4Kids.org: August 1, 1999

Share A Poem With The Future
You can be a part of the future by getting involved in U.S. Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project at www.favoritepoem.org. This poetry project is traveling all over the country to record all kinds of people reading all kinds of poems before the year 2000. Check out the emotions and images captured in amazing poems like "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. But DON'T just read them; listen to them through the audio clips on the Web site. You'll hear why poems are such an important way to capture human experience.

Soldiers Without Swords The story of the black press is one of courage under fire. Thanks to PBS' Soldiers Without Swords Web site, you'll learn about America's black journalists. Get the scoop at www.pbs.org/ blackpress where you'll check out historical publications such as the Chicago Defender, California Eagle and the Afro-American. Soldiers Without Swords takes you to such important events as the March on Washington, the Red Summer Riots of 1919 and the beginnings of the Civil War, while explaining how these events were crucial to the rise of black journalism. You'll also read about today's black journalists and publishers, who continue to make advances for the industry. Read all about it!

Wacky Tales
Join Dictionary Jenkins in creating some of the wildest stories you'll ever see on the Net. At Wacky Tales you choose the subjects, while Jenkins simply strings the words together. Before you know it, you'll be reading about flying blue cats getting into trouble, or a gigantic shoe that loves watching television. Come supplied with your nouns, pronouns and verbs and hop out to www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/ReadingBrain.html. In between carnivals, bicycle riding and fishing adventures, you'll meet nutty creatures like Frida the Cat and Joe's Frog. Just behave yourself at the ball game. And if you're suffering from a case of writer's block, you can always check into many other great games from Funbrain.com. Wacky Tales is a new discovery in words!

When you know the answers to the questions below, enter your answers. If you are correct, you will become a "4Kids Detective of the Week." If a question is not answered it is considered wrong. Good luck.

1. On Wacky Tales, an example of an adjective is?

tall

dog

run

2. When was the first black newspaper founded?

1787

1803

1827

3. When did the Favorite Poem Project start?

January 1995

March 1996

April 1997

Dear Amy: For my report, I need to know who invented e-mail and when.--Lionel, Spanish Town, Jamaica
Dear Lionel: Most people use the Internet for e-mail, but I didn't find a lot of information about how it began. According to "A Short History of the Internet by Bruce Sterling," www-users.cs.umn.edu/~dutta/grad8100/tint_art1.htm the first e-mail program was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson. He put it together from two other programs, an intra-machine e-mail program (SENDMSG) and an experimental file transfer program (CPYNET). For more history about the Internet, check out this Library of Congress resource page at http:// lcweb.loc.gov/ global/ internet/ history.html (The second site is no longer available).

Dear Amy: How can I find someone to be my penpal?--Nathan, Lima, Ohio
Dear Nathan: You can learn about what other people think and do by having a penpal, especially if he or she live in another country. A good place to find a penpal is on Kids' Space Connection at www.ks-connection.org. There are different penpal boxes for different ages. Before you start, read the Penpal Help page and discuss the Safety section with your parents. Remember, write about what interests you, but don't send any personal information such as phone numbers. (This site is no longer available.)

If you would like to visit Amy or ask Amy your question click here!