Kid Power! Love on a Leash Pet Therapy

Kid Power! Kids can make a difference! Every Thursday on Ink Splot 26, we'll show you a new idea for how YOU can make the world a better place.

Hello there! A few weeks ago we talked about Scholastic News Kid Reporter, Ashlyn, who donated her hair to Locks of Love. This week, another Scholastic News Kid Reporter volunteered his time to make the world a better place, and this community service involves a dog!

Damien has a three-and-a-half-year-old basset hound named Sammy. He knew that some seniors in the nursing home in his town rarely received visitors, so he brought Sammy to cheer them up. Sammy turned the place into a happy environment. People were waving and clapping, and playing with Sammy. Not only did Damien and Sammy make a difference at the home, but they also made new friends. Read more about Damien's experience.

There are plenty of places that can use a few smiles. If you have a well-behaved animal, you can share him or her like Damien did.

Here's how:

1. You will need an adult to come with you, so make sure you have your guardian's permission. Another option is to ask your teacher, scout troop, or church group to set up a field-trip.
2. Check with your vet to make sure your pet has all the required vaccinations.
3. Visit or call your local home for seniors and let them know you're interested in volunteering. You might have to fill out an application. Don't get discouraged if they say no. Sometimes they need to go through a very particular process, or they might just be too busy.
4. Set up a date for your visit. Make sure you mark it down somewhere important; you don't want to forget!
5. Bring your animal and your smiles!

Could your beloved dog or cat be a therapy pet? If we incorporate small acts of kindness into our everyday lives to let other people know they are appreciated, we can definitely make a change in the world! It is simple and it just has to come from the heart. Let us know what you think in the Comments.

— Glory, Scholastic Intern (a.k.a. CupcakeChateau4)

The 39 Clues News

The latest 39 Clues news

• 
  Cahills vs. Vespers Book 3: The Dead of Night, by Peter Lerangis, will be released on March 6, 2012. Here's what the cover will look like! Read Chapter One.
• Cahills vs. Vespers Book 2: A King's Ransom, by Jude Watson, was released on December 6. Read Chapter One.
• Have you read the top secret The 39 Clues: Rapid Fire eBook short stories?
• Finally, have you played The 39 Clues Speedboat Pursuit game? How long can YOU outrun the Vespers?

For more about the books, and to start your training mission, go to the39clues.com.

Andy Griffiths Wacky Facts

Today's Trivia Quiz comes from Andy Griffiths, the author of the Butt books, the Just books, and the Schooling Around series. It is a True or False quiz of wacky facts from The World of Andy Griffiths.

The list below contains 10 wacky facts. Some of them are true; some are not. Can you guess which is fact and which is just whack?

U.S. Presidents Trivia Quiz! ANSWERED

The Answers Are Here!

Last week, Trivia Tuesday got very patriotic with a quiz all about U.S. Presidents. Now here are the answers about our country's greatest leaders! Did you get them all right or learn something new about your favorite President? Check the answers below to see how well you did!

Write On! Triple Play Writing Prompt

This week we have a triple play for our Write On! Writing Prompt. Which means . . . pick one and write on!

Our first prompt comes from karadoe2000:
Make up a family, and tell about the family's day from each person's point of view!

Our second prompt is from Emily:
Would you rather bungee jump off a cliff or get stranded on a deserted island?

And our third prompt from polarbearcute3:
Make your own characters in a book you love to read. You can even add your opinion if you want to change a part in the story.

All great prompts! Which one “prompts” you to answer? Leave your thoughts in the Comments below. Can’t wait to hear what you guys come up with!

—Ratha, Stacks Writer 

11-11-11

Hi everybody! Today is November 11, 2011: 11/11/11! Freaky, right?

Here is a trick to amaze your friends and family. Add your age to the last two digits of your birth year. The answer will be 11. For example, if you are 10 and were born in 2001 . . .
10 + 01 = 11

Try it. It will work with everyone born in this century. For people born in the 1900s, the answer will be 111 on account of we're older. Test it on your friends, your parents, your dog. (Wait, it might not work in dog years. But if it does, leave a Comment letting us know!)

I don't know why it works, but it does. It must be some fluke-y thing about 11, so Happy 11/11/11 Day! The numbers will never line up like this again in your lifetime unless you live another hundred years. Although . . . some people think the world is going to end in 2012. Personally, I'm not worried one bit. I think the world will still be around for 12/12/12 and beyond.

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Kid Power! World Kindness Day

Kid Power! Kids can make a difference! Every Thursday on Ink Splot 26, we'll show you a new idea for how YOU can make the world a better place.

November 13 is World Kindness Day. It is a day for adding more kindness to the world. Not just to your friends and people you like, but to everyone, people who are different from you, people who are shy and never even talk to you, your neighbor who might be a little cranky sometimes, your brother who gets on your nerves, everyone! The world can never have enough kindness, so spread kindness all around to EVERYONE wherever you go!

