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Brilliant Star
Volume 21, Number3 July-August 1989
Kalimat Words/Kamal Perfection/Asma’ Names 146 B.E.
Dear Children,
These fine summer nights, go and lie down on your back and drink in the sight of the stars in the nightsky! As you look out into space, you are seeing the twinkling of lights from stars that may have sent that light our way hundreds of years ago. Your star-gazing is also a link with the millions of people who lived on Earth before you and those who will come after you. We are all touched by the stars and the velvety sky.
Space is HUGE and the study of space has many, many areas that just about anybody can connect with, no matter what you like to know about! The bigness of space brings us big questions, too. Where did it all begin? Who else is out there? How did stars form? Where is the universe going? Where does each one of us fit in?
Many of those questions have spiritual answers as well as scientific ones. Since science and religion are both parts of the same beautiful jewel of truth, we can begin to answer big questions using both science and spirit.
We hope you enjoy this issue on astronomy and space. Send us your space-wishes and let us know your
big questions. Love
A bout the Cover
This picture is a computer-generated illustration of stars and other designs by Jacquelin Domin. The picture from the computer was black and white and we colored it in to make it more exciting. It is fun to imagine what outer space looks like.
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Answer to Puzzle p.21
Brilliant Star Editorial Board
Deborah Bley Editor-in-Chief
Mimi McClellan Music Editor
Pepper P. Oldziey Art Director Production
Janet Richards Secretary Manager
Keith Boehme Consultant
Terri L. Earl Consultant
Rita Leydon Consultant
Subscriber Service Candace Moore Hill
Brilliant Star is a publication of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i of the United States. It is published six times each year, in January, March, May, July, September and November. Copyright © 1989 National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha't of the United States. World rights reserved.
Manuscripts should be typewritten and double-spaced throughout, Brilliant Star does not offer monetary compensation to its contributors. Return postage should be included if manuscript is to be returned. Single copy $2.50; 6 issues (one year) $12.00; 12 issues (two years) $20.00: foreign, surface mail, one year $15.00, two years $28.00; foreign, air mail, one year $25.00, two years $47.00. an index for the preceding year’s issues is available for $2.00.
Address manuscripts and other editorial contributions to: Brilliant Star/Bley
2512 Allegheny Dr.
___ Chattanooga, TN 37421
For subscriptions, change of address and adjustments write to: Brilliant Star
Baha'i Subscriber Service
Baha'i National Center
Wilmette, IL 60091 All other correspondence should be addressed to:
Brilliant Star/Richards,
4 Village Dr.
Yardville, NJ 08620
Brilliant Staris intended for children of all ages and
strives to:
° develop the child’s awareness of the oneness of humanity
- increase the child's conscious awareness of his
Spiritual nature and the need for its development
- provide practical approaches to viewing |ife’s
difficulties
e develop the child’s reasoning power and stimulate his love for the order of the universe
© provide a standard by which the child may learn to relate to others with love and justice
¢ assist parents and teachers in developing all of the child’s hidden talents and virtues
Printed in the U.S.A. ISSN 0884-3635
whats inside
2
Letters From Our Friends
The Wide, Wide 4
Universe by Deborah Bley
The Magic 6
Pepper Sauce a story by Kay Haugaard
Is There Life on Other Planets?
by Pepper P. Oldziey “Sky” Time 12
an activity by Connie Vines
Dr.Mae Jemison, 14 Astronaut by Deborah Bley
B yfdy
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
Stellar a poem by Carolan K. Stiles
15
Decorate AGate 16 a Holy Day activity by
Joanne Hessler
Birth of the Stars 18 by Diana R. Kinsey
The Blixe Berry 20 Gets to Earth
a story by
Gregory Maytan,
age7
Outer Space 21
Crossword a puzzle by Linda J. Hubbard
Voyager’s Last 22
Encounter
by Deborah Bley
24
The Magic Ball a poem by Susan Engle
The Asteroid Who 26
Wanted a Friend a story by Inara Punga
God Sent Mirrors 29
a song by
Vicki Morrison
Book Nook 30
Profile 31
Parents’ Page 32 1
[Page 2]
Letters from our friends
Kristin Fox lives in | oe Skokie, IL and sent us this GL EZ ON dye
, LELLIZE warm letter: Wey A Zs, i wy g V4
Dear Brilliant Star, E, IZ I am 8 years old and I love BRILLIANT STAR
because of the stories people write. So that’s why I want to participate
in BRILLIANT STAR. rae Alexandria Autry lives in Charlotte, NC (but she was ristin born in Anchorage, Alaska!). She is seven and sent us this wonderful puppy.
The International Youth Conference in Bloomington, IN last summer inspired Heidi Scheidet, age 7, to draw the stage from that event. She lives in Rocky Point, New York.
Nabil Mahboubi is from Muncie, Indiana. He is five years old and is already writing songs. Here is one he made up about lightning bugs:
Oh, lightning bug, please come back to me, Oh, lightning bug, I love you.
Oh, lightning bug, won’t you please love me. I love you, please come back.
A mouse lives next door, he loves you, too. He lives in a barn, with a lightning bug. They have two doors,
One for the mouse, one for the bug.
Lightning bug needs cool air to fly away. He flies through a hole in the bucket. That’s the end of my song.
That’s the end of my song.
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 3]The Caldwell family lives at the North Pole in
Alaska! These brothers and their sister are busy Baha’i
children. Here is a photo of Micah, age 7; Evelyna, age
4; and Antone, age 5. Here also is a peace symbol
Micah designed for his Baha’i children’s classes when
they were studying world peace.
Kevin Tayebi did this drawing of a special place in the Holy Land when he was 6 years old. He lives in Laguna Beach, California.
“SS a
lp helsing handS
AN AFRICAN
3 ~ +; -S| Penpal, Please! |
+ : —— = —— ; —, Aileen Reusche — Twin te, AK bs— — DARP/ Dept. of State/ Mirze: A hd _ ond | Washington, DC 20523
rf ~| Colombo ie Eee Aileen is pioneering in Sri his Mother A sl iy Lanka. She is 12 and likes to
read, swim and write letters. She
Kw dN La. asks for penpals from 9-16 Kh OVA, N OV O 6 —] years old.
Bahie Rassekh wrote us from her pioneer post in Dakar, Senegal, Africa. She sent this letter:
Dear BRILLIANT STAR,
My name is Bahie. I am seven years old. I have lived in Dakar Senegal for six years and I was born in Canada. I sometimes go to villages with my parents to visit Baha’i friends and to teach the Faith. I am SE sending a picture of an African village. I have finished 2nd grade... and will start the 3rd grade in Gambia. I like reading BRILLIANT STAR. I learn a lot in the stories and enjoy the beautiful pictures.
