Kids World May 29

Kids WorldPhone240-7111

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Fax243-3121

When kids speak out, The Sentinel listens

The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Tuesday • May 29, 2012 — D1

megan bollingerCopy Editor

The best summer I ever had was when I went to the beach and I found seashells and one of the animals living

inside the shell bit my nose.Kirsten Weirich, 7 (WINNER)

Hamilton ElementarySecond grade

The best summer I ever had was when I put up my pool. It was a lot of work but I didn’t mind because I didn’t do

the work. I sat and watched! I jumped in the pool. It was so fun. You can do fun stuff. I have little boats. You can also do a cannonball and head slams and back flips and front flips. Then in July we went to Ocean City. It was so much fun. The sad part now is that my brother, my sister and I are too big for the pool. My sister is five, my brother is eleven and I am seven years old. Our pool is only three-

feet deep, but that the best summer ever!Emili Masci, 7 (WINNER)

St. Patrick SchoolGrade 2A

The best summer I ever had was the summer of 2011. I went on a cruise! At Christmas my Nina and Pop-Pop

got us tickets. Finally, when it was time to go we drove to Baltimore and did not get on our plane! It was canceled

so we got a flight to Georgia then to Florida. We finally got there at about 11:30. The next day we got on the boat. My cousin and I roamed all around the ship and checked out the food, pools and decks. As you can see, I had a blast on

that cruise.Sofia Sloat, 10 (WINNER)

Monroe ElementaryFourth grade

The best summer I ever had was when I went to Hershey Park. It was so amazing! There were rides, roller coasters, water rides, oh my! Also, I liked the ice cream. My favorite

part was when we went on the ferris wheel. I could see the whole park. Liam, my older brother, was scared. He’s

afraid of heights.Noah Brenneis, 10


The best summer I ever had was the summer of 2010. It was the summer I went to Disney World and St. Thomas. Disney World was fun because of the roller coasters. St.

Thomas was fun because I went snorkeling and saw a bunch of neat fish in the ocean. It was an amazing sum-

mer.Colby Swartz, 10


The best summer I ever had was four years ago when I went to Colorado. It was the best because I don’t to go there often. Also, it was very fun because we got to go

swimming and have a picnic. Lastly, we got to play in the big grass area in front of the house.

Heather Bowen, 10Monroe Elementary

Fourth grade

The best summer I ever had was when I went to Sea World for my birthday. My grandparents gave me tickets as my present. My favorite part was when I saw the killer whale show. Also, I got to go on a lot of rides. Lastly, I got

sun burned. That was the time I went to Sea World.Hayden Heisner, 10Monroe Elementary

Fourth grade

The best summer I ever had was when it was the Fourth of July and we got to see the fireworks at the beach. We got

to have smoothies and we had glow in the dark sticks to use when it gets dark. When it was time for the fireworks,

we turned them on. They were cool!Katlynn Thorn, 8St. Patrick School

Grade 2A

The best summer I ever had was summer 2011 because when I went to the beach I caught a bunch of huge waves

when I was boogie boarding.Abby Spahr, 8

St. Patrick SchoolGrade 2B

The best summer I ever had was 2010. We got a new dog.Austin Larson, 8

St. Patrick SchoolGrade 2B

The best summer I ever had was swimming. I like to build sandcastles. I like to eat lunch. The best part of sum-

mer is playing with the hose.Erin Dolheimer, 7St. Patrick School

Grade 2B

The best summer I ever had was when I went to the beach. I boogie boarded with my cousins and Uncle Dave. My cousins and I built a sand castle. Every time we went over a wave we named it. My favorite part was when we

named the waves. It was a fun time at the beach.Maddy Szczypta, 8

Mt. Rock ElementaryGrade 2

Tell Me A Story

The best summer I ever had was....

Kids Speak Out

Want to See Your name Here?Hey, kids! How would you like to get your story published

in Kids Speak Out? Just write a short story on one of our prompts and send it to The Sentinel. You can also draw a picture to go with your story. Each week, The Sentinel will publish some of the stories we receive in KidsWorld and on www.cumberlink.com. Only the top three essay writers, published on this page, will receive KidsWorld T-shirts. To claim T-shirts, visit The Sentinel during normal business hours.

You must be 5 to 13 years old to enter. Stories must be 150 words or less. Be sure to include your full name, age, address, school and grade. Mail your entry to “Kids Speak Out,” The Sentinel, 457 E. North St., Carlisle, PA 17013, drop it off at either Sentinel office or mail it to [email protected] with the subject “KidsWorld.”

How you can get involved with Kids Speak OutUpcoming Topics

Due June 1On the last day of school I ...

