VOL. 7 NO. 4 MARCH/APRIL 2021 - WNG.org
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VOL. 7 • NO. 4 • MARCH/APRIL 2021
page 24
CRITT
ER F IL E
4WK21_01_Cover.indd 1 2/12/21 1:56 PM
VOL. 7 • NO. 4 • MARCH/APRIL 2021
6-9 10-13 14-17
SCIENCE SOUP TIME MACHINE CITIZEN SHIP
Saving a Fast food is Dignity and
seahorse and more ancient disabilities at
getting the that you work in the
bends straight thought. kitchen
18-21 22-25 26-29
TAKE APART SMART CRITTER FILE JET BALLOON
Quilters won’t A fuzzy
Stray cats get
quit . . . even frozen find:
their own café
during a the woolly
in Taiwan.
pandemic. rhino
also in this issue: 3 PUZZLING TIMES | 4-5 NEWS SHORTS | 30-31 EVEN MORE NEWS SHORTS | 32 PUZZLING TIMES
On August 10, 1981, the very first issue of It’s God’s
World was born. The new publication was made for
teachers and families who were interested in news for
middle-schoolers, told with the Bible’s truth in mind.
This year, 2021, marks the 40th anniversary of that
first! God’s World News—and all of WORLD News
WRIGHT CRE ATIVE • COVER PHOTOS: AP & LIBR ARY OF CONGRESS
Group—invites you to celebrate with us this year.
We’ll be looking back on the 40 years of history God
has led us through and looking ahead to the next
40. Over the last four decades, It’s God’s World
has changed and grown. The kids’ publications
now include God’s Big WORLD, WORLDkids,
and WORLDteen. New in 2020, WORLD Watch
video news for older teens came on the
scene. WORLD Magazine, our biweekly news
publication for adults, launched in 1986.
It has since added several popular radio
podcast programs, including The World and
Everything In It. We now reach hundreds
of thousands of people around the globe
with God-glorifying and hope-filled, honest journalism.
We hope you’re as excited as we are to see what more God will do!
WORLDkids, Issue 4, March 2021 (ISSN #2372-7357, USPS #700-950) is published 6 times per year—September, November, January, March, May, and July for $35.88 per year,
by God’s World News, God’s World Publications, 12 All Souls Crescent, Asheville, NC 28803. Periodicals postage paid at Asheville, NC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to WORLDkids, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-8201. EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, WORLD FOR STUDENTS: Rich Bishop, MANAGING EDITOR: Rebecca
Cochrane, CONTRIBUTORS: Chelsea Boes, Kate Womack, DESIGN DIRECTOR: Rob Patete. Member Services: (828) 435-2982, Advertising Sales: (828) 253-8063, advertising@
wng.org Mailing address: WORLDkids, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-8201. Telephone (828) 253-8063. © 2021 God’s World News, God’s World Publications.
2 worldkids • M ARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
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1
Solve the math problems below. Then use the color associated
with the answer to fill in the sections of the quilt with numbers in
them. Fill in the rest once you have figured out the pattern.
3x3= 100 ÷ 25 = 27 - 19 =
9 + 12 = 7x2= 500 ÷ 10 = 15 x 3 =
50
8
50
45
21 4
14 9 50
45
14
8
21 21
45
WRIGHT CRE ATIVE • COVER PHOTOS: AP & LIBR ARY OF CONGRESS
21 4 45
9
45 45
50 9 14
4
8
ear,
ER:
50
cca
g@
Answers
on page 5
MA RC H/A PRIL 20 2 1 • worldkids 3
4WK21_02-03_Contents_PT.indd 3 2/12/21 2:35 PM
The Giraffe Ark
A community in Kenya is trying to save some
long-necked island residents. The creatures are
Rothschild’s giraffes.
There are only about 1,600 Rothschild’s
giraffes still living in the wild. About half live in
Kenya. In 2011, scientists moved eight Rothschild’s
giraffes to a peninsula in Kenya’s Lake Baringo.
Flooding turned the peninsula into an island.
Rising water stranded the giraffes on the shrinking
island. To be safe, the giraffes need a new home.
Volunteers built a big boat for the tall, heavy
giraffes. It has fencing all around to keep the lanky
giraffes from tipping over or jumping out.
Who got the giraffes to step onto the boat?
Rangers. They coaxed the animals onto the barge
with mangoes! It took some practice to convince
the giraffes to come aboard.
At first, just a male and a female giraffe took
A kid models some of
the boat to dry land. Though they came over one Petit Pli’s flexible finery.
at a time, it may sound familiar. Genesis 7:9 says,
“two and two, male and female, went into the ark
with Noah, as God had commanded.” Fold Your Clothes!
GIR AFFE: A MI VITALE/SAVE GIR AFFES NOW • ORIGA MI CLOTHING: PETIT PLI
Growth spurt? No worries! Just give these pants a
tug. Instantly, they get longer. This clothing line is
inspired by the paper folding art called origami. Each
garment has lots of little folds called pleats. That makes
it size-adjustable. The adaptable outfits could reduce
fashion industry waste and save parents money on
kids’ clothes.
A London company called Petit Pli makes the clever
gear. The outfits expand in multiple directions by folding
out the pleats. But they also shrink back to their original
size when refolded.
How did founder Ryan Yasin get the idea? He sent
some clothes to his nephew. But when the little dude’s
AP PHOTOS • POLILOOP
duds arrived, the boy was already too big for them.
Uncle Ryan decided to make clothes that kids won’t
outgrow so fast.
One set of Petit Pli clothes can fit a child from age
A Rothschild’s
giraffe on the move
nine months to four years. Then they can be reset to
their smallest size and passed on to another child.
4 worldkids • M ARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_04-05_Shorts4.indd 4 2/12/21 3:08 PM
Dog Snuggles Breed Smiles
“Zeus is a friendly little snowball, very happy,” says
Eileen Nagle. Zeus is the peppy pup who paid her a
visit. The nursing home she lives in is closed to
visitors because of pandemic safety rules. She can
see her family in video chats and drive-by visits.
But the only hugs she gets are from tiny Zeus.
He’s part of a pet therapy program at the
Hebrew Home.
Zeus and Marley the Great Dane are dogs in
the program. They come to work every day.
Catherine Farrell owns Marley. Ms. Farrell stays
six feet away from residents. She wears a face
mask and plastic shield. But Marley can plop his
head right down on residents’ beds as they pet
him. “It’s one of the only ways they’re able to
touch another living being,” says Ms. Farrell.
God created us for fellowship. Dog snuggles can
Eileen Nagle
help make lonely people smile. But they can’t replace visits with
true community. People need big hugs from real people! Zeus.
Poliloop’s bacteria Gobbling Up Plastics
mixture at work . . .
