Chirp magazine turns 25 this year! And to celebrate the last 25 amazing years, we made this extra special BIRTHDAY issue just for you. We hope you like it!
Happy Eid-ul-Fitr! This holiday marks the end of Ramadan, a month where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, give to charity, and volunteer at local shelters or food banks.
Eid is a time to celebrate all the hard work done in Ramadan. Muslims dress up in their best clothes, give gifts, eat lots of yummy food, and spend time with their families.
Happy Lemonade Day! Check out this yummy and refreshing recipe.
You can also find the recipe here. Always ask an adult for help in the kitchen!
STOP: Ask your parents for permission before opening a lemonade stand and always make sure to have an adult supervising.
You’ll need:
1 1/2 half cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
5 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
Ice
Pitcher
OPTIONAL: lemon slices
How to make:
Combine the lemon juice, water, and sugar into a pitcher
Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
Add ice and serve!
FUN IDEA: Add the lemon slices to the lemonade or on the rim of each glass when you serve. You can even add food coloring to make a fun coloured drink!
Read about Daisy Mae and the plan to go outside in the April issue of Chickadee! Click play below to listen to Daisy Mae Springs Out by Troy Wilson, Illustrated by Kate Pellerin (Poopikat).
Daisy Mae Springs Out by Troy Wilson (read by Chickadee editorial assistant Mariam Ahmed), Chickadee April 2022
Did you know that April is Earth Month? What a great time to get outdoors and explore nature!
If you’re looking for a good book to help celebrate the Earth this month, check out Whirl by Deborah Kerbel. It’s a fun story about a maple tree seed pod that gets picked up by the wind and goes on a wild adventure!
Here’s what Chirp reader Thelonious thought of this book:
“I liked it. The part where the kids pretend that the maple keys are eyebrows and mustaches and walrus tusks was the funniest part. I like following the line of the maple keys with my finger when they fall. My favorite part was when the blue jay took the maple key! Other kids would maybe like it. I want to read it again!”
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Thelonious!
To learn more about maple tree seed pods, check out the Science page in the April issue of Chirp magazine.
It’s Earth Day! Every year on April 22, people around the world reflect on how to better take care of the planet.
This year’s Earth Day theme is investing in our planet. Companies around the world are trying to use less plastic and make products that are more biodegradable or earth-friendly!
There are many ways you can help protect the environment on Earth Day. Here are a few ideas!
Composting and recycling items.
Turning off the lights and the computer when you don’t need them.
Growing plants in your garden or in your home.
Recycle items around your home to make something new!
Buying from places that make recycled products.
What do you do on Earth Day? Share your tips with us in the comments below!
If you are celebrating the start of Ramadan, we wish you a happy, healthy, and safe month!
Ramadan is a month where Muslims all around the world fast from sunrise to sunset. They give lots of charity and volunteer at local shelters or food banks and they also try to do as many good deeds as they can.
Have a great Ramadan, full of lots of yummy food (when you’re done fasting, of course!) and good memories!
April Fools is such a fun day! You get to be silly, tell jokes, and do pranks that make people laugh. Try out some prank ideas below!
1. Banana Phone:
Take the phone that’s in your house, and switch it with a banana. When the phone rings, and someone goes to answer it, they will not peel-ieve you did that!
2. The ‘Because’ Hop:
Every time someone says the word ‘because’ hop on one foot. When they ask why you’re hopping, just say: “because!”
3. Musical Conversation:
Whenever someone asks you a question, sing them back your answer in a silly tune.
Let us know if you tried any of our April Fools Day pranks in the comments below!
Read about all kinds of winter games in the Jan/Feb issue of Chickadee! Click play below to listen to The Winter Challenge by Caroline Adderson and Illustrated by Tim Murray.
The Winter Challenge by Caroline Adderson (read by author), Chickadee January/February 2022
Looking for something to do this week? Why not listen to a story about the history of women in aviation as told by author Tiffany Stone. This story, called Hi, Sky, was originally published in Chirp magazine and is full of flying fun! And guess what? Author Tiffany Stone’s dad used to be a pilot so she grew up around all kinds of airplanes and is very passionate about the history of flight. Thanks Tiffany, for sharing your story with us!
