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Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli received a Newberry Medal in 1991, and carries with it a reputation as a life-changing story. It is the story of a legend. Jeffery Lionel Magee’s parents were killed in a strange trolley accident when he was three years old. He was sent to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan who loathed each other to the degree that they refused to speak. They used Jeffery as their messenger, and it made him so sad and angry that he eventually ran away.

He then makes it to the town of Two Mills which is two hundred miles away from his real home. He wanders into town and meets Amanda Beale, a book-toting young girl who leads him to her home, where he finds a place to live. Jeffery discovers that Two Mills is divided racially between the East End and the West End. Jeffery’s strong sense of justice helps him in his quest for unity between the races.

Discover how this run-away kid turns into a baseball legend, and leaves a legacy of learning and justice behind. You won’t soon forget Maniac Magee.

Would you like to watch your face disappear? Without actually being removed from your body of course? This simple experiment reminds us about how the eye, or rather, two eyes work together and, as it were, stich together two images to create a coherent single image that we perceive.

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Jai Alai, which in the Basque language means “Merry Festival,” is considered to be the world’s fastest ball game. It was developed over three centuries ago in the Spanish Pyrenees Mountains by the Basque people, and traveled to Cuba in 1898. Now it has found a home in Florida, where it was introduced in 1926 and is quite popular in that state.

Jai Alai is a lot like handball, except the players wear a crescent-shaped basket, called a cesta, on their dominant hand. True cestas are made of wicker reeds found solely in the Pyrenees Mountains. The frame is built of a steam-bent chestnut rod, and the leather glove, which holds the hand in place, is called a cinta.

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Did you know that Bottlenose dolphins use echolocation to navigate their way around the ocean? Can you figure out how that might work? Dolphins use the echo of the clicks they make to locate the proximity of the objects nearby. Echolocation allows them to understand the size and shape of an object — even the speed and direction that it may be going.

Dolphins communicate with each other quite a lot because they hunt together in a group. A group of dolphins, also known as a pod, encircles a school of fish and herds them into a bunch. Then individual dolphins will take turns swimming through the school of fish to feed.

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I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why do we honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a holiday? Because he was one of the world’s leaders of the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr., was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents taught him to treat all people with respect, and that the color of a person’s skin should not matter.

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Want to make an easy dessert that is delicious? Then try this recipe from India. Actually, these coconut macaroons originally came from England, but at one time, India used to be ruled by England. The British no longer rule India, but the delightful Coconut Macaroon remains a favorite in India.

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The glory of game technology surrounds us, and it keeps on improving. Today, we enjoy the excitement of electronic video games that amaze us with their levels of difficulty and life like graphics. But what about the days before video games? What did people do for their gaming entertainment? One very popular activity was pinball. It may sound old fashioned, but if you’ve never played, you should try it. Pinball can be just as exciting to play as a video game.

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The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich provides a glimpse into life on this continent before European settlers overtook the land. These non-Indian settlers and travelers, known by the Ojibwa tribe as “chimookomanug,” are making their way across the Great Lakes region of what we now call the United States. What should be done? Does a person trade with them, as Deydey does, even though he laughs at the Europeans behind their backs? Should one learn their language, like Fishtail tries, so he can learn what the treaties say? Or should the Europeans just be shunned completely, as Old Tallow believes?

Omayakas is the hero of this story; she is a seven-year-old girl who is in the process of helping her grandmother, Nokomis, search for the birch bark that they will use for the house they are building. One evening at the dance lodge, one of the European voyagers appears at the entrance, and seems to be very sick. The illness he carries is smallpox, and the tribe falls prey to the deadly disease. Everyone in Omakayas’ family gets quite ill– except for Omakaya, who cares for them without rest until her spirit begins to suffer. Only in the very last pages of the book do we discover Omakaya’s secret which brings the story to a satisfying conclusion.

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First and foremost: DO NOT TRY THIS! Unless you are absolutely certain that the guides who are tying your ankle to the post of a 150 foot bridge are professionals, bungee jumping is incredibly dangerous and possibly life-threatening. Don’t even think of bungee jumping unless you have access to professional guidance and expert equipment. That having been said, can you imagine anything more thrilling than jumping off of a bridge, a tower or even a helicopter and living to tell about it?

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Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.” — Dr. Seuss

Like his quote says, Dr. Seuss seemed like a very nonsensical kind of man. His books have made a lasting impression on every generation since he began publishing them in 1937. His name is as common as a household appliance throughout the United States. But where did he get his ideas? How did he start writing? His life is as fascinating as his wonderful books.

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Here’s an easy recipe that you can make after school for dinner or which can serve as a nice lunch or heavy snack. Make sure to get some help when using the oven.

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Do you know what a carnivorous plant is? Basically, it is a plant that is able to trap and digest living creatures as a way of nourishing themselves. Sounds disgusting doesn’t it?

Well if you like gross things, then you’ll love the Venus Fly Trap. Here we’ll give you a description of this fascinating plant, and give you some basic instructions to care for one, should you decide to own one.

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