Acknowledgments
“Today is Very Boring” from THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK by Jack Prelutsky Text Copyright © 1984 by Jack Prelutsky. Reprinted
by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
“The Family Car” by Tom Absher from PEELING THE ONION, An Anthology of Poems selected by Ruth Gordon, published by A
Charlotte Zolotow book, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Copyright © 1993. Original copyright © 1985 by Monitor Book
Company. Reprinted by permission of Monitor Book Company.
“Instructions for Earth’s Dishwasher” by Lisa Westberg Peters from EARTHSHAKE, POEMS FROM THE GROUND UP Copyright
© 2003 published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc.
“Eletelephony” from TARRA LIRA by Laura E. Richards. Copyright © 1930, 1932 by Laura Richards; copyright © renewed 1960 by
Hamilton Richards. Reprinted by permission of Little Brown and Company.
“Roller Coaster” from THE KITE THAT BRAVED OLD ORCHARD BEACH by X.J. Kennedy. Reprinted with the permission of Simon
and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
“No More Water” from THE ALIENS HAVE LANDED AT OUR SCHOOL! Text copyright © by Kenn Nesbitt published by
Meadowbrook Press. Used by permission.

Photography Credits
Book Cover: (c) John Lund/Sam Diephuis/Blend Images; (tr) Corbis/Premium RF/Alamy

Contributor

© Time Inc. All rights reserved. Versions of some articles in this edition of TIME For Kids
originally appeared in TIME For Kids or timeforkids.com.
B

Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,
Two Penn Plaza, New York, New York 10121.
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the
prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, network storage or

transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Printed in The United States of America
ISBN: 978-0-02-207795-2
MHID: 0-02-207795-2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WEB 13 12 11 10 09


Contents
Issue 1

Main Idea and Details • Prefixes • Bar Graphs

(c) Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures; (tr) Farjana K. Godhuly/AFP/Getty Images

Dollars
and Sense

Small Loans Make a Big Difference ............... 6
Class Safari ....................................................... 8
Temperatures of Cities in Kenya CHARTS ....... 12
A journey to Africa teaches kids
about this fascinating nation.

A3TFK_TXNA_I1FP_RD11.indd 5

1/20/09 12:28:12 PM

Issue 2

Cause and Effect • Unknown Words • Maps

Making
Maps

Green
Machine!
(c) AFP/Getty Images; (tr) Geography and Map Division/Library of Congress

A free laptop
is changing the
way kids around
the world learn.

A3TFK_TXNA_I2FP_RD11.indd 13

Two Maps: One New, One Old ...................... 14
Learning with Laptops ................................... 16
All-American Tall Tales MAPS ....................... 20

1/23/09 1:29:30 PM

Issue 3

Main Idea and Details • Synonyms
• Photos and Captions

(c) Detlev van Ravenswaay/Photo Researchers; (tr) Global Image Express/Li Jiangsong/Newscom

Light
Building


Scientists learn new facts about the sun.

A3TFK_TXNA_I3FP_RD11.indd 21

1/20/09 12:29:57 PM

Sunlight and Shadow .................................... 22
Great Ball of Fire ........................................... 24
Today Is Very Boring POETRY ......................... 28

Issue 4

Compare and Contrast • Context Clues
• Skimming and Scanning

(c) Michel Setboun/Corbis; (tr) Marissa Roth/The New York Times/Redux

A Rich
Legacy

Lady
Liberty
The Statue of Liberty welcomes visitors
and immigrants to America.

A3TFK_TXNA_I4FP_RD11.indd 29

1/20/09 12:31:59 PM

A Lifetime of Treasures................................. 30

Open Liberty! ................................................ 32
Let’s Celebrate! TABLES .................................. 36


Issue 5

Make and Confirm Predictions • Suffixes
• Charts

(c) Tony Dejak/AP Images; (tr) Kyodo News/Newscom

Cars Are
“Celling”

New roller coasters
are bigger, faster,
and scarier than ever.

A3TFK_TXNA_I5FP_RD11.indd 37

1/20/09 12:32:45 PM

The Car of the Future? .................................. 38
Wild Rides ...................................................... 40
The Family Car POETRY ................................... 44

Issue 6

Sequence • Compound Words • Maps
Great

Gulf Coast

(c) Lana Slivar/Reuters/Corbis; (tr) George H.H. Huey/Corbis

Life on the Gulf ............................................. 46
Building a Tsunami Warning System ........... 48
Instructions for Earth’s Dishwasher POETRY . 52
A tsunami warning
system may save lives.

A3TFK_TXNA_I6FP_RD11.indd 45

1/23/09 1:32:16 PM

Issue 7

Draw Conclusions • Context Clues • Graphs

(c) Ariel Skelley/Getty Images; (tr) Gates Foundation/Corbis

Gates Is
Generous

Legacy of Dreams .......................................... 54
A Helping Hand ............................................. 56
Top 5 U.S. Foundations GRAPHS .................... 60
Businesses help people make
their dreams come true.

A3TFK_TXNA_I7FP_RD11.indd 53


1/23/09 1:33:03 PM

Issue 8

(c) Bowers Museum of Cultural Art/Corbis; (tr) The Granger Collection

Friends
of Freedom

Inside the United States are
hundreds of independent nations.

A3TFK_TXNA_I8FP_RD11.indd 61

1/23/09 2:04:11 PM

Main Idea and Details • Context Clues
• Time Lines

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass ... 62
American Indian Nations.............................. 64
Mary Youngblood TIME LINES ......................... 68


Author’s Purpose • Context Clues • Maps
Mysterious
Pyramids!

This Flower Stinks ......................................... 70

Secret at the Heart of a Pyramid.................. 72
Eletelephony POETRY ..................................... 76

(c) Scott Barbour/Getty Images; (tr) Michael T. Sedam/Corbis

Not all flowers are sweet.
Take a whiff of the world’s
smelliest bloom.

A3TFK_TXNA_I9FP_RD11.indd 69

1/26/09 12:02:55 PM

Issue 10

Author’s Purpose • Context Clues
• Photos and Captions

(c) Koji Sasahara/Wide World Photos/AP Images; (tr) LEGO

Teen
EMTs

Prince Hisahito could one day become Emperor of Japan.

A3TFK_TXNA_I10FP_RD11.indd 77

1/28/09 11:40:45 AM

Teens to the Rescue! .................................... 78

Long Live the Emperor! ................................ 80
Mighty Monarchs MAPS ................................ 84

Issue 11

Draw Conclusions • Context Clues • Diagrams

(c) Sylvain Cazenave/Corbis; (tr) Tom Hanson/Wide World Photos/AP Images

Kids Give
a Hand

Freedom Fighter ............................................ 86
Surf’s Up! ....................................................... 88
Roller Coaster POETRY .................................... 92

R ide t h e

Wave

Learn about the
science behind
surfing. It may
keep you afloat!

A3TFK_TXNA_I11FP_RD11.indd 85

1/23/09 2:05:55 PM

Issue 12


Author’s Purpose • Context Clues • Time Lines
The Final
Frontier

(c) NASA; (tr) Bettmann/Corbis

R ide t h e

Issue 9

Where No People Had Gone Before............. 94
Mysterious Mars ............................................ 96
How Spirit Landed DIAGRAMS ....................... 100

All Eyes
on Mars
NASA spacecraft are giving us the
closest looks ever of the Red Planet.

A3TFK_TXNA_I12FP_RD11.indd 93

1/30/09 9:22:40 AM


Issue 13

Cause and Effect • Context Clues • Charts
Water
Troubles


Water Troubles............................................. 102
Kaboom! Volcanoes Are a Threat ............... 104
No More Water POETRY ................................ 108

(c) Jim Sugar/Corbis; (tr) Rao Guojun/China Foto/Getty Images

Kilauea volcano in
Hawaii has been
erupting almost
nonstop since 1983.

New tools are helping to predict when
volcanoes will blow.

