CHECK OUT OUR APP! OCTOBER 2016 www.Highlights.com K C O I R R T TREAT! THE BATS SWAMP CIDER Page 25 ARE BACK! Page 36 Page 14 h t n o M s i h T n u F Ways to g Apple-Pickin Mystery e apples? W here are all th d A ndy Help Natalie an them of find at least 10 PAI NT AN P U M P KI For b results est , pa multip int le coats Puffy paint Chainlktboard pa Glow-in-thedark paint Toasted Mummy Snack Toast half of a M ys te o 38 Bessie’s big brother yelled, “Boo!” A ns w er ge Tongue Twister to Pho pa Can you fin this magazine? at another place in ry n icturectsures Find tdheaech P of these 12 pi hot-dog bun Spread pizza sauce on top Use strips of cheese for the mummy’s wraps Add two bits of pepperoni for eyes OCTOBER 2016t70-6.&t/6.#&3t*446&/0 Dear Reader By Christine French Cully Editor in Chief Founded in 1946 by Garry C Myers, Ph.D., and Caroline Clark Myers Editor in Chief: Christine French Cully Vice President, Magazine Group Editorial: Jamie Bryant Creative Director: Marie O’Neill Editor: Judy Burke Art Director: Patrick Greenish, Jr Senior Editors: Joëlle Dujardin, Carolyn P Yoder Associate Editor: Linda K Rose Assistant Editors: Allison Kane, Annie Beer Rodriguez Copy Editor: Joan Prevete Hyman Senior Production Artist: Dave Justice Contributing Science Editor: Andrew Boyles Editorial Offices: $IVSDI4USFFU )POFTEBMF 1" &NBJMFET!IJHIMJHIUTDPN 5PTVCNJUNBOVTDSJQUT HPUP)JHIMJHIUTTVCNJUUBCMFDPN 8SJUFSTZPVOHFSUIBOQMFBTFVTFUIFQPTUBMBEESFTTBCPWF CEO: Kent S Johnson Vice President, International: Andy Shafran Business Offices: 1800 Watermark Drive, P.O Box 269, Columbus, OH 43216-0269 Copyright © 2016, Highlights for Children, Inc All rights reserved HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN is published monthly *44/9 QSJOU *44/ POMJOF Designed for use in the classroom Sometimes we make our list of customer names and addresses available to carefully screened companies whose products and services might be of interest to you We never provide children’s names If you not wish to receive these mailings, please contact us and include your account number Printed by RR Donnelley, Glasgow, KY Periodical postage paid at Columbus, Ohio; Toronto, Ontario; and at additional mailing offices U.S Postmaster: Send address changes to Highlights for Children, P.O Box 6038, Harlan, IA 51593-1538 Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement No 40065670 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O Box 1255, Georgetown, ON L7G 4X7 To order, make a payment, change your address, or for other customer-service needs, such as changing your contact preference, please contact us: t0OMJOFXXX)JHIMJHIUTDPN t$BMM t8SJUF10#PY )BSMBO *" As part of our mission to help make the world a better place for the children of today and tomorrow, Highlights is committed to making responsible business decisions that will protect our natural resources and reduce our environmental impact AWARDS Highlights has been given awards by The Association of Educational Publishers, Family Choice Awards, Freedoms Foundation, Graphic Arts Association, iParenting Media, Magazine Design and Production, National Association for Gifted Children, National Conference of Christians and Jews, National Parenting Center, National Safety Council, Parents’ Choice, Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Awards, and Printing Industry Association HighlightsKids.com is a participant in the Kids Privacy Safe Harbor program of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus Sunlit Artwork When I was a kid, I enjoyed making suncatchers Sometimes I’d use a kit with colorful plastic pieces, but it was even more fun to make them with melted crayons or colored tissue paper They all looked cheery when they were lit by the sun Last year, I saw some of the most beautiful “suncatchers” ever made I visited the Reims Cathedral in France, which contains stained-glass windows created by artist Marc Chagall The blue glass, in particular, took my breath away How did Chagall create such vivid colors? Learn about his process on pages 16–18 Seeing some of Chagall’s work made me interested again in creating suncatchers I know the ones I make— even if I use brightly colored glass— will never come close to being as lovely as the windows made by the famous Chagall But it’s fun to try And we are lucky to have the work of famous artists to inspire us Your friend, Visit and make a suncatcher Then send me a photo! Christine@Highlights.com This magazine of wholesome fun is dedicated to helping children grow in basic skills and knowledge, creativeness, in ability to think and reason, in sensitivity to others, in high ideals and worthy ways of living— ® for children are the world’s most important people in c ber /6.#& Dear Highlights, Get ROLLING! —Sawyer, Montana It can be hard to focus, Sawyer! Try these tips, and ask family and friends for ideas Find a quiet place Take out only the things you need to your work 4FU B UJNFS GPS NJOVUFT 4FF IPX NVDI ZPV DBO HFU EPOF JO UIBU UJNF "GUFS B TIPSU October is National Roller Skating Month break, set the UJNFS BOE HP again! 10 22 16 BrainPlay Name five things that take you five seconds or less Guess who’s overfeeding the goldfish Owl-oween Who is who is whooooo? Bot Spot Goofus and Gallant® 10 This tiny robot can fold like origami The Weird Day with Walden Walden sure changes his mind a lot! 12 14 My Sci 16 Marc Chagall’s artwork flickers with light Try out a bit of “math magic.” 19 Hidden Pictures® Puzzle 22 Jokes What kind of book would Ray Strack write? OCTOBER 2016 Paws and Think Food trucks are busy at lunchtime in the park Don’t Be Afraid Halloween is just too spooky for Skunk A sloth sleepover party! 15 Windows That Capture the Sun 25 No Tricks, All Treats! Spider Cakes, anyone? Bold Artist Marc Chag all’s life was as fascinating as his stained gla ss 26 39 Jewel Bird The gorgeous national bird of Guatemala 28 30 The Treasure That Almost Got Away Quick-thinking Clarabella is set on finding lost gold 32 Pa has a secret plan for the pumpkins 40 Your Own Pages See drawings and poems by creative kids 34 Crafts A candy carrier, “floating” eyes, and more 36 Alphabet Art Kids turned their initials into art like Eiko’s Pixel Man Eiko Coram Age Massachusetts The Timbertoes® Night on Bat Mountain Relatives of this bat are making a comeback 38 Riddles What skeletons say before mealtime? Ask Arizona® Arizona is panicked about talking in front of the class 42 Dear Highlights Talent shows, friendship dilemmas, and little sisters Wh a Ta k Ho e yo w ur fa br r c an n o yo n a u h go ike ? ST AR T n in n a t u see re ou rns hav ey atte p t ? akes eal? m Who orite m LP? r fav E u H o y U If you could decide which 180 days of the year you’d have school, how would you choose? “Pepper always barks just before noon!” said Lou Why might she that? YO DO Name five actions that take you five seconds or less to How is a W IS H different from a DREA M? What does it feel like to miss someone or something? Which shapes around you look like letters of the alphabet? OCTOBER 2016 All aboard! Going up? The specials today are WHERE DO YOU HEAR THESE PHRASES? What things you put in order? THE END If elephants had Olympic Games, what might the events be? Owl-oween By Neal Levin Art by Michael Petrik l Tiny robots like this one may big jobs someday Laser-cut lines guide the folds when heat shrinks the middle layer A permanent magnet is attached Three layers of different kinds of plastic make up the folding sheet Electromagnets under the floor push and pull the magnet up and down at different angles, directing the robot’s movements Meet the Origami Robot It folds itself and goes to work! By Andy Boyles, Contributing Science Editor M ost origami objects are imitations: an origami cat can’t walk, and an origami frog can’t swim But a new origami robot can walk and swim and much more because it’s not an imitation—it’s a real robot Developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the tiny machine even folds itself It starts as a sheet of shiny plastic, three layers thick and less than one inch square Laser-cut lines score the top and bottom layers OCTOBER 2016 in an origami pattern, and a magnet is attached on top When the plastic is heated, the middle layer shrinks along the scored lines, folding the f lat sheet into a springy, three-dimensional shape less than a half inch long As soon as the last crease is made, the robot scurries away Without a single nut, bolt, motor, wire, or microchip inside it, the robot can walk up a slope, carry an object heavier than itself, and even swim Photo by MIT Art by Robert L Prince What’s It For? The inventors think their robot will lead to many smaller robots that different jobs Early on, the robots might inspect equipment and workplaces “These robots can travel through very intricate, small, narrow pipelines that are difficult to inspect with today’s technology,” says team leader Dr Daniela Rus Later, the robots might be used to treat illnesses, possibly by carrying medicine directly to small places in the body or even by performing surgery Once the robots become fast and inexpensive to make, who knows what new uses they might have? Goaondfus Gallant There’s some of Goofus and Gallant in us all When the Gallant shines through, we show our best self ® Gallant puts tools back where he found them Goofus forgets to put the scissors back where they belong “Sorry, Peanut You’re supposed to get just half a can,” says Gallant “You still have food, but here’s some for later,” says Goofus YOUR Goofus and Gallant Moments “I felt like Goofus when I “I felt like Gallant when took my friend’s pen without asking.” I helped my father rake leaves.” Adriana, Age 9, Georgia Art by Leslie Harrington Leo, Age 8, New Jersey Tell us when you’ve felt like Goofus or Gallant! Visit HighlightsKids.com or write to Goofus and Gallant Moments 803 Church Street Honesdale, PA 18431 OCTOBER 2016 “Want to ride bikes?” IRD WEwith Day Walden The By M Coutts Ù Art by Chris Jones Tim watched as the moving van was unloaded next door And then—yes! He saw bicycles and bunk beds Maybe there’d be someone his age living there The following morning, Tim heard a basketball bouncing He stuck his head around the hedge to investigate “Hey,” called Tim when he saw a boy his age The boy looked around and grinned at Tim “Where’d you come from?” “I live on this side of the hedge,” said Tim “Want to ride bikes?” “Sure,” said the boy “I’ll tell my mom and then meet you out front.” Tim went back to get his bike and rode up the sidewalk The new boy was already waiting there, looking up the 10 OCTOBER 2016 street “Ready to go?” Tim asked The boy looked surprised “Go where?” he asked He wasn’t as friendly as he was a few minutes ago “Just a quick ride around the neighborhood,” Tim said “What’s your name?” asked the boy “Oh, sorry My name’s Tim.” He pointed toward his house “I live there.” The boy’s smile returned “I’m Walden,” he said He turned to his mom, who was planting f lowers “Is it OK if I ride with Tim?” “Sure,” she said “Be careful.” Tim led the way up the street to the library, around the school, and back down the block to his own house “Want to come over for lunch?” he asked “Sure,” said Walden “Do you know what you’re having?” The Treasure That ALMOST Got Away We all saw it Clear as day By Jason O’Hare Art by Kristin Abbott Hi! I’m Clarabella Claxxton from Colorado Springs, and this is the story of how a trea asure was found, then lost, theen found again on a rainy autumn n day at a creek creek in Cheyenne Cañ ñon ñon I was 12 years old and d taking a ride up the canyon witth my cousins Suzanne and Sa am When we stopped by thee creek to let our horses fetch a drink, my cousins jumped off their saddles quicker tha an grasshoppers and heade ed to the water’s edge “Hey, Clarabella!” said Suzanne “Watch how fa ar I can throw.”” She held up pa stone and chucked it dow wn the creek a ways Naturally, her brotherr wasn’t going to be shown up “H Hey, Clarabella!” Sam said “W Watch how far I can throw.” An nd he 30 OCTOBER 2016 chucked a stone to just about the same spot his sister had had Well, now I just had to show them, so I jumped off my horse and joined them at the creek “Looky here I can throw as far as a rainbow is tall!”” Then I grabbed the first f stone I could find and chucked it into the air And that’s when we all saw it Clear as day Something gleamed in the creek bed “That’s no rock!” cried Sam “Clarabella,” said Suzanne, “that’s a gold nugget!” And they were right I had fished a gold nugget out of the creek without realizing it, and I had thrown it so far that it went past a bend in the creek and landed in a grove of aspen trees It was worth a small fortune, and now it was gone Well, things looked bad One of the horses whinnied, and a breeze as cold as disappointment swept down the mountain I looked above and saw a mirthless cloud swollen with rain headed our way “What are we gonna do?” asked Sam “We’re gonna get that gold nugget back,” I said “Follow me!” We moved quicker than jackrabbits jumping on coals Before long, we found ourselves standing in that aspen grove, on a carpet of fallen leaves the exact color of the gold we were looking for “It’ll take forever to find that gold nugget,” said Sam Oh the Oh, th luck! l k! If it had h d been b any season except fall, we would have found that nugget without trouble But it was mixed up with those aspen leaves, and that cloud was fixing to dump a river of rain on our heads That gold was as good as stolen, and bad luck was the thief Then I heard it The gurgling creek! Just a few steps away was the answer to our problem “Quick!” I cried “Grab up the leaves and throw them in the creek.” I gathered an armful, as many as I could carry, and I dumped those golden leaves into the water “But, Clarabella, if we pick up such big piles, that gold nugget is liable to get mixed up with them,” Suzanne pointed out “No time to explain,” I said “Just get moving!” Pretty soon we’d thrown in so many autumn leaves that the creek appeared to be f lowing with gold It was worth a small fortune, and now it was gone “Well, that does it,” said Sam “That nugget is as good as gone.” “Just wait,” I said And sure enough, once all the leaves had f loated away, something gleamed in the creek bed “Clarabella! There it is!” cried Suzanne “It sunk!” “That’s right,” I said “That nugget f loats about as well as a horseshoe Grab it, and this time don’t throw it!” So we grabbed our gold nugget and hurried home, just as the fat raindrops began to fall And that’s the story of the treasure that was found, th lost, then l t then th ffound d again i on a rainy autumn day at a creek in Cheyenne Cañon “No time to explain Just get moving!” OCTOBER 2016 31 Luke Bot Luke O’Malley Age Illinois h Faith Reic C an a d a , a rt e Age 11 Alb Cat-Burger Madeline Shideler Age Indiana t e b a h Alp Remiel Porter Age Alaska the u to hide in o y d e k s me We a f your na me o r e t t le t firs re so g Here a ures! in w a r d a t lever pic of your c Toucan with the Letter M Aubrey Baker Age North Carolina 32 OCTOBER 2016 Maggie Woods Age Connecticut A.J Carter Age 10 Pennsylvania Storm Magic By Joanne R Fritz Art by Blythe Russo Annie looked at the outside “I wish we could play on the rain “Not until the ” swings stops,” Grandma said rain “Let’s practice magic tricks,” said Katy They found a ,a pencil the stick to her pencil ,a bead , and a cup Katy dropped the hand and the Annie made scarf into the bead , cup disappeared But the girls got tangled in the bead scarf Grandma clapped “Good show!” “Look!” Katy said She pointed out the window “The storm made magic, too!” said Annie “First the disappeared sun Now the is back And it brought a sun !” rainbow OCTOBER 2016 33 Crafts Make This Game Next Month! Jack-o’-Lantern Candy Carrier By Edna Harrington For the bag, use yarn and a large-eye needle to sew two orange washcloths together along three sides Cut out a nose, a mouth, and eyes from black felt Glue them to the bag For a handle, tie a ribbon to the stitching near the top of the bag Desktop “Pen”alty Box By April Theis Cut a snack box to the height of a short cardboard tube Cover the box with colored paper Add paper hockey sticks and a puck Write “Pen”alty Box with a marker Glue three short cardboard tubes inside the box Craft samples by Buff McAllister Photos by Guy Cali Associates, Inc Mongolian Shagai Sheep Anklebone Toss A Game for Players By Lisa Haag Kang Spooky “Floating” Eyes By Beth Bogert For eyeballs, draw a pair of pupils and irises on paper Cut them out and glue them to two Styrofoam balls Paint the eyeballs with two coats of Hang the eyeballs in a closet for a spooky surprise! glow-in-the-dark paint Let them dry Paint a wide craft stick black Let it dry Tie each end of a long piece of thread to a paper clip Open the paper clips and stick the ends into the eyeballs Tape the center of the thread to the craft stick so that the eyeballs hang evenly For a hanger, tape another piece of thread to the top of the he stick stick Dice are among the oldest game pieces in human history They have been made from bone, ivory, wood, and metal It is thought that the earliest dice were made of sheep anklebones Today, animal herders in Mongolia continue to use sheep anklebones, or shagai (SHAH-guy), as dice, because Mongolians believe in wasting no part of an animal The letters o stand for fo n the shagai ur of the a nimals herded by Mongolian nomads—h orses, cam els, sheep, and goats To make shagai, mold four pieces of polymer clay into curved, four-sided S shapes Use a toothpick to mark the sides of each shagai with H, C, S, and G Ask a parent to help bake the shagai in the oven according to the clay’s instructions For the game board, draw two columns on poster board Draw eight spaces in each column Write “Start” in the bottom two spaces and “Finish” in the top two Use colored paper as a border To Play: Each player puts one shagai on “Start” with the H facing upward Players take turns rolling the other two shagai For each H a player rolls (for “horse”), he or she moves one space Whoever reaches “Finish” first wins aft Challenge! Create a game using pennies and short cardboard tubes OCTOBER 2016 35 Night on Bat Mountain Virginia big-eared bats are making a comeback That’s great news By John E Becker, Ph.D It was a warm June evening in the mountains I was following Craig Stihler and Jack Wallace, scientists for the state of West Virginia, as they carefully made their way across a steep slope leading to Peacock Cave Each summer, they hike to caves in West Virginia to count Virginia big-eared bats They want to see if the number of bats is going up or down I was there that night to learn about the bats for a book I was writing I had already discovered 36 OCTOBER 2016 that Virginia big-eared bats are medium-sized They weigh less than half an ounce and have a wingspan of 12 to 13 inches Do Not Disturb After we arrived at the small entrance to Peacock Cave, Craig and Jack unpacked their equipment “Bats that live in caves can suffer if they are disturbed by people,” Craig said Jack explained, “When people go into a cave in the winter, they may awaken the hibernating bats and cause them to f ly around and burn up the fat they’ve stored in their bodies Without that food supply, the bats might not live until spring when they can eat insects again.” Photos: pages 36–37 (bat) by SuperStock/Alamy, (background) iStock/kamisoka; page 37 (right) by Craig W Stihler, WVDNR Peacock Cave is home to more than 1,000 bats The Virginia big-eared bat is a subspecies of the Townsend’s big-eared bat, shown at left “And when female bats are with their pups in the summertime,” Craig added, “people entering their cave may cause the mothers to drop their pups.” As night settled in, Craig and Jack set up a radio-like bat detector outside the cave The machine picks up bat sounds that our ears can’t hear The researchers also set up a night-vision scope that allows them to see the bats as they leave the cave in darkness Bat Numbers on the Rise When it was almost dark enough for the bats to appear, I looked into the night-vision scope I saw bats f lying just inside the cave entrance Then, a little later, the bats began darting out of the cave—one, two, and three at a time! For the next two hours, Craig counted the bats by speaking into a handheld voice recorder each time five bats f lew out of the cave By the time the last bat left the roost at about 10:30 P.M., Craig and Jack had counted 1,242 bats! “That’s the most we’ve ever counted here,” Craig said He explained that when the first count was taken at Peacock Cave in 1983, there were only 160 Virginia big-eared bats Projects to help protect bats, like setting up bat-friendly gates that keep people out but allow bats to f ly in and out of caves, have helped the bats make a remarkable comeback The total number of Virginia big-eared bats in 1984 was 6,000 Today there are more than 25,000! “Virginia big-eared bats, like most bats in North America, are important because they eat insects,” Craig said as we packed up and started back down the mountain “And they will continue to need our help if they are going to survive into the future.” OCTOBER 2016 37 S L E D RI D Tongue Twisters What does a spider work on while using a computer? Cheney Mo, California Ronald and Raymond read riddles Sage Hoppe Age 10 i Pennsylvania Six slippery seals swimming in the sea a year, twice What comes once in r in a day? in a week, and neve rk Yo Julia Whalen, New Aadil Ahsan Alberta, Canada What ghosts like on their roast beef? Eliana, Idaho Answers page Fun This Month the tallest Why are libraries s? buildings in citie Windy Word Find The hidden words are WINDY, SQUIRREL, TREE, BIRD, WALK, and LEAF Jaem How you fix a broken Mystery Photo —Luggage tag page 20 barn bran lime mile cheater teacher pan nap taste state apes peas rats star page 21 