Table of contents for 472-473 in The Week Junior

Hello and welcome to our bumper issue. We’ve put together a round-up of the year’s positive and interesting news stories, which starts on page 4. There were some amazing people hitting the headlines this year. Our heroes of 2024 (page 22) include an inventor, a fundraiser, a poet, a Paralympic athlete, an activist and an author. All of them have used their skills to change the world for the better. This year’s sports events were topped by the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in France. You can look back at some of the stars on page 32. We’ve selected our favourite films (page 36) and favourite games (page 40) too – have we missed any of your favourites? It hasn’t all been hard work this year, though. On page 54…

On 5 March it was reported that the oldest known piece of fermented bread had been found at Catalhoyuk, an ancient site in Turkey. Fermented bread is created by adding yeast to the dough to make it rise. A more modern dish was in the news on 17 March, when Kellie Spooner won the Cullen Skink World Championships in Cullen, Scotland. The traditional soup is made with smoked haddock (a type of fish) but Spooner added haggis and black pudding to the mix. On 7 March, Sweden joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), a group of 32 countries that agree to defend each other if attacked. Members include the UK, the US, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. NATO was set up in 1949 to stop the Soviet Union (a…

IN THE MONEY It is estimated that Taylor Swift made about £8 million for each concert on her latest tour. The 80th anniversary of D-Day was marked on 6 June. D-Day was a huge military operation when soldiers landed on the coast of France during the Second World War (1939–1945). This helped the Allies (a group of countries that included the UK and US) defeat the Nazis and end the war in Europe. Many events were held to mark the occasion, including one attended by King Charles in Ver-sur-Mer, France. On 7 June, the dancing of Taylor Swift fans caused so much shaking that it was picked up by earthquake monitors. About 73,000 Swifties were at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. By contrast, in Hong Kong, officials picked out two schools and…

On 2 September, as the new school year started, the UK Government announced that Ofsted would stop giving schools overall inspection grades of one or two words. Ofsted is an organisation that inspects schools in England. On 12 September Scotland’s government issued new guidelines for Scottish schools that included advice about pupils’ uniform and hair. In defiance of the Taliban, women from Afghanistan posted videos online of themselves singing. The Taliban, a military and political group that governs Afghanistan, had introduced a law on 21 August banning women from singing or reading aloud in public. In another act of defiance, more than 100 Afghan women, who now live outside Afghanistan, gathered in Tirana, Albania’s capital, between 11 and 13 September for a meeting about women’s rights. From 12 September, Storm…

WOOD WORK About 1,200 oak trees were used to replace the 100-metre wooden roof in Notre-Dame. On 1 December, Norway’s government suspended (temporarily paused) plans to allow companies to dig under large areas of the sea bed to extract precious metals. Environmental groups, scientists and a political party had opposed the plans, saying that deep-sea mining would harm animals and plants. On 3 December, Jasleen Kaur was announced as the winner of the Turner Prize (a famous art award given to a British artist) for her exhibition Alter Altar. The show featured several artworks, including a red car draped in an oversized doily (lacy material used on tables for decoration). Kaur’s exhibition celebrated her Scottish-Sikh heritage. Another type of recognition was dished out to attiéké, a food that is popular…

FAMILY CIRCLE Research has found that spending lots of time with grandparents improves children’s wellbeing. TOP TIP Listen carefully and try not to interrupt too much. If you think of an extra question while they are talking, note it down to ask later. Are you seeing any grandparents over the Christmas break? Back in ​October, we published a guide to interviewing a grandparent for Grandparents’ Day. If you didn’t get a chance to try it then, why not have a go at it during the holidays? Doing an interview with an older person helps you get to know them better. It also to teaches you more about the past. By asking them about their life you can find out a bit more about how people lived, what they learned at…