A biotech company named Poliloop has a plan to
solve global pollution. It says that it has combined
Day 0
bacteria into a mixture that gobbles up plastic. What the
company is doing is extraordinary. It is copying creation.
When a plant or animal dies, bacteria and fungi get
to work. They break down the dead organism. It
Day 17
decomposes—returning to soil as usable nutrients for
other organisms. God designed this process for good.
Decomposition keeps the world healthy.
Poliloop is figuring out how to feed plastic waste to
bacteria. To quickly get rid of plastic, the company’s
GIR AFFE: A MI VITALE/SAVE GIR AFFES NOW • ORIGA MI CLOTHING: PETIT PLI
Day 35 biochemists created a mixture of several bacteria. They
say the solution eats milk jugs, plastic bottles, bags, and
more. It takes about seven weeks for the bacteria to
Plastic bottles turn the waste into an organic slime.
are sorted for Early tests show that the slime might be safe to use
recycling in
Day 49 in soil. How amazing that our Creator made bacteria that
Tokyo, Japan.
can chomp through our litter!
VOLCANO, FRUIT, FOXES, TWINS, IMAGE, ROOSTER, WEDDING, BENDS, JUNGLE, BRIDGE, LANGUAGE, FACTORY, CURSIVE, PLASTER
PUZZLE: SNAKE, KITCHEN, MENU, FARM, PUZZLES , VOLUNTEER, NEIGHBORHOOD, AQUARIUM, TOMATO, TANKS, OXYGEN, FINGERPRINT,
9+
5. Answers will vary depending on the individual. | JET BALLOON, p26-29, Cat Cafeterias, Hong Kong Snakes 1. c, 2. b, 3. c, 4. b | PAGE 32
AP PHOTOS • POLILOOP
APART SMART, p18-21, Quilts, Indoor Farms 1. a, 2. b, 3. a, 4. c | CRITTER FILE, p22-25, Woolly Rhino, Presidential Pets 1. c, 2. d, 3. c, 4. a,
unity, or Scotland should leave peacefully so that its people are free to make their own decisions about trade and government. | TAKE
| CITIZEN SHIP, p14-17, Disabilities, Scotland 1. b, 2. c, 3. a, 4. a, 5. Answers will vary but may include: Scotland should stay for the sake of
taller and they may like different foods, colors, sports, or clothing styles. | TIME MACHINE, p10-13, Pompeii Café, Cursive 1. b, 2. a, 3. a, 4. a
Twins 1. d, 2. b, 3. c, 4. c, 5. Answers will vary but may include: They may have the same hair and eye color and look alike, but one may grow
PAGE 3 PUZZLE PAGE 3 PUZZLE: Light blue = 9, Blue = 4, Pink = 8, Orange = 21, Yellow = 14, Purple = 50, Green = 45 | QUIZZES: SCIENCE SOUP, p6-9, Seahorse,
—-——- —- MA RC H/A PRIL 20 2 1 • worldkids 5
4WK21_04-05_Shorts4.indd 5 2/12/21 3:08 PM
of deep ocean water
Louie went into the too quickly.
hyperbaric chamber “I wanted to save
for treatment. my little friend,”
Do you see his tank says Ms. Benge. She
in the window?
knew she had to act
fast.
First, she called
a local veterinar-
ian’s office. The
receptionist
thought Ms. Benge
owned a dog or a
cat named Seahorse.
Nope! These vets did
not know how to help
Louie.
So Ms. Benge put
Louie in a temporary
tank. She drove him an
hour to the University of
Florida College of Veterinary
Medicine.
The experts there were
curious about the seahorse. They
asked if they could do an experiment.
They put Louie in a hyperbaric chamber.
That’s the treatment for a human diver
suffering from the bends. In a hyperbaric
chamber, a person (or seahorse, apparently!)
breathes in pure oxygen at high pressure. Th is fresh
oxygen goes into the blood. It can fi x injured tissue.
Veterinarian-in-training Tatiana Weisbrod gently
At fi rst, Carol Benge and Louie had a pretty good life. moved Louie into a Pyrex glass container along with
Louie is a black-and-silver, three-inch seahorse. He water and a plant from his home tank.
bobbed around Ms. Benge’s fi sh tank. She fed him tiny She says, “When he went into the chamber, he was
brine shrimp. pretty quiet and floating sideways.”
Then Louie got the bends. In the chamber, pressure shrank the
At least, he got the seahorse version of the gas bubbles in Louie’s body over
bends. In September, Louie seemed to have time. Then the veterinarians
trouble swimming. He moved horizontally released the pressure in the
and wasn’t acting like his usual peppy tank little by little.
self. Small, pearl-like bubbles Gas bubble disease is
clustered on his tail. common in aquariums.
Ms. Benge guessed the cause: gas It often affects
bubble disease. seahorses. And now,
Gas bubble disease happens Louie’s thanks to Louie,
when bubbles in water get into a treatment people know how to
will help
fi sh’s body. It’s similar to a human other fish. treat the problem—
scuba diver in seahorses and
getting a other fi sh.
sickness Louie was cured
SCIENCE called the with just one treat-
AP PHOTOS
SOUP bends, which ment. Now he’s back to
happens when a munching shrimp from
diver comes up out his loving owner’s hand.
6 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
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Uh oh!
You dive deep into the ocean with Po
p! If a diver ascends too
an oxygen tank strapped to your back.
quickly, gases dissolved in
What are you afraid of? the body get trapped as
Sharks? Sure. bubbles in veins and tissues.
But you should be even more afraid
of water pressure.
Did you know air is pushing on you
every day? When people stand on dry
land, the air around them has pressure
When the Ouch!
—just the right amount for a person to pressure is Those nitrogen
live in. But water is heavier than air. released, the gas bubbles
When divers go deep and breathe from can escape. do not
air tanks, they are breathing air with a belong.
lot of extra pressure in it. Even the
blood and tissue in their bodies are
under more pressure than usual.
If a diver comes to the surface
quickly, the pressure releases fast,
kind of like bubbles in a can of soda. If a diver ascends slowly,
Those bubbles don’t belong in the the unwanted gases, like
human body. They can harm tissue or nitrogen, have time to
exit the body properly
stop blood vessels from doing their through the lungs.
jobs. That makes a person very sick.
This diving sickness is called the bends.
Sometimes the bends make
someone a little tired or sore in the
joints. Sometimes the bends paralyze.
Sometimes they kill. One day, a diver
might not be affected at all. Another
day, the bends could be severe. The
deeper a diver goes and the longer he
or she stays down, the more gas the Oxygen and
diver’s body absorbs. nitrogen are
To dive safely, divers must come to two gases in
Under pressure, the gases that the tank.
the surface of the water slowly. But
divers breathe from their
coming up slowly can be a challenge air tanks dissolve in their
when you’re in a hurry to get some air! blood and travel into
Diving marine animals almost never their body tissues.
get the bends. God made these
creatures with particular abilities to
store and redistribute oxygen through
their bodies deep underwater. He
didn’t design people that way. That’s a Pressure helps gases dissolve
good reason for people to come up in liquid, like carbon dioxide
sloooowwwly—or stay in the shallows. dissolved in soda.
