Table of contents for 513 in The Week Junior

16 October is Conflict Resolution Day. What do you think is the best way to resolve an argument between friends or siblings? See page 14 to read about how peace has been restored after wars. Experimental crops of rice are being grown in the UK for the first time. If you could grow any food at home, what would be your first choice? Read about how horned melons and wasabi are also being grown in the UK on page 12. Alysia-Lara Ayonrinde has written a book about heroes from the past. Who do you most admire from history? Find out whose stories really inspired Ayonrinde on page 11. The big debate Are digital ID cards a good idea? Page 10.…

On 6 October, talks began in Egypt over a new plan to end the conflict in Gaza. Gaza is a strip of land that borders Israel and Egypt and is home to Palestinian people. The plan was put together by a team in the US and announced by the US president Donald Trump on 29 September. What is happening in Gaza? Intense fighting has been taking place in Gaza since 7 October 2023 – two years ago this week – when a long-running conflict between Israel and Hamas got much worse when Hamas attacked Israel. Hamas is an armed group that governs Gaza. It is classified as a terrorist group by several countries including the UK. Israel says around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were kidnapped and…

Paralympic medallist Stef Reid is on a mission to get companies to sell single shoes, not just pairs. As a teenager, Reid had to have her right foot removed after an accident. She went on to win sprinting and long jump medals at the Paralympic Games. Her campaign to get brands to sell single shoes isn’t just about saving people money. She thinks it’s wrong that some companies use mannequins (models of people used to advertise clothes) with artificial legs but they don’t sell single shoes. She told BBC News that she wants companies’ advertising to match “the actual buying experience”.…

Chester Zoo has celebrated the birth of its first coppery titi monkey. The species is threatened from its forest homes being cut down. They help keep forests healthy by spreading seeds. • LIFESPAN: Up to 20 years. • HABITAT: Amazon rainforest in Peru and Brazil. • SIZE: They are around 33cm long and they weigh up to 1.2kg • DIET: More than 100 different types of fruit, including figs. • FUN FACT: Coppery titis wrap their tails around each other to strengthen relationships and keep their balance.…

On 16 October it is Conflict Resolution Day. An organisation called the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) began marking it in 2005. The aim is to promote peaceful ways of solving conflict wherever they happen: in schools or families, communities or nations – or even between friends. What creates conflict? There are lots of types of conflict but they all involve people disagreeing. Two people might argue over which is the best football team or the best way to get somewhere. In serious disagreements people might stop speaking to each other or even fight. Conflict on a bigger scale can lead to violence or war. An example of this in the UK was “the Troubles”, a conflict centred in Northern Ireland in the late 20th century. Two religious groups –…

• In the UK, a rare disease is classed as an illness that affects no more than one person out of every 2,000. • One in 17 people are affected by a rare disease during their lifetime. • There are more than 3.5 million people in the UK living with a rare condition. • Some rare disorders affect only one or two people in the entire UK. • 80% of rare diseases are caused by changes in genes. Genes contain instructions for how an individual creature will develop and grow.…

We’re already very excited for the festive season, but we need your help. We want YOU to create the front cover for our Christmas issue, with the theme “Peace on Earth”. Your image could be a symbol of peace and love; it could be a scene of friendship between people; it could show togetherness at Christmas – or it could be your own invention. It’s up to you. Whatever you decide to create, make sure it is clear, eye-catching and colourful. The judges include a team from The Week Junior and artist Rebecca Cobb, who illustrated There’s a Tiger on the Train, written by Mariesa Dulak. It won the Book of the Year: Picture Book category at The Week Junior Book Awards 2025. The prize The winning design will be…

Spending time outside is not just fun, it’s also good for your physical and mental health as well as your development. However, a recent study by the University of Exeter found that a third of young people don’t play outdoors after school and one in five don’t play outside at weekends. Why is there less outdoor play? There are several reasons why children today may spend less time outdoors, explains Dr Daniel Gordon from DGA Health. He says, “Phones, tablets and games consoles are very tempting and can take up a lot of free time. Homework, clubs and activities can take up so much time that we often forget to leave free time for just playing outdoors for the fun of it.” A report earlier this year found that there…