A3TFK_TXNA_I13FP_RD11.indd 101

1/30/09 9:23:18 AM

Issue 14

Sequence • Context Clues • Maps

(c) Chris Nash/Getty Images; (tr) Osvaldo Stigliano/Wide World Photos/AP Images

Inca
Mummies

Welcome to India ..........................................110
Faces From the Past .......................................112

The Inca Empire MAPS ...................................116

Big Country!
Explore the success and challenges of
the world’s largest democracy.

A3TFK_TXNA_I14FP_RD11.indd 109

1/30/09 3:49:32 PM

Issue 15

Cause and Effect • Homophones • Diagrams
Dead
Zones

Trouble in the Ocean .....................................118
One Giant Squid! .......................................... 120
How Diamonds Form DIAGRAMS ................... 124

(c) Franck Robichon/EPA/Corbis; (tr) Robert Simmon/NASA

Tsunemi Kubodera
takes the first photos
of the ocean giants.

A3TFK_TXNA_I15FP_RD11.indd 117

1/30/09 1:00:47 PM



(c) Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures; (tr) Farjana K. Godhuly/AFP/Getty Images

Dollars
and Sense

A journey to Africa teaches kids
about this fascinating nation.


Farjana K.
Godhuly/A
FP/Getty
Images

Muhammad Yunus won the
Nobel Peace Prize.

Microcredit offers a chance to succeed.
by Lorin Driggs

M

uhammad Yunus and the
Grameen Bank help bring
millions of people out of poverty.
Yunus is from Bangladesh. He
founded the Grameen Bank to help
his community. Yunus wanted to
give the poor the power to change

their lives for the better.

Small Loans, Big Gains
Since Muhammad Yunus founded
Grameen Bank in 1983, the bank’s
size and impact in Bangladesh have
grown. This graph tells the story.

Loans Help Poor Escape Poverty
In 1983, Yunus founded Grameen
Bank. It loans small amounts of
money to people to start businesses.
These loans are called “microcredit.”
They are given to people who are
unable to get loans from regular
banks. Most microcredit loans are
very small, around $130. Most of the
borrowers are women. This is odd
because women do not usually have
jobs or run businesses in Bangladesh.

Then and Now at Grameen
e a d oBank
at G a ee
Percentage of
borrowers that
are female

In 1983


46
97

Now
1,249

Number of
villages served

83,178
86

Number of
bank branches

2,530

0

6•

Key

a

Time For Kids

100

500


1,000

2,500

5,000

10,000

30,000

60,000

90,000


Yunus’s idea caught on. Microcredit
is now available in more than 100
countries, including the United States.
With their microcredit loans,
millions of people have brought
themselves and their families out of
poverty. One woman in Bangladesh
borrowed $120 to buy a cow. A year
later she had repaid the loan and
bought chickens. Nine years later she
moved from a shack to a brick house
and owned land. In the United States,
a microcredit loan of $2,500 helped
an unemployed woman to open

a day-care center.
Yunus didn’t stop with the Grameen Bank.
He started a company to provide cell phone
service in rural areas. Another business
makes solar panels in areas where there
is no electricity. Yunus has also started
a food company and an eye hospital.

Nicholas Pitt/Getty Images

In Bangladesh microcredit
is helping some people start
strong businesses.

These Bangladeshi women
are receiving loans from the
Grameen Bank.

Since the Grameen Bank began, it
has lent over $5.72 billion. In 2006,
Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize,
one of the biggest honors in the world.
Microcredit loans may be small, but
their impact on the world is very big.

Philippe Lissac/Godong/Corbis

Issue 1

•7



Class Safari

A teacher from Kenya
takes his American
students back home.

Danuta Otfinowski

I

↑ “I feel like teachers are role models.

t’s an early wake-up call for
C.J. Queenan. It’s 5:00 A.M.!
C.J. doesn’t get up that early at
home in Virginia. Well, maybe
to eat breakfast once in a while
but never to herd cows! But C.J.
isn’t at home. He is in Africa,
on the plains of Kenya. He is
visiting the Masai people. He is
helping them with their cattle.
C.J. even carries a spear to keep
the lions away.
8•

Time For Kids


Just like the elders in my village,”
says Joseph Lekuton. He is wearing
Masai clothes and is surrounded by
his students.

