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Volume II, Issue 83 >> April 25 2013 >> Subscribe www.childfriendlynews.com >> Email childfriendlynews@gmail.com

Gir lions to find new home in mAdhYA prAdesh

10 IDEAS FORTHE SUMMER

Pg 4-5

Happy Holidays!During the summer holiday months of May and June, there will be no print is-sues of the newspa-per. Owlie asks you to look forward to the next issue in July 2013.

Some lions from Gir National Par-kin (Gujarat) are all set to find new homes in the Kuno sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh. The move has been

ordered by the Supreme Court, the highest court of law in India. The court has ordered the shift be done within six months.At the moment, the Gir National Park is the only place you can see Asiatic Lions in the wild. These lions once roamed across several parts of Asia but have since become extinct everywhere else except in Gujarat. Even in Gujarat, the lions were rescued from the brink of extinction (end of a species on earth), and thanks to the efforts of wildlife conservationists (people who work to pro-tect wildlife), the number of lions in Gir has been steadily increasing and there are now more than 400 of them in the sanctuary.

Problem of PlentyIn fact, the programme to save Gir’s lions was so successful that the sanctuary has more li-ons than it can hold. Over the past few years,

there have been several cases of lions stepping out of the sanctuary and wan-dering as far as the Diu (on the state’s coast and a two hour drive from Gir) in search of territory.Other than the space problem, the Supreme Court also felt that locat-ing all the lions in one place (Gir) increases the extinction risk in the event of a natural disas-ter or a disease outbreak in the area. For example, if a dangerous disease broke out among Gir’s lions, the entire population of the big cats could be wiped out in one go. The Court feels that it is better to keep groups of li-ons in several places – that way, even if one group dies out, the species is still protected from extinction.

Gujarat unhappyThe Court’s decision is being opposed by the state of Gujarat. Gir’s lions are a symbol of the state and Gujarat would like to be the exclusive home of these magnificent preda-tors. It is possible that the state government may ask the Supreme Court to re-consider its decision by filing an appeal.

‘Catch a Summer Moment’ Photo Contest

The Child Friendly News ‘Catch a Summer Moment’ photo contest is back again! The rules are simple :

Email us any photo you took during the holi-days that captures a summer moment – it could be a place you visited, something you saw on the street or any shot that captures the spirit of summer fun

Along with the photo send us your name, age, school and class, along with a short de-scription of the photo

Last date for entries: July 1, 2013The winner will get a prize from CFN and the win-ning photo will also be published in the newspaper.

Email your entries to childfriendlynews@gmail.com

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Features CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013www.childfriendlynews.com

Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.

— William S. Burroughs

A STEP ClOSER TO SPACEThe world took a step closer to private space-

flights recently when Virgin Galactic complet-ed a crucial (important) test for its spacecraft

‘Space Ship Two.’ The company, which is working out of the Mojave Desert in the United States, is planning to take people into space on joy rides.On April 12, Space Ship Two passed a flying test in good form, and this means that the company’s spaceflights could begin real soon. During the flights, space tour-ists will travel to around 100 kilometres above the sur-face of the earth, high above the earth’s atmosphere, into the realm (area) of space. They will experience zero gravity or weightlessness and will be able to float around Space Ship Two’s cabin, before beginning the journey back to earth.The two to three hour trip will cost more than a crore of rupees! Over 400 people have already paid up to be-come the first tourist astronauts.

Imagine a jacket that, when worn, can work like a mini-AC for your body, cooling it to 20 degrees lower than the surrounding areas! So, when ev-

eryone around is sweltering at 40°C, you can chill at around 20°C!This is no tall story, for the ‘Personal Cooling Gar-ment’ as it is called, is being developed by a govern-ment organization in Ahmedabad. The jacket is made up of several layers. Between two of those layers flows a coolant (a liquid that can cool things down). The coolant is stored in a container that is strapped to the wearer’s belt.The jacket will be useful to fire-fighters and people who work in extremely hot conditions. It could also be used to save people during heat waves. The jacket will be tested in real life conditions this year, and will probably be sold in shops next year.

An AC jacket to keep you cool

200 of the world rarest orang-utans discovered

Scientists have discovered a 200 strong population of the world’s rarest orang-utans near a wildlife reserve in Indonesia.The orang-utans belong to a sub species of the Bornean orang-utan, one of the

rarest apes in the world. Less than 5000 of these orang-utans survive in the wild, mak-ing the new discovery extremely important.

Did you know?The Bornean orang-utan is just one of the two kinds of great apes found in Asia. Like other great apes, orang-utans are highly intelligent and can use advanced tools. Orang-utans share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans – this makes them extremely similar to (like) humans.