With love from Bahie
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 4]
by Deborah Bley
Have you ever wondered about how the universe started and where it is going? These are big questions that have puzzled people for thousands of years. These questions are hard to even think about because they involve very large distances and times. Many astronomers are busy studying this question in a special kind of astronomy called COSMOLOGY. And a funny thing is happening: the more the scientists know, the closer science and religion are coming together! This doesn’t surprise Baha’i children since we know you understand what our Faith says about how science and religion agree and are different ways of telling the truth.
Scientists have several different ideas about how
Illustrated by Terralin Carroll
the universe began. For a long time, the most popular theory was called “The Big Bang Theory”. The scientists who believe that this idea might be true say that billions of years ago, all the matter in the universe was in one
small, closely-packed area.
It was heavier than anyone could imagine. All this matter was so tightly packed together that the atoms bumped into each other so much and so fast that the matter was heated to a temperature of trillions of degrees. The mass of matter was so very hot that even the strongest force we know — the force that holds the nucleus of the atom together — was overcome. The nuclei of the atoms were ripped apart by this tremendous heat and motion, and finally this fireball of all the matter in the universe exploded in
an event that scientists call “the big bang”. The exploded fireball cast its matter outward. The Big Bang Theory says that galaxies may have formed as the matter cooled, and that the galaxies will continue to fly apart until finally all of the hydrogen—the stuff stars are made of—will be used up and the universe will expand into cold, dark nothingness.
There is another idea that says the “Big Bang” idea is partly right but that the future of the universe will be different. This idea is called “The Oscillating Universe Theory”. To oscillate means to swing back and forth. This theory says that the universe will continue to expand only to a certain point. Then the gravitational forces of the galaxies will make the universe begin to pull
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 5]
together again. Eventually, all the matter would be tightly packed into one area, and then can you guess what would happen? The fireball would again form and explode in another “Big Bang” and the whole process would start again. This process could go on forever.
Recently, there is another new idea about the universe. This idea says that it is not gravity that “drives” the universe, but complex electrical forces. This theory says that the universe had no beginning and will have no end. It says that the universe is always changing and being created. Worlds in the universe may begin and end, but the universe itself always was and always will be.
What do our Baha’i teachings say about the universe? Baha’u’llah and
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
‘Abdw’1-Baha had a lot to say about the universe and creation. Here area few things They said that might make you think about the theories we’ve talked about and let you decide for yourself how right each one might be.
“Know assuredly that God’s creation hath existed from eternity, and will continue to exist forever. Its beginning hath had no beginning, and its end knoweth no end.” GLEANINGS FROM
THE WRITINGS OF BAHA'U’LLAH, p. 150
‘‘All-praise to the unity of God, and allhonor to Him, the sovereign Lord... Who, out of utter nothingness, hath created the reality of all things, Who, from naught, hath brought
into being the most refined and subtle elements of His creation...”
GLEANINGS FROM THE WRITINGS OF BAHA’U’LLAH,
pgs. 64-65
“Therefore, as the essence of Unity, that is the existence of God, is everlasting and eternal — that is to say, it has neither beginning nor end — it is certain that this world of existence, this endless universe, has neither beginning nor end.”
Abdu'l-Baha in SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS,
pgs. 209-210
For more reading on this big subject, you might want to read some sections of SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS with your parents or teachers, and also look back to a wonderful article on evolution by John Hatcher, which appeared in BRILLIANT STAR in July/August 1987. *
5
[Page 6]The
Magic Pepper —
by Kay Haugaard ©1989
Samuel Franklin’s
mother was vacuuming t
floor one morning while he
got a stool and climbed up
to see if there were any
soda crackers in the
cupboard. Then he saw am
little red bottle. “Mom, —
what’s this?” He waved the
bottle in the air for her to
see.
“Tt’s red hot pepper sauce,
Sammie. It’s so hot that if
you drink it you would
probably blow out flames
and shoot off like a rocket,”
she said before she went
into the bedroom to vacuum
some more.
It was hard to believe. Samuel Franklin studied the bottle. It was little with ared cap with a green band around the neck and a red and white label. Samuel Franklin loved rockets and knew a lot of big words about them from what his father read to him. So the more he studied the bottle the more sure he was that he wanted to blow out flames and shoot off like a rocket.
Illustrated by Winifred Barnum-Newman Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 7]He took the red bottle
outside to test it. He shook
a couple of drops on his
hand and looked at it. His
dog Nosey came up to see
what he was holding. Then
he licked Samuel Franklin’s
hand.
“YAAAARRRROWWWW!” Nosey started going backward with flames coming out of his mouth. His hind legs rose in the air and he stayed there a second HOWWLING! Then his long hair blew down over his black eyes and he BLAAASTED offin a huge curve.
Samuel Franklin was so surprised. “Wow! Look at that trajectory!” was all he could say. He could still hear the whistling sound but Nosey was gone. His Nosey was gone. He would
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
have to go up and bring him back. Samuel Franklin rubbed his hand on the seat of his pants then shook a couple drops in the other hand. Then he bravely sucked it up. Then he was sorry, WOOOOOWWW, was he EVER SORRY! He stuck his tongue out and started streaking backward. He gradually rose into the air and then BLAAASTED off. Franklin as he streaked off. The word came out like a long trail of sound.
The world seemed to be shooting away from Samuel Franklin instead of him shooting away from the world. He kicked his legs in the air above his head and looked down at the world.
Then he went PLOOOOF through a thick bank of clouds, SSSSIZZLED through a hot part, SHHOT
through a C-C-C-C-cold
. , part and then, in a bright
blue part, bluer than paint, bluer than the ocean, bluer than his Sunday suit, he SLOWWWED down.
Samuel Franklin was in orbit! He was streaking around and around the Earth. He clutched his pepper sauce and looked around for Nosey.
The stars were like ice crystals. He could see them even though it was day. But he was so high it didn’t seem as though he were moving at all and far, far, faaaar away over there was a ball that looked like the globe in his bedroom. It was fun. Just then Nosey came hurtling by. “YAROWW, YAROWW, YIIIIIIIIT!” Nosey didn’t seem very happy and Samuel Franklin couldn’t reach him. He went ZZZipping by Samuel Franklin and whined and put his paws up as though he were begging. Only out there in space Samuel Franklin didn’t know whether Nosey’s paws were up or his
please turn the page
[Page 8]tail was up or maybe
Samuel Franklin was really
down but he thought he
was up or maybe there
wasn’t any down or up and
that was really confusing.