Yes, it’s a tough job for a 14year-old from Virginia, but C.J.
sticks it out. He wants to keep
up with the Masai tribesmen.
“The Masai can’t call people on
cell phones to rescue them when
they get tired,” C.J. says.


Dividing the Land
Many Kenyans travel from place to place to
feed their cattle. They also farm the land.
This graph shows how land in Kenya is used.

What Land Is Used For
100%

C.J.’s trek to Africa isn’t a vacation.
It’s part of classes at Langley School.
C.J.’s teacher is Joseph Lekuton. He
is a member of Africa’s Masai tribe of
Kenya. Every summer Lekuton takes
some of his students and their parents
on a two-week trip to his homeland.
Kenya is a whole new world for the
kids from Virginia. When they get

there, the American kids put on Masai
clothing. Boys herd cattle. Girls collect
firewood and water. Families depend
on their cattle. As a result, the Masai
and the students have to move a lot
so the cattle have grass to eat.

75%
50%

37%

30%

25%

25%
1%

0%

7%

Permanent pastures
Permanent crop
Land that can be used for farming
Forests and woodlands
Other, including cities
The World Factbook


philipkent.com

Masai tribesmen get students ready for a cattle
drive. It will go across African grasslands. ↓

Issue 1

•9


Top 5 African Countries for Tourists

South
Africa
7.51
million

The graph shows the countries in Africa most
visited by tourists in 2005.

Tunisia
7.1
million

Cows to the Rescue
Back in the United States, Kenya is on
the minds of the students at Langley
School all year. Droughts have killed
many cattle in Kenya, so the students
created Cows for Kids. The money

they raise buys cows for Masai
herders. Each cow costs about $100.
“One cow means more to the health
of a family than cash,” says Lekuton.
“Here we’re really giving life. A cow
will give a child milk every day.”

Morocco
5.84 million
Zimbabwe
1.55 million
Swaziland
0.83 million
Source: World Tourism Organization, 2006

Time For Kids

Danuta Otfinowski

Every time Lekuton sees a little boy herding cows,
he thinks, “How can I help make his life better?” ↓

10 •

= 1 million
tourists


Giraffes can run as fast as
32 miles an hour. Who will

win this race? →

Lekuton wants to help people
in his homeland—and in his new
home. “I’m just trying to give
my students a different way of
thinking,” says Lekuton. He says
helping the Masai is just one step.
He hopes the kids will discover
ways to help those in the United
States who need it, too.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Corbis

Welcome to Kenya
The Masai is one of 40 tribes that live in Kenya. Those 40
tribes speak more than 30 languages. The Kikuyu is Kenya’s
largest tribe. The Luo is another group. U.S. President Barack
Obama’s father is Luo. Many of the people are fishers. They
are also great storytellers.
The lands of Kenya are as different as the tribes.
There are wide grasslands in Kenya. The country also
has deserts and forests. Thousands of people visit
Kenya each year. Most of them go on safari. A safari
is a special kind of trip. It gives people the chance
to look at animals in nature. People who visit
Kenya take their cameras along. They return
home with photos of elephants, lions, giraffes,
and zebras!


Masai girls wear
colorful clothing and
beaded jewelry. ↓

Jim Zuckerman/Corbis

Issue 1

• 11


The climate of Kenya is tropical.
That means it is warm most
of the year. The coast of Kenya
is humid. The inner part of the
country is cooler. The north
is very dry. These are the
average temperatures of major
Kenyan cities.

City

Height
(feet)

1. Mombasa

55

Key

Capital

4. Lodwar

Kenya
3. Eldoret
2. Nairobi

Maximum
Minimum
Temperature Temperature
(°F)
(°F)
86

5. Mandera

72
1. Mombasa
Joe Lemonnier

2. Nairobi

5,449

77

56

3. Eldoret


10,121

74

49

4. Lodwar

1,660

95

74

5. Mandera

1,660

94

78
Jon Warburton Lee/Getty Images

12


Making
Maps


(c) AFP/Getty Images; (tr) Geography and Map Division/Library of Congress

Green
Machine!
A free laptop
is changing the
way kids around
the world learn.