Tracking the HangulThe hangul, which is Asia’s only link to the European red deer, is found in the Dachi-gam National Park near Srinagar, the cap-ital of Jammu and Kashmir. Only around 175 hanguls are left in the wild, and in order to study them and understand why they are dying out, satellite collars have been fitted on some of the deer. This will help researchers track the hangul’s activity and behaviour, which may give us clues for saving the hangul from extinction.

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Features

Solar energy gets top marks from people who care for the environment as it is a natural way of gener-ating power for our homes and offices. Unlike pow-er that comes from burning coal or oil, solar energy

doesn’t harm the environment.But sometimes, it is hard for homes and offices to put up so-lar panels on roofs, plus these cost quite a lot. Another thing – these panels don’t always look nice and may make a build-ing look less pretty.Keeping these in mind, a company in the United States has designed a canopy (a cover that provides shade) in the shape of a lotus. The ‘petals’ of the canopy imitate the lotus flower and like the flower, can close and stay folded during strong winds and bad weather.Again, like the flower, which creates food and energy by us-ing just sunlight and water, the Lotus canopy uses the heat of the sun to generate energy that can be used to cool or heat homes and offices. The company that makes it says that the Lotus is cheaper than solar panels mounted on roofs. Plus it’s pretty to look at and even gives you shade to sit underneath!

N a t u r a l l y S p e a k i n g

CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013 www.childfriendlynews.com

To be able to laugh and to be mer-ciful are the only things that make man better than the beast

—Ruskin Bond

Powerful PetalS that driNk the SuN

TIgERS FOR DInnER – TAll TAlES by JIM CORbETT’S KHAnSAMA

by RUSKIn bOnD

T H E B O O K N O O K

Lotus canopies could be used in large malls and buildings as decorative elements that also generate their own power!

(Phot

os co

urte

sy: M

onar

ch Po

wer)

1. Beastly Tales from Here and there by Vikram Seth2. The Kingdom Of Fantasy (Series) by Geronimo Stilton3. The 39 Clues: Day of Doom by David Baldacci4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Series) by Jeff Kinney5. Gladiator: Fight for Freedom by Simon Scarrow6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green7. Siachen: The Cold War by Rishi Kumar8. Tigers for Dinner: Tall Tales by Jim Corbett’s Khansama

by Ruskin Bond9. The Little Bird Who held the Sky Up with his Feet by

Paro Anand10.Moin and the Monster by Anushka Ravishankar

To buy these books, go to www.toptenbooksoftheweek.com

Top reads for Kids and Young adulTs

“Did you see him shoot a tiger?” Iasked“Oh, Many times,” said Mehmoud. “A tiger a week –

that was nothing to the Carpet-Sahib!”“Did the tigers come to the house or did

you go looking for them?”

Ruskin Bond’s short novel about his family cook’s adventures in the com-pany of the incomparable Jim Corbett will have you laughing right through the book. Man-eating tigers, lost co-bras and crocodiles that kidnap hu-mans – the book has them all. The hungry young boy (Bond in his youth) keeps wandering into the family kitch-en to hear Mehmoud’s tall stories, all the while wolfing down cutlets, mutton chops and glasses of mango milkshake. By the end of it you’ll be hungry for more stories and food!Told in Bond’s distinctive simple narra-tive style, the book is an easy and a surprisingly short read!

Price: Rs.195Available at: http://www.toptenbooksoftheweek.com

Special ReportCFN

CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013 www.childfriendlynews.com

One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter.

— Henry David Thoreau4

10 things you should

do this summer

Depending on which part of the country you live in, sum-mer holidays have

already started, or are just around the corner. Many of you may have vacation plans to visit family and friends ei-ther in India or outside the country. Travel and holiday homework aside, the long, hot summer days are the best time to learn new stuff and pick up new skills. Here are some ideas to get you going.

2. Cook up a storm

1. Master the tools of the trade

3. Get useful

4. Create a masterpiece5. Master of the Game

No dainty desserts or colourful cup cakes please – we are talking serious cooking here. This vacation, if you are 9-10 years or older, make it a mission to master one dish that features regularly on the family dining table. It could be pasta, noodles or even South Indian rasam! Learn the recipe, watch the family’s master chef and practice, practice till you can get that one dish absolutely right. Younger cooks can aim to master one grown up dessert like a trifle with store bought sponge or ice cream that does not require use of the stove.

In these days of electricians and car-penters on call, there is hardly any need to pick up any tool to fix things around the home. But there is noth-ing like a little independence. Pick up blunt tools like a spanner or small screw driver and learn to tighten bat-tery compartments of your toys. You could put these skills to good use to build models using Mechanix toy sets.