Then Samuel went
ZZZZooming by Nosey
again. Nosey looked down
at Samuel Franklin who
looked up at Nosey or did
Samuel Franklin look down
at Nosey and Nosey look up
at him? Samuel Franklin
couldn’t tell. There weren’t
any trees, any houses, any
ground to point to and say,
“That is down!”
Samuel Franklin was dizzy. He was sick. He wanted Nosey and he wanted down. Nosey streaked by once more and Samuel Franklin reached for him. He couldn’t reach him. “Oh, I wish I hadn’t taken that stupid pepper sauce.” He let go of it because he wanted it to drop down to earth or up to earth or somewhere. He didn’t want to have it
around. But it didn’t drop. It floated there beside him. Nosey SWOOOOSHED by again. Then Samuel Franklin thought of something. He took a little sip of pepper sauce and whoop! he went backward, upward or downward, but Noseyward, and when Nosey came by again Samuel Franklin grabbed him. Nosey was so glad, he licked Sammie all over his face.
Samuel Franklin turned his face away. “Hey, cut it out.” He was glad to have Nosey back, but not that glad. But he hung on to him because he might drop down or up or something if he pushed him and he would have to take another sip of pepper sauce to get him and Samuel Franklin
didn’t like that fiery stuff. Then Nosey started to whine and Samuel Franklin couldn’t stand whining. “I want down, too,” he yelled louder than Nosey whined. Then he looked for the ball that looked like a globe. It was up, or maybe he was upside down. Oh, he just wanted to be back on the Earth where up was up and down was down and... then he thought of the pepper sauce. It was a good idea. He twisted around so his legs were pointing toward the earth then he took a big swallow of pepper sauce. He couldn’t help it, he spit most of it out but he zoomed toward the earth anyway. But now they were going too fast and Samuel Franklin was frightened. He twisted his
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 9]head around toward the
earth and he took a little
tiny sip of pepper sauce.
That pushed him back up a
little and slowed him down.
That was a wonderful
idea, thought Samuel
Franklin. Now he was so
close to the world he could
see white clouds and green
around and...Nosey was
squirming and yelping. The
pepper sauce still burned
terribly but Samuel
Franklin hung on tightly
and kept taking little sips
to let himself down slowly
head first. Pretty soon he
saw his own house. He was
so happy he almost dropped
his bottle. But he mustn’t
do that now. It would drop
now and would he ever fall
hard and sudden without it
to help him down. Nosey
squirmed and yelped but
Samuel Franklin held on
Brilliant Star
July-August 1989
tightly. Then he was so close to the roof of his house that he put down his hands to catch himself. Nosey jumped down and there they were, safe at home. Nosey was over on the edge of the roof yipping to get down.
Samuel Franklin looked over the roof and saw his mother running out of the house. When she looked up and saw him and Nosey up there on the roof she screamed and put her hands to her head.
“Samuel Franklin! What are you doing up there? You might fall and break your arm.”
“Mother, Mother, it worked! Just like you said. The re-entry was kind of tricky but...” Then Samuel
Franklin started to take a sip of pepper sauce to help himself off the roof. His mother looked at the bottle. “Why on earth do you have that pepper sauce bottle up there?” Then she got a ladder and carefully helped him down. “You are going to have to stay in your room for the rest of the day for getting up on this roof, Samuel Franklin!” His mother sounded very stern.
“Oh, no!” said Samuel Franklin, but really he didn’t care. It would be nice to be in his own room where down was down and up was up and besides, he’d had all the pepper sauce he could stand.x
Is There Life on Other Planets?
Written and Illustrated by Pepper P. Oldziey
1', an you look out into the sky at night, yet discovered other planets with do you ever wonder if God created other creatures on them, we know God did creatures and other planets? Eventhough create them because Baha’u’llah said so.
5 our scientists It is fun to imagine just how many space Each Star is a Sun haven’t creatures there might really be!
Two Hundred es Pauly 000,000,000
na eS ep SS
De me bk is
oe
Our Solar System
Our
Sun and Solar — OMcineyet]
Nucleus
Wits VEIT aa Aan ae
There are two hundred billion stars in our galaxy. The Milky Way has three spiral arms. The sun and the solar system are near the inner edge of one of the arms. The nearest star to us is so far away it would take seventy thousand years to travel there!
When we talk about space we use huge eee numbers. To give you an idea, if you eh See were to count to one billion it would take hee you 32 years, if you said one number ees
each second. That also means you ae RS couldn’t stop to eat or sleep or play, but : would have to count around the clock! make discoveries about distant space.
Imagine: our galaxy has about two | hundred billion stars, and each one very star is asun, likethesunthatis could bea sun with planets circling
the center of our solar system. Each sun _ around it. Each planet could have
could have planets orbiting around it creatures. Right here in our Milky Way just like our sun does. We haven’t galaxy there could be two hundred discovered any planets outside our solar _ billion planets with creatures. Of course
if ft system yet, but we are just beginning to we don’t know if this is true, but it could be.
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 11]*‘Know thou that every fixed star hath its own
planets, and every planet its own creatures,
whose number no man can compute.”’ — Baha’wllah, Gleanings From the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 163
iF one average size galaxy could have billion galaxies in the universe that we two hundred billion stars (suns with have discovered so far, then how many planets), and if there are one hundred stars could there be in the universe?
Poo
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Pee aren) pat aa Tats
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- eee e crs Bie SoS AS
ee TOPE it a tan we D eee Pie Oa Figg y baa ans ee cNes aes oe a po eS = a Pron She aaa my mo Nero OCR a ae # - t OR site Se eset = a ee PR (Re pe a eee a Se ee aan a peered oar REN ESTE Ae] z 2 oh ae pee Lec Sa ee 28 fay ante eS ae es Ras Rte. lorax, z , ces ° pe ae ae Rank ee cae
- a BD eer ee 7 y TST oy - ee Mate «oo eas
ee Cee ee a ss ee e One Hundred Billion Galaxies: ra the Tens oe ae ef * ren aoe .-12;'".. Universe that we know of. There may be many more that we haven’t 2 eR, rhe ie et eee ~, discovered yet. Our — Se ee rs} ue an average size galaxy, ja Gate ae Fecroe REAL elo Spe ates WEN es CS See ae If you multiply one hundred billion there are stars with planets and times two hundred billion you get creatures, we don’t have to wonder if 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or twenty there are space creatures out there. We sextillion stars in the universe! If each can wonder how many, what kind, if star could have planets that’s at least they know each other, and when we will twenty sextillion planets! Ifeach planet get to meet them! * has just one kind of creature, that’s at This article was adapted from the books Galaxies least twenty sextillion creatures! ae es 8 es ae Simon, published by Morrow eee ae unior Books. If you want to know more about space, Because Baha’u’llah has told us that read those books. See “Book Nook” in this issue. a i
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 12]12
AA ky" Time
by Connie Vines ©1989
the day. For tens of thousands of years they were the only clocks and
Do you know that there is a REAL calendar in the sky? It isn’t a piece of
paper. It isn’t something types of units of time you can hang in your room, needed. They told the or carry to school. Indians when to head for
American Indian people home so as not to get knew how to look up at the caught by nightfall, or sky and tell how to put when to set out after together the days, weeks, migrating herds of months and years. They animals. Also it enabled knew this by using the them to know the longest stars, sun and moon to tell day for harvesting and time. when to prepare for winter.