AP PHOTOS
Another way to avoid the bends: Take
long breaks between dives.
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 7
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Have you ever met a set of they fi nd? “Early mutations that
identical twins? They may look separate identical twins,” says
exactly the same. But new geneticist Kari Stefansson.
research shows: Identical twins A mutation is a teeny-tiny
aren’t so identical after all—at change in a sequence of DNA.
least not in their genes. It’s neither good nor bad.
What are genes? Th ink of Identical twins start together as
them as information carriers. just one cell. But somewhere
They tell your body to make you very early on, that one cell
you. What color is your hair? separates into two. Now there
Genes are made up of the DNA are two people! Those separate
that decides that. How tall are groups of cells continue to
you? Genetic material, DNA, divide and grow. Scientists
determines that too. In fact, found that twin DNA could
DNA designs every part of your change slightly during this
body. So identical twins must dividing. Some twins have up
have the exact same genetics, to 100 of these tiny differences
right? That’s what scientists inside their cells. Some have
thought—until now. fewer.
Scientists in Iceland studied These variations happen in
DNA from 387 pairs of identical only a tiny portion of each
twins. They also studied DNA twin’s genetic code. But they
from the twins’ parents, might explain a lot. For
children, and spouses. What did instance, why is one twin
Researchers have noticed that
twins already practice the
Golden Rule: “So whatever
you wish that others would
Twins make people curious. What’s it like do to you, do also to
to be a twin—especially an identical one? them.” (Matthew 7:12)
There’s at least one thing you don’t Twins in the womb treat
have in common with your twin: your each other’s sensitive
fingerprints. Identical twins start out eye area gently—just
from the same cell. Their DNA is almost like they do their own.
completely the same. But as twins grow, Twins make up their
they wiggle around and move their fingers, own languages. Most
touching the inside of their mother’s womb. Ultrasound scan babies learn language from
This forms unique patterns on each baby’s of 10-month-old older people. But twins also
fingertips. twin boys teach each other. Many twins
Your twin becomes your best develop “twin language”—a way of
friend early . . . even before you’re talking using made-up words and
born! After 14 weeks in the womb, sounds only the two of them under-
twins may be spotted stand. This twin talk usually goes
reaching for each other. away once they learn real language.
Four weeks later, they touch Once twins, always twins. Meet
AP PHOTO
each other more often than “The Jim Twins.” These now-famous
they touch their own bodies. identical twins from Minnesota were
8 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_06-09_SS.indd 8 2/12/21 3:19 PM
taller? Why does one twin 1.
have greater risk for certain a)
diseases? Until now, b)
researchers believed these ou
kinds of differences didn’t 1. Gas bubble disease c)
come from genes. They ____. d)
thought they came from how a) affects only
the twins lived—what food humans 2.
they ate, who raised them, b) is caused by a)
where they lived, and other spending too much b)
factors. time out of water c)
c) passes from d)
humans to animals
d) can be cured in a 3.
hyperbaric chamber a)
b)
2. Deep ocean water c)
All people are made in tio
____.
God’s image. We’re connected d)
a) is lighter than air
to Him—and it shows all over ha
b) is heavier than air
us. Others can see God in us
c) exerts no pressure
like you can see family 4.
d) is not dangerous
resemblances. But we all bear a)
to divers
the imprint of sin too. No one b)
escapes that. Likeness to God c)
3. DNA is ____.
is a gift—and Jesus takes away d)
a) something only
the sin that mars it.
identical twins have
“Behold, the Lamb of God, 5.
b) the same in all
who takes away the sin of the tw
siblings
world!” — John 1:29 wa
c) genetic material
di
that carries
information
An
d) something only
separated as babies. Each was adopted 1.
Jim Lewis, left and Jim Springer, right, undergo non-identical twins
by a different family. Both were tests with Professor Tom Bouchard in 1979. 5.
have
named Jim. Each had a dog named Toy. Th
Later, as adults, the Jims met. They co
4. Identical twins
didn’t just look the same. They had led ta
____.
weirdly similar lives. Each had a son. co
a) have the same
Even though the Jims didn’t know each
fingerprints
other, one Jim named his son James
b) do not come in
Allan and the other named his son
contact in the womb
James Alan. They each married a
c) start out from the
woman named Linda. Each Jim drove a
same cell
blue Chevrolet, worked as a part-time
d) cannot learn real
sheriff, struggled with headaches, and
language
chewed his fingernails down to the
nub. Many cases of separated twins
5. Name some ways
show surprising types of similarities.
you think identical
These situations help researchers
twins are likely to be
chew on a fascinating question: Which
alike, and some ways
determines what kind of person a
baby becomes—genes, or the way the you would expect
baby is raised? The answer, of course, them to be
AP PHOTO
Answers
is both. But the Jims show that genes different. on page 5
play a huge role.
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 9
4WK21_06-09_SS.indd 9 2/12/21 3:20 PM
Want
some Italian
fast food?
2,000 years
ago, you could
get it at the
thermopolium
in Pompeii.
Look for the Golden Arches buried their city in hot ash. The the spots soup
America Runs on Dunkin disaster killed everyone in its path. containers nestle
Have It Your Way But Pompeii lies perfectly into at modern-day salad bars.
While we’re talking about fast preserved. What a boon for archae- So . . . what’s on the menu at this
food slogans, shall we add . . . Get ologists! People just excavated this Pompeii snack bar? Paintings on the
Your Duck To Go? ancient thermopolium in Pompeii. A counter may give a clue. See the two
Maybe a Latin whiz could thermopolium was an eatery. People upside-down ducks and a rooster?
translate that slogan for us. Then he or could buy drinks and hot food there. Archaeologists have already found
she could go back in time and order Th is discovery answers a fascinating bits of duck bone in the ruined
at this fast-food eatery at Pompeii. question: What did ancient Pompei- containers. They also uncovered
Pompeii was an ancient city in ians like to eat? remains of goats, pigs, fish, and snails.
present-day Italy. One day in A.D. 79, Archaeologist Massimo Osanna Mount Vesuvius erupted almost
Pompeiians were studies Pompeii. He says about 80 2,000 years ago. Yet—“We know
just going about cafés like this have been found there. what they were eating that day,”
PLINY: PUBLIC DOM AIN
their everyday But this is the fi rst people have says Mr. Osanna.
lives. Then completely unearthed. Another fresco on the counter
TIME Mount The archaeologists found a shows a dog. Pompeiians probably
AP PHOTOS
MACHINE Vesuvius multi-sided counter. It has wide holes weren’t eating that. Th is sign may
blew. The in the top. These held deep vessels for depict a restaurant rule: Keep your
volcano hot foods. They might remind you of dogs on a leash!