Due June 8This summer I plan to...

Due Jun 15 I woke up one morning and I was invisible...

Due June 22My favorite after-school snack is....

Due June 29I was lighting some fireworks when....

aDaPTeD by amy FrieDman illUSTraTeD by Jillian gillilanD

Louis was a fat cat who was very fortunate. He lived in luxury. His companion, a woman named Cherie, fed him salmon and caviar. He slept on feather pillows before a fire. Still, Louis often stared longingly out the window. When he stretched his neck, he could sometimes see cats across the way, romping across slate roofs and lolling beneath the sun.

Louis wanted just one thing: He wanted to live the life of those cats on the rooftops. “Paradise!” he purred. And he vowed the moment he had the chance, he’d run away to paradise.

One day a miracle happened. Cherie forgot to close the kitchen window, and when she turned her back, Louis leaped out.

“How beautiful!” he crooned. He could smell sunshine and trees, flowers and baking croissants. He trembled with just the tiniest bit of fear when three cats meowing menac-ingly approached, but they laughed at Louis. “Silly goose! What are you scared of?” they asked. Louis decided he’d meow too. He opened his mouth and joined in their wail-ing. When the others lolled along the rooftop, Louis lolled right beside them.

Before long, an old tomcat stepped forward. “Bonjour,” he said, “my name is Tom. I see you don’t know the ways of the world. I’d be glad to teach you.”

“I accept!” Louis said gratefully. He had never had a cat friend.

Louis was soon following Tom and his gang as they dart-ed through the streets. Like them, he drank water from gut-ters and it tasted sweeter than cream. Everything seemed beautiful. When a female cat passed by, Louis gasped with admiration. “Good day,” Louis said to the female, but the others bit his neck and shoved him out of the way.

“Never mind her,” Tom said. “You’ll meet lots of lovely females out in this world.”

They continued walking beneath the warm springtime sun, enjoying the sights and the smells. They languidly made their way back to the rooftop where they’d met.

Louis was starting to feel hungry. “What do you eat up on these roofs?” he asked Tom.

“Whatever we find,” Tom replied.Louis was embarrassed; he had never hunted for food.

He began to look around, but he couldn’t find a thing and feared he might starve. Then, suddenly, he saw a man preparing a meal through a window. On the man’s table, just above the windowsill, lay a juicy pork chop. Without thinking, Louis jumped through the window and onto the table. He snatched the chop, but before he could get out the window, the man saw him and reached for a broom. He smacked Louis so hard that the chop dropped from his mouth. Louis just managed to escape before the broom came down again.

Tom was standing just outside the window, shaking his head. “Food on tables isn’t for us,” he said. “We eat from the gutters and alleys. We’ll wait until dawn and find our food in the garbage heaps.”

Louis was horrified. “Wait all night?” Tom calmly nodded his head. “You’ll learn,” he said sage-

ly. They left the rooftop to roam dark alleyways. Night

dragged on far too slowly for Louis. The evening mist made him shiver. As rain began falling and the brisk winds blew, Louis began to think how dreary the world outside was after all. There was no sun, no warm roofs, no playing and prancing. His paws slipped on the cobblestone streets, and he began to dream of Cherie’s house and his nice pillows.

Suddenly Tom hissed, “Quick, over here!” He was glid-ing close to the side of a building. When they reached the shelter of a door, Tom whispered, “That man with the hook and basket out there? See him? He’s the animal catcher. If he finds us, we’re dead!”

Now Louis was shivering with fear as well as cold. Rain and wind and men with hooks? Garbage and slippery streets? What more could happen out here?

Louis heard rustling. He turned and saw three men car-rying garbage out to the streets. He raced to inspect it. He longed for a nice piece of meat, a little salmon and some caviar. He rifled through the bags, but he found just three dry bones.

Tom, Louis could see, was an artist. He rifled through the garbage slowly and diligently, and he found a few strips of thin, stale meat. As the cold rain fell onto Louis, all he could think about was his warm, dry prison, where a bowl of salmon and caviar surely awaited him.

When the sun began to rise, Tom looked at him and winked. “You’ve had enough of life out here, haven’t you?”

“I have,” Louis said meekly.“Do you want to go home?” Tom asked. “I do,” Louis said, “but how do I find my house?” Tom wearily shook his head. “When I saw you leave your

house yesterday, I knew a fat cat like you wasn’t meant for the joys of freedom. Follow me.”

Louis followed Tom along cobblestone streets, up to slate rooftops, along paths he barely remembered. Soon they were at Cherie’s window. Tom turned to him and said, “Here you are. Goodbye!”

