Numbers ofmonarchsseriously

decline Bye-bye, butterfl y?

For years, the annual migration of monarch butterfl ies from Canada and the United States to certain valleys in Mexico has been part of school science programs and a tourist attraction in Mexico.

Now the World Wildlife Fund warns that the spectacular show may come to an end, due to habitat destruction in the two northern nations.

The group has been monitoring the numbers of migrating butterfl ies for the past decade, and has seen a steady decline. This year’s migration, however, was low enough to prompt more serious warnings.

WWF places most of the blame on increased use of herbicides, which kill both harmful weeds and also the milkweed on which monarchs depend. Monarchs don’t face extinction, but the destruction of their food source is seriously reducing their numbers, experts say. Photo/Richiebits

2013

ColoradoKids CK ReporterSofi a Morphin,

Denver

western historY Comes aliVeSome kids think museums

are a snooze, but surely they’ve never been to the

History Colorado Center in downtown Denver.

Using the art of interactive learning, the exhibits there have more hands-on models than words. That’s perfect for young and old alike, and you will walk away wanting more.

“Living West,” the newest ex-hibit there, shows three different periods in time: Mesa Verde, the Dust Bowl, and Colorado Today.

These features are related through water, land and people’s choices.

At Mesa Verde, you take a quick quiz to see how much wa-ter you personally use each day, by pumping water into a tube.

During the Dust Bowl, you get to experience the Dust Bowl for yourself in a model of a small prairie home.

And fi nally, in Colorado Today, you get to drive to Breckenridge in just four minutes! That’s rare!

Plus, nearly every display plaque has a surprise button. Anything can happen!

It took four and a half years to create “Living West,” so it will be here for a while.

And need something for a younger sibling to do? Never fear, activities are here.

“The water things, I think, are the most fun things for kids,” said Liz Cook, the center’s envi-ronmental educator.

At various stations, you play with water. For example, in one activity, you open and close dams to provide water for farms.

Or, you fi gure out how much

water is in eight feet of snow. No matter what you choose to

do, you will end up with a smile on your face.

Liz Cook says she learned some interesting facts as the exhibit was put together, such as the fact that Anasazi people had pet turkeys.

Though the entire museum will not be complete for another one or two years, just browsing through “Living West” is enough fun to take up all the time on your parking meter.

In 1994, the Colorado leg-islature made it illegal to use tobacco products on

school grounds.Colorado’s law points out

that letting staff, visitors or other adults smoke on school grounds not only means that kids must breathe in second-hand smoke, but provides a bad example as well.

Twenty years later, China has made the same move to protect the health of its school children.

According to the new law, Chinese schools must post signs warning of the ban and are no longer allowed to accept sponsorships from tobacco companies or to sell cigarettes on school property.

The law also prohibits all smoking in college buildings, but allows them to set up out-door smoking areas.

China is the world’s largest cigarette-producing nation and has the most smokers, but plans to eventually ban all smoking in public places.

China moVes to enD smoKinG in sChool

By Lauren Walters,10, a CK Reporter from Denver

Model community Visitors examine the Mesa Verde diorama at History Colorado. Photo/Science Museum ofMinnesota

seriously reducing their numbers, experts say. Photo/Richiebits

February 4, 2014

Good start to new series

“Defy,” by Sara Larson, is a fantasy/medieval novel that many

compare to Disney’s “Mulan.”

Alexa’s world is thrown into peril when a great Blevonese army destroys her small village and she is forced to cut her hair, pretend to be a boy, and join the army.

With many years of practice and training, she and her brother, Marcel, eventually become members of the Prince’s guard.

But when a sorcerer called Elijin captures the Prince, Alexa, and another of the prince’s guards, Rylan, her life changes entirely.

The sorcerer takes them captive and brings them to Blevon where she trains to beat the King’s sorcerer Iker so the Prince can kill the king.

Then, the prince can end his

father’s wicked reign and return the kingdom of Antion to its peaceful status once again and there can be peace between Blevon and Antion.

Alexa is the next Katniss in the making.

This book was beautifully written, but seemed rushed.

I felt Sara Larson could have extended and better described the battle scenes and maybe have cut out some of the time on the trip to Blevon and the

beginning at the castle.

Overall, how-ever, this book was a great read and is soon to be the next heroine series.

“Defy” takes more of a medieval approach rather than a dystopian approach like “The Hunger Games.”

“Defy” is also written for a much older audience than “Mulan” -- probably teens

13 and older -- because of gory battle scenes and mature con-tent.

