet or moon’s crust through which molten rock, volcanic ash, and gases trapped under the surface erupt, often forming a hill or mountain.
Volcanic eruptions are partly driven by pressure from dissolved gases. Beneath a volcano, liquid magma containing dissolved gases rises through cracks in the Earth’s crust. As the magma rises, pressure decreases, allowing the gases to form bubbles. How the magma (lava) behaves when it reaches the surface depends on both its gas content and chemical composition. Lavas with low silica contents have low viscosities and flow freely, allowing any gas bubbles to escape readily. While lavas with high silica contents are more viscous (resistant to flow), so that any trapped gases escape gradually.
What is silica? Think of beach sand.
Silica, also called silicon dioxide, is a compound of the two most abundant elements in Earth’s crust, silicon and oxygen. The mass of Earth’s crust is 59 percent silica, the principal component of over 95 percent of the known rocks. Silica has three main crystalline varieties, with quartz being, by far, the most abundant variety. Silica sand is used in buildings and roads in the form of portland cement, concrete, and mortar. It also forms sandstone. Silica also is used in grinding and polishing glass and stone; and in the manufacture of glass and ceramics.
Volcanic eruptions are violent and can create colorful and dramatic displays. Volcanoes often form a hill or mountain as layers of rock and ash build up from repeated eruptions.
Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant, or extinct. Active volcanoes have a recent history of eruptions—like Hawaii’s volcanoes; they are likely to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes—like the Cascade Mountains in Washington state—have not erupted for a very long time, but may erupt at a future time. Extinct volcanoes are not expected to erupt in the future.
Inside an active volcano is a chamber in which molten rock, called magma, collects. Pressure builds up inside the magma chamber, causing the magma to move through channels in the rock and escape onto the planet’s surface. Once it flows onto the surface, the magma is known as lava.
Some volcanic eruptions are explosive, while others occur as a slow lava flow. Eruptions can occur through a main opening at the top of the volcano or through vents that form on the sides. The rate and intensity of eruptions, as well as the composition of the magma, determine the shape of the volcano.
Volcanoes are found on both land and the ocean floor. When volcanoes erupt on the ocean floor, they often create underwater mountains and mountain ranges as the released lava cools and hardens. Volcanoes on the ocean floor become islands when the mountains become so large they rise above the surface of the ocean. Like the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii’s Kilauea (pronounced kil-a-way-ah) volcano, one of the most active on Earth, has been erupting continuously, beginning Jan. 3, 1983. Kilauea erupted 200 years ago, sending speeding lava flows down its peaks and killing over 400 people, including Hawaiian warriors. It was the deadliest volcanic eruption on record in what is now the United States.
Kilauea means “spewing” or “much spreading” in Hawaiian. Which is a perfect name for one of Hawaii’s most awe-inspiring volcanoes.
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Disaster Diaries: Aliens!
So, Aliens have invaded your planet? Bummer.
You could pretend you can’t see them and hope they go away.
Or wear camouflage, pretend they can’t see you and hope they go away!Sam, Arty and Emmie have just barely survived a recent zombie infestation when their sleepy little town of Sitting Duck finds itself the victim of an alien invasion!
But unlike what you often see on television, the aliens are very small and very cute. How dangerous can they be?
SPOILER ALERT: they’re very dangerous. And when they disintegrate the mayor with their ray guns, it’s a complete disaster. It’s up to Sam, Arty and Emmie to save the day! Again. Let the total domination of the planet begin!
This series from author R. McGeddon is a must for young readers who plan on surviving the highly probable alien invasion that should be happening somewhat soon-ish. Disaster Diaries: Aliens! offers helpful tips to survive this encounter. (Hint: Pretend you can’t see the alien and hope it goes away). In fact, your very life may depend on experiencing the laugh-out-loud hijinks and catastrophic escapades that can only be found in the town of Sitting Duck.
For readers 8-12.
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Unlocking the Power of Words—Keeping a Journal
Today we are diving into the world of journaling, where the blank pages become a canvas for your thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears, and experiences. Keeping a journal isn’t just about writing. It’s a magical portal that allows you to explore your innermost thoughts, express your emotions, and capture the important moments of your life. So, grab your favorite pen, find a cozy nook, and join us as we unveil the joys of journaling and how it can become your trusted companion in this exciting journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Let’s unlock the power of words and embrace the joy of keeping a journal!
First, what is a journal?
A journal is just a notebook or writing pad where you write about your inner thoughts, hopes, fears, concerns, worries, and excitement.
Journaling, quite simply, is a written record of your thoughts, feelings, or observations about the world. It can include short sentences, long paragraphs, or even single words. In a nutshell, a journal is whatever you want it to be.
The prospect of beginning a new journal for the first time can seem overwhelming. Luckily, the first rule of journal writing is that there’s no wrong way to do it. You can free write, jot down bullet points, or make a to-do list. It’s important to start and keep writing, whatever your style.