THREE INTO ONE Easter Island was formed by three volcanoes that rose from the sea bed and joined together. Island’s history is rewritten Easter Island, which is in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Chile, is famous for its remote location and stone statues. For a long time, historians believed that the people who once lived there destroyed their environment by using too many natural resources. As the island could support fewer people, the population dwindled. However, new research published in June suggested that this probably wasn’t true. The first humans settled on the island, which they called Rapa Nui, around 800 years ago. They developed a farming technique called “rock gardening”, which helped them to grow crops in the harsh environment. This involved putting rocks on the soil…

What you need • Bowl• Paper• Pencils• Scissors• Timer MAKING THEIR POINT Each year, the UK Parliament has 20 days when the opposition can choose subjects to debate with the Government. Now that you’ve listened to our podcast and had a go at the debate opposite, why not create your own? This is your chance to discuss some of life’s tricky questions. Remember, this is an exchange of ideas, not a heated argument. You have to listen politely to your opponent and consider each side of the debate. We’ve provided some suggestions here for your group debate, though you can make up your own. Cut each one out, fold them and put them in a bowl. Divide into twos, then each pair can pick a slip and read out the…

BEST ACTION GAME Princess Peach: Showtime! In the world of Super Mario Bros, Princess Peach is used to being captured by the evil Bowser and having to wait for Mario to rescue her. Now she’s starring in her own game and she doesn’t need rescuing. During a trip to the Sparkle Theatre, the evil Grape and the Sour Bunch turn up to steal the show. Peach must step into the spotlight and team up with the theatre’s magical guardian, Stella, to stop Grape’s evil plans. ROLE PLAY Princess Peach has many roles including Ninja Peach, Detective Peach and Figure Skater Peach. BEST QUESTING The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Usually in The Legend of Zelda games, people play as a character called Link. However, in this game Link has…

FUNNY FOOD A teeny-tiny fish sandwich In May, food company Birds Eye revealed that, with the help of an artist, it had made a mini fish finger sandwich that weighs about the same as a pea. The tiny creation is less than one centimetre tall and took more than 100 hours to make from clay. Nadia Michaux, the artist behind the sandwich, added a small lettuce leaf, a sliver of butter and a very tiny drop of ketchup. How to create a perfect crunch A team of scientists at the University of Warwick did some research this year into how to give a biscuit the perfect crunch. They built an oven inside an X-ray machine and scanned biscuits every 20 seconds as they baked. The results revealed that a biscuit’s…

Josie’s big interview In April, The Week Junior reader Josie took on champion boxer Anthony Joshua to ask him some questions at the gym where he trains. Josie told The Week Junior it was “very exciting” to see herself on the cover with Joshua. She said, “Some of my cousins and friends read it, and they didn’t actually think it was me at first.” Her tip for budding interviewers is to try not to be nervous and to look at the person you’re interviewing instead of down at your questions. An office visit To mark Children’s Mental Health Week (5–11 February), students from Knightsbridge School in London visited The Week Junior office. CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson and artist and author Xavier Leopold came too; both work with Place2Be – a…

On the first day of 2024, the US copyright for the versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in the 1928 cartoon film Steamboat Willie ran out. Copyright is a legal right that prevents anyone using work, such as a story or artwork, without the creator’s permission. It lasts many years. People can now include this version of Mickey and Minnie in their work without having to ask Disney. Films and a video game starring the cartoon mice were immediately announced. In France, 1 January brought new rules saying people must recycle their organic waste, including left-over food and grass cuttings. Planet-friendly policies were also on the minds of politicians belonging to the European Union (a group of 27 countries that work and trade together). On 17 January, they approved a…

On 3 April, a crowd gathered at Everland zoo, South Korea, to wave goodbye to a much-loved panda as she began her journey to China. Fu Bao was the first giant panda ever born in South Korea. Her parents were brought to the country from China as part of a diplomacy (relationship-building) programme, and the rules said she had to be taken to China before she was four years old. As Fu Bao began her journey, Russ Cook was finishing his. Cook, from Worthing in England, spent nearly a year running 9,940 miles across Africa, crossing the finish line in Tunisia on 7 April. He raised more than £1 million for charity. To assist far shorter trips, in the Forest of Dean, England, two 20-metre-long rope bridges were installed to…