Here are 10 ways that YOU can add kindness to the world:

1. Leave something special at someone's locker: candy, a balloon, or just a fun smiley face on a post-it.
2. Do your brother's or sister's chores. Do the one he or she hates the most.
3. Make cards for the adults you love, and tell them why you love them.
4. Pick up some trash. Spend an hour cleaning up a park, school, or even your neighborhood.
5. Smile at 10 people today, especially people outside your own group of friends.
6. Visit a grandparent or elderly friend. They get lonely sometimes and you can brighten their day. Bonus points if you bring homemade cookies!
7. Give someone a truthful compliment, especially someone that maybe doesn't get a lot of compliments at school.
8. Offer to help a neighbor with something: raking the leaves, shoveling snow, carrying the recycling to the curb.
9. Offer to help an adult at school. Maybe you can put books away in the library, run errands for a teacher, or water the plants in the office.
10. Make a list of all the kind things that people have done for you lately, and thank them.

Leave a Comment telling us YOUR ideas for adding kindness to the world. Let's make every day World Kindness Day!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Tomorrow Girls

If you were sent away to a secret school, what's the one thing you would bring with you? And then, what would you do if they took it away?

In the Tomorrow Girls series by Eva Gray, four thirteen-year-old girls meet at a top-secret school, and though they’ve been sent there for their own safety, they quickly realize that their school is not what they think it is. In this terrifying future world where America’s at war and everything is chaotic, they must rely on each other to survive.

There are now four books in the Tomorrow Girls series. Check out the first chapter of Book One: Behind the Gates, and let us know what you think in the Comments!

—Vanessa, Scholastic Staffer

Trivia Tuesday: U.S. Presidents Quiz!

Today is Election Day so today's Trivia Tuesday Quiz is about famous U.S. Presidents! Since people are already running for president for 2012, I thought it would be fun for everyone to freshen up on their fun facts about past presidents. So, get your thinking caps on, take out your American flags, and try to solve the following questions!

Autumn Trivia Answers

Fall into our Fall Trivia Answers!

Last week I posted a Fall Trivia Quiz. Did you snuggle up with your leftover Halloween candy to take a crack at it? Check out the answers below!

Writing Prompt: What's in the Box Under Your Bed?

This week's Write On! Writing Prompt is a good one. It comes to us from GymnasticsPenguin1 who wrote:

You're cleaning your room when you notice something under your bed. It's a box that you've never seen before. What does it look like? What's in it? What kind of adventure does it take you on?

Totally creative! I love it. My box would take me on a roller coaster/spa day adventure. First I would jump into the box, and it would transport me to the most amazing amusement park (with no lines!) and I would ride thrilling, creative, 3-D roller coasters. Then I would be transported to a spa where I would get a fabulous aromatherapy massage and facial.

What about your box? Inquiring minds, like GymnasticsPenguin1 want to know! Drop a line in the Comments below.

—Ratha, Stacks Writer

Puss in Boots Answers YOUR Questions

If you have seen the Puss in Boots movie (rated PG) then you know that Puss can be a bad kitty, but we forgive him because he visited the STACKS to answer YOUR questions. Read on to find out about his boots, his favorite dance move, and working with Shrek.

Do you know who your real parents are?
Puss: Sadly, we were separated shortly after my birth, but rumor has it that my father was a hurricane and my mother a volcano. . .it makes sense to me.

Would you rather be called "adorable" or "enormously fluffy?"
Puss: I would prefer a new term. . . "adora-normous-fluff-able!!!"

What is the worst thing someone called you?
Puss: Dog.

Who is your worst enemy?
Puss: Puss in Boots has no enemies! But I do not care much for bath tubs.

Since you're a criminal, what is one place you've always wanted to rob?
Puss: First of all, I am no criminal. . . I just like to borrow things sometimes, and have a tendency to never give them back.

What is your favorite food/drink BESIDES warm milk?
Puss: There is nothing like a warm bowl of Friskies on a cold rainy day.

How much whole milk can you drink?
Puss: How many cows roam the earth?

Do you like ice cream?
Puss: I like the cream. . . ice, not so much.

Do you have a favorite dance move?
Puss: A little jig I like to call. . ."The Forbidden Gato!"

What size are your boots? And what's your favorite type of boot? Cowboy boots? Rain boots?
Puss: My favorite type of boot is located on my little feets at all times. They are comfortable for any occasion. And the size is purrrrrfect.

Do like the song, "These Boots Are Made for Walking?"
Puss: Do I like it? I live it!!

How does it feel to star in a movie about you? Is it better than working with Shrek?
Puss: The green ogre will always be my great friend, but I must admit a close-up on me is much more flattering, baby.

What was your reaction when you heard you were starring in a movie about yourself?
Puss: Meow?

Who do you like better, Shrek or Donkey?
Puss: I know whose bread needs buttering. . . give me the ogre, baby!

How did Shrek and Donkey mess up during filming? Were there any funny bloopers?
Puss: The burro is constantly falling down and forgetting his lines, and the Shrek is always burping and farting. Both of them incredibly unprofessional, but quite funny.

Puss, you're amazing! But why are you so epic? Is it genetic?
Puss: What can I say? It is a Puss thing. . .

This entry is sponsored by DreamWorks Animation.

Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation