Table of contents for Issue 272-273 in The Week Junior US

The US entered a war between Israel and Iran on June 21. The two Middle Eastern countries have been fighting since June 13, when Israel, a US ally, launched a series of attacks on Iran to try to stop it from building nuclear weapons. On June 24, Israel and Iran said they had agreed to a ceasefire (pause in fighting). What happened? On the evening of June 21, the US dropped at least six large bombs on Fordo, a heavily guarded site built deep inside a mountain in Iran where it is believed that nuclear weapons are being made. These are very powerful weapons that would pose a threat to Israel and other nations. US submarines also fired at least 30 missiles at two other sites related to Iran’s nuclear…

Two major US food companies, Kraft Heinz and General Mills, announced plans to remove all artificial dyes from their products by the end of 2027. The dyes in Kraft Heinz products, such as Jell-O and Kool-Aid, and in General Mills foods, such as its cereals, will be replaced with natural alternatives. Both companies said the change affects a small number of their offerings because 85% to 90% of their foods are already made without artificial coloring.…

What you need to know • The US has more than 100,000 miles of shoreline, including oceans and the Great Lakes, a chain of connected lakes on the border of the US and Canada. • There are 6,000 coastal and Great Lakes beaches in the country. • More than 40% of the country’s population and many wildlife species live near the coast. • In a 2024 survey, 62% of people said the beach was their top vacation destination. Summer is here, which means it’s time to head to the water to cool off, take a dip, splash around, and have some fun. For many people, that involves spreading out a towel on the shore of a lake, where the water quietly laps at the sand. They can do a cannonball…

Although many people think of horses as always having a long face, new research is challenging that assumption. A new study has found that horses also make different faces depending on the situation. Scientists in the UK watched 36 domesticated (tamed) horses interact with each other on video. After studying 72 hours of footage, they noticed that some facial expressions occurred more often in certain situations. When horses were paying attention to something, for example, their ears moved forward and pulled together. During more aggressive interactions, the horses’ ears pressed backward and flattened while their nostrils flared. But during playful encounters, the horses widened their eyes, pushed their noses forward, and opened their mouths. Similar expressions have been observed in primates, such as chimpanzees and humans, during play. Researchers said…

Do you love taking photographs of plants, flowers, trees, and wildlife? Now is your chance to use your creativity, curiosity, and skills to enter TheWeek Junior’s Nature Photo Contest. The entry form for 8-to 10-year-olds is at tinyurl.com/TWJUS-2025PhotoContest-8-10 and 11-to 14-year-olds is at tinyurl.com/TWJUS-2025PhotoContest-11-14. Winning entries will be featured in a September 2025 issue of the magazine. See the official rules at theweekjunior.com/photocontestrules.…

Waking up to a scenic view is one of the best parts of camping, but that can be difficult in an enclosed trailer. The Naledi Camper solves that with large frameless windows on either side that bring the outside in. The windows are made of thick safety glass that can handle being hauled over rough terrain. The camper is powered by solar roof panels and a rechargeable battery and has a ceiling fan, LED lights, a compact kitchen with a refrigerator, and a foam mattress for comfort. The Naledi is currently available to purchase in South Africa.…

Each year, a film that is expected to be a major blockbuster is released in theaters around the Fourth of July. This year, it’s Jurassic World Rebirth, which begins a new chapter in the dinosaur-filled sci-fi adventure franchise. It will arrive in theaters on July 2 and is rated PG-13. The first Jurassic Park film came out in 1993. It was based on a best-selling novel by Michael Crichton. The premise was that dinosaurs were brought back to life in the present day to fill an island safari park, but then dangerous species, including T. rex, end up escaping their areas. There were two sequels to that film, followed by the Jurassic World trilogy and two related animated adventure series on Netflix. Rebirth features new characters and is set on…

Puyo Tetris 2S is a new version of a popular crossover puzzle game. It was recently released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. As the title suggests, the game is a mix of Tetris, the famous falling shapes game, and Puyo Puyo, a Japanese puzzle game with falling, silly-faced blobs called puyo. The original Puyo Puyo Tetris was released in 2014, and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 came out in 2020. In the game, players could take on Puyo Puyo and Tetris puzzles separately or in Fusion mode, which featured the puyo and Tetris tetrominoes on the screen at the same time. The goal was to stack, move, and transform them to create combos and keep the board from filling up. The updated game has the same concept, but it has…