When things are going on in your life—write it down: Keeping a journal can be a productive way to cope with what is going on in your life.
Journaling helps you sleep, helps you understand yourself better, and helps you face what is going on in your life.
Writing all your anxious thoughts in your journal will really help you process those thoughts and help you prepare for the next day.
Journaling can help you figure out how to deal with conflict at school or home. And it helps you perform better on tests because you are not distracted by thinking or worrying about other things.
Keeping a journal allows you to understand your thoughts, become a better writer, and build better writing habits.
Here are five reasons you should keep a journal:
- Your journal has the potential to be a trusted friend who listens without judging or interrupting and is open 24 hours a day. You can tell your journal things you wouldn’t dare say to someone else. Writing it down lessens the impact of negative emotions and helps you figure out what your next steps should be.
- Reviewing your journals can help you reach your goals and respond to challenges. You’re also able to see the patterns that get in the way of personal growth, and healthy relationships with yourself and others. By becoming mindful of what you are discovering, you can move yourself from knowing into a doing state.
- 3. Journaling is easy and fun.
- Journals are creative portals. Because you’re in dialogue with your inner life when you write in a journal, you solve problems and get creative. Keeping a journal allows you to unleash your creativity and ideas.
- You give yourself permission to be your true self. Journals give voice to your dreams and aspirations but are also safe spaces to release negative feelings, hurts and disappointments that could get in the way of those dreams and aspirations being realized.
So, grab a pen or pencil and some paper—and start journaling!
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Unlegendary Dragon: The Magical Kids of Lore
Percy Jackson meets Wings of Fire in this hilarious, action-packed new series about a misfit kid who is destined to protect the world as a mighty, legendary dragon!
12-year-old Connor Pendridge is moving… again. This time, his mom thinks their lives will be better in Lore, a sleepy island town off the coast of New England. Connor doesn’t want to start over at yet another new school, especially in a place as boring as Lore. But as he quickly learns, Lore isn’t as boring as it seems.
That’s because fantastic creatures appear that only he can see—from fairies at school to goblins in his front yard. Connor thinks he’s going crazy until a mysterious woman reveals his true destiny and hands him a dragon amulet containing the magic of Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. Now Connor must use the amulet to transform into a mighty dragon in order to stop an ancient, evil sorceress from conquering the world! Connor doesn’t know the first thing about being a dragon. Luckily, he has the help of Merlin, his magical mentor, and his new friends, Gabby, who has a unicorn amulet, and Wade, who has a griffin amulet. Will Connor take flight as the legendary dragon of his destiny—or will he flame out as the most unlegendary dragon of all time?
From author R.L. Ullman for Readers 8-12.
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Tortilla Time—A Tasty Treat
Hola, young culinary artists and aspiring chefs! Today, we invite you to join us on a mouthwatering journey as we learn the age-old craft of making tortillas from scratch. We will roll up our sleeves, dust our hands with flour, and unlock the secrets to creating these delectable, versatile flatbreads that have been a staple in many cuisines for centuries.
Making tortillas isn’t just about mixing ingredients; it’s a delightful process that combines tradition, skill, and a pinch of love. So, grab your aprons, gather your ingredients, and let’s dive into the delightful world of tortillas.
Get ready to knead, press, and savor the satisfaction of creating homemade tortillas that will elevate your meals to new heights. Let’s embark on a culinary adventure as we learn the art of making tortillas together, one delicious batch at a time.
Tortillas (pronounced tor-tea-yas, tor-tea-ya sing.) are easy to make and they taste good. You can cook them in a dry skillet, bake them in the oven at 350⁰, or on an open flame. Whichever way you cook them, for safety reasons always make sure you have an adult, or other grown up, in the kitchen with you during the cooking stage.
When you are done, you want your tortilla to be soft and tender, with just a little bit of “chew.” You can make and serve them in under one hour. And the more you practice making them, the faster you will become getting them onto your plate and into your stomach.
If you want, you can make the dough the day before and allow it to rest in the fridge overnight. Just make sure you take it out of the refrigerator the next day to warm up some. The dough is easier to flatten when it isn’t ice cold.
You make tortillas with five simple ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, a fat (butter, lard, shortening, or vegetable oil), and hot water. Usually you just use unbleached, all-purpose flour. However, you can use half a mixture of white whole wheat flour and all-purpose white flour; or all gluten-free flour if you prefer. If you are a vegan, you will want to use the vegetable oil for your fat.
It only takes about fifteen minutes to prepare the dough and a few minutes to cook the flattened patties in the skillet. If you decide to bake them in the oven, then bake them for twenty to twenty-five minutes.