Two Maps:
One New, One Old
Maps help people describe the world.
Look at the two maps on these pages. One is
more than 200 years old. The other is from today.
They both show North America.
Central Intelligence Agency/Library of Congress Geography and Map Division

North America is a continent,
or a large body of land. The
United States is part of North
America. So are Canada
and Mexico.

Modern Map
Take a look at this map. It
is a modern map of North
America. Find the edges of
the United States. The edge of
a country is called a boundary.

What are the names of the
two countries that touch the
United States? One is Canada.
One is Mexico.
What bodies of water are at
the edges of the United States?
(Bodies of water can be oceans,
gulfs, lakes, or rivers.)

↑ Today, mapmakers use technology
to help them create maps.

On the East Coast is the Atlantic
Ocean. To the south is the Gulf of
Mexico. To the west is the Pacific Ocean.
14 •

Time For Kids


Detlev van Ravenswaay/Photo Researchers

Making Maps
Cartography is different now than it was 200 years
ago because of technology. Satellites orbit Earth.
They take pictures and gather information about
landforms. As a result, mapmakers use this
information to help them make maps.
They also use computers to
measure and draw accurately.


Library of Congress Geography and Map Division

Old Map
Take a look at this map. It was
made in 1804. That’s more than
200 years ago.
Use your finger to trace the
boundaries of the United States
on this map. Which of these
1804 boundaries is a boundary
of the United States today?
The Atlantic Ocean is still a
boundary today.

↑ This map from 1804 was drawn
by hand.

There are some important
differences between the modern
map and the old map. One
important difference is the size
of the United States. It is much
larger now. This is becaues the
boundaries of the United States
have changed. It now stretches
from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Pacific Ocean. — Susan Moger

Issue 2


• 15


Learning
with

Laptops
By Jill Egan

C

an a green machine help the world’s poorest
kids learn better? Nicholas Negroponte thinks
so. He and his team of scientists have invented a
new type of computer. As a result, many children
who live in poverty will have their very own laptop
computer!

Nicholas Negroponte
with his laptop →

16 •

Time For Kids

William B. Plowman/Wide World Photos/AP Images

Negroponte works at a university. He started
a group called One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).

It is a nonprofit organization. The people at
OLPC don’t work for money. They work to help
children learn. OLPC makes computers that
don’t cost a lot. Then they sell the machines to
governments of countries
that have many people
living in poverty. The
governments then give
the computers to kids
for free. The low price
means millions of kids
can receive a laptop.


A teacher helps a student using
the XO laptop ↓

The XO laptop computers
are made for school-aged
children in developing
nations. Many of these
children live in remote
areas and go to schools
with outdoor classrooms.
In order to work, the
laptops have to be
durable and studentfriendly.
The machines have
many fun features like
a built-in video camera,

voice recording, and
games. The wireless
network lets students
share information on the
Web, edit work, and read
e-books. They also can
make music and chat
with friends.
Another great feature
is the battery. It can be hand
charged by a crank, pedal,
or pull cord. It also can be
recharged by attaching to a
solar panel. The crank makes
the machine very resourceful.

Marcelo Hernandez/Wide World Photos/AP Images

Because of these features the
XO laptops make learning
fun while helping the
environment.
(bkgd)Tomi/PhotoLink/Getty Images

Fun Features

Issue 2

• 17



Colorful Computers
The laptops have a colorful nickname—“the green
machine.” Negroponte thinks his green machines
could make a difference in the lives of millions of
kids. He says, “Every single problem you can think
of—poverty, peace, the environment—is solved
with education.”

One Laptop Per Child
OLPC plans to give out over ten million computers
in the next few years. Kids in Thailand, Nigeria,
Brazil, and Argentina will get most of them. China
and Egypt also want to take part in the program.
After that, Negroponte hopes to sell computers to
other countries with high poverty. Once the kids
get them, they can start cranking away!
Because of OLPC, every student in Villa Cardal,
Uruguay, owns an XO laptop. ↓

18 •

Time For Kids

Marcelo Hernandez/Wide World Photos/AP Images


Countries Getting the Green Machines
Here are facts about school kids in some of the nations
that are getting “green machines.”