What was it like turning the story into a graphic novel? The process took about a year and a half. Every day, I had to convince myself I could do it. My editors helped me think about the story in a more visual way. Paring down the words was the biggest challenge. After I wrote it, we sent it all to the illustrator. How did you react when you first saw the illustrations? I couldn’t get over seeing the drawings of the characters for the first time, especially the brown-skinned sisters. Did you always want to write? I went to kindergarten already reading and writing. Whenever there was time for drawing, I would ask for a pencil and paper so I could write my stories. By the time I was…

On June 19, the Netherlands returned 119 artworks to Nigeria that were stolen by the British army in 1897. They included sculptures, plaques, and a bell and were returned as part of Nigeria’s international effort to recover African objects. It’s the largest number of artifacts to have been transferred back to the country at one time. At least 3,000 pieces of art were taken when Britain seized control of the ancient Kingdom of Benin, now southern Nigeria. The artifacts are made of materials like ivory, wood, and brass but are collectively known as the Benin Bronzes. Over time, they were distributed around the world. Nigeria has been asking for their return since the 1970s, but not all pieces have been given back. A formal ceremony was held on June 21…

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS, the nation’s highest court of law) has ruled that states can ban some medical care for transgender youths. A person is transgender when their gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. The decision in the case of the US v. Skrmetti was divided, 6–3. The six conservative justices appointed by Republican Presidents were in the majority, and the three liberal justices appointed by Democratic Presidents dissented (disagreed). What was the case? In 2023, three families filed a lawsuit (legal dispute) against the state of Tennessee after it passed a law prohibiting doctors from providing gender-affirming care. This included medication to treat transgender youths who experience gender dysphoria (distress a person feels due to inconsistency between their gender identity and their sex…

Actor, comedian, and rapper Utkarsh Ambudkar has spent his career weaving hip-hop music into his work across stage and screen—and now animation. In the Apple TV+ musical Lulu Is a Rhinoceros, based on the best-selling book, he voices Hip-Hop, a cheerful bunny friend to Lulu, a bulldog who believes she is a rhinoceros on the inside. Raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Ambudkar always loved entertaining. “I’ve had it since I can remember—the need to make up songs, make people laugh, write stories, or daydream,” he told The Week Junior. He went on to earn an acting degree from New York University and joined Freestyle Love Supreme, a hip-hop improv group founded by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Ambudkar has since appeared in many films and shows like the Pitch Perfect films, Ghosts,…

Each year, the UK’s Cornish Seal Sanctuary helps more than 70 rescued gray seal pups get back to full health. In its seal hospital, staff can look after six ill seal pups at a time. Recently, the sanctuary has been working with the University of Exeter on a project to track where the seals go once they’re released into the wild. The project is led by Luis Huckstadt, who attached GPS trackers to 16 seal pups that were released from the sanctuary. The data collected from the trackers will help researchers understand how seals adapt when they go back into the wild. Each seal pup was set free in the ocean near Cornwall, England. After being released, a pup named Selkie was the first of the tagged seals to cross…

Asiatic lions Lion habitats in Gujarat, India, have expanded by more than 16% since 2020 thanks to local conservation efforts. This has helped increase the Asiatic lion population by 32%, reaching a total of 891 lions in a recent count. Female frogs New research showed that 98.6% of female frog sounds are unknown to scientists. Male frogs typically call more loudly in order to attract a mate. This can drown out females’ voices, making it harder for experts to understand and protect them.…

Started by surfers in California, skateboarding is now a worldwide phenomenon. Let’s take a ride through the sport’s history. Many styles Skateboarding is one of the extreme sports, a group that also includes mountain biking and snowboarding. There are different styles, such as Vert, which involves riding vertical surfaces like ramps to get high in the air to do tricks (see the box “Board moves” below). Another style is Street, which involves doing tricks on handrails, benches, and stairs. Dedicated skate parks, featuring ramps known as quarter-pipes or half-pipes that skaters use to launch into the air, provide a place to try out tricks. In addition to traditional skateboards, there are longboards, which are longer and wider and easier to balance when going downhill or on long rides. The sport…