During the school year, the routine of school, home-work and classes takes up most of the day. During the holidays though, you have enough time on your hands to do some chores (little jobs) around the house. Depending on how old you are, you could take the responsibility for some everyday chores. Here are some ideas for what you could do:

The long summer afternoons when it’s too hot to play outside are a great time to learn a new art skill. It could be painting, em-broidery, creating a piece of installation art, or even (for boys above 12) learning to stich on a button or mend a basic tear.

Summer’s a time for board games too. This year, pick one board game that you feel you can absolutely master during the sum-mer holidays. Remember, it has to be reasonably challenging – Scrabble, Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit are good picks. Play them with your family and friends, and by the end of summer, it should be your goal to be able to beat most of them!

7-9 years 10-14 yearsPut away old newspapers and collect the day’s papers from the gate/door

Make your own bed and clean the room

Clean your room Put away your washed and pressed clothes into the right cupboards

Help you parents clean out old cup-boards Help your parent clear up after dinner

Feed the family pet Feed the pet and (if you are 13-14) walk the dog

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Books and summertime go together. — Lisa Schroeder

CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013

www.childfriendlynews.com

10 things you should

do this summer

6. Climb your highest mountain7. Start from Scratch

8. Read a Classic

9. Manage your money

10. Quality time at dinner

No, we are not saying that you should strap on your hiking boots and get going. Rather, what we mean is that, this summer, focus on one task/activity that you find really challenging and master it. It could be learning to cycle, swim, understanding a tough math concept or even solving the Rubik’s cube. Give this one problem your undiluted focus and crack it!

Scratch is a programming language that was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. It is an easy to use programming language that has been specially created for 8 to 16 year olds. Scratch can be used to create interactive sto-ries, animations, games, music, and art. You can even share these on the web once you’ve finished.Get an adult to get you started on Scratch and let your creative juices flow. Bonus: Your ability to calculate and analyse things will also go up!

Book classics don’t have be long, boring reads – in fact some of them are downright exciting, and better than the ‘2 minute’ novels that you find so much of these days. Check out some of these classics – and you won’t be bored for a minute, we promise.• Roverandum by J R R Tolkien• Call of the Wild by Jack London • My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell• Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White

As you travel and go out with your parents in the summer, you will no doubt be visiting a lot of supermarkets and shops to buy daily goods like fruits and vegetables, clothes and things for the house. With the help of an adult, learn to calculate the cost of things you are buying, hand over cash and count the change given back by the shop keeper. It’s a handy skill for life, plus it will do wonders for your math.

Dinner is the one meal that the entire family probably gathers for. We usually use it as a time for discussing the day’s news and catching up on what happened at home/office. Take it one step further and set up a schedule of dinner time topics every week. The list could be wide and varied – it could be about a great new movie, a sports event, a personality or even a website you browsed on the internet. Your job is to come to the dinner table fully prepared to discuss the topic, which can then be thrashed out by the entire family. Be warned though – your enthusiasm will likely be infectious, and soon your siblings, and even parents could be competing with you to establish mastery of the topic!

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news CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013 www.childfriendlynews.com

Mathematics is life, you have math in everything, right from time to your date of birth to the food you eat and the air you breathe

— Shakuntala Devi

trAGedY At the mArAthon

human computer no more

A tragic (terrible) event unfolded last week at the Boston Mar-athon, one of the world’s famous long distance races. As run-ners neared the finish, two bombs exploded nearby killing three people, one of whom was an eight year old boy.

United States police officers and detectives swung into action and quickly identified two young men from Chechnya, a country near Russia, as those behind the crime. One of the young men has been killed while the other has been arrested. The bombing is an act of terrorism, an incident planned by a small group in order to scare and frighten the public and get attention for the group. The exact reason why the boys bombed the race is not yet known.

She was called the human computer, someone who could beat computers with her extraordinary ability to calcu-late at lightning speed. Shakuntala Devi, India’s famous ‘number’ wizard, died on Sunday due an illness at the age

of 73.The amazing thing was that Shakuntala Devi never went to a for-mal school. She picked up reading and writing on her own. But her most amazing skills were reserved for maths. Shakuntala Devi was so proficient (good) at numbers that she could add 16 digit numbers, multiple the result with an equally large number and come up with the answer in an instant. She is even mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for these feats.

In ten years from 2001 to 2011, forest and green ar-eas within India’s capital Delhi, have doubled in size.

