Table of contents for 434 in The Week Junior

Authorities in the US are investigating how a ship collided with a huge bridge in the city of Baltimore, causing the bridge to collapse. What happened? On 26 March, a 290-metre-long ship hit part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is 1.6 miles long. The bridge immediately collapsed into the sea. Six people who were working on the bridge died. The bridge crossed the entrance to Baltimore’s port (where ships go to load and unload). The ship, called Dali, was carrying more than 4,500 heavy shipping containers and was heading from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. Two minutes before it hit the bridge, the ship’s crew issued an emergency call to authorities to say it had lost power. The crew tried to steer away from the bridge and put down…

SECRET PLANTING One of the world’s rarest plants was recently introduced to a secret location in Wales. Wild cotoneaster, officially called Cotoneaster cambricus, usually grows on cliff faces in Wales. Thirty were planted, with protection to stop them from being eaten by animals. A LUCKY BEAVER The RSPCA, an animal charity, has been looking after a beaver that was rescued after it washed up on a beach at Sandwich Bay in Kent, England. Vets gave the beaver a bath to get the salt out of its fur and some snacks to eat, including apples and carrots. Once it’s feeling better, it will be returned to the wild. CLEANING WINDOWS A woman has followed in the steps of her record-breaking father by achieving the women’s record as the world’s fastest window…

At 30 years old, Sabah Ahmedi, from Manchester, England, is one of the youngest imams in the UK. Imam means “in the front” and refers to those who lead prayers at mosques (the Muslim place of worship). Ahmedi told The Week Junior that, “At the age of 16, I decided to give my life for the service of religion.” One of Ahmedi’s passions is sharing his knowledge with younger generations using social media. He says, “I use social media to show snippets of my life as a Muslim, to help people understand Islam better.” Islam is rooted in the Arabic word salam, which means “peace”. Ahmedi says, “I know that a lot of people have misconceptions (incorrect ideas) of Islam so I try to use my platform to remove those,…

Officials in Indonesia have launched a search for the Javan tiger, which was thought to have died out before the 1980s. A recent study suggested the species may still be alive. Three species of tiger used to live in Indonesia: the Javan, the Bali and the Sumatran. Javan and Bali tigers went extinct in the 20th century because of illegal hunting and because a lot of the forests where they lived were chopped down for farmland. Back in 1938, almost a quarter of Java was covered by forest, but by 1975 it was only 8%. Another problem was that rusa deer, which Javan tigers eat, were hit by disease in the 1960s. There have been rumoured sightings of Javan tigers since the 1980s but officially they are still considered extinct.…

Have you seen people playing golf and wanted to give it a try? A campaign called Girls Golf Rocks is helping youngsters try this enjoyable sport for the first time. Created for beginners, the campaign is for children and young people aged five to 18. It involves fun sessions and games over several weeks and is designed to show girls that golf is a sport for them, as well as for boys. Girls Golf Rocks takes place at clubs and courses around England and it is organised by England Golf, a group that helps run the sport. Players get helpful tips from coaches and other young players, and take part in quick games and exercises that teach basic skills. These include learning to swing the club correctly and how to…

A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken. Illustrated by Jan Pienkowski (Puffin Books) This collection from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase author Joan Aiken has eight spellbinding tales. Discover a magical necklace of raindrops that keeps its owner dry in a rainstorm and a tiger that runs faster than the wind. It includes beautiful silhouette illustrations. The Cloud Thief by James Nicol (Chicken House) Mara’s village needs more rain; without it, the crops and animals will suffer. However, in a world where clouds are bought and sold – and are getting more expensive – the only way Mara can get one is to steal it. Will she be brave enough to take on the greedy cloud makers? The Weather Well by Vashti Hardy. Illustrated by Natalie Smillie (HarperCollins) In this…

Name: Bertie Wolf Brother By Michelle Paver “Exciting, tense and magical. This book whisks you off to another world. Spine-tingling and gripping, you will want to take every step of the adventure with the characters.” YOUR TURN Email your book review to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk. If it is printed in the magazine you’ll receive a Roving Reporter badge. Describe your chosen book in three words, then say what you liked about it and why you would recommend it to other readers. Don’t forget to include your name and address.* *If you are the competition winner, we will only use the details you provide to contact you and arrange delivery of your competition prize. Further details about how we manage the data you provide can be found at futureplc.com/privacy-policy…