Louis could not bear to leave his friend out here in the wilds. “Come with me,” Louis said. “I’ll share my bed and food. Cherie is generous.”

Tom waved a paw. “I’d die in there with all those fluffy pillows and rich foods. That’s for weaklings. I need to be free!” He turned and jumped up on the roof and disap-peared.

Louis slipped inside. When Cherie saw him, she screamed, “Bad boy!” But she gathered him in her arms and fed him caviar. Later, stretched out before the fire, Louis rested his head on his feather pillows and closed his eyes. Now he understood that paradise was a place where he might be locked up forever, but he would always have fresh meat, fluffy pillows and a fire.

That was paradise, after all. For a cat, that is.

Cat’s ParadiseA French fable

Kids WorldPhone240-7111

[email protected]

Fax243-3121

When kids speak out, The Sentinel listens

D2 — The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Tuesday • May 29, 2012

megan bollingerCopy Editor

© 2012 Universal Uclick

release dates: May 26-June 1 21-1 (12)

from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick

Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.

To order, send $15.99 ($19.99 Canada) plus $5 postage and handling for each copy. Make check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to Universal Uclick. Send to The Mini Page Book of States, Universal Uclick, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS 66206. Or call toll-free 800-591-2097 or go to www.smartwarehousing.com. Please send ______ copies of The Mini Page Book of States (Item #0-7407-8549-4) at $20.99 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.)

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The Mini Page’s popular series of issues about each state is collected here in a 156-page softcover book. Conveniently spiral-bound for ease of use, this invaluable resource contains A-to-Z facts about each state, along with the District of Columbia. Illustrated with colorful photographsand art, and complete with updated information, The Mini Page Book of States will be a favorite in classrooms and homes for years to come.

NEW!

This summer, people will get the chance to see a rare event. On June 5 and 6, we will be able to see the planet Venus sail between the Earth and the sun. This crossing is called the transit of Venus. The Mini Page talked with experts from NASA to learn more about this exciting event.

Warning! Even though we will be able to see Venus moving across the sun, we will need to wear special eclipse glasses to do so. Staring at the sun without protective glasses can blind us. Sunglasses do not offer enough protection.

In the early 1990s, the Magellan

spacecraft used radar to take pictures of Venus’ surface. Before, Venus’ heavy cloud cover had prevented us from seeing the planet itself.

Between the Earth and the Sun

Venus Passes By

Planet crossing In astronomy, a transit is when a body in space passes between two other bodies. From Earth, we can see only two planets, Mercury and Venus, cross between us and the sun. From Earth, we see 13 to 14 transits of Mercury every century. Because it is a much smaller planet than Venus, it is harder to see these transits. Transits of Venus are much more rare. We are able to see only two every 100 to 121 years. Transits of Venus always come in pairs. There are eight years between each of these paired transits. The last transit of Venus was in 2004. There were none at all in the 20th century. The last transits were in the 1800s. After this June, more than a century will pass before the next pair of Venus transits.

Chance of a lifetime When the last transit of Venus occurred in 2004, it was the first time anyone alive had ever seen one. After the transit this June, few people now alive will ever see another one. The next pair of transits of Venus will be in 2117 and 2125.

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On June 8, 2004, NASA’s TRACE telescope took this rare shot of Venus crossing in front of the sun. This picture gives us a good idea of the size of the sun compared to Venus, or to the Earth. Earth and Venus are roughly the same size.This picture was shot with a special ultraviolet filter.

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Although Venus is actually a planet, it looks like the brightest star in the night sky. Sometimes we can see Venus around sunset, and we call it “the evening star.” At other times, we see it just before sunrise. Then we call it “the morning star.”

photo courtesy Magellan Project, JPL, NASA

Words that remind us of the transit of Venus are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: ASTRONOMERS, DISCOVERY, EARTH, EXCITEMENT, EXOPLANET, GLASSES, JUNE, MATH, MERCURY, PAIR, PLANET, RARE, SKY, SOLAR, SPACE, STAR, SUN, SYSTEM, TELESCOPE, TRANSIT, VENUS, VIEW.

Venus try ’nfind

Watch the transit —

safely!

V S S E P O C S E L E T S K YT E O P M Y R E V O C S I D ER P N L A A K Y R U C R E M AA L J U A C T S E S S A L G RN A U S S R E H Y V E R A R TS N N U M E T S Y S R I A P HI E E N M T N E M E T I C X ET T R A T S T E N A L P O X EW E I V S R E M O N O R T S A


Basset Brown

the news

Hound’s

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ready resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for websites,books or other resources that will help you learnmore about this week’s topics.On the Web:

At the library:


Viewing the TransitPrime viewing The transit of Venus will be on June 5 or 6, depending on where you are watching it. At least part of it will be visible from most of the Earth. Everyone in North America will be able to see at least part of the transit.

about 6 p.m. on June 5. It will be dark before the transit is completed.

to see more of the transit, but it will be dark there too before it is over. In the Pacific Ocean, viewers will be able to watch the entire transit. NASA Edge will broadcast the entire transit live

will take more than six hours for Venus to cross from one side of the sun to the other.

telescopes or binoculars unless they have been fitted with special solar filters on the large end of the telescope or binoculars.

with two pieces of paper..