Today’s date is pretty special. It’s February 22, 2022. Written in numbers, it is 22.02.2022. That’s a palindrome, meaning it reads the same forward and backward! It’s also Tuesday, which means you can use a pun to call it Twosday.
So when can we expect the next palindrome date? In February 3, 2030 (03.02.2030). See you in 8 years!
The March issue of Chirp is hitting newsstands and your mailbox soon!
This issue is all about arts and crafts and it will be sure to make you want to get creative. Have you ever wondered how crayons are made? You can find out in this month’s Look & Learn section. Here’s a short video of the process. Check it out!
February is known as Black History Month! This month we celebrate all the incredible contributions and breakthroughs that Black people have made throughout history. One way to celebrate is to read and learn about important people, past and present.
Click here to read more and to discover a great booklist!
Oscar Lives Next Door by Bonnie Farmer is a book inspired by the life and childhood of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. Young Oscar loved playing the trumpet but when he got sick he was no longer to play and so he started on the piano instead. And then he went on to be a world-famous musician.
Chirp readers Matilda and Maisy read this book together. Let’s hear what they had to say about it!
“I liked the story but I was kind of sad when Oscar got sick. It was nice that his friend Millie dropped off letters for him while he was getting better. I want to hear the kind of music that Oscar plays.” Matilda, age 4
“I really liked this book. My favourite thing about it is that even though Oscar couldn’t play his favourite instrument anymore, he practises his second favourite instrument a lot and gets really good at that one. He didn’t give up! I really liked the illustrations too. I would recommend this book for sure.” Maisy, age 7
Thank you for the review, Matilda and Maisy!
For a chance to WIN a copy of Oscar Lives Next Door, comment on this post with your first name, age, and list your favourite instrument. Prizes courtesy of Owlkids.
Contest Deadline: February 15, 2022. Click here for full contest rules and regs.
Today marks the first day of the Lunar New Year and many families around the world are celebrating with big meals and fun activities.
And according to Chinese astrology, 2022 is the year of the TIGER! In China, the tiger is known as the king of beasts. It is a symbol of strength and courage. Do you share any of the tiger’s traits? If you do, it could be a very good year for you!
Today is the first day of Lunar New Year. This holiday is celebrated in parts of East and Southeast Asia and each country has its own traditions. Today we have a Lunar New Year book review from Tegan, 8. She read Friends are Friends, Forever by Dane Liu and illustrated by Lynn Scurfield. Here’s what she thought!
This story is about friendship. Two best friends named Dandan and Yueyue celebrate Lunar New Year together for the last time in China because Dandan is moving to a new country. They are both sad. They make a snowflake craft with red paper and string and put it outside to freeze. Then they hang up their snowflakes outside on a tree. It’s very pretty. Yueyue gives Dandan a spool of string and red paper to take with her. At her new school, Dandan doesn’t feel like she fits in. But one day she meets Christina and they become friends. Dandan shows her how to make a snowflake, too. Friends are forever because they make good memories. I liked this story because the book inspired me to do the snowflake craft just like Dandan. I would like to tell my friends how to make the craft, too.
Tegan with her red snowflake craft from the book Friends are Friends, Forever.
Thanks for the review, Tegan! Look for this heartwarming story in a local bookstore or library. Do you celebrate Lunar New Year? Tell us in the comments!
Is it cold and snowy where you live? It is where I live and today feels like the perfect day to listen to a story about the joys of tobogganing. It’s called The Tobogganogganoggan and it was written by Emil Sher.
Click on the play button to hear this silly story read aloud by the author.
Did you know that January is Tamil Heritage Month? There are about 200,000 Tamil people living in Canada and this month is a great time to appreciate and honour Tamil achievements and traditions.
January marks the Tamil holiday of Pongal, a four-day harvest festival, that is celebrated with food, new clothing, house decorating and cleaning, and prayers to the Sun. Pongal also makes the beginning of the new month called Thai, which is considered to be a very special month. It is a very important holiday so families gather to share their joy and show appreciation for the harvest. Here are some activities kids often do to celebrate. Which activity would you like to do?