To make 8 tortillas, you need:
2 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup of fat (lard, shortening, or butter) [Note: if using oil, add the ¼ cup of oil to the hot water]
¾ cup of hot water (110⁰ – 120⁰)—add more water if needed
- Add the dry ingredients together and crumble the fat into the dry mixture.
- Add the liquid (hot water; or hot water and vegetable oil.)
- Use a fork, mixer with a dough hook, or a dough whisk to bring the dough together into a shaggy mass.
- Add additional water by the tablespoon until there are no dry powdery bits in the bottom of the bowl. The dough should hold together when squeezed.
- Knead gently. (Roll it gently into a ball until it looks smooth.)
- Let the dough rest for ½ hour.
- Divide into 8 balls and flatten with your hand or a tortilla press.
- Cook until done.
And there you have it! Eight delicious and tasty tortillas to enjoy!
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The Elyrian
Like everyone else, Ace believed witches were nothing more than a bedtime story myth . . .
On a family vacation in a strange new land, Grandpa pulls Ace aside and tells him a startling truth. Not only are witches real, but they’re also taking over the world, and Ace is the only one who can stop them.
Ace is the chosen keeper of a mythical gem housing an incredible, ancient power that makes the darkness tremble—unfortunately, that also makes him and his family the witches’ biggest target.
Then, after passing the gem down to him, Grandpa mysteriously disappears, leaving Ace to fend for himself.
To learn this new power, Ace must now escape the witches chasing him and his family, venture through treacherous lands filled with strange creatures to the headquarters of his grandfather’s underground rebellion, and somehow convince a group of elite warriors that he—a twelve-year-old boy and his grandfather’s youngest descendant—must assume leadership.
Can twelve-year-old Ace save the world and protect this family?
From author D.P. Rowell for Readers 9-12.
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The International Space Station—ISS
Welcome to space all you space explorers! The International Space Station (ISS), is a remarkable laboratory floating 250 miles above our planet. The ISS is an amazing feat of exploration where astronauts collaborate and conduct experiments. Let’s buckle up and explore the International Space Station!
Five space agencies from 15 countries run the International Space Station. The ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000. An international crew of seven people live and work while traveling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes. Sometimes more are aboard the station during a crew handover. In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets. The acre of solar panels that power the station means sometimes you can look up in the sky at night and see the spaceship flying over your home, even if you live in a big city.
The living and working space in the station is larger than a six-bedroom house (and has six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window). Since there are six bedrooms, but seven crew members, that means that at least one crew member is awake and on duty while the others sleep. To mitigate the loss of muscle and bone mass in the human body in microgravity, the astronauts work out at least two hours a day.
Astronauts and cosmonauts regularly conduct spacewalks for space station construction, maintenance, and upgrades. The solar array wingspan (356 feet, 109 meters) is longer than the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 (262 feet, 80 meters).
The large modules and other pieces of the station were delivered on 42 assembly flights, 37 on the U.S. space shuttles and five on Russian Proton/Soyuz rockets.
The space station is 356 feet (109 meters) end-to-end, one yard shy of the full length of an American football field, including the end zones. Eight miles of wire connects the electrical power system aboard the space station. On-orbit software monitors approximately 350,000 sensors, ensuring station and crew health and safety.
Eight spaceships can be connected to the space station at once. While it can host over 20 different research payloads outside the station at the same time. Plus, a spacecraft can arrive at the space station as soon as four hours after launching from Earth.
Four different cargo spacecraft deliver science, cargo, and supplies: Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus, SpaceX’s Dragon, JAXA’s HTV, and the Russian Progress. The microgravity laboratory has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in over 108 countries. The station’s orbital path takes it over 90 percent of the Earth’s population, with astronauts taking millions of images of the planet below. The space station travels an equivalent distance to the Moon and back in about a day.
Interestingly, the Station is scheduled to orbit Earth till 2024, though some of the NASA officials confirmed that orbit will be extended till 2028. Then it will be intentionally deorbited over a stretch of ocean and most of the components will be burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Some fun facts about the station begin with the fact that there is a gun placed in the International Space Station that belongs to the Russians. The purpose of the gun is to protect themselves against the bears in case the capsule lands off-target on reentry into the earth. Another fun fact is Pizza Hut made a delivery to the International Space Station in 2001. They paid the Russians $1 million to transport the Pizza. They made a commercial from it.
Another interesting fact about the Station is that it has a small memory device that contains the DNA of British physicist Stephen Hawking, late night TV host Stephen Colbert, and Playboy model Jo Garcia. It is known as the Immortality Drive. Plus, American astronauts can vote in elections from orbit by secure email. And some of the shooting stars in the atmosphere that you can see are actually astronauts poop burning up in the atmosphere.
NASA has a service where you can register your mobile number and they will text you the exact location of the International Space Station. Now wouldn’t that be a fun thing to show all of your friends if you have your own cell phone.
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