Egypt Kids must go to school for six
years, beginning at age six or seven.

Nigeria
Boys and girls
must have short
hair and wear
uniforms to school.

China Most schools run from 7:30 A.M. to
5:00 P.M., including a two-hour lunch break.
Asia

North
America

Europe

Thailand
Kids go to school
on Saturday.

Africa
South
America

Argentina
In the country some kids
ride horses to school.


Australia

Brazil Kids go to school for about four
hours in the morning or afternoon.

Sophie Kitteredge

← As a result of Nicholas

W
ill

ia

m

B

.P

lo
w

m

an

/W
id


e

W
or
ld

Ph

ot
os
/A

P

Im

ag

es

(bkgd)Tomi/PhotoLink/Getty Images

Negroponte’s hard work,
students around the
world can explore and
express themselves with
the new XO Laptop.

Issue 2


• 19


All-American
Here are two tall tale heroes. The stories
about them aren’t true, but they do say

Pecos Bill

Paul Bunyan

They say Pecos Bill was raised

Paul Bunyan was a lumberjack.

by coyotes. He became the

He cut down trees in the north

greatest cowboy of all time.

woods. Paul was strong and

He had courage and strength.

always worked hard.

Paul Bunyan
worked as a

lumberjack
in Minnesota,
Wisconsin,
and Michigan.
One legend says that the
entire state of New Mexico
was Pecos Bill’s ranch.

Pecos Bill was
born in Texas.
Joe Lemonnier

20

Paul Bunyan was
born in Maine.
Guy Francis

One story says that
Paul Bunyan dug
Lake Michigan as a
watering hole for
Babe the Blue Ox.
Pecos Bill rode a
tornado in Kansas.

Guy Francis

Guy Francis


a lot about the American spirit.


(c) Detlev van Ravenswaay/Photo Researchers; (tr) Global Image Express/Li Jiangsong/Newscom

Light
Building

Scientists learn new facts about the sun.


Sunlight and Shadow
For thousands of years, the sun has played an important
part in where—and how—buildings are built.
Everyone who designs a
building needs to understand
sunlight and shadow.

The Sun and Stonehenge
Stonehenge is an ancient circle
of stones built in the middle of
a field in England. No one knows
how the enormous stones got
there or why they were placed
the way they were. If you stand
in the middle of the stone circle
on most mornings, you won’t
notice anything special.

But on the first official day of

summer (called the summer
solstice), which is the longest
day of the year, the sun rises
behind one of the biggest
stones. The sun looks like a
fiery ball balancing on the
towering stone.
Whoever built Stonehenge
knew a lot about the movement
of the sun. They also knew a lot
about light and shadow.

The sun rises over Stonehenge
on the summer solstice.

Bill Bachmann/Photo Researchers

22 •

Time For Kids


Jupiter Images/Pixland/Alamy

Sunshine in Your Bedroom
The builders of Stonehenge
weren’t so different from
today’s architects—people
with special training in how to
design buildings. Architects

think about light and shadow
when they design houses, parks,
skyscrapers, and even factories.

↑ Architects think about sunlight
and shadow when they design
buildings.

Architects know where the
sun rises and sets. If they were
building a house in an empty
field, they could make the
bedroom face east for morning
light. They could make the living
room face west in the direction
of sunsets.
Global Image Express/Li Jiangsong/Newscom

Most of the time, though,
architects design houses to
fit into a neighborhood. They
design skyscrapers to fit into
a city. How do they know
whether their buildings will
block someone else’s light? How
do they know whether existing
buildings, trees, or hills will make
their new building too dark?
Architects build models
that show the planned building

and the buildings and structures
around it. Sometimes they
use computers to build the
models, and sometimes they
use cardboard and wood. The
models help architects to figure
out just how to place their
building to get the most from
the sun. — Lisa Jo Rudy
← Today, architects make models
that show how sunlight and
shadow will affect new buildings.
Issue 3

• 23