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Exploring the Enchanting World of Leprechauns!
Greetings, curious adventurers, and seekers of magical wonders! Are you ready to journey into the enchanting realm of leprechauns, those mischievous beings from Irish folklore? Today, we’ll dive into the captivating world of these pint-sized tricksters and uncover the legends and lore that surround them. Leprechauns have fascinated generations with their pots of gold, colorful attire, and a knack for playing pranks. So, put on your imaginary green hats, grab a four-leaf clover for luck, and let’s follow the rainbow as we unravel the secrets and stories behind these whimsical creatures known as leprechauns!
Leprechauns are a type of fairy, gnome, or elf-like creature. They are small in size and usually have a grouchy disposition. According to legend, leprechauns dance the Irish jig so much they wear out their shoes. Some stories say they are mischievous while others say they are harmless creatures that keep to themselves. Some people claim to have seen a leprechaun and say they are real, while others believe they are just a myth and are not real.
According to some sources, leprechauns live only in Ireland, which is also known as The Emerald Isle. They are a type of male fairy and are a class of fairy folk that live near Fairy Rings, which are ancient Celtic earthworks. They prefer isolation and solitude and often choose dismal and lonely places to make their homes. Some places where leprechauns may live are:
- caves
- caverns
- clover fields
- county lanes
- fairy forts and rings
- glens
- grassy hills
- hollowed fallen logs
- hollowed oak or hawthorn tree trunks
- meadows
- mountains
- mushroom patches
- rocky areas
- shamrock fields or patches
- tree roots
Some leprechaun homes are secret and sacred spaces that lead to fairylands, where time and space operate differently. Leprechauns can also travel through an intricate network of deep underground caves and tunnels. Leprechauns are often neighbor with other fairies in the thousands of fairy forts sprawled within the Irish landscape.
Leprechauns can look different depending on the stories and legends, but they are usually small and round, with red hair and red skin. They often wear green coat and trousers with gold buttons, a black or green hat with a buckle, and shiny black shoes. They also have a beard and pointy ears. Some people think they are cute, while others think they are ugly.
According to some sources, leprechauns make gold by making shoes for fairies, who pay for them in gold. They also trick others into giving them gold or discover it for themselves by living underground. Leprechauns are very good at hiding their gold and keeping it safe from anyone who might try to steal it.
Leprechauns have a varied diet that depends on what they can find in the forest. They like to eat sweet things like candy and cake, as well as savory dishes like potatoes and bacon. They also love to drink, and their favorite beverages include beer, whiskey, and green tea. Leprechauns are also fond of wildflowers, especially dandelions, which they used to make tea and salads. They also snack on nuts and other vegetables and fruits that grow in the forest.
People have mixed feelings about leprechauns. Some like them because they are a fairy or elf, and they consider seeing one as good luck. On the other hand, since leprechauns like to trick people into giving them gold, other people think it could be bad luck to encounter a leprechaun. But if you are the one who can trick them into giving up their gold to you. Then, encountering one can turn out to be lucky for you.
What do you think? Have you ever been lucky enough to see a leprechaun?
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Fearless: A Middle Grade Adventure Story
Jessie wants to be fearless, like her deployed Army mom.
So, when she and her friends stumble onto a barn with terrified dogs inside, she steals one.
But how will she help a scared dog when Jessie herself feels anything but fearless?
For Readers 8-12 from author Kristin F. Johnson.
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Dinosaurs in Hollywood
In the past, Hollywood has made a lot of movies about dinosaurs. Especially about dinosaurs living far from the hills of Hollywood. But did you know that 75 million years ago armored dinosaurs once roamed the hills and flatlands where today’s Hollywood tourists now roam? Along with the armored dinosaurs, known as Aletopeltas, saber-tooth tigers hunted their prey in the same area 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. While dire wolves competed for the same food sources 125,000 to 9,500 years ago.
Aletopelta is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs that lived in Southern California about 75.5-million-years ago. It is the only dinosaur ever to be found in southern California, and one of the few dinosaurs to be found in the entire state. The name Aletopelta means “wanderer shield,” because it was carried northward by plate tectonics from its original location near Mexico. Aletopelta was about 16 feet long and weighed about 2 tons (4,409 lbs.). It had a bony tail club and a pelvic shield made of osteoderms, which are bony plates embedded in the skin.
Ankylosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur that was the largest of its family of dinosaurs called ankylosaurs. This family of dinosaurs had short, heavy bodies and were protected from head to tail with bony plates and spikes. The plates acted like armor, to help protect the animal against meat-eating dinosaurs (carnivores).
Aletopelta was discovered completely by accident in 1987; a road crew was doing construction work near Carlsbad, (115 miles south of Los Angeles) and the fossil of an Aletopelta was recovered from a ditch that had been excavated for a sewer pipe.
The Saber-Tooth Tiger is far and away the most famous (and most common) prehistoric mammal of California. This is known thanks to the recovery of literally thousands of complete skeletons from the famous La Brea Tar Pits of downtown Los Angeles. This predator was smart, but clearly not quite smart enough, as entire packs of saber-tooths got trapped in the muck when they attempted to feast on already-mired prey.
The saber-tooth tiger had a pair of elongated canine teeth in its upper jaw that were over 7 inches in length. These teeth were probably used for stabbing and slashing prey, such as bison, horses, mastodons, and ground sloths. The saber-tooth tiger was not closely related to the modern tiger or other modern cats. These ancient animals could weigh up to 880 pounds and had a muscular body and short limbs.
The dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, is an extinct canine that lived in North America and eastern Asia 125,000 to 9,500 years ago. It was about the same size as the largest modern gray wolves, but had a more massive skull, a smaller brain, and relatively light limbs. It was a different species from the modern gray wolf. It is probably the most common mammal species to be found in Los Angeles’s famous La Brea Tar Pits.
Off the coast of Santa Monica, California—which is next door to Hollywood—lurked one of the largest and most powerful predators to have ever lived. It was the 67 foot long, 228,000-pound megalodon, an extinct species of shark. It had a massive skull with enormous jaws and giant teeth that could grow to over 7 inches. These teeth were used for stabbing and slashing prey, such as whales, seals, dolphins, fish, and other sharks. Megalodon fossils have been located in shallow coastal areas around the world, excluding Antarctica.
In 1980, Cuban-born physicist Luis Alvarez — along with his physicist son, Walter, concluded that the Earth was struck 65 million years ago by an iridium-rich meteorite or comet (the Chicxulub comet). The iridium residue from the impact object, along with millions of tons of debris from the impact crater, would have quickly spread all over the globe; the massive amounts of dust blotted out the sun, and thus killed the vegetation eaten by herbivorous dinosaurs, and this led to the demise of the carnivores.
A global catastrophe occurred 250 million years ago, resulting in the extinction of most land and marine animals. Ironically, it was this extinction that cleared the field for the rise of the dinosaurs—after which they managed to hold the world stage for a whopping 150 million years, until that unfortunate visit from the Chicxulub comet.
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A Good Kind of Trouble
From debut author Lisa Moore Ramée comes this funny and big-hearted debut middle grade novel about friendship, family, and standing up for what’s right, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and the novels of Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds.
Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.)
But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what?
Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn’t think that’s for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum.
Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.
For Readers 10-12.
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Ziplines — Unraveling the Secrets of Motion
Hey there, young scientists, and curious minds! Are you ready to dive into the fascinating world of zippiness and uncover the secrets behind the exhilarating motion of objects? We’ll embark on an exciting journey into the realm of physics, where we’ll unravel the principles that make things zoom, zoom, zoom! Zippiness isn’t just about speed; it’s about understanding the forces, energy, and interactions that shape the way objects move. Fasten your seatbelts and join us to explore the science of zippiness. Get ready to zoom into the world of physics and discover the fascinating science behind zippiness for explorers like you!
Ziplines are pulleys suspended on a cable that allow people to glide from one point to another. They are often used for recreational or educational purposes and can be found in various locations around the world. Some of the best zipline and aerial adventure parks in the United States are Jungle Zipline Maui in Hawaii, Brainerd Zip Line Tour in Minnesota, and Green Pleasure Pier in California. Some of the most thrilling ziplines in Europe are Zip World Velocity 2in Wales, Flying Fox XXL in Austria, and Volo dell’ Angelo in Italy.
What is the science of motion called? The branch of physics describing the motion of objects without reference to its cause is kinematics; the branch studying forces and their effect on motion is dynamics. In the world of mechanics, there are four basic types of motion. These four are rotary, oscillating, linear and reciprocating. The examples of motion include running, cycling, jumping, swimming, eating, drinking, playing, writing, typing, moving cars, and throwing a ball.