This is Sara Larson’s first book and it is soon to be a series.

That series is sure to be great, so find “Defy” at your local library or bookstore.

ck Kids and adults can find live links to information about stories in Colorado Kids at www.ColoradoNIE.com

Two book reviews on Page Four talk about courageous women, one about a young girl of today, the other about grown women of a past time.Look through today’s paper for stories or pictures of people showing courage, or of people who might need some. Using what you found, write a brief essay about how everyday people respond to trouble, for better or worse.

Beyond these four pages

A

B

C

D

CK Readers embrace our Western rootsThe majority of you may

not be real cowpunchers, but Colorado’s heritage

is still alive and well when it comes to the Stock Show.

Only a little over a third of readers who responded knew a lot about horses or had family roots in our ranching past, but nearly half said they knew about the Stock Show and made it part of their lives.

Only 16% didn’t know heads

from tails about horses. Here’s what we asked you, and

what you told us:Stock Show is here. How much

of your life is that part of Colo-rado’s Western heritage?

A. It’s in my family’s history. 9%B. I know how to ride and take

care of a horse. 27%C. I’ve read about it and I’ve

attended some events. 47%D. The saddle horn goes in

front, right? 16%

Here’s our new question:Groundhog Day has come

and gone. So now what?A. My life continues right

on schedule.B. Quick! I have to get in

more winter fun!C. I’ll just keep hiding until

spring arrives.D. It’s all the same season

until school gets out.To answer this question, go to

www.nextgen.yourhub.com

we asked, you answered

By Logan Butler,12, a CK Reporter from Littleton

Colorado Kidsis produced by

Denver Post Educational ServicesExecutive Editor: Dana Plewka

dplewka@denverpost.comCK Editor: Mike Peterson

coloradokidseditor@gmail.comWe welcome your comments.

For tools to extend the learning in this feature, look under“eEdition lessons” at:

www.ColoradoNIE.com

eEditions of the Post arefree of charge for classroom use.Contact us for information on all

our programs.

Denver Post Educational Services101 W. Colfax Ave.Denver CO 80202

(303) 954-3974(800) 336-7678

Three books that won

praise from our critics have been given major national awards as well.

Kate DiCa-millo’s “Flora and Ulysses” was named win-ner of the Newbery Award, the most important award for chil-dren’s literature in America.

DiCamillo was interviewed by CK Reporter Leslie Wil-burn when she came to Den-ver to talk about the book this

fall.“P.S. Be Elev-

en,” a novel reviewed on the NextGen website by CK Reporter Olivia Ooms, won the Coretta Scott

King Book Award, which hon-ors books for young people that further Dr. Martin Luther King’s message, while “March, Book One,” a graphic memoir by Congressman John Lewis reviewed here by Lauren Hill, was also honored by the Coretta Scott King program.

You saw them here first!

Whenever smugglers are caught with large quantities of whatever

sorts of things they were trying to sneak across the border, cus-toms officials like to pile it all up for a photo to show the good job they’ve done.

But you never see photographs of things smugglers don’t get caught with, so this week’s cap-ture in Togo, Africa, of two tons of ivory, is good news and bad news.

It’s good that they caught these smugglers. And it’s certainly good that this is the second time in a week that Togolese officers caught a two-ton ivory shipment.

But it’s bad to think of how many other smugglers may have managed to get ivory out of the country successfully.

Conservationists are worried that the illegal market for ivory and the elephant poaching that profits from it, will lead to the ex-tinction of elephants in the wild.

And they weren’t entirely encouraged by the capture of smugglers in Togo, because, un-

der the law there, the smugglers face a light jail sentence of just 10 months to three years.

However, on the other side of the continent, a Kenyan court used new, harsher laws to sen-tence a man caught with a single 4.3 kg section of tusk to a fine of nearly a quarter of a million dol-lars or seven years in prison.

That’s on the light side of the new law: Had he been caught with a larger amount of ivory, he might have faced a life sentence.

Conservationists are pleased with Kenya’s new, more serious approach to the problem.

But, while these tougher laws will discourage poachers and smugglers from trying to take ivory out through Kenya, the problem will continue until all African countries take the same strict approach.

However, there was more good news for elephants, when Hong Kong decided to follow the US and mainland China by destroy-ing tons of ivory taken from smugglers, instead of re-selling it.

togo, Kenya show difference in ivory laws

Togo

Kenya

BrainteaserRosa Parks was born on this day in 1913, so our answers this week will all begin with “P.”