If you owned a huge manor house in the English countryside, what would you do? If you’re Arabella Greene, the scientist in the new game Botany Manor, you’d turn it into your laboratory for discovering ancient plants and bringing them back to life. Released for Nintendo’s Switch, Microsoft’s Xbox and PC on 9 April, the game has you playing as Arabella. She’s a botanist – an expert in studying plants scientifically – living in the 19th century. Your job is to help her go about her work. The game is about exploring and solving puzzles. You walk around your mansion finding new rooms and items. Those include seeds, which you’ll need to plant in pots and find the best habitat and conditions to make them grow. You do that by…

Hundreds of people stretched out on the streets of Mexico City to mark World Sleep Day on 15 March. World Sleep Day is an annual celebration of the importance of healthy sleep. In Mexico, however, it was not just a celebration of sleep. For some, it was also a protest against working conditions. In Mexico, more than a quarter of workers spend more than 50 hours per week at work. That works out at just over seven hours every single day (the average in the UK is 36.4 hours per week). A musician who took part in the protest said, “I work at night, and I rarely sleep well during the day.” A nurse who was there said some people have to do more than one job to pay their…

Name: Esmé “My grandparents live on the coast of East Anglia and I often visit them. Following the big tides in January of this year, my grandad and I were walking along the beach past some recently eroded cliffs when suddenly I discovered a very large bone lying on the gravel pathway. I was curious as it looked more like a stone and my grandad thought it may be a fossil. We contacted a bone expert from Colchester Archaeological Trust. She confirmed that it was a fossilised bone, likely to be a metatarsal or metacarpal (foot bones) from an ice age bison and could be up to 300,000 years old. ‘What a find!’ she said. It is amazing what you discover in the mud from many different periods, including Victorian…

“I made the rocky road from issue 432 and we are all looking forward to eating it!” Olivia “We love the magazine and look forward to it every week. We made these delicious looking rocky road slices using gluten-free shortbread so our mum could enjoy them with us.” Qasim and Yusuf “This beautiful dragonfly landed on my hand and stayed with me. It was magical.” Phoenix…

In 2023, 52.3 million tonnes of goods from other countries passed through Baltimore’s port, on the east coast of the US. The port is an important gateway for the US, through which products such as cars, farming equipment and sugar are brought into the country or transported abroad. The bridge collapse is unlikely to cause huge problems for US trade, because most ships are now using other ports, but the port’s closure has affected about 8,000 people who work there. Road traffic that would normally have driven over the bridge is being redirected.…

Professor Adeeba Malik has been made West Yorkshire’s first ever Asian female high sheriff. The role dates all the way back to Saxon times – at least 1,000 years ago. In the past, the high sheriff would have collected taxes, put together a local military force and enforced laws. As a high sheriff now, Malik’s job will include going to important local events and supporting voluntary organisations. Malik, from Bradford, England, told the BBC, “I look forward to serving my home county and meeting the many different people who do so much good for West Yorkshire.” She said taking on the role was an honour.…

Looking a bit like a white buttercup, this plant is found across the UK in hedgerows, meadows and areas of old woodland. Wood anemones are one of the first plants to flower in spring, taking advantage of the still-bare trees, which allow light to reach the woodland floor. In fact, if you find this plant in a strange location, it’s often a clue that old woodland was once there. As a result, these are sometimes called “woodland ghosts”. Wood anemones spread slowly along underground stems called rhizomes. They often look like a carpet of tiny white stars, and the flowers are loved by hoverflies. The name anemone comes from the Greek god Anemos, who is said to have sent the flowers ahead of him in spring.…

Curraghs Wildlife Park on the Isle of Man has welcomed two Alaotran gentle lemurs as part of a breeding programme. Brothers Bam and Bacca will be paired with females to try and breed baby lemurs. Experts think there are fewer than 2,500 of the creatures left in the wild, all living on the island of Madagascar. • LIFESPAN: Up to about 23 years.• HABITAT: They are the only primate to live only in wetlands, around Lake Alaotra in Madagascar.• SIZE: Around 80 centimetres long, including their tail.• DIET: Papyrus reeds and grasses.• FUN FACT: They use their hands and front teeth to pick fleas and other parasites out of the fur of their family members, helping to keep them healthy.…

Scientists think that Homo sapiens (modern human beings) spread out around the world after some of them left Africa about 70,000 years ago. They started to settle in Europe and Asia about 25,000 years later, but until now no one knew where or how they lived in the years between. Now researchers think they have figured out where these ancient humans had their base. To find out, the researchers compared modern and ancient human DNA (a chemical that carries information about how a living thing grows). Ancient DNA can be found preserved in the remains of animals and plants. They found that the DNA of people who live in an area called the Persian Plateau closely matched ancient DNA from the earliest groups that left Africa. The Persian Plateau covers…