Hundreds of years ago, scientists called alchemists tried to turn metals such as lead or copper into silver and gold. Now researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), near Geneva, Switzerland, have unexpectedly managed to dojust that—although very briefly—during their experiments. The LHC is a powerful machine that makes particles (tiny bits of atoms, which are the building blocks of the universe) travel at high speeds. At nearly 17 miles long, it sits in a tunnel more than 300 feet underground. The machine is run by CERN, a European research organization that studies the behavior of particles. During the experiments, scientists aimed two beams of lead atoms at each other. The beams were traveling extremely fast. As the atoms moved past each other, they interacted. This caused three smaller particles,…

2025 WORLD FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS SPONSORED BY TENDERSTEM® FINALISTS…

On June 22, baseball teams from Louisiana State University (LSU) and Coastal Carolina University (CCU) faced off in the deciding game of the Men’s College World Series (MCWS) in Omaha, Nebraska. LSU won, 5–3, to complete a two-game sweep in the final and secure their second baseball championship in the past three years. LSU now has eight national titles in baseball. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division 1 Baseball Championship tournament began on May 30 with 64 teams. LSU was seeded (ranked) sixth, while CCU was 13th. Eight teams made the MCWS. LSU entered the final without a loss in the MCWS, while CCU had won 26 straight games dating back to April. Game 1 of the best-of-three series final took place on June 21, and LSU won, 1–0.…

For more than 85 years, Superman has been a beloved hero and a symbol of hope and justice in comic books, TV shows, and popular films. Now the character is headed back to the big screen in the new movie Superman, which will be released in theaters on July 11. It is rated PG-13. Superman first appeared in 1938 in the DC comic book Action Comics #1. He is from the planet Krypton but was raised on Earth by humans as Clark Kent. He works as a newspaper reporter, and no one knows he is Superman, whose powers include flight, super strength, and x-ray vision. The character has been portrayed by several actors. In the new film, David Corenswet takes on the role for the first time. Two of the…

Flubber PG (Disney+) “This is a funny movie about a mad scientist, Professor Philip Brainard, who forgets things a lot—even his wedding day. The college where he works is in danger of closing, and he hopes that inventing a new energy source will save it. In the process, he accidentally creates a rubber-like substance he calls Flubber, short for “flying rubber,” because it can bounce super high and even fly. He uses Flubber to make his car fly and help the school’s basketball team win. He soon realizes Flubber might be the key to saving the college before it is too late.” Danya, 10, New York Do you have a film or TV show to recommend to other kids? Send your review to hello@theweekjunior.com.…

By Rita Williams-Garcia, illustrated by Sharee Miller (HarperAlley) One Crazy Summer, an award-winning historical fiction book published 15 years ago, has been adapted into a graphic novel. It takes place in the summer of 1968, when three sisters—Delphine, age 11, Vonetta, age 9, and Fern, age 7—fly from New York City, where they live with their dad and his mother, to Oakland, California, to spend a month with their mom, Cecile. She left for California when Fern was a baby. After the sisters arrive, Cecile tells them to go out and buy Chinese food. Delphine watches out for her siblings as they navigate the new neighborhood. Cecile wants to concentrate on her poetry, so she sends the sisters to a day camp run by the Black Panthers (an organization that was…

MANGO ICY Ingredients • 2 cups frozen mango• 4 teaspoons honey• Juice of 2 limes• Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)• Chili lime seasoning, for garnish (optional) Instructions 1. Combine mango, honey, and lime juice in a blender with 1½ cups ice and ½ cup water. Blend until smooth. If needed, add water 1 tablespoon at a time to get desired consistency. 2. Evenly divide between two glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge and a sprinkle of chili lime seasoning, if using. Drink immediately. Makes 2 servings. COCONUT CORN CHOWDER Ingredients • 5 strips bacon, sliced• 1 medium onion, chopped• 3 garlic cloves, minced• 1 teaspoon kosher salt• ¼ teaspoon black pepper• ½ teaspoon curry powder• 3 cups frozen corn• 6 cups chicken broth• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk•…

Floating home from the office Commuters in Bern, Switzerland, have found an alternative to driving or catching a train home from the office. They strip off their work attire, put on a bathing suit, and hop into the Aare River, which flows through the city. Some use inflatable boats, while others swim home or float in the current, keeping their belongings dry by putting them in waterproof bags called Aare bags. The water is very clean because of Swiss laws on managing waste, and city officials have shared tips on how to stay safe in the river. Sitting on scribbled furniture Although this chair, table, and lamp might look like a scribble on a blank sheet of paper, it is in fact a collection of real, usable furniture. The artist…

