Wild Neighbors

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS IS a big city—not the sort of place you’d expect to find wild predators. So when people started spotting coyotes in downtown Chicago, they had lots of questions.

The Day the Dogs Disappeared

THERE WAS A time, many moons ago, when humans and coyotes lived in harmony. People told stories of the great trickster Coyote and how he brought fire to humans, winter to the world, and stars to the Milky Way. They honored coyotes with dances and songs. They even saved the best scraps of meat for them.

Solar Pizza Oven

THE SUMMER SUN is hot, but can it cook a pizza? Yes! This tasty experiment uses heat-trapping cardboard, reflective foil, and light-absorbing black paper to harness the sun’s energy into a solar-powered pizza oven. On the next hot, sunny day, cook your own pizza with sunlight and science!

The Memorial Day Mission

“IS THAT THE last one, Poppy?” asked Boomer. His great-grandfather nodded. Every Memorial Day, they placed little flags by the headstones of a dozen pilots. Boomer and Poppy walked out the gates of the cemetery toward home.

Doodlebug & Dandelion

A Night at the Starlite Part 2

Cosmic Mudballs from Space!

ON A TUESDAY night in April 2019, a bright fireball streaked across the sky over Aguas Zarcas, Costa Rica. A meteor! As it entered Earth’s atmosphere, the meteor broke into hundreds of small pieces that rained down on the small town.

Candles in Space

MY BIRTHDAY WAS going to be extra special for two reasons. For one thing, like Commander Park said, “Nobody’s ever turned nine in space before, David.”

Doodlebug & Dandelion Little Green Man

An English Fairy Tale

Watch Out for the Hedley Beast

An English Fairy Tale Retold by Madeline Juran

Cloud Fishing

An English Fairy Tale

THE FOX, THE HEDFEHOG, AND THE BAD OF TRICKS!

The basic story about a cat and fox discuss how many tricks

Mirabella the Magnificent and the Dragon

PRINCESS MIRABELLA WAS sprawled on the throne-room floor with her favorite jigsaw puzzle when the dragon arrived.

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, early mapmakers marked unexplored areas with the warning: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS.

Doodlebug & Dandelion Once Upon a Leap Year

Story about Doodlebug & Dandelion

How Big Bear Stuck To The Sky

A NATIVE AMERICAN LEGEND

Somebody Catch That Christmas Tree!

“POPCORN, NO!” MRS. SIDNEY shouted.

Glorious Gelt!

ON HANUKKAH, FAMILIES exchange presents, play dreidel, and snack on delicious gelt: chocolate candies shaped like coins. Why coins?

Woolly Weather Woes

BZZZZZZ WENT THE sheep-shearing clippers.“Hold her tight, Humphrey!” Hildy cried.

Fabulous Facts: Sheep

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all had sheep. President Woodrow Wilson kept sheep on the White House lawn.—Ophelia

The Fable Of The Three Cats

ALONG TIME AGO, when the ancient landscape of Japan was dotted with hundreds of castles and the country was ruled by the sword, there was a great samurai warrior who was pestered by a large rat.

Pumpkin Pockets

Making of Recipes.

Doodlebug & Dandelion

Ghost Walk

The Very Wicked Witch and the Village Play

THE VERY WICKED Witch sat at her gnarled breakfast table and chuckled.

The Epic World Of Puppet Theater

A DRAGON EMERGES from a foggy lake.

Doodlebug & Dandelion

Pine Nutters’ News.

The Beavers That Struck It Rich

CLUTCHING THREE BAGS, a woman in eastern Louisiana rushed through the woods. Rather than return the bags to their rightful owner, she hurled them into a creek as if they were on fire. Splash! In a panic, she fled.

Dusting For Fingerprints

SOMEONE WENT INTO your room and moved something. Was it your mom, your brother, or the cat? Dust for fingerprints to find out!

Mole Rat Keeps His Feet Dry

A Kenyan Folk Tale

Snake Finger Puppets

What You’ll Need:scissorsglue or tape 

The Visitor

THE SIGHT OF a knobby head, bulging eyes, and long ferocious teeth might upset some Earth natives, but Commander Garg’s strange appearance did not seem to bother Mrs. Thompson.