Alex, Pennsylvania Picture Puzzler wings wavy mouth watches wings fur wings fangs three eyes horns wavy mouth watches three eyes fangs tentacles three eyes wavy mouth tentacles fur tentacles fangs What skeletons say before mealtime? Mia, Louisiana watches Illustration credits: Page 2: Kevin Zimmer; 6: Erin Mauterer, except (numbers) iStock/Sylverarts, (star) iStock/ Frank Ramspott; 12: Robert L Prince; 13: Hilly=Chilly? by Josh Cleland, Dinosaurs by Robert Squier; 15: Jokes by Rich Powell, “Cloudy” by Neil Waldman; 17: (left) iStock/pixelremix; 20: Fix the Mix-Ups by Luke Flowers, Check and Double Check by Mike Moran; 21: Locked Out by Jason Tharp, Windy Word Find by Dave Klug; 27: (map) Map Resources Premier International; 32: (aRT letters) iStock/beastfromeast; 38: Joey Ellis Photo credits: Page 2: iStock/t_kimura; 3: Gina Lenz; 4: iStock/oriba; 4–5: AGF Srl/Alamy; 6: (tacos) iStock/ fcafotodigital, (log) iStock/prmustafa, (books) iStock/Joakim Leroy, (girl) iStock/Nanette_Grebe, (door) iStock/ Vadym Kulinchenko; 12: SergeUWPhoto/Shutterstock; 16: (left) Bill Brooks/Alamy, (right) Keystone Pictures USA/ Alamy; 17: (right) PjrTravel/Alamy; 18: (left) Tuul and Bruno Morandi/Alamy, (right) Ivan Vdovin/Alamy; 26: (top left) imageBROKER/Alamy, (bottom) photo by and courtesy of Karl Taube; 26–27: (background and flying quetzal) David Tipling Photo Library/Alamy; 27: (money) Glyn Thomas/Alamy, (flag) iStock/221A OCTOBER 2016 Maria Foust, Connecticut fur Covers: Trick or Treat! by Gary LaCoste; What’s Wrong?® by Josh Cleland 38 Johnny’s mother has four kids: April, May, June—and what is the name of her fourth child? horns horns Locked Out Ben’s locker combination is 12, 18, 24 Bonus! AN ICEBERG-ER jack-o’-lantern? page 43 What tune has no music? Soha Mahapatra, Maryland art? Why are fish so sm n Natalie Haadsma, Michiga Answers: His Web site The letter e Grave-y Because they have so many stories With a pumpkin patch Johnny “Bone appétit!” Neptune Because they swim in schools Fix the Mix-Ups io eson French, Oh A Pumpkin Party #Z3JDI8BMMBDFŔ"SUCZ3PO;BMNF Harvest time! The Timbertoes ® The Timbertoes scooped out seeds for roasting Ma and Pa made pies They even cooked soup It all smelled good Pa had a secret plan He and the kids went to work The family had a feast “Ma, come see the surprise.” It was a great end to the harvest OCTOBER 2016 39 Ask izona ® Presentation Panic? No Problem! #Z-JTTB3PWFUDIŔ"SUCZ"NBOEB.PSMFZ Dear Nervous, Even though it seems impossible, BREATHE! I know what it’s like to feel so nervous that your head starts spinning and your stomach gets tied up in knots and your heart starts racing a million miles a minute When I feel that way, I take a deep breath, then slowly exhale while counting to 10 That always helps me feel at least a tiny bit less horrible And, yes, something really close to what you’re going through happened to me But instead of a book report, our assignment was to talk about 40 OCTOBER 2016 someone we were grateful for “I’m so nervous about having to talk in front of the whole class,” I told my friend Mareya “I can hardly catch my breath!” “I’m so nervous about having to talk in front of the class.” “You’ve been in at least three plays,” Mareya pointed out “If you don’t get stage fright in front of those big audiences, why are you bothered by a few kids in our class?” Visit “I don’t know Maybe because in a play you’re part of a group and you say lines from a script.” I shook my head “There are so many people I’m grateful for There’s no way I could possibly pick just one Plus, even if I picked one, I’d have no idea what to say Plus, even if I figured out what to say, I’m a million-percent positive I’d mess up if I tried to say it out loud! I’d be standing there with everyone staring at me, waiting for words to come out of my mouth I should just go home, crawl into bed, and never come out!” I pulled my sweatshirt hood over my face, put my hands over my ears, and said, “I don’t want to talk about it!” But one thing about really good friends who know you really well is that they don’t always exactly what you ask them to Mareya can be pretty pushy when it comes to being helpful She scribbled something on a piece of paper, lifted my hood, and smiled She’d drawn a funny elephant with the word BREATHE coming out of its trunk “Aww! That’s so cute.” I laughed She giggled “This is Franky, to hear this story read aloud “I’m a millionpercent positive I’ll mess up!” the ‘everything’s going to be all right’ elephant.” “Franky’s the best,” I said “How about he talks in front of the class so I don’t have to?” Mareya held the picture up to her ear “What’s that you say, Franky? You think Arizona should come over to my house this weekend so we can work on our talks together?” And that’s exactly what happened When we met on Saturday, Mareya decided to write a talk about her dad She misses him like crazy because he’s away serving our country in the U.S Air Force And I decided on a fifty-fifty split between my mom and my dad So you can imagine how surprised Mareya was on Monday morning when I stood in front of our entire class, took a deep breath, glanced at my wrinkled-up picture of Franky the elephant, and said, “The person I’d like to tell you about is the most thoughtful, understanding, funny friend in the world She’s the kind of friend who sticks by me even when I’m being the most difficult human on the planet She’s the kind of friend who draws goofy pictures that make me laugh and forget about my troubles She’s the kind of friend who believes in me even when I forget to believe in myself This person I’m so grateful for is named Mareya.” When I stopped talking, I realized I’d finally found a way to embarrass the never-embarrassed Mareya “I’ll get you,” she mouthed as she shook her head, but I could tell she was super happy Mareya was so surprised So, dear Nervous, I have a few survival tips: BREATHE! Don’t keep that stress bottled up inside Talk about your worries with a friend, a parent, or a teacher I promise that saying stuff out loud will help Focus your energy on preparing your book report, not on worrying When you figure out what to say, you may even start to feel excited about saying it Don’t worry about making your presentation perfect The world won’t end if you mess up Breathe some more! Ciao for now, Arizona I took a deep breath and glanced at Franky the elephant Dear Highlights There’s a talent show coming up I can’t dance or sing I’m not really good at anything What can I do? Aaliyah, California A talent show sounds like fun! There are many acts you could try, such as telling jokes, reciting poetry, performing magic tricks, jumping rope, or juggling If group performances are allowed, maybe you can perform a routine or skit with your friends You might enjoy brainstorming ideas together Remember also that some talents are hard to show on a stage You might be great at reading, taking care of animals, solving math problems, giving advice, or making people smile We are sure that you have many talents! My little sister always comes into my room without knocking Will you help me? Elijah, Texas The next time this happens, you might say in a nice voice “I’d really like it if you would knock and ask first if you can come in That would show respect toward me And I’ll the same for you.” Then when your sister does remember to knock, let her know how much you appreciate it You might even reward her by playing a game of her choice The more you reward her for cooperating with you, the more likely she’ll continue to respect your privacy 42 OCTOBER 2016 My friend is making new friends at school, and I feel excluded I want to say something, but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings E., Virginia We agree that it would be a good idea to talk to your friend about this, even though it might not be easy You might say “I’m glad we’re friends Sometimes I feel left out when you spend time with your new friends, though Can we talk about it?” Your friend might be happy to include you with the group sometimes It’s also good to keep in mind that being friends does not mean you have to spend all of your time together You might like to meet some new friends, too! You could start by smiling and saying hello to kids you’ve never talked to before or joining sports or clubs that interest you Write to us! Please include your name, age, and full address Mail to Dear Highlights 803 Church Street Honesdale, PA 18431 Or e-mail us at Letters@Highlights.com Art by Keith Frawley r e l z u z P Picture Art by Jared orr Andrew Sch iagonally) ally, and d ntally, vertic zo ch row (hori a e in rs te s mon What the mon? have in com Answers on pa ge 38 What’s Wrong? ® Which things in this picture are silly? It’s up to you! Visit our Web site!