Mando and Grogu head to cinemas Fans of Star Wars can enjoy a new big screen adventure next year with The Mandalorian and Grogu film.Directed by Jon Favreau, the film brings the main character from the Disney+ series to the big screen. Pedro Pascal returns as the Mandalorian bounty hunter (a person who locates people for a reward) tasked with looking after Grogu – nicknamed “Baby Yoda”. The film’s first trailer shows the duo battling robots and monsters. The story follows “Mando” and Grogu as they fight against warlords who once ruled the galaxy. The cast includes Sigourney Weaver as a pilot and Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt. The release on 22 May 2026 will be the first Star Wars film since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. BIG…

The Fate of Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood. Illustrated by David Wyatt (Faber Children’s) Brave rabbit hero Podkin and his crew have brought all their gifts together to transform them into a suit of armour that will only fit a rabbit with one ear. Now Podkin must put it on and call together all the armies of the Five Realms to defeat their great enemy. The Ship of Strays by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Hachette Children’s) In the final part of the Geomancer fantasy trilogy, Ysolda has unlocked earth magic, and its powers are rising within her. With the help of a rebel princess, she sets out to race against the fearsome wolf queen. On their stormy journey over the sea, they face pirates and peril, and the future of the…

Name: Salihah The Queen’s Fool by Ally Sherrick “Funny, relatable and unexpected. This book made me see the world differently and reminded me that everyone is someone, and is important.” YOUR TURN Please email your book review to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk. If it is printed in the magazine you will receive a Roving Reporter badge. Describe your chosen book in three words, tell us what you liked about it and why you would recommend it to others. 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.…

A jacket-unzipping machine Steve Price, who goes by the social media name of Sprice Machines, has created a crazy machine that unzips his jacket for him. Through a complex chain reaction (a process where one event triggers the next), marbles roll along tracks, notepads fall and scissors snip through yarn, before the machine finally unzips his jacket. It ends with a mannequin (dummy) hand giving a thumbs-up sign. His other inventions have included machines that can pop balloons, deliver snacks or slice a loaf of bread. Art you can touch, but not see Usually, museums and galleries don’t allow visitors to touch the objects on display in case they damage the artworks. This isn’t the case at the Nature in Art Museum and Art Gallery near Gloucester, England, where an…

Teacher’s name: Mr Redmond School: St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, Widnes, England “I would like to nominate Mr Redmond because he is the best teacher I’ve ever had. He’s very funny and makes everybody laugh. Mr Redmond makes subjects more fun to learn about. At extra break he plays football with the whole class, or we teach him gymnastics. When I’m upset, he makes me smile and laugh again. When I go back to school, I’m going to give him the biggest hug ever.” Mollie 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 picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk JOKE OF THE WEEK…

“This book made me see the world differently and reminded me that everyone is someone, and is important.” These are the words of Salihah as she recommended a book on page 24. That idea feels particularly important this week, as peace talks about Gaza take place in Egypt (page 4) and after the attack on the synagogue in Manchester (page 6). It so happens that Conflict Resolution Day is on 16 October. Our All About feature on page 14 explores how disagreements are settled. Whether it’s an argument between friends or a fight between countries, peace comes through talking and learning to see each other’s point of view. The feature also shows how other countries help, working with each side to set a path back to peace. Finally, our cover…

On 6 October, Israel deported 171 activists (forced them to leave the country), including the well-known campaigner Greta Thunberg. She was on one of 42 boats that set sail for Gaza in late August. The boats were carrying aid for people in Gaza. Activists on board wanted to raise awareness of the suffering of people living in the territory. They were stopped by Israeli forces blocking the entry of boats into Gaza. The passengers were taken onto land and some of them were sent back to their home countries.…