“We’ve been reading The Week Junior for three years now, and our favorite issue was Bird Bonanza. We read it on the airplane as we flew to Costa Rica, where we stayed at a research field station right in the jungle. The people at the field station were participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, just like we had read about in the article! We joined in, too, and learned how to identify birds by their colors, size, and calls. In the end, we counted more than 50 bird species. Thanks so much for inspiring us to explore and learn more about our Earth! It’s sparked a love of birding in all three of us!” Have you done something interesting or raised money for a cause you care about? Whatever…

Reese, a 9-year-old from Virginia, loves that there are so many places to visit and explore in America. Reese hopes for less pollution in the future. As a reader of The Week Junior, you may be forming opinions about your hopes and dreams for America. If so, we want to hear them! Go to kids.theweekjunior.com/activities to download a form like the one shown at right. Fill it out, then have an adult email it to us at hello@theweekjunior.com. We’ll feature some of the submissions we receive on this page in future issues. IT’S YOUR TURN Email your news, views, and photos to hello@theweekjunior.com.…

1 What was the name of the first comic book that Superman appeared in? a) ActionComics#1 b) AdventureComics#1 c) Amazing Comics #1 a ☐ b ☐ c ☐ 2 True or false? Louisiana State University has won eight national titles in men’s college baseball. True ☐ False ☐ 3 During an experiment, scientists in Switzerland recently turned lead into what other metal? 4 One Crazy Summer:The Graphic Novel is set in what year? a) 1948 b) 1968 c) 1988 a ☐ b ☐ c ☐ 5 True or false? Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games. True ☐ False ☐ 6 What is the name of the bunny that Utkarsh Ambudkar voices in the show Lulu Is a Rhinoceros? 7 Which basketball player from the Oklahoma City…

SAMPLING CHEESE It was a delicious day in the town of Sopó, Colombia, when 1,185 people gathered to set a world record for the largest cheese-tasting event. One onlooker called it “a passionate gathering of cheese enthusiasts.” A BELOVED BAT DOG A golden retriever named Bruce has made it to the big leagues. Bruce, who usually fetches bats for a lower-league baseball team, recently did his job for the Washington Nationals before their Major League Baseball game. “Look at this dog and try not to smile,” said his owner. A LASTING LEGACY Sofia Nielsen wanted to honor her classmates in her high school graduation speech. So the artist, who lives in New York, spent months painting a portrait of each of the 110 students. She placed the gift under their…

July 1, 1963 Postal service introduces zip codes On July 1,1963, zip codes were put into effect by the US Postal Service in an effort to deliver mail more efficiently. Zip stands for “zone improvement plan.” The numbers in a zip code indicate the region and area where an address is located. The new system was not popular at first because people were not sure they could memorize the numbers. Today there are nearly 42,000 zip codes in the US.…

Spanning 58,000 acres on Florida’s Atlantic coast, Canaveral National Seashore is a habitat for at least 15 threatened or endangered animal species. Mosquito Lagoon, one of the most naturally diverse lagoons in North America, makes up two thirds of the park. The area is a hotspot for wading birds like the roseate spoonbill, and thousands of sea turtles nest in the sand along the 24-mile-long seashore. Tourists can also visit Turtle Mound and Seminole Rest Historic Site, which show evidence of human activity in the area from thousands of years ago.…

Penguins are contributing to the fight against climate change in Antarctica, where warmer temperatures are causing ice to melt and putting wildlife at risk. In a new study, scientists found that penguin guano (the poop of seabirds and bats) is triggering a natural process that slows ice melt on the continent. The team of researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland focused on Adélie penguins, the smallest species in Antarctica. The animals, who eat fish and krill (tiny, shrimp-like creatures), leave so much guano on rocky and icy surfaces that it’s visible from space. That guano releases a gas called ammonia, which can create clouds. Typically, clouds form when water vapor condenses (turns into liquid droplets) around particles in the air, such as dust. But Antarctica’s air is so…

The 2024–25 NHL (National Hockey League) season ended on June 17 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, where the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. In a rematch of last year’s finals, they once again defeated the Edmonton Oilers, securing the championship with a 5–1 win in Game 6 of the best-of-seven game finals. The teams were two of the 16 teams that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which began on April 19. The Panthers earned their spot by finishing the regular season in third place in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Oilers came in third in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Stanley Cup Final began on June 4 and got off to a thrilling start,…

