Chopsticks

Shay can never hold her chopsticks properly. When she uses them, they crisscross and make an X, and sometimes she cannot quite pick up the slippery pieces of tofu. Her mother laughs.

Matthias and the Dragons

STRIDING QUICKLY ALONG, Matthias glanced uneasily at the black stone cliffs towering beside him. Ahead, a still lake swarmed with dark clouds of midges. Finally, he spied the faraway ocean. Now I know my way back, he thought. I’d better hurry. We’re leaving the inn this afternoon, and Father won’t be too pleased if I’m late.

Doodlebug & Dandelion - The Jellybean Machine

“Where’s Dandelion?”

THE FUN ZONE : Sundial

TAKE THIS SUNDIAL, or shadow clock, outside on a sunny day. It’s not as exact as a watch, but it’s more fun!

Letters from Leo

CHILDREN STORIES

Meltdown at the Doughnut Factory

CHILDREN STORIES

OPHELIA'S LAST WORD - EXTREME JELLYBEAN CUISINE

IT TAKES A long time to make jellybeans! But whipping up this delicious jellybean bark won’t take you a whole week.

Telling Time

Art by Kelly Canby

Secret Message Scytales

HISTORY COMICS

ONE WEEK WONDER

WOULD YOU WAIT a week to eat a jellybean?

Golden Crested Crane

GRANDMOTHER STORIES

The Stolen Smell

A Peruvian Folktale

Ophelia's Last Word - Blowhole Your Nose

Not feeling whale? Stop your blubbering, and turn your tissue box into the biggest thing on land or sea!

Doodlebug & Dandelion

Very Skunky Valentine

The War of the Noses

It could have happened anyplace: Two noses met up face to face.

SNOT-COPTER: Drone at Work

THE BOAT IS on the move. It speeds over icy waters toward a humpback whale.

Fruity Valentine Nachos

Strawberries are red; Blueberries are blue. Valentine nachos Say, “I love you!”

Soured on Pickles

IT STUCK TO the bar of soap in the bathtub, so you didn’t want to wash with it.

Kitty Cleanup

HAVE YOU EVER wondered how your cat does such a good job of cleaning herself using just her tongue? Try this activity and find out!

Odor-able Valentine

SPRAY HOW YOU feel this Valentine’s Day by sharing this silly card with your friend or family!

A very Special Gift for Grandma

Mom says it’s Grandma’s birthday next week. Jack says he’s going to make her something out of LEGO® blocks. Does Grandma even like that stuff? I want to give her something she’ll like.

The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird

A Tale from the Lenni Lenape

R.A.O.K. Spinner

AN R.A.O.K., OR “random act of kindness,” is something you do to make someone feel good, just because. Spread some New Year’s cheer with this R.A.O.K. spinner!

Ice Music

EVERY WINTER IN Luleå, Sweden, a remote town located just beneath the Arctic Circle, people are treated to a special concert. It’s not like any concert or recital you might have been to. The concert hall is an igloo, and all the musicians play instruments made almost entirely of ice! These ice concerts have also traveled to places such as Beaver Creek, Colorado, and the Italian Alps.

Doodlebug & Dandelion

Doodlebug and the Diva

Turtles Crossing

ALEX PEDALED HIS bike along the country lane that led to his house. As he rounded a bend, the tips of the cattails that grew around Johnson’s Pond came into view. His dad took him canoeing there sometimes, and Alex loved it. The pond was always so alive with activity. Frogs croaked along the shore, dragonflies hunted among the cattails, and sometimes Alex discovered turtles basking on sunny rocks.

THE FLYING TORTOISE

A Nigerian Folk Tale

Catching Frogs in the Clouds

PROFESSOR MARCIO PIE and his team stop on top of a mountain in Brazil. It’s cool and damp under the trees. The scientists listen.

A Fish Named Dog

I locked eyes with the fish as I tapped flakes of food into his tank. He stared blankly at me through the glass. Not exactly my idea of a perfect pet.

Jackson, Jackson, Make Up Your Mind!

ON A BLAZING hot summer day, the Johnson family piled into their rusty, old station wagon. Behind Mom and Dad sat Joseph and Jeffrey. Then Julie and Jolene in the row in between. Next came Jocelyn, Justin, and Jackson, all crowded in back. They were headed to Zindel’s Ice Cream Shoppe.