Nelly Korda Korda won her third LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour event in a row. Her victory came in Arizona, US. Danielle Collins and Jannik Sinner Collins won the women’s Miami Open tennis title and Sinner (pictured) was the men’s champion. Arsenal Women Arsenal Women beat London rivals Chelsea Women 1-0 to win the League Cup final. Stina Blackstenius scored Arsenal’s goal. GB mixed relay cross country team They won bronze at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships. It was Great Britain’s first medal at the event since 2013.…

The wait for Alex Rider fans is finally over, as the teenage spy is back for a third and final series. Alongside his friends, Alex must take on the secretive organisation known as Scorpia, with lots of thrills in store for viewers. Otto Farrant, the actor who plays Alex, tells The Week Junior that Scorpia is not just the biggest threat to the world but also to Alex himself, as the teenager learns about who he truly is. “It’s a big emotional journey,” says Farrant. “And in that, there’s a lot of action, there’s some fun and there are even some surprises.” Actor Vicky McClure is back as Mrs Jones, a high-ranking member of MI6 who has watched over and protected Alex in previous series. McClure tells The Week Junior…

A Boy from Baghdad tells the story of a young Jewish refugee. A refugee is someone who leaves their country because they are being unfairly treated or threatened with violence. The book is written by Miriam Halahmy, but parts of it are very similar to what happened to her husband in real life. In the book, 12-year-old Salman Shasha and his family are forced to leave their home in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1951. They move to Israel, where they live in a camp with other refugees. Arriving in a new country with only a few possessions, life is very tough but everyone helps each other. “It’s very much about how, with the strength of family and friendship, people can overcome the most terrible odds,” Halahmy tells The Week Junior. Salman’s…

Hello, my name’s Olaf Falafel. I’m a dad, a stand-up comedian and the author and illustrator of the Trixie Pickle Art Avenger books. Every month I show you how to create art based on the works of famous artists. Plus, I tell you a really bad joke, like this one: What did the fish say when it swam into a wall? Dam! As spring is blossoming outside at the moment, I thought it would be good to have a look at an artist who made some blooming fantastic flower paintings. Emil Nolde was a German painter and printmaker and he was one of the first Expressionists. Expressionist art uses bright colours and exaggerated shapes to try to show how the artist feels. One method Nolde used to create his flower…

In the run-up to Easter, the Scottish island of Sanday had an unusual chocolate mishap. After a shop’s order went wrong, the island in Orkney (a group of islands in Scotland) had more chocolate Easter eggs than residents. Shop owner Dan Dafydd tried to order 80 eggs but accidentally ordered 80 cases of eggs instead. This meant that the 494 people living there had 720 eggs to get through. Dafydd used the opportunity to raise some money for charity, by setting up a raffle with a prize of 100 Easter eggs.…

A big thank you to all our readers who made the choccy rocky road from two weeks ago and sent us photos. You can see two on the page opposite. Well done all of you! This week’s craft is painting spring blooms with brilliant Olaf Falafel (page 25). Another thank you to everyone who has taken part in the news survey. It closes on 10 April so you still have time to join in at tinyurl.com/TWJ-surveynews. One topic we know you care deeply about is protecting the natural world, and on page 4 we report on the raw sewage being spilled into rivers and the sea and damaging the environment. Our main cover story this week is an intriguing tale: the case of the missing tiger (page 10). Since the…

Institute of Imagination Would you like to make a Junk Bot out of recycled materials and bring it to life using a motor? Or to build your own eco building of the future, inspired by animals and nature? The Institute of Imagination (iOi) is a children’s education charity delivering workshops in STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths). To get the chance to win a STEAM Live workshop for your primary school class, all you have to do is design an invention that will help your community. Either make a video of yourself explaining it or draw a picture alongside a short paragraph about how it will help solve a problem, and email it to hello@iOi.london before 14 April. GET INVOLVED Email your news, views and pictures to…

Teacher’s name: Mr Jankovskis School: Christ Church Academy, Stone, Staffordshire “Mr J is brilliant and lots of fun. He is so happy, he rarely ever gets cross. He helped me and all of my form settle in at our new school really quickly. If we get the double (most achievement points and best attendance) he gives us sweets. He is really good at singing and dancing. He sets us really fun tasks to do. I am so glad he is my form tutor. I love going to school and wish he could be my form tutor for the whole of middle school.” Jessica If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll send your school three free issues of The Week Junior. Send your nominations, along with a…