To learn about safe eclipse glasses,

To learn about pinhole projectors, you can go to:

Safe viewing sun. This could cause serious injury

the transit of Venus safely:

glasses. Even with eclipse glasses, don’t stare at the sun for more than a few minutes at a time. Look with the glasses, then take a break and look away for a bit.

Sunglasses do not offer the same protection as eclipse glasses. They do not have the right kind of filter.

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NASA’s TRACE spacecraft captured this shot of Venus beginning the transit across the sun in 2004. The lighter reddish ring around Venus is caused by Venus’ atmosphere scattering the light.

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeCottage Cheese Spread

You’ll need:

1 4 cup shredded carrot1 4 cup chopped cucumber1 4 cup chopped green pepper1 4 cup chopped celery

1 2 teaspoon garlic herb spiceWhat to do:

3. Spread on crackers or sliced cucumbers. You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.


TM


Olive:Oprah:

Oscar: What is a smart bird’s favorite type of

TM

All the following jokes have something in common.

Oliver: What does it sound like when owls and

Orville:

Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy is watching the transit of Venus with some


TM


Meet Trevor Jackson

on June 15. Trevor has appeared in many TV shows, including

dancing in shows in his community when he was 3

form of Brazilian martial arts called capoeira

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The Excitement of Discovery

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

Early observers Experts have found evidence that earlier civilizations, such as the Babylonians* and Aztecs,** might have observed transits of Venus.*Babylonians lived thousands of years ago in what is now Iraq.**Aztecs lived in what is now Mexico from about the 1300s to the 1500s.

math to predict a transit in 1631. To his dismay, he did not realize it would not be visible from his home in

discovered there would be a second

seeing that one because the sky was so cloudy. At the last minute, the clouds opened, and they became the first people to watch a transit of Venus in a scientific manner.Excitement builds Astronomers soon realized that by timing when the transit began and ended from different places on Earth, they could use those findings, and math, to figure out the size of the solar system. By the 1700s, when the next transits were due, astronomers all over the world were filled with excitement. Major scientific expeditions were launched to measure the transit.

Keeping hope alive Astronomers waited 100 years for the next transits of Venus. By 1882, the transit of Venus was the top headline in papers all over the world. Once more, scientists braved dangers and hardships to view the transits. This time, they were able to figure out that the Earth was about

This was nearly as exciting a discovery as the moon landing was less than a century later. It captured the imagination of the whole world.

Seeking answers The transits of Venus in 1761 and

first time, scientists from all over the world joined forces to solve a mystery. Astronomers journeyed to the far corners of the Earth to observe the transits. These astronomers set off to mountaintops and distant islands. They had no telegraphs or phones. They didn’t even have accurate clocks to record the transit times. Although they did not have enough technology in the 1700s to take accurate measurements, they did learn a lot. A Russian astronomer saw a kind of glow around Venus

and realized it might have an atmosphere. People got excited. They thought Venus might be a jungle planet inhabited by alien beings.

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Jeremiah Horrocks was the first person to predict and observe a transit of Venus.

The Mini Page thanks Eric Christian and Lori S. Glaze, NASA, for help with this issue. Next week, The Mini Page is about seabirds.

This is an artist’s idea of an exoplanet transiting across its star.

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Transits of exoplanets Transits of planets are very important to astronomers today. Finding planetary transits is the main way they discover new planets, or exoplanets, orbiting distant stars.

It is 865 degrees F on the surface of Venus, hot enough to melt lead! There is no life there.

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Supersport: Russell WestbrookHeight: 6-3 Birthdate: 11-12-88Weight: 187 Hometown: Long Beach, Calif.

guard is really a high-numbers guy. In his first three seasons, he totaled more than 4,000 points, 1,500 assists and 1,000

rebounds, one of just five NBA players ever to hit those marks so quickly.As the powerful Thunder rumbled toward the playoffs, Westbrook

24 points during the regular season, providing a potent one-two scoring

Westbrook also dishes out assists — on and off the court. Last year, he assisted teammates in helping to rebuild a needy family’s home.

big numbers in the record books.

TM

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Kids World May 29