Coach’s Name: Jordyn Boswell Sport: Gymnastics “Coach Jordyn is the best! Whenever I am scared, she encourages me and believes in me. You can always tell she cares about all of us and wants us to get our skills. Once, I had lost one of my skills and was scared, but Jordyn helped me and spotted me until I could do it by myself again. At competitions, she is nice to everyone. She is very relatable because she is also a gymnast on an upper level. She pushes us to be the best gymnasts we can be.” Lucy, 11, Virginia To nominate a Coach of the Week, send your coach’s name, photo, sport, and team to hello@theweekjunior.com. Include your name, age, state, and a few reasons why your coach is…

Super seller A copy of Action Comics #1, which introduced the Superman character, cost 10 cents when it came out in 1938. In 2024, an original copy sold for $6 million, making it the most valuable comic book in the world. National honor In 2006, Superman was featured on postage stamps as part of a special DC Comics Super Heroes series released by the United States Postal Service. The collection also featured other iconic characters, such as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. Famous location Metropolis, Illinois, shares its name with the fictional city where Superman lives. It hosts an annual event celebrating the character and is home to the Superman Museum (above), which opened in 1993.…

American Ninja Warrior (NBC) (Peacock) In this hit competition series, elite athletes tackle challenging obstacle courses that test speed, strength, and agility. Season 17 features returning fan favorites and new challengers. The winner of the head-to-head finals will take home a $250,000 grand prize. Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado (Paramount+) The animated series Dora the Explorer inspired this live-action film. After finding an enchanted bracelet linked to a legendary city, Dora sets off into the Amazon with her cousin Diego and Boots the monkey. Together, they race to protect a treasure that is said to grant one wish. Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical (Disney+) This special is a filmed performance of the stage musical based on Disney’s animated film Frozen. It tells the story of sisters Elsa and…

In One Crazy Summer: The Graphic Novel, three sisters reunite with their mom, and the illustrations bring the story’s themes of belonging and racial injustice to life. Here are questions to get a conversation going with others who have read the book. Which sister would you most want to be friends with and why? Why do you think Cecile doesn’t act like a typical mother? How do your feelings about Cecile change as the story progresses? What do you like most about the illustrations? When you read the story, what surprised you most about this period in history? Did the ending catch you off guard? Explain your answer. If you read the original novel, what are some of the similarities and differences?…

A day in the park crisscross Each of these words associated with going to the park fits into this grid. Can you find where each one goes to complete the grid? When you’re done, 10 letters will appear in boxes with colored symbols. Transfer those letters into the matching boxes below to get the answer to the riddle. 4 letters BUGS GATE KITE LAKE LAWN PETS POND 5 letters CATCH FENCE GEESE GRILL LUNCH SHADE SWANS TRAIL TREES 6 letters DOG RUN GAZEBO HEDGES NATURE SEESAW STATUE SWINGS 7 letters BENCHES BICYCLE BLANKET GARDENS PIGEONS SCOOTER 8 letters BARBECUE CAROUSEL FRESH AIR OUTDOORS PAVILION STROLLER VISITORS 9 letters BALL FIELD FOOD STAND SQUIRRELS 10 letters GARBAGE CAN GREEN SPACE PLAYGROUND SKATEBOARD 11 letters HOT DOG STAND TENNIS COURT 12 letters…

When The Week Junior went to press on April 1, an earthquake had struck Myanmar, causing widespread devastation (p7). With a magnitude of 7.7, the quake was the most powerful to strike the Southeast Asian nation in more than 100 years and could also be felt in other countries, including Bangladesh, India, China, and Thailand, where a large building collapsed in the capital city. Because of a civil war that has been fought in Myanmar since 2021, its people had already been experiencing severe poverty and hunger. Millions had been displaced from their homes. So the earthquake made a dire humanitarian situation even worse. I’m grateful that the world has taken notice. Several governments are sending aid to Myanmar, and nonprofit groups are providing medical care, food, water, and other…

The Week Junior invites our readers to jump into a summer of super adventures through our Summer of Reading challenge. Reading can take kids anywhere they can think of. They can be the hero of a thousand stories, this summer and beyond. Bring along a friend, create a summer book club, or give a gift of The Week Junior and treat another child to a summer of reading adventures. Makes a great gift! To order a 25 weekly issue subscription of The Week Junior and save 66%, visit theweekjunior.com/smartfun SUBSCRIBE TO JOIN THE FUN…