A TALENTED PAINTER Young artist Sophia has been named winner of the 2025 Copley Prize, an art competition run by the Lowry theatre in Salford, England. The 10-year-old’s painting was inspired by the work of artist L.S. Lowry and will be on display at the theatre for a year. WELSH FOOTBALL The Wales men’s Over-70s football team have become world champions for a second year in a row. The team beat the US 2-0 at the World Cup final in Japan and didn’t concede a goal throughout the whole tournament. WHITE-CLAWED CRAYFISH Rare crayfish rescued in July have been released into a river in Yorkshire, England. More than 30 white-clawed crayfish were struggling because water was short after dry weather. They have been rehomed in a tributary (stream that runs…

People use all sorts of different official documents to prove their identity, including passports and driving licences. Now, the Government plans to introduce an extra form of ID that everyone must have before they start a new job. The Government said the digital ID cards will discourage people from moving to the UK illegally to work, because the cards will replace other types of checks that are easier to fake. Lots of other countries, including Australia and Estonia, already have some form of digital ID scheme. However, some people are worried about how safely their information will be stored and are not happy about giving away so much of their personal information. What do you think – are digital ID cards a good idea? Yes – they’ll be very useful…

This fungus looks straight out of a fairy tale but is found across the UK in woodland, parks and heaths with trees. Fly agaric often appears in autumn, most likely beneath birch, pine or spruce trees. The mushroom grows to between eight and 18 centimetres, with a white stalk and an orange or bright red cap between eight and 20 centimetres across. The cap has white “gills” underneath and often white wart-like spots on the top. Fly agaric grows from an underground network called mycelium, which is made up of thread-like fibres called hyphae. These threads often wrap themselves around tree roots, giving the tree nutrients in return for sugars produced by the tree. Be careful! Fly agaric is poisonous. In the past, people used it to make an insecticide…

Socorro doves A Socorro dove chick has hatched at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England, offering hope for the species that’s been extinct in the wild since 1972. There are thought to be only 209 of the doves in zoos and wildlife parks worldwide. The chick represents an important step towards reintroducing the species to the wild on their native Socorro Island, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. Zoo staff report that the chick is thriving but still relying on its parents for food.…

The Royal Mint has created a special collection of wedding and engagement jewellery made from recycled electronics. The Royal Mint is the UK’s official maker of coins and it is in Llantrisant, in Wales. Every year, millions of tonnes of electronic items are thrown away. This is known as “e-waste”, and it can contain small amounts of precious metals. The Royal Mint has a special factory that uses technology to extract some of the precious metals to use them again. The new wedding jewellery is part of the Royal Mint’s 886 brand, which features bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings. The pieces are made from gold that has been recovered from mobile phones and laptops. The gold comes from the circuit boards inside old gadgets – but each device only contains…

The top young netball teams competed for the Netball World Youth Cup recently. It’s the biggest international prize for players aged 21 or younger. Eighteen countries took part in the nine-day event held in Gibraltar, which included England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Australia defeated New Zealand in the final to win the trophy for the fifth time. At the beginning of the competition the teams were placed into four groups, called pools. Each team played against all the others in their pool. England and Wales were in the same pool and their game finished with England winning by 65 points to 28. England came top of their pool and Wales were third. Scotland won three of their four pool games to finish second. Northern Ireland failed to win any…

The UK is home to more than 70,000 known wildlife species. Lots of them are hard to spot; they might be tucked away or in the open but well disguised. Wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin’s new TV show, Hamza’s Hidden Wild Isles, reveals hidden gems from across the British Isles. There are lots of things to look out for, including badgers, snakes and tuna fish. Along the way, Yassin meets people who are doing their bit to protect wildlife. Yassin told The Week Junior that he hopes viewers will learn to love the UK’s under-appreciated wildlife. One example is the adder, a type of snake that he said is often “villainised” and seen as scary. In the show, Yassin meets Nigel, a conservationist helping to protect adders. “Nigel is a prime…