Pick out new outfits and then clean out closets and donate old clothing
Visit a farmer’s market and learn about farming
Help decorate the house with kolam, a traditional piece of art drawn with rice flour or chalk
Help cook special meals
Give gifts of sugarcane and sesame snacks to friends and family
Chickadee reader Sapphire (age 8) sent us this awesome drawing of a Snowshoe Hare through the seasons!
As illustrated by Sapphire, the Snowshoe Hare’s fur is brown in the summer, and then turns white in the winter. The Snowshoe Hare gets its name because of the large size of its hind feet!
Readers, would you like to see your art on the Chickadee blog? Send it to chickadeeblog@owlkids.com.
Chickadee reader Grace (age 8) sent us this awesome Snow Globe craft, just in time for the the New Year!
To make your own, all you need is a jar, a small toy, and some string or sparkles!
First place pieces of sparkle into the jar. Then with an adult’s help, hot glue a toy onto the inside of the lid. Next, fill the jar with water and put the lid on. Shake up your snow globe!
Readers, would you like to see your art on the Chickadee blog? Send it to chickadeeblog@owlkids.com.
Read about Kojo’s Holiday fun in the December issue of Chickadee! Click play below to listen to Kojo’s Holidayby Nadia L. Hohn and Illustrated by Janine Carrington.
Kojo’s Holiday by Nadia L. Hohn (read by author), Chickadee December 2021
The January/February issue Chirp is full of sporty fun so we thought we would feature penguins as the Amazing Animal this month because penguins like to slide and play on the ice! Check out this video of some baby Emperor penguins slipping and sliding on the ice. Go penguins, go!
To learn more about penguins, be sure to read the January/February issue of Chirpmagazine!
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! Today is the last day of Hanukkah, the Jewish “festival of lights” that is celebrated for eight days with menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. Kids also play the dreidel game. In the December issue, we described how the dreidel game is played. Here are detailed instructions for the dreidel game, with help from Chickadee readers Naomi, 11, and Isaac, 8.
You’ll need:
2 or more players
a dreidel: the four sides are Nun (נ), Gimmel (ג), Hey (ה), Shin (ש)
gelt: You can use a few things as these tokens: small toys, counters, or even smaller dreidels.
The rules: Each player begins with the same number of tokens and places one token into the pot (the middle). On your turn, you spin the dreidel. If it lands on Gimmel, you take everything in the pot. Hey means you take half the pot (rounded down if it is uneven). Nun means nothing happens. Shin means you put one token into the pot. Once your turn is over, it moves to the next person. Whenever the pot is empty, each player puts one token back into the pot. The game ends when one player has all the tokens and wins.
Miximal is an app designed to help kids learn about animals! Based on a flip book style, the app lets kids mix and match animals in sweet animations while learning the sounds that compliment each animal. Create a new animal name by mixing syllables from each animal. Get creative because the possibilities are endless!
The app allows you to mix between 11 animals. There’s no limit and no ads while playing the game.
You can download Miximal for free from the App Store.
If you try it, let us know in the comments below what you think!
Read cute back-to-school poems in the September issue of Chickadee! Click play below to listen to Back-to-School Poemsby Bowman Wilker and Illustrated by Lisa Cinar.
Back-to-School Poems by Bowman Wilker (read by author), Chickadee September 2021
Did you know you can download free colouring sheets from issues of Chirp on the Owlkids website?
Click on the image above to colour Chirp and Tweet discovering a treasure map of their neighbourhood park or click here to get more FREE colouring sheets!
Join a young girl and her mom as they get a cup of chai! While they wait for their cup of milky spiced tea, you’ll learn about all the sights, sounds, and smells of the Chaiwala’s cart. Treat your nose to aromas of ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks while you listen to tea leaves rustling and milk bubbling. With a biscuit or cake rusk, it’s time to enjoy!
We asked Hazel, 5, to tell us what she thought about the book. Check out her review below!