Later another, more exact method of time measurement was needed.
Now imagine that you lived in the United States a long time ago. You lived in a house without wooden doors or glass windows. There were no radios or televisions. No watches or clocks. How would you tell time?
Probably you would choose to use the same methods that American Indian boys and girls used during those times. You would use one of nature’s natural ‘clocks’.
The American Indians tracked the movements of the sun, moon, and stars long before Europeans came to North America. The seasons were predicted by the different pattern of stars that goes with each one: the changing face of the moon, and the movement of the sun across the sky.
These three clocks were the basic units for dividing up time: the year, the lunar (moon) month, and
division of parts of a day.
a ua aye as setters: Ones oF
Bat °, oa oe
That measurement was the
B fe:
Scientists have found that stone rings laid out by early tribes have groups of large stones that mark the position of the sunrise and sunset on days long ago. One such ring, Bighorn Medicine Wheel, is in Wyoming and dates back to 1400 A.D.
This method of telling time is called a Shadow Stick.
To understand how a Shadow Stick works try this little test. Use the shadow of a flagpole or a tall tree. Watch how the shadow moves as the sun changes its place in the sky. Every hour is marked by where the shadow is.
Here is how you may have your own Shadow Stick for telling “Sky” time.
et at ¢
oe ge.
[Page 13]What You Need To Make A Shadow Stick
one square piece of cardboard or heavy construction paper (8” by 8”)
12 small pebbles or stones
1 piece of 3-inch long balsa wood, pencil, or a nail
glue
How To Make Your Shadow Stick
Place a small amount of glue in the center of your paper. Place your stick (pencil or nail) upright on the glue and hold in place for several minutes.
Take your paper outside into direct sunlight. Watch where the first shadow falls and place a stone there. Note the time of day. If a clock indoors tells you it is 8:00, then you will know at what time your nature ‘clock’ starts.
Every hour go back to your clock and put another stone in place. By nightfall you will have all 12 stones in place. Your clock will automatically adjust to daylight savings time, as sunrise and sunset will differ, but your stones need only to remain in their place.
Now you are ready to tell time. As the Earth turns, the sun makes the shadow of the stick fall on the stones. The shadow moves from one stone to the next in an hour.
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
Watch your Shadow Stick for a while. Can you see the shadow move?
Did you see any change in the length of the shadow? The shadow is
very long just after sunrise.
It grows shorter during the morning. At noon, when the sun is overhead, the shadow is the shortest. During the afternoon it grows longer again. It is
very long just before the sun sets.
Will your Shadow Stick tell time on cloudy days?
Why not?
The Shadow Stick was one of the first clocks. It was invented by the American Indian. Can you think of any other early clocks? Who do you think
invented them? *
13
Illustrated by Steve Boksenbaum ©1989
[Page 14]14
Dr Mae
Jemison, Astronaut
by Deborah Bley
Mae Jemison is the first Black woman to be named an astronaut. She is working now as an astronaut representative at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. She is also waiting for her turn to be assigned to a Space Shuttle flight.
Dr. Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama and raised in Chicago. She was always interested in science and says that when she was about 10 years old, she began reading every book she could find about space. When she graduated from high school, she went to Stanford University, where she became a chemical engineer. She also got a degree in African and Afro-American studies.
Mae Jemison decided to become a doctor. She studied medicine at Cornell in New York, and then became a general practitioner, a doctor who treats families and stays up-todate in many areas of medicine. She served in the Peace Corps in Africa in Sierra Leone and Liberia. When she came back to the U.S., she worked in a health clinic in California.
- Quotation from interview in EBONY
magazine, October 1987
Photo Courtesy of NASA
When she applied to be considered as a future astronaut for the Space Shuttle program, Dr. Jemison had all the “right stuff”. She knew that an astronaut must have a degree in earth or life sciences, and she already had that. She was pretty sure that she could pass the physical tests. When she was chosen in June of 1987, she was happy, and her family was so proud!
Dr. Jemison received training as a mission specialist and since August of 1988, she is ready to travel into space whenever her turn comes to be assigned to a flightcrew. Her work at Kennedy Space Center now includes processing shuttles for
launch and helping to keep check on payloads and protecting the Shuttle from the heat of re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Mae Jemison has accomplished a lot for a woman in her early 30’s. She says: “The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me, and that’s really all I can do. In terms of being a role model, I really feel like if I’m a role model, what I’d like to be is someone who says, ‘No, don’t try to necessarily be like me or live your life or grow up to be an astronaut or a physician unless that’s what you want to do’.”*
Watch out for Mae Jemison and her contributions to our space program! *
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 15]by Carolan K. Stiles © 1989
Headlights
On a plane called sky Guided by forces unknown Swept
into the folds of Time Lost, alive then gone Visible to the naked eye Making patterns
Across unending Space Children
of an expanding universe Far will you go
Beyond the limit
Mortal Mind imposes
On your sacred journey Which knows No End
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
tellar
Illustrated by Robin Allen ©1989
[Page 16]16
Decorate a Gate
The Mart tyrdony of the Bab SY 9
Tor
On July 9th at 12 o’clock noon, we commemorate the Martyrdom of the Bab, the Prophet who came to announce the coming of Baha’u’llah. You may remember His name means “the Gate”’.
Here is a table decoration you can make for your family for this Holy Day. It is a card with a gate on the front, and a beautifully illustrated verse by the Bab on the inside.
Materials
9 6” Cinnamon Sticks
9” x 12” Heavyweight Paper or Poster Board
Spanish Moss (available in craft stores)
Dried Flowers (statice, larkspur, baby’s breath, lavender, straw flowers)
Twine
Hot Glue, glue gun, or Sobo Thick Craft Glue (this will take longer to dry). Be sure to have Mom or Dad help with the glue gun — it can burn you!
Step 1
Select two thick, straight cinnamon sticks to serve as posts and place 5” apart. Select a top rail and glue across the posts 1” from the top of the posts. Next glue on the center rail and the bottom rail. When dry, turn it over to glue in the cross section, using thinner sticks. Make sure they will fit nicely before gluing. Glue these in the corners where top and bottom rails meet the posts
by Joanne Hessler Illustrated by Faye Lewis Hoban
(This is the back; turn it back over now). Your gate is now made and ready to decorate.