You can describe the motion of an object by its position, speed, direction, and acceleration. An object is moving if its position relative to a fixed point is changing.
Motion is caused by forces. Once an object is moving, it carries on at the same speed and in the same direction unless a force makes it speed up, change direction, or slow down and stop.
There are many examples of motion. Here are some common ones:
- Pulling a drawer, throwing a ball are all examples of linear motion.
- Earth’s revolution around the sun, electrons’ motion around the nucleus are examples of circular motion.
- Spinning wheel, rotating fan, motion of the steering wheel of a car, motion of the earth on its own axis are examples of rotatory motion.
- Sliding is an example of rectilinear motion.
- Bowling is an example of rotational motion.
A zipline is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It enables cargo, or a person propelled by gravity, to travel from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable by holding on to, or being attached to, the freely moving pulley. Its use is not confined to adventure sport, recreation, or tourism, although modern-day usage tends to favor those meanings.
Ropeways have been used for transport for over 2,000 years. A type of pulley with a grooved wheel known as a sheave is used in ziplines, and the pulley turns as it travels along, thus reducing friction and enabling greater speed than would otherwise be possible.
Ziplines may be designed for children’s play and found on some adventure playgrounds. Inclines are fairly shallow and so the speeds kept relatively low, negating the need for a means of stopping. The pulleys are connected to the cable on playground equipment, and the user will usually hold on to a handgrip below. Occasionally, a seat or safety strap is included. Users usually return the grip or seat to the top of the hill by pushing or pulling it via a short wire on foot.
Zipline tours are now popular vacation activities, where they may be an element on a larger challenge such as a hike or ropes course.
Now that you know about ziplines, are you interested in trying them out?
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Wish
Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is, until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.
From award-winning author Barbara O’Connor comes a middle-grade novel about a girl who, with the help of a true-blue friend, a big-hearted aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams, unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places.
From author Barbara O’Connor for Readers 8-11.
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The Magic and Fun of Bubbles
Hello, young bubble fans and fun seekers of magical moments! Are you ready to embark on a whimsical adventure that will leave you surrounded by shimmering spheres of wonder? Today, we’ll dive into the enchanting world of bubbles, where ordinary soap and water transform into captivating orbs that dance in the air. Bubbles aren’t just fleeting and delicate; they hold within them a world of scientific wonders, playful possibilities, and endless entertainment. So, roll up your sleeves, grab your bubble wands, and join us as we explore the secrets, tricks, and pure joy that come with playing and experimenting with bubbles. Get ready for a bubble bonanza that will have you giggling, experimenting, and embracing the sheer delight of bubble magic!
Bubbles are beautiful, fun, and fascinating, but do you know what they are and how they work? Take a look at the science behind bubbles.
To begin with, what is a bubble?
A bubble is a thin film of soapy water. Most of the bubbles that you see are filled with air, but you can make a bubble using other gasses, such as carbon dioxide.
The film that makes the bubble has three layers. A thin layer of water is sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules. Each soap molecule is oriented so that its polar (hydrophilic) head faces the water, while its hydrophobic hydrocarbon tail extends away from the water layer.
No matter what shape a bubble has initially, it will try to become a sphere. The sphere is the shape that minimizes the surface area of the structure, which makes it the shape that requires the least energy to achieve.
What happens when bubbles meet?
When bubbles stack, do they remain spheres? The answer is—No. When two bubbles meet, they will merge walls to minimize their surface area.
If bubbles that are the same size meet, then the wall that separates them will be flat. If bubbles that are different sizes meet, then the smaller bubble will bulge into the large bubble. Bubbles meet to form walls at an angle of 120 degrees. If enough bubbles meet, the cells will form hexagons.
Ingredients in Bubble Solutions
Though soap bubbles are traditionally made from (you guessed it) soap, most bubble solutions consist of detergent in water. Glycerin (C3H5(OH)3) is often added as an ingredient. Detergents form bubbles in much the same way as soap, but detergents will form bubbles even in tap water, which contains ions that could prevent soap bubble formation. Glycerin extends the life of a bubble by forming weaker hydrogen bonds with water, slowing down its evaporation.