“This book is about mom and a daughter getting chai. The chai looks tasty, like hot chocolate. I liked that it used cinnamon because cinnamon is good with tea. I would like to visit a chaiwala. I would like to try this type of drink.”
Thanks for the review, Hazel!
For a chance to WIN 1 of 2 copies of Chaiwala!,comment below your age, name, and favourite drink to sip on!
Contest deadline: December 4 @ 11:59 p.m.
Prizes courtesy of Owlkids Books.
For full contest rules and regulations click here.
Click play below to listen to The “Night Before” Moon by Emil Sher and Illustrated by Emma Pedersen, a poem about all the things Del loves about the Moon!
The Night Before Moon by Emil Sher (read by author), Chirp October 2021
Read a story about a cute mouse deer called Kancil in the October issue of Chickadee! Click play below to listen to Kancil the Mousedeerby Michelle Kadarusman and Illustrated by Alex Louise Hill.
Kancil the Mousedeer by Michelle Kadarusman (read by author), Chickadee October 2021
The Bug Club, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel, is a book about the author’s love for bugs! We asked Callum to tell us what he thought about this book. Check it out!
I definitely recommend The Bug Club by Elise Gravel because it’s so funny you hardly realize you’re learning! The awesome artwork teaches you what bugs look like. The fun text tells amazing facts about how they survive. You’ll learn how to find bugs and use your imagination to invent bugs!
Thanks for the review, Callum! Find this book in your local library or bookstore!
Watch Chirp editor Jackie and science assistant Lochlan take a taste test to learn more about our senses! Watch the video below to recreate this fun experiment at home.
This month in Chirp magazine, we learn about a super smart animal: crows! Crows use cawing sounds to talk to other crows and to scare away predators. Check out this video of a flock of crows cawing to each other.
The Olympics have started in Tokyo, Japan this year. Here are some facts for you!
The Olympics were started in Ancient Greece.
The five Olympic Rings represent the five continents that participate in the games. The five colours (blue, yellow, black, green, and red) were chosen because all the national flags of every country have at least one of those colours.
The Olympic Flame is always lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece. Olympic torches can only be lit with fire that came from the official Olympic Flame.
The tradition of awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals was introduced in 1904. During the ancient Olympics, victors were awarded an olive branch.
This year’s Olympics have four brand new sports: karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding.
So cool! Thanks for sharing Sarah!
Will you be watching this year and what are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below!
Eid-al-Adha (say “EED al UDD-ha”) is a Muslim festival that lasts several days. It marks the end of the pilgrimage season known as the Hajj, where millions of people go to Makkah, a city in Saudi Arabia, to observe.
Some special traditions include giving charity, and donating food to those in need because taking care of each other is important. Muslims dress up in their best clothes, give gifts, eat lots of yummy food, and spend time with their families.
Click play below to listen to Desert Dessert by Jenna Campbell and illustrated by Kass Reich, a story about the best things about Sage’s home in the desert!
Desert Dessert by Jenna Campbell (read by author), Chirp July/August 2021
Read a cute story about two penpals in the Summer issue of Chickadee! Click play below to listen to Letters from Planet K-Tron by Sarah Howden and Illustrated by Bernice Lum.
Letters from Planet K-Tron by Sarah Howden (read by author), Chickadee July/August 2021
Tell us what you think of Chickadee Magazine for a chance to WIN 1 of 2 Playmobil Volkswagen T1 Camping Bus! Click here to access the survey and let us know!
Tell us what you think of Chirp Magazine for a chance to WIN 1 of 3 Playmobil Splish Splash Water Parks! Click here to access the survey and let us know!
It’s Shark Awareness Day! Here are some facts about sharks:
There are over 500 species of sharks
The smallest shark is the Dwarf Lantern Shark, which is about the size of a human hand. The Whale Shark is the biggest shark, and it can grow to 12 meters long
Sharks don’t have bones. Instead, they’re skeletons are made of cartilage, which is what our ears are made of
Some sharks can glow in the dark
Sharks have been around for over 400 million years. That’s older than the dinosaurs!
Remember to do what you can to help save the environment. Do you know any fun facts about sharks you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments down below!