Antz Netflix Deep within an ant colony, a worker ant called Z decides he doesn’t just want to be like all the other worker ants. Instead, he has dreams of expressing himself and standing out from the crowd. His life becomes especially tricky when he meets the royal ant Princess Bala and falls in love with her. He does everything to see her again, getting into trouble, including a showdown with some fearsome termites. Meanwhile, the treacherous General Mandible, who is due to marry Bala, has an evil plan for the colony. Will Z work out what’s going on before it’s too late and save his fellow ants? Now more than 25 years old, Antz is a classic animated movie about freedom, bravery and being true to yourself.…

by Nat Harrison (Piccadilly Press) Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic adventure novel by the French author Jules Verne, first published in 1872. It’s about a man named Phileas Fogg who sets out to prove that he can travel around the world in 80 days, at a time when cars and aeroplanes didn’t exist. This reimagining of the story is told from the point of view of Maggie – an orphan who has escaped from a Victorian workhouse. When she crosses paths with the mysterious Phileas Fogg and his servant, Passepartout, she joins them on an extraordinary journey. They travel through Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, America and India, with a bank robber on the loose and an angry detective on their tail. Nat Harrison’s thrilling adventure allows…

Would you like to explore space without actually having to blast off on a rocket? These games, apps, podcasts and websites can help. US space agency NASA’s mobile app has photos and videos, news about space missions, information about astronauts and much more. Apps such as SkySafari, Star Walk 2 and Night Sky can help anyone become a stargazer. You can use them at night to point your phone at the sky and identify stars, planets and constellations (groups of stars such as Leo, the Lion and Cancer, the Crab). These apps can even track satellites, so you will know when the International Space Station is overhead. NASA has a good website called Space Place, with games and information about space and the science that helps humans to explore it.…

Wordsearch Can you find all of the words listed? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and may read forwards or backwards. AEROPLANE AIRSHIP BALLOON BAT BEE BIRD BLIMP BUTTERFLY DRONE HELICOPTER INSECT JET JUMBO KITE MOSQUITO MOTH ROCKET SHUTTLE SPACESHIP WASP Shortcode Eight letters of the alphabet have been replaced by numbers. Crack the code to find the words. Word fill in All these words fit in the grid. Can you work out where each word goes to complete it? 4 letters GOLF POOL 5 letters BOWLS RUGBY 6 letters HOCKEY SQUASH 7 letters CRICKET CROQUET HURLING NETBALL SNOOKER 8 letters FOOTBALL LACROSSE ANSWERS ARE ON PAGE 33 Number tower Place a number in every circle to complete the tower. The value in each circle is the sum of…

BBC 500 Words If you are a budding writer aged five to 11, then the BBC’s 500 Words competition is for you. Write a story you would love to read in up to 500 words. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes – just let your imagination flow. If you’re one of 50 finalists, you will be invited to the grand final at Windsor Castle, where the winners will be announced. Judges include children’s author Francesca Simon and Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. The deadline for entries is 7 November. To find out more, ask an adult to visit the competition website at tinyurl.com/TWJ-500story WIN A BADGE! Email your news, views and pictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Please include your full name and address so that we can send you a Roving…

1 Dr Jane Goodall is famous for working with which animals? ☐ a) Whales ☐ b) Elephants ☐ c) Chimpanzees 2 True or false? Heidi Alexander is the UK’s Transport Secretary. ☐ True ☐ False 3 Rock carvings of animals dating back 12,000 years have been discovered in which country? 4 When is the digital ID scheme expected to be introduced in the UK? ☐ a) Next month ☐ b) 2029 ☐ c) 2039 5 True or false? Estonia has had digital ID cards for more than 20 years. ☐ True ☐ False 6 Which Paralympic medallist is on a mission to get companies to sell single shoes, not just pairs? 7 When did farmers harvest the UK’s first crop of chickpeas? ☐ a) 1999 ☐ b) 2019 ☐ c)…