Green areas include city parks and places covered with trees and shrubs. Almost 20% (that’s one-fifth) of Delhi is covered by forests or green areas – this is the highest in the country. This makes Delhi the greenest city in the country, even greener than Bangalore which is called India’s garden city.Delhi has a number of city forests including the Central Ridge, the Jahanpath forest and Sanjay Van. The city also has large parks and gardens that are home to ancient trees as well as large numbers of roads that are lined with hun-dreds of trees. There are also two bio-diversity parks, one

on the banks of the Yamuna and another close to the airport where the trees and plants that were once o r i g i n a l l y found in Delhi are being lov-ingly re-plant-ed. All this is i n c r e a s i n g Delhi’s green cover inch by inch. The news on the increase in forest areas is literally a ‘breath of fresh air’ for the capital’s citi-zens (people who belong to the city) who are only used to re-ceiving bad news on increasing air and water pollution in their city.

it’s a green delhi after all

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More trees, more birdsMore trees means more birds. As a result, Delhi has a big population of native and migratory birds. In fact, our capital is second only to Nairobi, Kenya for the number of birds found in an urban area.

In this photo, you can see the smoke from the bomb explosions even as runners near the finish line

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news

mAssive eArthquAke in ChinA

CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013www.childfriendlynews.com

When one tugs at a single thing in na-ture, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. — John Muir

S P o r T S

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A massive earthquake hit south west China last Saturday morning. The quake killed almost 200

people while another 11,000 were injured. It measured between 6.5 and 7 on the Richter scale that is used to measure earthquakes.

Gold is a big part of our culture in India and ev-eryone, men and wom-

en included, sport (wear) gold ornaments. Due to the huge demand for gold, the metal has been getting costlier and costlier over time. Last week however, the prices of gold crashed by over Rs.300, going as low as Rs.2635 per gram.

Why did gold prices crash?The answer is an interest-ing lesson in economics. Last week, there was news that Eu-ropean nation Cyprus might sell a huge amount of gold owned by its government as it needed the money. If that was to happen, overnight, a large amount of gold would be available to buyers. When buy-ers have so much choice, price usually falls, and that’s exactly what happened to gold. We live in such a connected world these days that events in one corner of earth can affect the prices of things in the small-est towns and cities of India.

April 22 was celebrated as Earth Day and you may have partici-pated in an event

in your school on the occa-sion. But there is more to the event than one day of making posters and having discussions about saving planet earth’s environment.So, here 2 IDEAS for you to carry with you all through your summer holidays- Become your family’s eco warrior and ensure t h a t

fans, lights and, most important, ACs are switched off in empty rooms

- Do your drawings, paintings and other summer art work on recycled paper – use the blank side of a printed letter/mail-er, old greeting cards and wrapping paper and get creative!

Half-way into the contest, here’s how the teams stack up:

IPL PoInts tabLe (as on Wednesday, aPrIL 25)

gold losing its glitter

One thought for the earth ‘gayle’ Force

IPl Update

This photo taken from the air shows how the quake flat-tened homes in the Sichuan region in South West China.

Position Team Points Net Run Rate (NRR)1 Royal Challengers Bangalore 12 +1.2542 Chennai Super Kings 10 +0.6483 Sunrisers Hyderabad 10 +0.1044 Rajasthan Royals 8 +0.5885 Kings IX Punjab 8 +0.3436 Mumbai Indians 6 +0.1947 Kolkata Knight Riders 4 +0.0218 Pune Warriors India 4 -1.4679 Delhi Daredevils 2 -0.954

On Tuesday night, Royal Challengers Bangalore star Chris

Gayle smashed a century in just 30 balls. This is the fast-est century ever scored. Gay-le finished match against Pune Warriors with a total score of 175 not out. Need-less to say, Pune warriors lost this IPL match.

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OWlIE’S FUn PAgE8 CFN

CHILD FRIENDLY NEWSApril 25, 2013 www.childfriendlynews.com

Child Friendly News or CFN is an age appropriate newspaper for children in the age group 7-13. The newspaper comes out every fortnight. Every issue is written using language that young readers can understand on their own interspersed with pictures and imagery. Quick explanations of difficult words

and terms and boxed elements that explain concepts accompany every article — this is to help build vocabulary as well as context understanding. Special reports take up one topic in depth while regular columns on everyday technology concepts keep children up-to-date with the world around them.A subscription costs Rs.500 for the year.For more details and to subscribe, visit www.childfriendlynews.com

Subscribe to Child Friendly News

Can you spot the hidden objects shown below the image?FInD THE HIDDEn ObJECTS

nAME IT!Below are close-up images of things we eat/drink during sum-

mer. Can you guess what they are?

Answer: 1.Watermelon 2. Ice cream 3. Mango 4. LemonadeAnswer

Try your hand at this Sudoku. Rememberthat numbers 1 to 6 can appear only once in each of the six rectangles. They can also appear only once in each row and column of the overall square.

SUDOKU TIME

UNSCRAMBLE THESERe-arrange the alphabets to find the word

Clue: All clues are linked to the summer season

Answer: 1.Sweat2.Swimming 3.Sun4.Holiday

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MWMISNIG

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