10 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_10-13_TM.indd 10 2/12/21 3:22 PMThe people of Pompeii built a busy city right next door to a
volcano.
When Vesuvius erupted, ash fell from the sky. Pompeii got
coated in pumice stone and ash—and not just a little bit. The city
was buried under about 20 feet of volcanic debris!
Pliny This was certainly a tragedy for the people of Pompeii. As a boy,
a writer named Pliny watched from across the bay as Vesuvius blew.
When he grew up, he wrote about the catastrophe. “Darkness fell,”
he wrote. “Not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night,
but as if the lamp had been put out in a dark room.”
History went on. People knew from Pliny’s
writings that the disaster had happened. But they no
longer remembered where the ancient city was
located. Only in the 1700s did people begin to dig out
Pompeii. And what a surprise they got! The city lay
underground exactly as it had existed in A.D. 79.
When a lot of ash falls quickly in one place, it
buries everything as-is. It doesn’t move the objects it
falls on. It doesn’t crush them or even burn them. So
ash didn’t just destroy Pompeii. In a strange way, it
also preserved it. Archaeologists noticed strange gaps
in the debris. They filled these gaps with plaster. Then
they drew out the plasters in the exact shapes of the
human bodies destroyed in the calamity. Only ash
can keep history intact like this.
People have been digging in Pompeii for hundreds
FROZEN IN TIME: Plaster casts of victims
of years now. They’re far from finished. With each
of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
new discovery, they learn a little more about life in
ancient Rome. But they’re also undoing the ash’s
work. Once dug up, Pompeii’s ruins are no longer protected. So
archaeologists much diligently record every single find.
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many
generations. — Deuteronomy 32:7
Mount Vesuvius
rises above the
ruins of Pompeii.
PLINY: PUBLIC DOM AIN
AP PHOTOS
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 11
4WK21_10-13_TM.indd 11 2/15/21 11:49 AMSharpen your pencils! Warm up
your wrists! The Cursive is Cool®
contest is on! The pandemic can’t stop
cursive writers. Teachers, parents,
Article IV of the United States Constitution
and students encouraged the Ameri-
can Handwriting Analysis Foundation
not to erase the 8th annual contest.
Organizers agreed. They added
additional prizes and made a few
changes. Even if schools are operat-
ing remotely, kids can still enter.
The contest is a repeating event. It
is designed to highlight the impor-
tance of teaching (and learning) to
read and write in cursive. U.S. and
French-Canadian students can enter
the contest until April 30. (The
English-Canadian contest deadline is
slightly different. It runs until March
12.) For more information on entering
and prizes, ask an adult if you can
visit www.cursiveiscool.com/.
How “cool” is cursive in schools
these days? Some people think that
cursive handwriting . How “cool” is
cursive in schools these days? Some
people think that cursive handwrit-
ing is an outdated skill. They say
typing should replace handwriting.
Sheila Lowe is President of the Ameri-
can Handwriting Analysis Founda-
tion. She says that more than 25 states Jaeden Alvarez
require some cursive writing training practices cursive at
in public schools. So, is cursive school in Dayton, Ohio.
making a comeback? Brain research-
ers say they can prove that it should. Those are the parietal lobe and the brain than typing on a computer
Writing by hand really engages frontal regions. These areas of the keyboard. “A lot of senses are
the brain. A 2020 brain study at brain help us learn new information activated by pressing the pen on
Norwegian University of Science and and remember it. paper, seeing the letters you write,
Technology looked at the energy in Do you remember something and hearing the sound you make
kids’ brains when they wrote in better if you write it or type it? while writing,” says Dr. Van der Meer.
cursive. The study showed that Researcher Audrey Van der Meer “I praise you, for I am fearfully
writing cursive causes a great says, “The use of pen and paper gives and wonderfully made,” says Psalm
increase in the brain’s the brain more ‘hooks’ to hang your 139:14. God crafted amazing connec-
electrical activity. Two memories on.” Maneuvering a pen tions between our hands and our
AP PHOTOS
parts of the brain get takes fine motor skills. Feeling it brains. So next time you need to make
AP PHOTO
really busy when scratch rhythmically against the tex- a note, write, don’t just type. Cursive
someone writes by hand. ture of paper is more stimulating to is way cooler than you might think!
12 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_10-13_TM.indd 12 2/12/21 3:24 PMArticle IV of the United States Constitution
These days, people type wanted to attend the ago. Volunteers sign up to Sadly, more and more
more and write less. That Academy of Philadelphia read and transcribe (copy) kids aren’t being taught
means cursive handwriting had to “write a legible hand.” handwritten words. There cursive handwriting.
can look like a hard code to People recorded are Civil War documents Professor Audrey Van der
break. But learning the everything in cursive. That written in cursive, plus Meer says, “We risk having
cursive code is important. It included personal signa- letters to Abraham Lincoln, one or more generations
connects us to our history! tures, family recipes, Theodore Roosevelt, Rosa lose the ability to write by
In early United States letters, land grants, baptism Parks, and other historical hand.” She explains,
history, the government records, and other valuable leaders. These treasures “Learning to write by hand
paid people to copy official documents. Even the are waiting to be read! is a bit slower process. But
documents. That was Declaration of Indepen- Project volunteers read it’s important for children
necessary to preserve the dence and the United the cursive, type what they to go through the tiring
important content about States Constitution are read, and share it on the phase of learning.”
founding the new nation. written out in cursive. Library of Congress It takes time, focus, and
There were no scanners or The United States’ website. The cursive practice to master cursive.
printers. Those people wrote National Archives holds decoders help connect us But handwriting has huge
in cursive. They had to do so billions of handwritten with history. Who is rewards. Its impact on the
carefully and clearly. Ben documents. The Library of qualified to volunteer? brain is powerful. Its
Franklin in the mid-1700s Congress started the By the People who know how to connection with history is
wrote that young men who People project a few years read and write in cursive. not replaceable.
1. vessels 2. intact 3. engages 4. legible
a) ships a) unbroken a) requires involvement by a) clearly readable
b) containers b) splintered b) makes a promise to b) scribbled
AP PHOTOS
AP PHOTO
c) body organs c) burned c) ignores c) big and bold
Answers
on page 5
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 13
4WK21_10-13_TM.indd 13 2/12/21 3:24 PMsmiling proudly. “But now, eight
months, nine months later, he can’t
stop talking.”
Employees with disabilities CAN
work hard and learn new things. At
Dignity Kitchen, people learn useful
skills. Most importantly, they know
how valuable they are. Luke 12:7
says, “Why, even the hairs of your
Carol
Wong
slices fish
cake.
