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Laura Marano Austin & Ally Interview
16-year-old Laura Marano stars as the brilliant, yet shy songwriter Ally, one-half of an internet music duo (along with Ross Lynch) that has become an overnight sensation, on the Disney Channel comedy series Austin & Ally. Read on to find out about her own songwriting, her fave books, and some really good advice for dealing with bullies . . .
The Westing Game Readalikes
You know when you find an amazing book, and you never want it to end? How do you find another book to read after that? Our answer: Readalikes to the rescue! We hope our Readalikes will rescue you from the what-to-read-next question, and help you find lots of new amazing books.
Today's Readalikes are for The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. 16 different people are invited to a mansion to solve the death of the eccentric millionaire Sam Westing. Whoever can solve the mystery will inherit Westing's 200-million dollar prize! You try to solve the puzzle too while you're reading, but the plot is full of twists and turns to throw you off!
Country Capital Trivia Quiz
Know your geography? Put your social studies skills to the test with this Trivia Quiz on some very interesting (and wacky) things country-capital related! Let's see how much you know about the world. . .
Create a Caption: Pinkie the Pink Puppy
Pinkie's owners must sure like pink. Not only is Pinkie named, well . . . Pinkie, that's also the pinkest little doggie jacket I've ever seen. You can spot that from a mile away. So for today's Create a Caption, let's talk about Pinkie the Pink-Jacketed Puppy.
Star Wars Costume Pageant
Ever wanted an excuse to dress up as Luke Skywalker, Padme Amidala, Han Solo, or Darth Vader on a day that's not Halloween? We've got just the thing for you: the Star Wars Costume Pageant! A part of the Star Wars Celebration (a convention for Star Wars fans of all ages), the Star Wars Costume Pageant is being held on August 24th and 25th in Orlando, Florida. It is a chance for super-fans to show off their dress-up skills. There will be Ewoks, Jedi knights, Sith Lords, Emperors, Wookies, Princesses, and maybe even some George Lucases! If photos from past years are any indication, the costumes are gonna be excellent.
Just look at this adorable Princess Leia! Isn't she precious? She's SO ready to save the galaxy!
If you could throw your own costume pageant, what theme would you choose? Would you pick a movie, book, or something else entirely? What would you dress up as? Share your ideas in the Comments.
— En-Szu, STACKS Intern (a.k.a. MidnightMagic5)
Images Copyright © 2012 REED EXHIBITION COMPANIES, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with the permission of REED EXHIBITION COMPANIES.
Big announcement today from One Direction! They have a new song coming out!!! A new song!!!! AAAHHH!
You have no idea how hard it is for me to not scream out loud right now, but I'm in the Scholastic office and my friendly coworkers would think I'm crazy, but yeah, if you're screaming right now, I totally understand.
Anyway, here's what I know. The song is called "Live While We're Young" and it is the first single from One Direction's album coming out in November. You can preorder the new song on iTunes starting tonight at midnight, but the actual song will be released on October 1 in the U.S.
The lads just announced it today. Niall had this to say, "Now you've heard the name of the first single! Cannot wait for you to hear the song itself now! And Harry says, "Hope you like it. xx"
XX!!!!!!! That's 2 virtual kisses from Harry to you. Leave a Comment to tell us all how excited you are for the new 1D song.
PS. What do you think of Liam's hairstyle? I really like it.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Readalikes
You know when you find an amazing book, and you never want it to end? How do you find another book to read after that? Our answer: Readalikes to the rescue! We hope our Readalikes will rescue you from the what-to-read-next question, and help you find lots of new amazing books.
Today's Readalikes are for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. These books follow Greg Heffley as he enters middle school with the goal of increasing his popularity. Unfortunately, Greg is just kind of an average kid, probably not destined for mega-popularity.
Back-to-School Would You Rather
The first day of school is a huge deal. What are you going to wear? What are you going to eat for lunch? What are your classes going to be like?
The first day of school is also the worst possible day to have something embarrassing happen. No one wants to be known for the rest of the school year as the kid with a piece of lettuce in her teeth on the first day, or the kid who was walking around on the first day of school with a piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
"Would You Rather" is all about making tough choices, so let us know what YOU would rather have happen on that oh-so-important first day of school.
Would you rather . . .
Writing Prompt: Ride On!
I bought my first car at an auto auction. I proudly saved up my summer work money and bought a used car to drive away to college in. Little did I know it was only a matter of time before my golden chariot turned into a certified clunker. This happened driving home from college that Thanksgiving. Let's just say my trip ended with calling a tow truck, my mom picking me up outside Syracuse, New York . . . and Pizza Hut delivering a hot and tasty pizza to a roadside motel for Thanksgiving dinner.
But why dwell on the past? Today's Write On! Writing Prompt comes to us from Ipe123 who asks:
If you had a car, where would you go in your first car? I hope you like this one!
I think your answers will have a much happier twist than my story. The sky’s the limit! Let us know your first car hopes and dreams in the Comments below.
—Ratha, Stacks Writer
Flying Monsters 3-D
For tens of millions of years pterosaurs dominated the skies. Some were the size of sparrows, but others were as big as a small airplane with wingspans of up to 40 feet. If you have ever wondered what it feels like to fly with a prehistoric pterosaur, then Flying Monsters 3-D is a movie you must see! The movie brings these winged dinosaurs to life on the giant screen and you actually feel like you are right there with them. It is now showing worldwide in giant-screen theaters and digital 3-D cinemas. I saw it at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and oh my goodness, it was amazing!
Conor Maynard Interview
Conor Maynard is a 19-year-old British pop singer with a great YouTube discovery story. "I did a cover of Ne-Yo's 'Beautiful Monster,'" Maynard told MTV News. "[Ne-Yo] told a story where one of his friends called him [like] 'Yo man, isn't this kid singing 'Beautiful Monster' better than you singing it?' He was a bit like, 'Ah, no, I'll check that out.' And he was like, 'This kid does sing better than me!'"
Now, with his debut album, Contrast, already out abroad and the U.S. release coming in October, people are of course comparing him to Justin Bieber. I've heard 2 singles from the album so far, (OK, I admit to obsessively watching the videos for "Vegas Girl" and "Can't Say No" like a hundred times a day.) and I think he is more like Justin Timberlake. Sometimes he even reminds me of Michael Jackson. Either way, this guy's got massive talent!
Lucky Marie Morreale got to interview him. (First One Direction, then Austin Mahone, and now Conor? Some girls get all the luck!)
Rachel Beckwith was almost 9 years old when she heard about Charity: Water, an organization that works to get clean water to kids in Africa. Until then, she had no idea that kids her own age around the world didn't have clean water to drink, and she was determined to make a difference. So instead of asking for presents for her 9th birthday, Rachel asked family and friends to donate $9 to the charity. She had a big goal of $300, but only made it to $220, still a pretty awesome gift!
Sadly, Rachel died in a car accident a month after her birthday. Rachel's story spread, and people all over the world were so inspired by what she had tried to accomplish that they began sending in their own gifts towards her goal. One month later, over 30,000 people gave more than $1,200,000!
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