BIG NAMES Previous Children’s Laureates include Joseph Coelho, Cressida Cowell, Michael Rosen and Malorie Blackman. On 2 July, author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce was named the new Waterstones Children’s Laureate. Cottrell-Boyce’s job is to promote the rights of young people to read, write and have access to books. He will hold the title until 2026. The Labour Party won the UK general election on 4 July. There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) and after the election, 412 MPs were from the Labour Party. The party’s leader, Keir Starmer, replaced Conservative leader Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister of the UK. In France, a two-round national election that ended on 7 July produced no clear winner. The country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, announced a new government in September, but it only lasted…

On 3 October, Mauritius and the UK reached an agreement that said the Chagos Islands, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, would be given to Mauritius. The UK had controlled the islands since 1814; and between 1967 and 1973, people living on the Chagos Islands were forced to move away. Many Chagossians hope the deal will allow them to return home but the agreement won’t be finalised this year. On 7 October, world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, called for a ceasefire in Gaza. A ceasefire is when those involved in a conflict agree to stop fighting for a period of time. The date marked one year since a long-standing conflict in the region got much worse. At Glasgow Children’s Hospital in Scotland, a full-time gamer…

Kris kross All these words fit in the grid. Can you work out where each word goes to complete it? 3 letters ICE SKI 4 letters ACHE LIFT RACE 5 letters GLIDE WEDGE 6 letters ASCENT RESORT 7 letters GLACIER TERRAIN 8 letters ALTITUDE FREEZING 9 letters CHAIRLIFT FUNICULAR Arrow word Write the answers starting in the squares shown by the arrows. Wordsearch Can you find all of the words listed here? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and may read forwards or backwards. ANORAK BALACLAVA BEANIE BOOTS CARDIGAN EARMUFFS FLEECE GLOVES HOODIE JUMPER MITTENS OVERCOAT PARKA SCARF SLIPPERS SOCKS SWEATER THERMALS VEST WELLIES Word jumble Unscramble these anagrams to spell out four pizza toppings. LA MOLE RAZZ OPEN PIPER PEEP PLAIN HOURS MOMS Crossword Read the clues carefully…

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT In the past, people used to put the poison from poisonous frogs on the tips of their hunting arrows. Hungry frogs like to tap dance Throughout the animal kingdom, lots of animals like to put on a dance display to attract a mate. A study published in January found that a certain species of frog also loves to tap its toes – but they don’t do it to attract a mate. Their tap dancing is actually a clever method they use to make their prey easier to catch. Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in the US, studied the behaviour of dyeing poison frogs. These are very colourful and toxic frogs that only grow to around five centimetres long. They live in rainforests and swamps…

The teenager: Lamine Yamal The last 12 months have been full of records, awards and brilliant matches for Lamine Yamal. At the age of 16, he became the youngest player to appear and score in the Euros competition. Playing for Spain, he helped them to beat England in the final and was crowned Young Player of the Tournament. For Barcelona, Yamal scored his first goal in the Champions League in 2024. In October, he received the Ballon d’Or Kopa award for the world’s best young player of the year. MESSI’S HEIR Lamine Yamal wears shirt number 19 for Barcelona – the same number that club legend Lionel Messi wore as a teenager. TOP TALENT Simone Biles also has 23 titles at the World Gymnastics Championships. The legend: Simone Biles At…

BEST REBOOT The Garfield Movie Garfield is one of the world’s most famous cats. He is the star of a cartoon strip created in 1978 and is known for his love of relaxing and lasagne – and his strong dislike of Mondays. In this new animated adventure, which came out in May, Garfield is reunited with his long-lost father, a street cat called Vic. Garfield and his dog friend Odie are forced to leave behind their comfortable lives to join Vic for a high-stakes adventure. BEST FILM OF A BOOK The Wild Robot In October, fans of Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot book series finally got to see their favourite story on the big screen. This animated film follows the adventures of Roz, a robot who is stranded on a…