Step 2
Take a small amount of Spanish moss and glue in the bottom corners and a little bit in the middle of the cross piece. Then you can select your flowers. Use whatever you have access to, even dried roses or potpourri. Use your imagination and be creative. Glue each flower on individually.
Step 3 Now fold your 9” x 12” heavyweight paper in half so
that it will measure 6” x 9” and cut the rounded top. Glue on the panels with “the Bab”, “the Gate”, and “The Martyrdom of the Bab — July 9th”. Color and glue the illustrated verse on the inside of the card.
Step 4
Glue the gate onto the front of the card (about 1” up from the bottom). This will make the card front heavy, so on the back of the card glue on the two extra cinnamon sticks: one along the bottom of the card, and the other across the top in exactly the same place as the top rung on the front. *«
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 17]
Make a photocopy of this page, ............ then color thislovely 2,
design, cutitout
and paste it
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Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 18]by Diana R. Kinsey
How were the stars made? Did the sun, our nearest star, just happen to be there? Its light and heat make life on our earth possible. Let’s find out how it came to be by looking into space.
Our image of space is one of desolation and emptiness. Actually, it contains particles of dust and gas. Through eons of time this cosmic dust and gas drift and swirl through space. Some eventually come fairly close together. Once the dust particles come close enough together, their
Illustrated by Jacqueline Domin
©
mutual force of gravity will attract these particles to each other. In fact, the more particles that are drawn together, the greater the gravitational pull becomes. More particles are drawn into the swirling dust cloud at a faster rate which again causes the gravity to get stronger causing the particles to fall to the center of the cloud.
For an idea of what is happening inside the dust cloud, quickly rub the palms of your hands together. The longer and faster you rub them, the more heat you feel. The cosmic dust and gas begin
&) bb“ to fall to the center of the dust cloud at a faster rate. They begin to bang and smash into one another so hard and fast that they fuse together. This fusion creates an energy source so hot that light and heat radiate back out from the center of the cloud.
The birth of a star has begun. It will continue to grow and burn over several billions of years. Scientists believe our sun has burned at its size and temperature for over three billion years (that’s 3,000,000,000!). It will continue this way for billions of years yet to come.
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
So does this mean that once a star is born it will also die? Yes, and that’s why there are three types of star classifications. There are Main Sequence (like our sun), Red Giants, and White Dwarfs. After a Main Sequence star has burned for its billions upon billions of years, the gases in the core of the star begin to change. This change causes the star to collapse in upon itself. The star begins to burn at a hotter temperature which causes it to grow up to 100 times its original size. So even though the center of the star is hotter than before, the surface of the star is farther away from the heat source which makes the surface cooler. Now its color changes from
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
the yellow/orange we see in our sun to a dull red. The star has become a Red Giant.
However, the star won’t stay in this form either. Eventually, the Red Giant will exhaust all of its energy. Then the surface, or “envelope,” of the star is “blown off” into space. The core of the star falls in upon itself one last time. It becomes so compact it burns white-hot. It has become a White Dwarf. Because the White Dwarf has no gases left to burn, nor can it produce any energy of its own, its light will gradually fade away until it becomes an invisible Black Dwarf. The evolution of the star through the Red Giant and
White Dwarf stages again
takes billions upon billions of years.
So, our sun can be thought of as a baby star when you think of the billions of years it will brighten our daytime sky. Red Giants and White Dwarfs aren’t the only things that occupy our nighttime sky either. Maybe you'll be curious enough to investigate the planets, pulsars, quasars, meteoroids, asteroids, and black holes that litter the far reaches of space. Until then, whenever you see a star, remember, although its father and mother were cosmic dust and gas, it had to be born just like you. *
19
[Page 20]The Blixe Berry Gets to Earth
by Gregory Maytan
20
Gregory Maytan lives in Lulea, Sweden, and he has been writing stories! Although he is eight years old now, he wanted to share this story which he wrote just after his seventh birthday. His mother said that his story is about the new litile sister his family had adopted. Gregory knew how people who are different sometimes get teased, and wanted to write
about it. oe
Once upon a time, there was a Blixe Berry which came from the planet EixeBerry. The Blixe Berry was very sad because he didn’t have any mommie or daddy or any friends. So do you know what he did? He took his space suit and climbed into his rocket ship to see if he could find any other mommie and daddy on any other planet.
So now he took off. There was lots of neat things to see in space. But soon he was on a planet called Earth. As soon as he got there, he knocked on a family called the Maytans. You can imagine how much they laughed when they saw the little Berry knocking.
They said, “How could a little Berry like you knock?”
The Berry said, “Because I have hands and feet.”
The Maytans said, “No, you don’t because we can’t see any.”
“Yes, I know you can’t see any, because they’re invisible.”
“Oh,” said the Maytans.
The Blixe Berry asked, “Can you adopt me?”
Well, the Maytans thought and consulted and said prayers. But at last they said, “Well, since you don’t have any other place to stay, we think that we can adopt you. But don’t be surprised if you get teased.”
“But thank you for adopting me.”
“You’re welcome. But Gregory needs to go to school now,” said Daddy, “and, Blixe Berry, you go with Gregory and tell Berit that you want to begin in Gregory’s class.”
“All right. Pll go then.”
So now Gregory and the Blixe Berry were walking off to school. But when they were on the rug and
Berit was saying “Good morning” to everybody, she saw that Gregory had some kind of berry.
Berit asked, “What do you have in your hand, Gregory?”
“Tt’s a Blixe Berry,” said Gregory. “It comes from the planet Eixe-Berry. It has no mommie or daddy so we adopted him. And why he came to school is because he was going to ask if he could begin in your class.”
“Well, I think that he should begin in our class.”
“Thank you very much,” said the Blixe Berry.
“You’re welcome,” said Berit. “But now you will get your own school books.”
“Are they small?” asked the Blixie Berry.
“No, they’re this size.”
“Wow, that’s about as big as 50 Blixie Berries!”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. You’re smaller than the math books. All right, P’ll get some small math books.”
So then he got his own school books. But soon school was finished, and when they got home, Mommie asked what they did, and they answered, “The Blixe Berry got his new school books. But we want to go to bed.”
“All right. Good night.” *
(The Maytan family is Amelia, Gregory, Mommie and Daddy, and Berit is Gregory’s teacher.)
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
[Page 21]Across
ve
EL.
12.
13.
14,
15. 16.
What is the name given to anything which originates outside the earth?
. A lump of space debris
is called a
. A large body in space
which generates its own light is a
. What is the
abbreviation for Unidentified Flying Object?
