Page 2 - Kind News, Jr. Activity Guide, March/April 2024
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ANSWER KEY



        Critter Clues FROM PAGE 7

         Our mystery critter is the cricket. Male
         crickets rub their wings together to make their
         characteristic chirping sounds at night to call
         mates while day-dwelling predators sleep. Two
         structures on the backs of a cricket’s wings cause                             VISIT
         the chirps: comb-like teeth on one forewing and a                             KINDNEWS.ORG
         raised scraper on the opposite one. When the animal                            for online
         rubs together the wings, the scraper runs against the                          activities!
         teeth much like a fingernail runs along a comb, creating a
         thrrrrrrrrrrrp. Since the ectotherms can rub faster in warmer
         weather, the rhythm can be used to estimate the temperature!
         Crickets are often mistaken for their distant cousin, the   Trace the Way Home
         grasshopper. While they look alike with their enormous hind   Activity FROM PAGE 6
         legs, they differ in important ways. Grasshoppers have much
         shorter, thicker antennae. Grasshoppers use their legs for
         “singing” as well as for jumping, not their wings. And unlike
         crickets, grasshoppers are not nocturnal. You’re much more
         likely to see one during the day.
    COVER: MSPCA @ NORTHEAST ANIMAL SHELTER. THIS PAGE: MIZLATIC/BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM.
         For thousands of years, caged crickets have been kept in China
         as pets, and at times for fighting. Much-loved cricket characters
         appear in stories such as Disney's Pinocchio and Mulan, Charles
         Dickens's The Cricket on the Hearth, and George Selden’s and
         Garth Williams’ The Cricket in Times Square. The presence of a
         cricket is thought to be good luck, while harming one brings bad.
         So encourage kindness to crickets, and enjoy their lulling chirps
         on a warm night!

                                                                                        BOOK NOOK
                                  How to Bird
                                  By Rasha Hamid | Recommended for ages 3-8

                                  Birding is fun. Birding is free. And it’s open to all, wherever you live! That’s the message
                                  of this nonfiction introduction to birding that’s packed with wonder-struck children
                                  watching their feathered, flighted neighbors in urban spaces. How to Bird discusses
                                  common bird sounds and tools such as binoculars and phone apps that are helpful but
                                  not required for birding. Slowing down to observe with eyes and ears is encouraged, and
                                  discussion questions and other further resources are included.
                                  HOW TO BIRD ©2023 BY FREE SPIRIT PUBLISHING




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