Rescue efforts took place on 3 and 4 October to save hundreds of people stranded near Mount Everest by a blizzard. A blizzard is a severe storm with heavy snow and strong winds. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world and stands on the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China. Its summit (tallest point) is 8,849 metres high. Heavy snow began to fall across the Himalayan mountain range on the evening of Friday 3 October. The weather steadily got worse over the weekend, stranding about 580 people who were hiking in the area near the eastern slopes of Everest. October is a popular month for people to hike around Mount Everest because the weather is usually settled. Lots of Chinese tourists had travelled to the…

People gathered across the UK to pay tribute to those who died in an attack on a synagogue in Greater Manchester, in north-west England. A synagogue is a Jewish place of worship. What happened? The attack happened on 2 October at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue. It was the day of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. During the attack, two Jewish people were killed and five more were injured. Police officers armed with guns killed the attacker at the scene. People who were worshipping in the synagogue were kept inside the building until it was safe for them to leave. What was the response? The UK’s Chief Rabbi (a rabbi is a Jewish religious leader or teacher), Ephraim Mirvis, told BBC Radio 4, “Right now, our…

Work has begun to clean up damage after large parts of the UK were affected by Storm Amy. The storm arrived on 3 October and caused lots of disruption and damage over large areas. Homes were left without power across Scotland and Northern Ireland; railway lines were closed in some parts of the UK; ferries were cancelled; and roads were blocked by fallen trees and flooding. The Met Office, the UK’s national weather service, recorded wind speeds of up to 96 miles per hour across northern Scotland. The Glen Cassley area, for example, had 84.6 millimetres of rainfall in just 24 hours. In London, all eight of the royal parks, including Hyde Park, were closed because of strong winds. Across Ireland, thousands of homes lost their power during the storm.…

When author Alysia-Lara Ayonrinde was 13 years old, she met Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa. Mandela campaigned for black people in South Africa to have the same rights as white people. Meeting him was a very special moment for Ayonrinde, and she told The Week Junior, “It continues to inspire me today.” Inspirational people are the focus of Ayonrinde’s new book, Heroes of Hope, which she wrote with Sharon Prentis. Ayonrinde said the book was written because she feels it is important to tell stories about people and cultures from all around the world. She said, “Too often, young people don’t see themselves in the stories they’re told or the people who are celebrated.” There are 22 heroes celebrated in the book, and Ayonrinde said she’s most…

Farmers are growing rice in the UK for the first time. More than half of the world’s population eats the grain, including most people in Britain. In the past it wasn’t possible to grow it in the UK because it can be too cold, but the warming climate means that rice now stands a chance. Farmers in the Cambridgeshire Fens are trying nine types of rice, as well as traditional crops such as lettuce, to test how different crops could work. The rice types include risotto, basmati and sushi rice. The farmers are working with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, which researches nature and water systems. Rice looks like thick grass but it has small brown beads running up the stalk. These are grains of rice, and they…

Britain’s rarest snake is thriving in Devon, England, after a successful reintroduction project. Experts are celebrating as smooth snake numbers reached record highs, 16 years after conservation efforts began. The snakes were reintroduced to Devon in 2009, when 17 were relocated from a site in Dorset, England. The species had been missing from Devon for 50 years. Last year, conservationists counted 39 smooth snakes at Pebblebed Heaths in Devon, a 25% increase from the previous high of 31 in 2023, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Smooth snakes are non-venomous and harmless to humans. They are a grey or brown, about 60 or 70 centimetres long, and are named for their flat, smooth scales. The snakes have a heart-shaped marking on their heads, and each…

Etosha National Park A huge fire has burned through one third of Namibia’s Etosha National Park. Etosha is known for its large salt pan (a flat area covered with natural salt) and native wildlife. The blaze burned through around 7,750 square kilometres of grass, plants and trees in the park, endangering the 114 mammal species that live there, including rare black rhinos. Namibia’s government sent more than 500 soldiers with helicopters to help firefighters put it out.…