We love hearing from you! It’s easy – just write a comment when you vote in our online Big Debate poll, or even record a voice note for The Week Junior Show. Last week we asked our readers whether chocolate belongs in a fridge… “No, it tastes better at room temperature.” “Yes, it will melt out of the fridge and become a gooey mess.” “No, it goes hard and you could damage your teeth.” “Yes, chocolate tastes better when it’s cold, especially after a hot day.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

1 The Cotoneaster cambricus plant only grows wild in which country? □ a) Northern Ireland □ b) Wales □ c) England 2 True or false? The University of Oxford versus University of Cambridge boat race takes place on the River Thames. □ True □ False 3 The first-ever theme park based on Dragon Ball is set to be built in which country? 4 What does the village of Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds, England, want to ban? □ a) Trains □ b) Cars □ c) Coaches 5 True or false? The Barkley Marathons running challenge is 75 miles long. □ True □ False 6 What does tiger wee smell like? 7 Which country is the only NATO member that doesn’t have its own permanent army? 8 True or false? Humans are…

If you’ve ever been on a school trip you’ll know coaches are a fun way to travel. As well as giving passengers an opportunity to sing songs, share snacks and make friends, coach trips are a great way to explore new places. However, not everyone agrees. The local council in Bourton-on-the-Water, a village in the Cotswolds, England, wants to ban coaches. With its model village, motor museum and nature reserves, Bourton is popular with tourists and 160,000 visitors arrived in about 3,000 coaches last year – that’s an average of nearly 58 coaches every week. Some residents welcome tourists because they spend money in local businesses. However, others are fed up with huge vehicles blocking narrow roads. What do you think? Should coaches be banned from villages? Yes – they…

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Knapman has become one of Scotland’s youngest mountain rescuers. He was inspired to volunteer at Assynt Mountain Rescue Team after he was in a mountain bike accident in 2022 and had to be rescued himself. He told the BBC, “It really inspired me to find out what mountain rescue does – and how I can help them.” Knapman is in his probation period (a trial time when you are assessed to see if you can do a job) and if he passes he will become a full (official) member, joining his father, Paul, who is already on the team.…

On 4 April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was created. It is an alliance (an agreement to work together) between countries that promise to keep every member safe and defend each other. NATO started out with 12 members, including the UK and the US. In the 75 years since it was established, it has become much bigger and is now made up of 32 countries. The latest NATO member, Sweden, joined on 7 March this year. Why was NATO set up? NATO was created four years after the Second World War (1939–1945). The Soviet Union (a group of countries that was led by Russia) was trying to extend its influence in Europe. This worried the US, as well as many western European countries, because they did not agree…

Have you noticed any differences since the clocks went forward by an hour? Maybe you’ve seen new plant life, or felt the days getting lighter and longer. By observing shifts in nature, you can appreciate changes in your own life too. What is change? Ekta Hattangady is a therapist and mindfulness coach – she helps people pay attention to their thoughts and feelings. “Change means that things are becoming something else,” she says. “One example of change is losing milk teeth and getting new teeth as you grow up. Another example of change is imagining you have a flower. At first it was a seed that received water and sunlight, and grew into a plant with a stem, leaves and flowers. In time the flower will fade – that’s how…

What inspires your stories? It always starts with a mood, a feeling, and that mood comes with an image. For Movies Showing Nowhere it started with an image of an old cinema. Then the story started to unfold in my mind. Characters showed up, secrets appeared. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than in the world of the story when that happens. What is your favourite part of the book? There are a few parts that are special to me, including the parts with Cate sitting on the beam by her bedroom window. That window and beam exist in the real world – they’re from my bedroom when I was a kid. Do you love photography? No, not specifically but I love how Cate’s way of looking at the world around…

“Life must not be spent always hoping, always waiting. Life is for living.” Michael Morpurgo’s book Kensuke’s Kingdom was published in 1999, 25 years ago. It tells the story of Michael, an 11-year-old boy who ends up on a deserted island with his dog Stella after a sailing accident. Soon, Michael encounters an old man called Kensuke, who has lived on the island for more than 40 years. At first the two do not get on at all but as the two spend more time together, their bond grows stronger. Kensuke’s Kingdom was made into a film in 2023.…

MAKE Southwest MAKE Southwest is a craft education charity dedicated to promoting crafts and supporting creators. It runs children’s workshops, activities for foster children and homeschooling groups and puts craft tutors in schools and community groups. It also runs a free, 20-week craft and making club for 13 to 16-year-olds as part of the National Saturday Club, where students learn craft skills as they work towards a Bronze Arts Award. Entry to the charity’s galleries is free and its “Discover Making” education corner is a welcoming space to relax with a guided craft activity. For more information, visit makesouthwest.org.uk…