It’s been a year of fantastic books! The Week Junior Book Awards returned for a second year and all the winners were honoured at a ceremony on 30 September. Michael Rosen appeared at our Book Festival on 29 October where families enjoyed workshops and performances from authors including Rob Biddulph, Cressida Cowell and A.F. Steadman. Lots of you took part in our Summer of Reading challenges and sent in photos of your bookshelves. We interviewed authors, booksellers and librarians and have lots of exciting features planned for 2025. For now, dive into these prize-winning reads. BOOK AWARDS WINNERS Take a look at our top titles. CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: YOUNGER FICTION (5 TO 9-YEAR-OLDS) Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions by Carrie Sellon. Illustrated by Sarah Horne (Guppy Books)…

Did you know that, as well as creating a magazine every week, we also produce a podcast called The Week Junior Show? It’s hosted by Bex Lindsay, a presenter at Fun Kids Radio, alongside two members of The Week Junior team who join her to talk about some of the stories from the magazine. Our first episode was released on 9 August 2019, and there’s a new episode every Friday. Our senior staff writer Eve organises what goes into each episode. She writes a plan each week and shares it with the presenters, so that everyone knows who is doing what. They prepare what they’re going to say and add it to the script. The podcast is recorded every Thursday morning, after the magazine has been sent to the printers…

There are lots of ways you can contribute to The Week Junior – just make sure you have a parent or guardian’s permission before sending anything to us. If your contribution is printed in the magazine, we’ll send you a Roving Reporter badge. Vote in the Big Debate Every issue has a debate question to get you thinking. You can vote and comment, then look out for the results in the next issue. Contribute to our podcast Look at page 49 to read about behind the scenes on The Week Junior Show and how we put it together, plus how you can have your say and appear on the podcast. Share your news Write a report of your fundraising efforts, something you’ve done or a poem you’ve written. It should…

TOURIST ATTRACTION In 2023, almost 22 million international tourists visited Paris. In February, several steps were taken to tackle problems related to tourism. In Paris, authorities voted to regulate plastic flower displays on cafés, but café owners said tourists like them. In Bangladesh, a court took action to protect endangered Asian elephants from being exploited, partly in shows for visitors. In Nepal, people climbing Mount Everest were told to pick up their poo and take it back down. On 3 February, the Northern Ireland Assembly met for the first time in two years. The assembly, also known as Stormont, is where some of Northern Ireland’s laws are made. In February 2022, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), one of the country’s biggest political parties, walked out of Stormont. In Northern Ireland,…

SKY ART Scientists think the first human record of the northern lights is a cave painting in France dating back 30,000 years. On 2 May, Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed was appointed commander of Kenya’s air force. This made her the first woman in thecountry’s history to be the head of a military service. There was a change of leadership in Scotland too. John Swinney was officially named Scotland’s new First Minister (leader of the Scottish Government) on 8 May. The previous First Minister, Humza Yousaf, announced he would resign on 29 April after failing to get enough support from other MSPs (members of the Scottish Parliament) to continue. From 8 May, an artwork called The Portal allowed people in Dublin, Ireland’s capital city, and New York, US, to connect…

On 1 August, the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West in more than 30 years took place. The West is a term used to describe most of Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A British tourist had to pay a fine of £50,000 as punishment after he was caught carving initials into a wall at Pompeii, the ancient city in Italy. At the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, a boy smashed a jar that was at least 3,500 years old. He wasn’t punished because people working at the museum knew it was an accident. Another precious object, a huge diamond, was unearthed at the Karowe mine in Botswana. The mining company, who unveiled it on 22 August, said it was the second-largest diamond in history. On…

On 2 November, Kemi Badenoch was elected as the new leader of the Conservatives, becoming the first black woman to lead a major UK political party. She replaced Rishi Sunak, who had said he would step down after the Conservative Party lost the general election in July. A few days later, Donald Trump was also celebrating election success after winning the race to become US president. His main opponent was the Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris. Trump, who was president between 2017 and 2021, will officially take on the role at a ceremony on 20 January, when he’ll replace current president Joe Biden. On 6 November, the five winners of the Earthshot Prize were announced at a ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. The prize celebrates people and organisations working on…

Hemesh Chadalavada The inventor inspired by his grandmother. Aged 17, Hemesh Chadalavada got his brilliant invention, the Alpha Monitor, to an important stage – it was ready to be made and pre-ordered by people. Chadalavada designed the Alpha Monitor to help people with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s affects the brain and can cause memory loss, confusion and speech difficulties. Someone with the disease can wear the monitor as a badge or an armband and it alerts a carer if they fall or wander off. Hemesh, from Hyderabad in India, wanted to help after seeing his grandmother struggle with Alzheimer’s. He taught himself robotics and electronics using YouTube videos. Of his invention he said, “I thought, why not develop something that would impact people around me like my grandmother?” Joshie Cadbury Using…

YOUR PHOTOS Email photos you have taken to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk. If your photo is printed in the magazine you’ll receive a Roving Reporter badge. Photos could be of buildings, pets, nature or anything you find interesting.…

Lots of people see a new year as a chance to kick-start good habits. The practice of making New Year promises dates back around 4,000 years, to the ancient Babylonian people who lived where Iraq is today. They made promises to the gods they worshipped that they would pay money they owed and return anything they had borrowed. The ancient Romans also made promises to a god that they would behave well. Today, most adults make resolutions about self-improvement, such as taking more exercise, eating more healthily or learning a new skill, such as a language. However, some people say January is the worst time of year to start a new plan, especially in this part of the world. January in the UK is the deep midwinter – the weather…

Paper lizard What you need • Old newspapers and magazines• Masking tape or• sticky tape• Scissors• A ruler• Glue• A glue brush• Coloured paper• A pencil• Card 1 Squash a sheet of newspaper into a sausage shape. Wrap another sheet over the top to make it bigger, then stick with tape. 2 Tightly wrap a piece of tape around your shape near one end. Press the paper to shape a neck, head and body and add more tape. 3 Press half a sheet of newspaper into a tail. Twist along it and wrap with tape. Use tape to make a point at one end. 4 For legs, roll two 15cm-wide newspaper strips along the length, press, cover tightly with tape, then twist. Cut four 10cm legs and eight 4cm toes.…

Have fun on a scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is when you go out looking for certain items to collect or, in this case, things to spot. You have a list of things to see or do and then tick them off as you go along. Not only does it make going on a walk more fun – because you have a purpose – but it’s a good way to practise your observation skills and learn to appreciate nature. In some ways, a scavenger hunt in winter is more of a challenge than a summer one because nature tends to go to sleep. Plants and trees can look lifeless and some animals hibernate (when they become inactive during cold periods to save energy). Sometimes humans don’t feel like venturing out…

GET INVOLVED Turn the page to discover all the ways you can join in with The Week Junior.…

1 On 1 January, the US copyright for early versions of which cartoon characters ran out? ☐ a) Tom and Jerry ☐ b) Phineas and Ferb ☐ c) Mickey and Minnie Mouse 2 True or false? Isabela Island is the largest of the Pacific Ocean’s Galápagos Islands. ☐ True ☐ False 3 The Northern Ireland Assembly is also known by what name? _______________ 4 What type of food is cullen skink? ☐ a) Omelette ☐ b) Soup ☐ c) Porridge 5 Narendra Modi won his third election in a row in 2024. In which country is he the prime minister? _______________ 6 True or false? The Big Garden Birdwatch revealed that house sparrows were the most commonly spotted bird in the UK. ☐ True ☐ False 7 The artwork The…