How to make bubbles that don’t pop.
- 3 cups of water
- 1 cup liquid dishwashing detergent (Joy is a good choice
- 1/2 cup white corn syrup
Simply stir the ingredients together to make the bubble solution. You can use dark corn syrup just as easily as white corn syrup, but the solution will be colored. Also, you can add food coloring or glow paint to color the bubbles. You can also substitute another type of sticky syrup, just expect changes in color and odor.
Here’s another easy unpoppable bubble recipe:
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup dishwashing liquid
- 1/2 cup glycerin
Try making a batch and having fun with your friends chasing the bubbles as they dance on the air currents!
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Winterhouse
Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth realizes she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to care for, and even Winterhouse itself?
From author Ben Guterson and illustrator Chloe Bristol for Readers 9-12.
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Math Magic: Math Tricks for Kid Wizards!
Hello, young mathematicians and problem-solving enthusiasts! Get ready to unlock the secrets of math and discover the joy of numbers in a whole new way. Here we’ll delve into the fascinating world of math tricks that will leave you dazzled and amazed. Who said math had to be boring? We’ll prove them wrong as we unveil mind-boggling tricks, and clever shortcuts, that will make you feel like a true math wizard. So, dust off your calculators, sharpen your pencils, and join us on this thrilling journey of math magic as we explore fun tricks that will not only sharpen your skills. But will also make you fall in love with the enchanting world of numbers. Prepare to be amazed as we unleash the fun and excitement of math tricks for kid wizards like you!
Let’s start with the classic “Pick a number, any number!” trick. Ask a friend to follow these steps:
- Pick any number (We’ll use 73).
- Add 3 (73 + 3 = 76).
- Double the result (76 x 2 = 152).
- Subtract four (152 – 4 = 148).
- Divide that number in half (74).
- Subtract your original number (74 – 73 = 1).
- The answer is always 1.
Here are two math tricks where the answer is always the same—no matter what number the person chooses.
In this first trick, the answer is always 2.
- Think of a whole number from 1 through 10 (We’ll use 6).
- Double it (6 x 2 = 12).
- Add 4 (12 + 4 = 16).
- Divide by 2 (16 ÷ 2 = 8).
- Subtract the original number (8 – 6 = 2).
- The answer is always 2.
In the second trick, the answer is always 18.
- Choose any number (We’ll use 31).
- Multiply the number by 100 (31 x 100 = 3,100).
- Subtract the original number from the answer (3,100 – 31 = 3,069).
- Add those individual numerals together (3 + 0 + 6 + 9 = 18).
- The answer is always 18.
This trick is a great way to learn addition and division skills. In this math trick, you will make a prediction on a piece of paper as “37” and set it aside without showing your prediction.
- Then ask your friend to think of a 3-digit number where all 3 digits are the same, like 222, 666, etc.
- Next, ask your friend to add all the three digits together.
- Then divide the 3-digit number your friend thought of by the sum of the number.
- You can then hand over your prediction and your friend will be astonished at how you guessed the answer, which will always be 37.
Your friends will really like you for teaching them this interesting math trick. With this easy mathematics trick, you can calculate the sum of two-digit numbers quick.
For example: If you have to find the sum of 56 and 62.
- You will break the numbers into ten’s and one’s place mentally (56 becomes 50 & 6) and (62 becomes 60 & 2).
- Now, you will add the tens place first (50 + 60) = 110.
- Then, you will add the one’s place (6 +2) =8.
- Now you just need to add the two answers to get the total (110 + 8) =118.
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The Winter Freak Show
Kids are vanishing in Victorian London. Only Toby knows why. Can he save the city before falling victim himself?
After twelve-year-old Toby Carter escapes a brutal workhouse at Christmas, he can’t believe his good fortune. Adopted by a band of travelling performers called The Winter Freak Show who put on spellbinding shows each night, he finally believes he’s found the family he always wanted. Then everything falls apart.
Children are disappearing throughout the city. Pretty soon, all evidence points to those Toby trusted the most and he finds himself caught up in a conspiracy far more sinister than he ever imagined. Defenseless and on the run, he’s confronted with two options: uncover the kidnapper before another child falls victim, or stand by and watch as the shadowy criminal becomes unstoppable.
The fate of Christmas rests in the balance.
From author Daniel Parson for Readers 10-15.