Scientists say they have developed a therapy that can slow down a disease that has no cure. Huntington’s disease is a brain illness that is passed down through families. It is named after the American doctor George Huntington, who wrote about the disease more than 150 years ago. Huntington’s disease is caused by an accidental change in one gene, called the huntingtin gene. A person’s genes contain the instructions on how the person will develop and grow. The change in the huntingtin gene causes damage to a person’s brain, which gets worse over time. There are between 6,000 and 10,000 people living with Huntington’s disease in the UK. About 20,000 others have the changed gene and could develop the disease. Symptoms of the disease usually start between the ages of…

Miriam Chebet and Yismaw Dillu Chebet was the women’s champion and Dillu took the men’s title at the Cardiff Half Marathon event in Wales. Brazil para athletics squad Brazil finished top of the medal table at the World Para Athletics Championships with 15 gold, 20 silver and nine bronze medals. Ipswich Town They beat their local rivals Norwich City 3-1 in the Championship football competition. It is the first time they have defeated Norwich for 16 years. Linsey Smith Smith took three wickets to help England beat South Africa in their first game at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.…

Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Disney+) The fourth part of the Disney+ musical franchise follows Zed and Addison as they become camp counsellors to rival monster groups. The musical features nine new songs as the heroes try to unite Daywalkers and Vampires against a common threat. Is it Cake? Halloween (Netflix) In these four Halloween specials, talented contestants craft cakes that look like real objects. Celebrity judges and viewers try to spot which items – such as owls, black cats and even TV sets – are actually cake. The show combines fun party games with skilled baking. Little Lunch (BBC iPlayer) This Australian comedy series follows primary school children during their 15-minute break time. The 12-minute episodes feature stories about cheering up Rory after his visit to the headteacher’s…

This is your first published book. Have you written any others? I’ve written lots of stories but most are either unfinished or have bits missing. I went back to school to learn how to write a complete novel – and this is my first! What’s your favourite place in the world? If I have to pick just one, it would be Lake Annecy in the French Alps. It’s a great place to have incredible adventures. What are your three travel essentials? Headphones so I can disappear into a story; a deck of cards because I love a good game to pass the time; and always a notebook and pen. Do you have anything in common with Maggie? Courage is very important to Maggie and to me. I think there’s a…

What you need • A piece of white card • A notebook • A pencil or pen • Eraser • Ruler • Glue • Dried lentils • Clear nail varnish From 14 to 19 October it will be National Braille Week. Braille is a writing system for people who are blind or visually impaired. It uses raised dots to replace written letters so that people can feel with their fingers to read words. National Braille Week aims to celebrate and raise awareness of Braille as a vital tool that helps people read books for fun and for learning, and aids communication too. Braille was invented in 1824. It is named after a French man called Louis Braille. He was blind from the age of three but left his home town…

Name: Hugo “Over the summer holidays I decided to set a “no days off basketball” challenge where I had to play basketball for at least 30 minutes a day, 43 days in a row. I was raising money for my school’s charity, PAWS, to buy new equipment and encourage more people to play the sport. I loved the challenge so much that I played 60 minutes a day, sometimes even 90! It was tough, as a few days into the challenge I got a really bad flu, lost my voice and had to play through muscle fatigue too. I feel proud knowing that I did good, fundraising over £880 while getting better every day playing the sport that I love.”…

“We completed our word searches at a recent ballroom dancing competition. We are dance partners and we love reading The Week Junior when we’re not on the dance floor.”Emily and Katie “Reading The Week Junior while suspended on my swing!”Hafsah “When I saw the project to make an owl bookend (issue 511) I thought it looked really cool and I love owls. I had all the things I needed and so I made it on a Saturday afternoon. I’ve called him Barney.”Owen “We organised a fundraiser to help buy an air conditioner for school. We ran an origami lesson, from butterflies to dragons, and we raised over £20 in just 10 minutes.” Marie and Hanae We’re proud to be plastic-free The Week Junior is delivered without a wrapper. This decision…