A gigantic cluster of stars is called a
What is an unknown
creature from another world called?
What is the 6th planet from the sun?
The curving path of one body as it moves around another is
A particle of light.
The sun, with its nine planets moving in orbit around it. (2 words)
Down
2.
What is one name for a human space traveler?
The space between the stars is called
Nuclear energy given off by some elements is known as
The popular descriptive name for an Unidentified Flying Object. (2 words)
Brilliant Star
July-August 1989
by Linda J. Hubbard
Outer Space
Crossword Puzzle
10
4
2
15
10.
15.
16
. Alien creature which
might be one of the crew of a UFO.
A creature resembling the human form is called a
A device for producing concentrated light rays in a very narrow beam.
What is the farthest planet from our sun?
Choose from these words
Extraterrestrial Saturn
Humanoid Galaxy Photon Radioactivity Pluto Solar System Orbit Interstellar Alien Meteoroid Laser Star
Flying Saucer Astronaut Ufonaut UFO
21
Answer on inside front cover.
[Page 22]
Soon after you receive this issue of BRILLIANT STAR, the space probe Voyager 2 will be making a special visit to a distant planet of our solar system: Neptune. On August 24, 1989, Voyager 2 will make its closest approach to Neptune. Scientists here on Earth have aimed the spacecraft to pass over Neptune’s north pole, only 2700 miles from the planet’s surface. This will be the nearest that a Voyager spacecraft has come toa planet. The thousands of photos that (hopefully) Voyager 2 will send back will give us more information about this ieab aay ee Wan noy a Coe
Voyager’s
Voyager 2 has been a bargain in the space program. This hardworking explorer was first designed to make a four year long voyage and visit only
. Jupiter and Saturn. But it
has kept on working for seven more years beyond its first mission. A team of over 200 scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been “talking” to Voyager 2, “teaching” it what to do, to look first at Uranus and now at Neptune, and one of Neptune’s moons, Triton.
Voyager 2 bristles with antennas. It has two whip antennas that point forward to collect signals from space and one disk antenna that points back to Earth to keep in touch with scientists here. A fuel tank does the maneuvering. Ten service bays around the tank hold six computers, a tape recorder, radio gear, gyroscopes, and tiny heaters to keep the spacecraft from freezing in
’ the cold darkness of the
outer solar system, through which Voyager 2 is speeding at 10 miles per second! ©
Outside Bay #6 is mounted a gold-coated (fey oyeley ap ucreey ae mud el lo eM 'Z-s} digitally recorded. It has a a OsKGLDUMCMOy MDOT Duneme-b ate | contains special greetings and information about us. There are hello’s in different languages and sounds from Earth — from nature to our music. There is traditional music from around the world, as well as classical and pop music, from Bach to Chuck Berry! The record even has
yale ty Rit
directions on how to play it.
July-August 1989
our summer clothes, watch TV science news reports and read the newspapers to see what wonderful new things Voyager is sending to the tracking stations in California, Spain and Australia. Maybe we'll finally be able to figure out how long the Neptunian year is. We know it’s about 165 Earth years long, but Neptune has not completed one whole orbit around the sun since it was discovered in the 1840’s, so we do not know exactly how long its year is. Perhaps Voyager will give us news of the moons of Neptune (and maybe some new moons) that will help scientists calculate how big Neptune pacrelavastse
This August, we can sit in
by Deborah Bley t cd After the Neptune “flyby,” - :
the JPL scientists will turn off both Voyager cameras forever. Only about 50 scientists and engineers _ to listen to Voyager, to lear = more about what Voyager can detect with its other instruments as it travels to the end of our solar system. It will finally leave the solar wind behind and pass into the interstellar wind, sending facts never gathered before. The data from that part of space will begin to be sent back to Earth in about 11 years — just about the time many of you readers are in college or beginning to work as grown-ups. Maybe one of you will be one of the
‘scientists that is present as
that data comes from space beyond our solar system and past the influence of ifevemciobel
After that? Voyager will sail forever among the stars. Perhaps it will be found one day and the greetings from our small corner of the universe will be listened to and wondered rae
Farewell, Voyager!
Godspeed. x
PAS
Illustrated by Judith Noyes-Farnsworth ©1989
“% ¥ rs. ee
‘I A my When I was small,
y My mother bought A rubber ball for me. She said it had A magic pow’r That, someday, I would see. I loved the sparkles That it made
As round and round it rolled.
A red, red ball, Bright cherry red, With shiny stars of gold.
When I was five
I took my ball
Outside to throw around. I tossed it high
And watched it well Until it touched the ground. The more I threw
That lovely ball
The more I came to see That far as I
Could toss it up
It came right back to me.
When I was six I took my ball And bounced with all my might. It bounced above
Our maple tree
In joyous, sparkling flight.
How could I throw
My ball so far
And know it would return,
My red, red ball
My magic ball
With golden stars that burn?
When I was eight
I thought to throw
My ball up to the birds. “Now, come right back. Don’t take too long.
I'll miss you,” were my words. Soon, back it came Though there were times It was too small to see. So glad was I
To have it near.
T held it close to me.
- Brilliant Star: ___ duly-August 1989
[Page 25]Dailliant Star
0 proud was _I knew not what I’d done. I waited there For several hours And hoped to see it fall. But it was Twenty-seven days Before I saw my ball.
“Tl never let
It fly again
And vanish from my sight.” But it was only
Seven weeks
"Til I said, “One more flight.” IL hugged it close
And whispered, ““To the Universe’s end!”
And up it soared,
A crimson arc
With stars that shine and bend.
eae
July-August 1989
Two months, six months, a year.
I waited years
But gave up when
I learned astronomy.
I'd sent it
So far into space
It could not come to me.
The universe
Is limitless. O how I wish I’d known. My red, red ball,
My magic ball
Is gone, forever flown.
I like to think
That when the sky Is deepening to night That I can see Familiar stars
With trails of golden light.
I track a comet’s
Blazing trail
Til round the earth it bends And think with awe, “The universe
Just never, ever ends.” *
\ \V FI
Illustrated by Patti'Hoffmann ©1989
[Page 26]
The
O QI Asteroid
= ye
‘ M ip é it ; ut Af ! Dai f Wats) i ra rd y) nant! Illustrated by
Keith Kresge
/, fu
rilliant Star
[Page 27]“All right Astra, what’s
the matter? You’re
wavering in your orbit, and
I’ve never seen you so quiet
before,” the Space Traveler
said as he pulled up behind
a pretty, but sad looking
asteroid. It was the Space
Traveler’s job to make sure
the solar system ran
smoothly.