Dignity Kitchen sits smack dab in different food stations. An employee
the middle of Hong Kong’s busy with a disability mans each station.
Mong Kok neighborhood. It serves A deaf employee runs the drink
mouthwatering food. Spicy noodles. stall. Posters at the stall encourage
Sweet cakes. Warm rice. But the customers to learn simple sign
restaurant offers something more language to order drinks and say,
important than good food. It serves “Thank you.”
dignity to people with disabilities. An employee with autism
Honor. Respect. Worth. Dignity operates the rice stall. At fi rst, the
Kitchen is almost completely staffed employee could barely communicate
by employees with physical or with strangers. Now, he is excited to
mental disabilities. introduce the dish to customers. “We Mr. Koh
The kitchen is huge. It’s designed used to prepare a script for him,” focuses on
like a food court. It has many says founder Koh Seng Choon, abilities.
Romans 12:10 says, “Love one another with brotherly to find a cure for blindness.
affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” That Nick Vujicic is an energetic speaker and author. He was
command is for everyone, and it isn’t happening only at born without arms or legs. But he uses his mind and voice
Dignity Kitchen. It’s happening around the world! People well. Hannah Sampson is a professional dancer who has
with mental and physical disabilities are hard at work Down Syndrome. Temple Grandin is autistic. She is a
learning new things. They are finding value in the workplace. brilliant professor at Colorado State University.
They also bring value to their communities by sharing their Sometimes, disabilities develop later in life. Joni Eareck-
talents, time, and skills. son Tada was paralyzed when she was 17. Now at age 71, she
Some people are born with has been a Christian author and speaker, and a talented
physical or mental disabilities. Two painter, for decades. She also hosts family camps for
CITIZEN blind brothers have their own parents raising children with disabilities. The camps provide
AP PHOTOS
SHIP online clothing store. Bradford rest and encouragement.
and Bryan Manning sell ultra-soft Polio took away Franklin Roosevelt’s ability to walk. But
clothes. Their big company goal is it didn’t stop him from being president of the United States!
14 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_14-17_CS.indd 14 2/12/21 3:40 PMhead are numbered. Fear not; you Carol Wong also works at the What do customers think about
are of more value than many restaurant. She is mildly intellectu- Dignity Kitchen? “I think this is very
sparrows.” ally disabled. The food preparation meaningful, so we’ve come to try,”
“Director (Mr. Koh) told me that skills she has learned will help her says Lisa Gu. “The food is also
he doesn’t care about our disabilities. work in other restaurants one day. delicious.” Diners are drawn to the
He only focuses on our abilities,” “At fi rst I was afraid, but since I restaurant by its
says Ming Chung. She’s a visually started working in this restaurant, mission—and
impaired administrative assistant at I’ve become unafraid of chopping its good
Dignity Kitchen. food,” she says. food.
A deaf
employee
takes drink
orders in sign
language.
The
kitchen
has many
stations.
on
Ludwig van Beethoven began Jesus answered, ‘It was not that
Nick
losing his hearing around age 26. this man sinned, or his parents,
Vujicic
He composed a masterpiece, but that the works of God
his Ninth Symphony, without might be displayed in him.’”
the ability to hear. Thomas Look around! People with
Edison was deaf by his teen disabilities are outstanding
years. That didn’t prevent the teachers, lawyers, writers,
inventor from creating the Ludwig van cashiers, composers, assis-
lightbulb or phonograph. Beethoven tants, lab technicians, artists,
John 9:1-3 tells us that God has electricians, and so much more.
a purpose in disability. “As He passed That’s because God created every
AP PHOTOS
by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His person with purpose. He allows everything,
disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this including challenging disabilities, for our
man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ good and for His glory.
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 15
4WK21_14-17_CS.indd 15 2/12/21 3:41 PMThe leader of Scotland makes an people cross borders. Brexit is two
announcement: If I win the next words put together: Britain plus exit.
election, we’ll vote to leave the United First Minister Sturgeon and many
Kingdom! other Scots disagree with Brexit.
Think of Scotland, England, and They still want to be part of the EU.
Wales as three brothers who share a EU membership makes it easier for
bedroom. Their “bedroom” is an countries in Europe to trade. First
island—the Island of Great Britain. Minister Sturgeon’s argument goes
Just like real brothers, they don’t like this: The United Kingdom forced us
always agree about everything. into Brexit. So we want out of the United
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Kingdom.
heads up the Scottish government. Scotland has its own culture and
But even she has a boss: Prime pride—kilts, clans, bagpipes, and all.
Minister Boris Johnson. He leads the Scots love to dine on haggis—sheep
United Kingdom. The United King- stomach stuffed with the animal’s
dom is made up of England, Scot- organs—and shortbread—butter, flour,
land, Wales, and Northern Ireland. and sugar baked together. Some Scots
That group of countries left the even speak a language called Gaelic. Will Prime Minister Johnson let
European Union during Brexit. Opinion polls show many Scots want Scotland vote to leave the United
The European Union (EU) is a to become an independent nation. You Kingdom? He might say, “No,
group of 27 countries in Europe that can imagine the Scottish “brother” Scotland must stay.” Is that playing
work together. In order to belong, saying, “Aye! I want my own room!” fair? Many Scots—in their traditional
governments pay money to the EU. Of course Scotland can’t physically way—say, “Naw.”
They have to follow certain rules about move off the island. But it could start
how business is done and about how to make its own decisions.
of
AP PHOTOS
16 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_14-17_CS.indd 16 2/12/21 3:41 PM1. What are the two
reasons customers are
drawn to Dignity
Kitchen?
a) its location and
its employees
b) its good food and
How did the United Kingdom get the way it is its mission
today? That’s a long, long story! c) it is fast and
People called Celts (pronounced with a hard C, like delicious
kelts) lived in the British Isles long ago. Later—after d) its location and
A.D. 410—Saxons, Angles, and Jutes showed up. They its size
came from present-day Denmark, Germany, and the
Netherlands. This second group spoke a language we 2. U.S. President
call “old English” or “Anglo-Saxon.” Guess who speaks Franklin Roosevelt
the modern version of that language now? You do! lost the use of his legs
And so do people in present-day England. But many ____.
people in Ireland, Wales, and northern Scotland stick a) after a war injury
Protesters demonstrate with versions of the old Celtic languages.
b) in a car accident
against Brexit outside These two groups of people—Celts and Anglo-
the Scottish Parliament. c) after contracting
Saxons—had plenty of battles over the centuries. So
polio
the heat right now between Scotland and England is
First Minister Nicola d) in a fall from a
nothing new. How in the world did these people get
Sturgeon in front of a stairwell
bus decorated with her along enough to unite as a single kingdom?
views on Brexit Well, we can tell you how it didn’t happen. People
3. Which countries
did not just decide to agree about everything. At first,
make up the United
England invaded and took over Scotland and Wales.