1. Warsaw is the capital of this European nation.

2. This dog’s fancy haircut was originally intended to keep its joints warm in cold water while it fetched hunters’ ducks.

3. A play with no words

4. Mammals including humans, apes, monkeys and lemurs

5. An instrument like a flute, but half the size

6. Colorful stage name of singer Alecia Beth Moore

7. South American country between Brazil and Argentina

8. Author of “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Jacob I Have Loved” and “The Great Gilly Hopkins”

9. When you multiply any two numbers, you get this.

10. Scaled animal of Asia and Africa, similar to an armadillo(answers on Page Four)

NIE is N-E-W!Visit our brand-new website

The Denver Post’s Newspapers In Education (NIE) is getting a brand-new look online! New site features include:

• Colorado Kids on Tuesdays• Mini Page on Wednesdays• Kid Scoop on Thursdays • “This Week in History” quizzes to help teachers• New ways to compare and contrast local media content

Visit the new website today atwww.ColoradoNIE.com.

Above, the ivory seized in Togo represents poached elephants in a battle against smuggling that could doom the animals to extinc-tion. However, a recent change in Kenya’s law gives hope that other nations will follow along to make poaching a less attractive way of making money. AP Photo/

Erick Kaglan

With Christina Lamb, Malala Yousafzai has written inspiration in

350 pages.

Just 16-years-old, her autobi-ography, “I Am Malala,” shows the life behind the Noble Peace Prize Nominee, education activ-ist, and “The Girl Who Was Shot by the Taliban.”

The book gives history regarding both her and her native country, Pakistan.

As a kid, I was unaware of the tensions in their ever-shifting govern-ment. Informa-tion was poured out about Pakistan and also about Malala and her family.

To one uninformed of the happenings in everyday Pash-tun life, the revealing of the culture is intriguing, especially from the perspective of a teen.

They had (and still have) con-stant struggles to get everyday things that Americans take for granted, such as food, medi-cine, and education.

Religion plays an important role in how everything there

runs, from daily life to their government.

Many of Malala’s values are expressed in the book, as well as the questioning of these morals based on current events.

Both Malala and her father played a role in helping build education.

The journey from her father starting a school to her globally speaking out for girl’s educa-

tion is the main story line, with facts about culture and life in the midst of the Taliban.

Here in West-ern culture, you have kids saying, “I don’t want to go to school!”

On the other side of the globe in Paki-stan, however, Malala endured pain and hard-ships so that she and others could go to

school.This isn’t a kids’ book. It may

not be the most entertaining book of all time.

But it’s a real eye-opener to life outside of our country, starting with one inspirational girl. “I am Malala” shows inter-national readers that this cliche is true: Anyone can change the world.

And there’s a reason Malala Yousafzai survived a shot from the Taliban.

Get to Know malala

BrainteaserSolution

(see Page Three)10 right - Wow! 7 right - Great! 5 right - Good

3 right - See you next time!

1. Poland 2. poodle 3. pantomime 4. primates 5. piccolo 6. Pink 7. Paraguay

8. (Katherine) Paterson 9. (their) product 10. pangolin

By Brianna Wolle13, a CK Reporter from Arvada

Imagine yourself as an Army nurse in WWII in the Phil-ippines with little food, as

the patients keep piling in and the medicine supply draws low.

Hard to picture when you haven’t done it through first hand experience, but in “Pure Grit,” Mary Cronk Farrell gives you the first hand stories from ac-tual Army/Navy Nurses in WWII.

The first couple of chapters of the book focus on the adven-tures that military nurses went on while stationed in the Philippines.

But soon after Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th, 1941, it becomes a living nightmare for them.

The Japanese come to bomb the Philippines, where the nurses are stationed, leaving

thousands of soldiers wounded or dead for the nurses to take care of.

I thought this book was one of the best WWII stories told!

I liked how it had many dif-ferent perspectives from the Navy and Army nurses, and that it told the true story of what happened.

“Pure Grit” is also a great read because you always see books about the untold stories of the soldiers, but rarely the nurses, who were a huge part of helping with the war!

It was great to read a dif-ferent and important perspective.

And for those girls who are interested in reading about war but don’t want to read about ‘boring’ combat, this is the perfect feminine twist, about

strong, driven women who are also, in their own way, fighting for our country.

I would definitely recommend this book for anybody 12+ who is intrigued by the history of war and what really happened behind the scenes.

CouraGeous women: their wartime roles

By Salina Garza,14, a CK Reporter from Westminster

Youth-written stories that appear here also appear on

Come read more stories, and maybe write one yourself!

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