TIME for Kids - Age 8+ Family Edition G5021326

A 16-year-old runner from New Zealand has set a world record. On January 31, Sam Ruthe ran a mile in 3:48.88 (three minutes and just under 49 seconds) in a race in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s the fastest mile ever by an under-18 runner. The race was a nail-biter. Sam was in second place as he approached the final lap. He pulled ahead during the final 100 meters (about 328 feet). He finished 1.43 seconds faster than Pieter Sisk, from Belgium, who finished second. “I didn’t feel like I was going that fast, to be honest,” Sam told sports news outlet FloTrack after the race. He added that he felt “completely stoked” about his performance. Sam’s time also set a new New Zealand national record for runners of any age, according…

Got any great book recommendations? The American Library Association (ALA) does. Last month, the organization gave out two highly anticipated awards. The John Newbery Medal is for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. It was awarded to All the Blues in the Sky, by Renée Watson. The Randolph Caldecott Medal is given to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It was awarded to Fireworks, illustrated by Cátia Chien and written by Matthew Burgess. The winners were announced on January 26 at the Youth Media Awards Press Conference. A total of 22 awards were given to authors, illustrators, and digital-media creators. Sam Helmick, president of the ALA, said these are “the best of the best materials produced for youth.”…

A groundhog saw the future on February 2. Punxsutawney Phil is the mascot of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania. His handlers declared his “prediction” in front of a crowd of thousands: six more weeks of wintry weather in the U.S. The prediction might not be totally accurate. “We know this is silly,” Marcy Galando, executive director of the club, told the AP. The lighthearted annual event began in 1887.…

A 1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb has been found in Southern Mexico. The Zapotec are an Indigenous people. On January 30, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, called the tomb “the most significant archaeological discovery of the last decade in Mexico.” It contains complex carvings of human figures and animals, including one of an owl (above). Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History are working to protect the tomb. NEWS STORIES MAY INCLUDE REPORTING FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. TIME STORIES HAVE BEEN ADAPTED BY TFK EDITORS.…

If you traveled to space tomorrow, what skills would you need? You’d need to know how to operate your spacecraft. You’d need to know how to stay healthy in orbit. You’d need to know how to conduct a spacewalk. NASA astronauts learn these skills and others during the agency’s Astronaut Candidate Program, a two-year course designed to train new recruits. In September, the agency welcomed 10 newcomers. They’ll spend the next two years learning what it takes to travel to space. FUTURE ASTRONAUTS NASA announced the new candidates on September 22. They were recognized with a ceremony held at the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas. Sean Duffy, the acting NASA administrator at the time of the announcement, spoke at the ceremony. The new candidates prove “there is no limit…

Jack Leandro loves ice hockey. “He was pretty much born in the rink,” his mom, Lyndsey, told TIME for Kids. As a baby, Jack watched his dad and grandfather play. By age 2, he was on the ice. He learned to skate, then he learned the game. He’s been obsessed ever since. Jack and his family live in Acushnet, Massachusetts. If you happened to be there last summer, you could have seen Jack shooting hockey pucks in his driveway. You might have thought he was just sharpening his skills. Actually, he was shooting for a fundraiser he started called Pucks for Bucks with Jack. Jack’s fundraiser was for a local nonprofit group called A Wish Come True, which grants wishes to kids with life-threatening illnesses. It also helps families pay…