Kingdom?
The Scots did not like this arrangement . . . and that’s
a) England,
putting it mildly. They went to war with England twice.
Scotland, Wales,
Scotland won its independence back. Wales never did.
and Southern
In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died. Her
Ireland
cousin was next in line for the throne. He was
b) 28 nations in
Scottish. About 100 years later, the two coun-
Europe
SCOTLAND tries banded together into one kingdom with two
c) only England
separate parliaments, and the United Kingdom
d) Southern and
was born. Eventually Ireland joined in too. Later,
Northern Ireland
NORTHERN Southern Ireland left. What a rollercoaster!
IRELAND Unity is hard to achieve in any nation—
4. Saint Augustine
especially one with a past like the United
came to Britain from
Kingdom’s. Maybe a rewind in history
____.
could give a lesson. In A.D. 596, Saint
a) Rome
Augustine came from Rome as a Answers
b) Scotland on page 5
missionary to the Saxons. That was
way before the United Kingdom c) Denmark
ENGLAND existed. His work in Britain led d) Germany
IRELAND to greater unity. Instead of
dividing over politics, many 5. Do you think
people united around a shared Scotland should stay a
WALES part of the United
faith in Christ.
Kingdom or take its
AP PHOTOS
Behold, how good and
pleasant it is when brothers independence again?
dwell in unity! — Psalm 133:1
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 17
4WK21_14-17_CS.indd 17 2/12/21 3:41 PMQuilts aren’t just
for making beds cozy. Today,
people use the patchwork patterns in
home décor. Quilters create fabric Artist Sabrina Gschwandtner
masterpieces that add color to walls, new baby, a wedding, a reunion— made a quilt from old fi lm strips.
tables, and couches. Quilted pillows, some quilts record life events that When light shines behind the quilt,
placemats, table runners, and wall are worth remembering. In the Old patterns appear.
hangings take less time to make Testament, God tells His people to “I don’t want to know how long it
than traditional bed quilts. “I like to pass on stories of His faithfulness to takes me to complete a quilt,” laughs
do a big quilt project, but I have generations. Psalm 78:7 tells us why: Mrs. Capone. It can take hours,
small projects going on in between,” “So that they should set their hope in months, or sometimes years to fi nish
says quilter Pat Capone. God and not forget the works of God a single, intricate quilt. But, “It’s a
The very fi rst quilts had an but keep His commandments.” great time for me to be quiet and just
essential purpose. They kept people Today, some quilters choose enjoy the process,” says Mrs. Scott.
warm. Quilts covered beds, drafty vintage fabrics but newer patterns For the last eight years, Mrs.
windows, and laps inside chilly for their projects. Others stick with Capone and her friend Mavis Bosch
carriages. bold fabrics and traditional geomet- have enjoyed a virtual quilting night
“It was a necessity, providing ric designs. And then there are once per week. These long-distance
warmth for the family during artists who quilt with, well— friends treasure time together to
winter. New fabrics were not everyday items. quilt. “We show each other
purchased for quilts. The fabric was Modern quilters have projects that we’re working
what was left from the clothes people made eye-catching on. Sometimes we sew
wore,” explains Susan Scott. Her quilts with duct and don’t even
grandmother taught her to quilt. “I tape, leather, talk.”
remember her sitting in her rocking t-shirts, and
chair hand-sewing quilt squares. I old blue
asked her if she would teach me.” jeans.
Susan was around nine years old at
the time. Fifty years later, she carries
on the quilting
tradition.
Quilters
TAKE use fabric
APART patterns to
AP PHOTO
SMART This
tell stories.
quilt is
The birth of a made from
old T-shirts.
18 worldkids • M ARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_18-21_TAS.indd 18 2/12/21 3:50 PMGeorgia Bonesteel is a Desire and gumption, says Mrs. it for? Next, a quilter selects a
professional quilter. She loves Bonesteel. (Gumption is fun word pattern and fabric. Some people
color, fabric, and design. She for spunk!) use the color wheel to make sure
teaches classes and has written Before starting a project, fabrics go well with one other.
books about quilting. What traits quilters plan. How big will the quilt Quilters like Mrs. Bonesteel love
do people need to make a quilt? be? What job will it have? Who is this part of the process.
Quilts have three layers. They’re put together like a sandwich.
BREAD SLICE #1: THE TOP
Patchwork quilts often have named designs. Pieces fit together like
puzzles. Some pattern names sound fun like Flying Geese, Bear
Paw, and Monkey Wrench. Other names come from Bible stories
and are more serious, such as Jacob’s Ladder or King David’s Crown.
THE MEAT: BATTING
The second layer is a fluffy, insulating material that makes the quilt
thick and warm. It holds air amid the fibers. This layer separates
cold air above from body heat below the quilt. The person under
the quilt stays warm!
BREAD SLICE #2: BACKING
The third layer of a quilt is a huge, solid piece of fabric. It goes on
the underside.
With all layers together, it’s time to quilt—or stitch—the “sandwich.” Some
people use a large wooden frame to hold the piece smooth and flat. Then
they hand-stitch the layers together. Others use a sewing machine. Mrs.
Bonesteel likes to lap quilt. She stitches by hand, section by section.
A small hoop holds each section as she quilts.
Quilters put stitches not just around the edges of the big
blanket. Stitches go up and down, back and forth across the
whole piece. Some work in crisscross patterns. Others
like curvy lines. The stitches hold the layers together.
They keep the batting from sliding around or
bunching up. And they help make soft puffs of
blanket—again, to hold more air for insulation.
What is the best part of the quilting
process? “Getting done!” laughs Mrs.
Bonesteel. By the time she places
the final stitch, Mrs. Bonesteel is
ready for a new project.
Pat Capone says there’s
one last thing to do.
“Always label your
Mrs. quilt. Who made it?
Bonesteel lap When was it
quilting at her finished? Who
home was it for? What
was the pattern’s
name? Just like an
AP PHOTO
artist signs a painting, a
quilt should be labeled.”
MA RC H/A PRIL 20 2 1 • worldkids 19
4WK21_18-21_TAS.indd 19 2/12/21 3:50 PMMmmm . . . juicy tomato.
Can you believe it grew indoors?
AppHarvest is an indoor farming company tucked
away in Morehead, Kentucky. It just hit a big milestone.
It began shipping beefsteak tomatoes to Kroger,
Walmart, and Publix.
The indoor farm works like any greenhouse. Green-
houses have been around for decades. But not greenhous-
es this big. AppHarvest’s indoor farm stretches to the size
of 45 football fields. It’s one of the largest single-story
buildings in the world. It houses 720,000 tomato plants.
Manufactured light and warmth will work year-round.
Workers will harvest tomatoes continually. The goal:
Harvest 30 times more tomatoes than a traditional farm.
Indoor farms are all the rage. At least 74 started in the
United States just in the last year! Does it really make
sense to grow food inside? It seems to in this case.
AppHarvest uses no chemical pesticides. Its tomatoes are Crates of
bred for flavor, not long-haul travel. That means people AppHarvest also provides them with medical
use less gas transporting them across the country. tomatoes ready insurance. AppHarvest plans to build
to hit the
Instead, they sell the fruit nearby. AppHarvest also saves a total of 12 indoor farms across
road
water. Workers use only recycled rainwater for the plants. Appalachia by 2025.
The “App” in AppHarvest stands for Appalachia Imagine this. You buy 10 tomatoes in
(pronounced Apple-atcha). Appalachia is a large, moun- the United States. Right now, around four of them would
tainous area in the eastern United States. It includes much likely come from U.S. fields. Six would probably come
of Kentucky. Many people in Appalachia need work. The from the fields of Canada or Mexico. Will one or two soon
new company pays its workers at least $15 per hour. It come instead from American indoor farms?
TOMATOES: AP PHOTO • BUILDING: HANDOUT
AP PHOTO • GR APH DATA: ARTEMIS
The
sprawling
AppHarvest
indoor farm
facility
20 worldkids • M ARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_18-21_TAS.indd 20 2/12/21 3:50 PMFruits and veggies are good for
you. If you don’t know that by now,
you’ve been living under a rock!
But why are they good for you? Tomatoes
Scientists learned long ago that they grow in the
contain vitamins and minerals re- AppHarvest
quired by the human body. Need indoor
farm.
strong eyes and healthy skin? Eat
apricots, sweet potatoes, and cab-
bage—foods packed with vitamin A.
Need to fight off sickness or for a cut countless ways He cares for humans maximum sunlight to develop the
to heal? Grab a plate of vitamin-C-rich through food. most nutrition.
foods such as peppers, oranges, and God designed people to enjoy fresh, Sometimes farmers spray produce
tomatoes. Want a strong brain and local food throughout the seasons. Did with chemicals to keep it from getting
healthy blood? Get yourself a bowl of you know produce has extra nutrition ripe too fast. While scientists say those
iron-heavy beans, lentils, and spinach. when it’s grown nearby? Here’s why. chemicals are safe, others question
People have known about vitamins Fresh-picked fruits and veggies taste the long-term effect of letting them
for a little over 100 years. But fresh the best. But if that food has to travel build up in the human body. If you can
food has been keeping people healthy from the other side of the country—or choose natural, wouldn’t you?
since the Garden of Eden! Might foods world—harvesters have to pick it early Plus—to everything there is a season.
contain even more health-supporting and then let it get ripe on the way. If you eat what’s ripe throughout the
substances we haven’t discovered Sometimes that means ripening in a year, you’ll get every kind of nutrient
yet? You bet. God is a perfect provider. cardboard box. The fruit doesn’t get to your body needs. But at AppHarvest’s
Curious people have spent centuries keep drawing nutrients from the soil indoor farm, the tomato season
studying the plants He gave us for and the Sun as it gets ready for you to stretches out . . . without sacrificing
life—and they’re still learning the eat it. Produce needs to suck up ripeness. Best of both worlds!
Indoor growers
Productivity Yield yield 10–15 times Industry growth
more than outdoor
1. vintage Indoor farms due the ability to create
Indoor vegetable
a) old growers project adding at
farming ideal climates. That control
Answers least 8.5 million square
b) new on page 5 of greens results in an extended growing
feet of new growing area
c) dirty earns 170 season.
in the next five years.
times
more than
2. insulating outdoor. Planned
a) thickening expansion =
TOMATOES: AP PHOTO • BUILDING: HANDOUT
b) separating 8.5 million
c) strengthening sq. ft.
Current
AP PHOTO • GR APH DATA: ARTEMIS
3. manufactured indoor farm
square
a) made by hand
footage =
or machine 2,301,612
b) naturally sq. ft.
occurring
Outdoor Indoor
c) accidental
green green Annual Annual indoor
crops = crops = outdoor vine vine crops =
4. maximum $12,397 $2,169,288 crops = 28,700 374,600
a) least possible per acre per acre lbs. per acre lbs. per acre
b) medium
c) most possible MA RC H/A PRIL 20 2 1 • worldkids 21
4WK21_18-21_TAS.indd 21 2/12/21 3:50 PMGross!
One of its
horns was
also found
nearby.
So . . . what’s a woolly
rhinoceros? We’re glad you asked!
People have discovered fossils of
extinct woolly rhinos in Europe, North
Africa, and Asia. Scientists believe
these creatures died out thousands of
years ago. You can tell only so much
from the scattered remains of crea-
tures that old. But we do know this:
They were big. Like modern rhinos,
their horns stuck out near the fronts
of their heads. Unlike our rhinos, thick,
shaggy hair covered them.
Many of the woolly rhinos people
have studied were buried in ice, just
like our new woolly friend from
Siberia. But not all woolly rhinoceroses
lived in the frozen North. Some made
their homes in warmer grasslands.
Permafrost melts in Yakutia, woolly rhino carcass in August. Size up the woolly rhinoceros to an
Russia. What’s that underneath? In December, scientists were still animal still alive today—the white
It isn’t pretty . . . but it’s pretty waiting for ice roads in the Arctic rhinoceros. Both measure about six
well-preserved. Scientists study the region to become passable. The feet tall and 12 feet long. In both
icy slab of meat. Their suspicions rhino remains are headed to a lab creatures, the front horn is bigger
prove true. They’ve uncovered an for studies. The rhino was likely than the back horn. Just like today’s
ancient woolly rhinoceros! three or four years old when it died. rhinos, the woolly version hauled
What a fi nd! Almost no other How long have its remains waited
specimens of the woolly rhino have in the ice? Scientists will use
6 feet
held together this well for such a radiocarbon studies in the lab to
long time. Thanks to permafrost— try to figure that out.
permanently frozen soil—the The carcass was found on the
carcass still has most of its soft bank of the Tirekhtyakh River in
tissues. Th is old rhino still sports Siberia. Another woolly rhino died
part of its intestines, some thick nearby. How do we know? Scientists
hair, and a lump of fat. One of its found the neighboring animal
two horns was found next to it. there in 2014. They named that
That’s incredible by itself. The specimen Sasha. Sasha, unlike
horns usually decompose this brownish-furred woolly
quickly, says paleontologist rhino, had a coat of
Valery Plotnikov. strawberry
Th is woolly rhino joins blonde.
several other species people
have found in melting Russian
ice. Scientists keep busy making
major discoveries of mammoths,
woolly rhinos, ancient foals, Ice
Age wolves,
and cave
lion cubs. The woolly
rhino likely
CRITTER A local ate grasses,
DIBGD/CC 4.0
AP PHOTOS
FILE farmer fi rst bushes, moss,
found the and trees.