“What do you care?” Astra said mournfully. “You never have any time to come and talk to me. Nobody does. It gets so lonely out here in space. I need a real friend.”
“It’s this solar system,” the Space Traveler said gently. “There’s so much to do I don’t have any free time. But Astra, I'll always be your friend. Besides, you’re not alone here,” the Space Traveler pointed to a cluster of nearby asteroids rotating in space. “Don’t forget you are on the fringe of an asteroid cloud.”
“They’re not close enough,” Astra pouted. “I want a real friend, someone I can talk to whenever I feel like it. Everyone here is miles away.”
She looked so downhearted the Space Traveler stared out into space for a few minutes without saying a word. “Well, cheer up,” he finally said. “Your friends will see you through.” And being very busy, he pardoned himself and left her spinning alone in the dark.
When he was gone, Astra pouted more than ever. Some buddy he was, taking off like that. He didn’t care
what happened to her.
+ Ff... Asceevo?® TQOR0
Somewhere, there had to be a real friend for her. Perhaps there was a supply of them on one of the stars shining a few light years away. She decided to go visit one even though the Space Traveler had told her never to leave the solar system.
Just as she was getting ready to swerve off her orbit, a bright and beautiful star swept by the solar system. “Stay, Astra,” the star whispered through the heavens. “The cosmos can be a dangerous place. There are black holes where you least expect them. Beware.”
Astra paused. She had heard awful stories about black holes, how they sucked up stars and swallowed them. Some said black holes led to other universes. Maybe she could find a friend in one of them, but, on second thought, it might be better to stick to this one for a while yet.
“Astra,” the star continued. “Look to your own star before you reach for others. Fly through the heavens ’til you reach number seven. And Astra, don’t be afraid.”
My own star, Astra thought as the star soared away. That must mean the sun. As she leaned forward to look at it shining brightly at the center of the solar system, she lost her balance and found herself falling towards it. The farther she fell, the faster she went. A bright fiery tail lit up the sky behind her. “Oh oh,” she thought uneasily. “Maybe I should have
stayed put as an asteroid.”
The hotter her tail got, the more worried she grew. She thought, it was all the Space Traveler’s fault. If he had been a real friend and paid more attention to her, she wouldn’t be in this mess now. She tried to remember what the star had said. Something about flying until coming to seven. But seven what? She looked down and saw she had passed another planet. That must be it. The seventh planet. But how many had she passed? Quickly she looked back and counted— Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and here came the Earth, the seventh planet from the edge of the solar system. “Well, here goes,” she thought as she swerved and headed straight for Earth.
When the Space Traveler came back to check up on the asteroids and found Astra gone, he quickly headed for Earth himself. There he found Astra sitting on a bookshelf in a room. She had become a little meteorite.
When she saw him, she only grunted since she was still mad at him.
“How do you like your new home?” the Space Traveler asked.
“It’s very nice,” she said testily. “No thanks to you though. I nearly burned myself up getting here.”
“But you like it here, don’t you?”
Astra nodded. “A little Earthling —they call them boys here —found me. He
please turn the page
2%
[Page 28]shows me off to his friends
at school and says he wants
to grow up to be an
astronomer. We’re good
friends.”
“T thought you'd like this planet,” the Space Traveler said, looking pleased.
Astra looked up at him and scowled. “How would you know? You never had
“Ah, but Astra,” the Space Traveler said softly. “Who sent that star to talk to you?”
Astra stared at him and then asked cautiously, “You?”
The Space Traveler nodded. “I knew Earth had plenty of friends to go around, so I sent that star
said and began to smile. “And I always thought you were too busy to notice me.” “T may be busy, but I always notice my friends.” Astra never complained about not having friends again, and her friendship with the little boy taught her that love and time to care are just as endless as
o
1
any time for me. A nice to point you in the right space. x
friendly star guided me to direction.”
this planet. Id still be alone Astra looked a bit
up in space if she hadn’t overwhelmed. “Well, how do
helped me.” you like that,” she finally ot ae
ay : "ods a *
a oes ef”
Si
= \2)
6
yy
<7T1
YAS
dl
Ne VN ~~ es as
oe
R\ ee |
=p
coy
oh . ie
Ss v=. al s
aoe
R.1l: uw. aS —__
Brilliant Star eS a
[Page 29]
God Sent Mirrors
—a two-part round— (with easy piano accompaniment)
® C F G7 C
© 1986 by Vicki Morrison
Dwill t Illustr ated b y Suzanne Malone y-Lebensold
eel Yr y- us 1989
lant Sta Jul Aug
[Page 30]30
Book Nook for kids
by Katherine Abelson and Pepper Oldziey
Galaxies by Seymour Simon
Morrow Junior Books, 1988
This book has up to date full color photos of stars and galaxies. Mr. Simon has explained all about galaxies in easy-to-readand-understand language, but full of current details and information. The text is in large type so it is easy to read. This book is part of a series. The other titles are Jupiter, Saturn, The Sun, Stars, and Uranus.
Illustration by Harold Berson, from MY TRIP TO ALPHA I. Illustration copyright © 1978 by Harold Berson. Reprinted by permission of Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.
My Trip to AlphalI by Alfred Sloan
J.B. Lippincott Co.
New York, 1978
This is a story about Jack Stevenson’s journey to outer space to visit his Aunt Katherine who lives on a settlement there. The mode of transport through space is central to the plot and involves a procedure similar to cloning. In the course of the journey Jack displays courage, love and loyalty to his aunt and there is a nice plot twist to the ending. This 96-page book will stimulate the
Brilliant Star
curiosity and hold the interest of the upper elementary and lower junior high readers, especially readers who are interested in the future of space travel and possible habitation of worlds beyond Earth.
The Laziest Robot in Zone One
by Lillian
and Phoebe Hoban
Harper and Row New York, 1983
This 64-page book is a clever story that should interest readers and listeners ages four to eight. It is a story of a family of robots living in a home in outer space. The family dog gets lost and the whole family, including lazy Sol I, must work together to recover their pet. As the search deepens, friends get involved and must overcome many obstacles to find the dog. This story exemplifies caring, sharing and helping others. The characters (with names like Mama Sol and sister Sola!) are illustrated in a delightful manner and make this story for young children inviting.
July-Auoyet 1020
Profile
ay Haugaard’s stories were
frequently named as favorites by our readers in a recent readers’ survey. We are grateful that she has shared her work with us over the past several years, giving us both stories and poems that speak to children’s hearts.
Kay was raised in the little farming community of Malin, Oregon (population 350!). Her first published work was about her hometown and was printed when she was 19 years old. She graduated from the University of Oregon at Eugene with a major in art history, and it was there that she met her husband, an architect named Robert.