12 feet
22 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_22-25_CF.indd 22 2/12/21 4:00 PMaround a beefy body on short legs.
It probably liked the same foods too:
grasses, bushes, moss, and trees.
Unlike the rhinos you’ll see in the zoo,
h woolly rhino’s fuzzy coat helped it
survive frigid climates. Both white and Bison
f ancient woolly rhinos share just one
predator: humans. Ibex
We could spend our whole lives
trying to trace the works of our
incredibly creative God. The book of
Job talks about an animal called
k, Behemoth. It says this animal eats
grass and its “bones are tubes of
bronze.” (Job 40:15-18) Maybe Ancient painters in Chauvet-
Behemoth was a hippo or a dinosaur. Pont d’Arc, a cave in present-day
But could it have been a woolly rhino? France, seemed to have enjoyed
s It’s a mystery! In any case, we know capturing woolly rhinos in their art.
who preserved this woolly rhino in These early woolly rhino paintings
Bear
Siberia: God. take their place beside depictions of
n By the breath of some creatures you might
God ice is given, recognize: horses, bison,
and the broad ibex, bears, reindeer, musk
waters are oxen, and panthers.
frozen Might these animals
fast. have been woolly rhino’s
— Job neighbors? Perhaps.
37:10 Sadly, some of Woolly’s
other possible neigh-
Reindeer
6 feet
bors painted in the
cave aren’t around
anymore: mammoths
(huge, hairy elephants),
aurochs (large, wild
Do you see the woolly
rhinos in this replica of cattle), and megaloceros Ma
the Chauvet cave? (ancient elk that
sometimes grew to htt
gigantic size). ext
htt
Some mammoths grew pre
to be twice as tall as Musk Oxen
woolly rhinos, and
male mammoth
tusks could measure
up to 15 feet!
DIBGD/CC 4.0
Panther
AP PHOTOS
Mammoth
MA RC H/A PRIL 202 1 • worldkids 23
4WK21_22-25_CF.indd 23 2/12/21 4:01 PMMajor and Champ have a new home: The White House!
Major and Champ are German shepherds. Both belong
to U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill
Biden. The presidential pups moved into the White House
this January when President Biden took office. Champ is
12. He’s already used to the spotlight. President Biden
served as Vice President to Barack Obama. Back then, he
handed out stuffed toys that looked like Champ on tours.
Major roams the lawn with the Major is 2. He came to the Bidens from an animal shelter.
Washington Monument in view. He’s the fi rst shelter pup to become a “First Dog.”
Thirtieth U.S. president Calvin
Coolidge had a nickname: Silent
Cal. He’s remembered for not
saying much. But the White
House wasn’t so quiet when
he lived there. He basically
turned it into a zoo!
Silent Cal had nine dogs.
But that was just the beginning. The Coolidges also
had lions.
The one-legged
rooster belonged to
Teddy Roosevelt!
Fala
stat
Rebecca the Raccoon
was supposed to be
Christmas dinner.
BIDEN DOGS: HANDOUT • LIBR ARY OF CONGRESS • FALA & FDR: AP
Someone donated the
masked mammal to
LOUISA ADAMS: WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
President Coolidge’s
family for eating. But
the First Family decided
to keep her as a pet
instead. Later, they got
her a raccoon playmate
named Rueben.
Woodrow Wilson brought in living lawnmowers.
During World War I, President Wilson kept a
flock of 48 sheep on the White House lawn. Grace Coolidge
They munched the grass. This saved labor was fond of
and money during a hard time in the nation. Rebecca.
Their wool was also auctioned for $52,823.
24 worldkids • MARCH / AP RI L 2 02 1
4WK21_22-25_CF.indd 24 2/12/21 4:01 PMNo pets have lived in the White you want a friend in Washington, get
House for the past four years. The a dog.” White House pets can also
Trump family didn’t have any. help Americans feel a connection to
(Though Vice President Pence’s the presidential family.
family did. The Pences lived at One Life is changing big time for the
Dr. Jill
Observatory Circle. Their rabbit, cat, Bidens. And it’s about to change for
Biden pets
and hive of bees lived there too.) Champ. these pooches in another way too.
Why have pets in the White The Bidens are also getting a cat.
House? For the same reasons anyone Do you pray for your nation’s
keeps pets. Presidential pets can give political leaders?
their owners companionship, First of all, then, I urge that supplica-
comfort, and entertainment. It is very challenging to tions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all
serve as the president of a country. Any president is sure people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may
to face many people who disagree with his or her policies lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and
and actions. President Harry Truman famously said, “If dignified in every way. — 1 Timothy 2:1-2
He also kept four cats, three Theodore Roosevelt, kept White House. Only two
canaries, a goose named quite a menagerie as well. presidents in American
Enoch, a donkey named Teddy had horses, dogs, a history have lived in the
Ebenezer, and a bobcat. bear named Jonathan White House without
Oh—and let’s not forget the Edwards, snakes, guinea pets: James K. Polk and
two lion cubs, the wallaby, pigs, a hyena, a zebra, and Donald J. Trump. (Andrew
the pygmy hippo, and the more. Johnson fed the White Teddy Roosevelt, Jr.,
black bear, gifts from other Altogether, more than House mice.) had a blue macaw
countries. President 26, 400 pets have lived at the named Eli Yale.
Fala enjoyed drives with FDR.
Not just cuddly pets
lived at the White
Mrs. Adams
House. Worms did
collected silk fibers
too. First Lady Louisa from cocoons.
Adams was married to
Fala’s
statue
John Quincy Adams.
She kept silk worms.
The worms lived on
White House mulberry
BIDEN DOGS: HANDOUT • LIBR ARY OF CONGRESS • FALA & FDR: AP
One presidential dog earned himself a trees. Mrs. Adams
statue. People adored President Franklin spun thread from the
LOUISA ADAMS: WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
D. Roosevelt’s little dog, Fala. Americans wrote Fala fibers they made.
thousands of letters. You can find a bronze statue of
the Scottish Terrier in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
1. Permafrost is ____. 2. Modern rhinos ____. 3. The Bidens are 4. ____ kept 5. If you were elected
a) decomposing a) have thick fur bringing ____ to silkworms. President of the
cartilage coats the White House. a) Louisa Adams United States, would
b) a Russian river b) live only in Russia a) no pets b) Theodore you keep pets or not?
c) permanently c) eat only meat b) a beehive Roosevelt If so, which animals
frozen soil d) eat grass, bushes, c) two dogs c) Franklin D. would get a presiden-
d) a cold weather and small trees and a cat Roosevelt tial invitation to live
pattern d) a rabbit d) James K. Polk at the White House?
Answers
on page 5
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