Kay moved to Pasadena, California, which has been home for many years. She had three sons and raised them there, took a master’s degree in comparative literature from Occidental College in Los Angeles and began writing for children. Her published books for children include MYEKO’S GIFT, about a little Japanese girl’s adjustment to her new California home, and CHINA BOY, an historical novel about the Chinese in California during the Gold Rush.
Her boys are now grown (an editor, an industrial designer and a truck driver). Kay says “Now I have lots of time to write, if I can keep my two cats, Cheerio and Blondie, off the paper, typewriter or computer keyboard!” In addition to pursuing her own writing, Kay teaches writing at Pasadena City College.
Brilliant Star July-August 1989
aci Domin created the won derful cover for this issue and her work has enhanced the pages of our magazine since the early 1980’s. Educated at Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Southern Maine, Jaci’s areas of study were art education and printmaking. She has been completing a master of fine arts degree in computer graphic design and animation at Rochester. She also works full time as an art therapist and teacher for the New York State Division for Youth, working with boys ages 13-18 who have been placed by the courts.
She has a passion for painting and just completed a book entitled THE PROCESS OF PAINTING: THE ART OF BEING WHILE BECOMING, which is illustrated with her paintings. Her other activities include membership in The Association for Baha’i Studies, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and a local group called Citizens for a Peaceful Planet.
Jaci lives with her two sons in a small New York village, Honeoye Falls (where they have a real waterfall right in the center of town!). She enjoys gardening, walks and talks with her sons, white water rafting, skiing, and reading, especially about anything to do with human growth and change.
Special congratulations to Robin Allen, one of our regular illustrators, on the birth of her daughter Kimberly on April 16! Robin illustrated the poem STELLAR in this issue.
ol
[Page 32]32
Parents’ page
Children as Authors
by Pepper P. Oldziey © 1989
Can a seven year old be an author? Or a five year old? A nine year old? We’ve been experimenting in our family, and with some friends, this past year to help our children feel good about creative writing.
The natural excitement that children have as they wonder about the world, or notice delightfully unique details about things that happen in their lives doesn’t need to dissappear into a blank piece of paper when they are asked to write, if you don’t worry about spelling and grammar first.
An interesting new approach to writing is being used more and more frequently in school classrooms and can easily be used at home by parents. It is sometimes known as “process writing”, or in school perhaps as “writer’s workshop”. The approach is simple and based on a few key ideas:
1. Write freely about whatever topic you want without worrying about spelling or grammar. 2. Plan to revise your work after you write it, so that you can be sloppy with the first draft and get out lots of creative ideas without waiting until you have it perfect. 3. Share it with other children for feedback, not just adults. 4. Leave grammar and spelling until the end and add them when you get ready to publish your work. This method turns upside down the traditional rules in which grammar and spelling come first and sharing happens only after you have finished your perfect piece.
This past year I’ve gotten together with several other parents and started a writer’s workshop one hour a week in my home. We have 8 children ranging in age from 5 to 8 years old. The parents take turns giving the children short minilessons on author’s techniques and then the children read whatever they have written during the past week to each other and get “peer” feedback. After that we have playtime. The kids have a good time and so do the parents. But the most exciting part is that in a few months’ time, we watched some shy little ones change from bringing in papers with a picture and perhaps one shaky sentence to beautifully detailed paragraphs, most with lavish illustration. The child who was the most shy (age 7) is now confident when he sits down to read his work to the others, having eagerly handwritten his whole story each time himself!
What’s the secret? Children can learn that it is easy and fun to write when we take away the hard rules (THE WALL OF SPELLING). Children also can really encourage each other (in a supportive environment) and it means so much more than “Mom liked it” because Mom and Dad like everything.
This approach works with any age child from kindergarten on up. Young readers enjoy the freedom of not worrying about spelling as invented spelling allows them to freely use their whole talking vocabulary. Pre-readers can draw pictures and make sentences using just the initial sounds. Older children can identify with different authors’
styles and techniques and try them out.
I call this an ‘anyone can do
it’? approach to writing. I’m no author, nor am J a trained teacher, and J hated writing as a student. I just wanted my children to have a good experience that fostered their creativity. Process writing does just that.
Brilliant Star
July-August 1989
[Page 33]The Future World
Here is a story and poem about space written by Kalim, age 7. It is in several parts. Each handuritten part takes up a whole sheet of notebook paper (that’s a long “Sp a aes,
First Draft
Editing marks added by Kalim.
Space
vfpev world ,Space is Like the ape outer wold wold), AY (thay) are many pe SS ot SPACE 4/9.
called Gallexsesyveary many” maybe «_gallxses Likemabeeten 0 Pilon
«and its like they work together 0 form thedinaversOe U"\V*""*
Futuve World
the(futcherwrlod Intrdackchon;y Intvodvehon. yIn the headings you will find out
about how the fotchenwrold)will
Groplelotg “ewes Fa <u (futcheD houses
in the futcherhouses the hallways &, ‘whiays movethey move like A elevators, But t they can move sidewoys Cways and up =n dow
ripeir homes ; bursome Poor fs
spill b*Y houses for-thé same ick
Air gars evystal
An air car has Grystls\to run its fi nbs Brite frontiitsladers,fmap.e™ | ens ot t andetel font agd Gop 3 at °°
| Seats are se n9-900000000000000000M,H a road ae (6kan} which sh WH8S-air’cars are coming from 9999999999999999999999 miles
a head ari eat Go 3 thiyinmiles ups
+hvee milion
the-end®
Space i isa fun place to Be
Space is a ai ee to b Itis venivre full off on to petiev®
space) at a pace ntbwhortean Bleveo/ Leave gee to upedey) put 1 Jupiter hope you Don’t get EDO stopider
— 7 7., Avvonet 1989
Final Version? 2] 3=&=_ Revised and copied by Kalim ©1989.
Space Space is like the upper outer world. There are many pieces of space called galaxies, maybe ten billion. It seems like they work together to form the universe.
The Future World Introduction.
In these headings you will find out about how the future world will probably look.
Future Houses
In the future houses the hallways W
move. They move like elevators;
but they can move sideways and up and down. They even have side doors. Some heaple own skyscrapers
An Air Car has crystals to run it. It has bright front lights, ladders, one map, six seats and goes at nine trillion M.P.H. An air car also has a scanner which scans where cars are coming from nine million miles ahead and also three million miles up.
Space Is A Fun Place To Be Space is a fun place to be.
It is full of adventure,
so venture on to space
at a pace no one can believe. Leave and go to Jupiter
but I hope you don’t get stupider.
33
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Sharmil Elliott sent us this illustration. She lives in Colonia, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, in the Western Caroline Islands. Do you know where that is?
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