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release dates: October 1-7 40-1 (11)

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The popular nine-part series on the Constitution, written in collaboration with the National Archives, is now packaged as a colorful 32-page softcover book. The series covers:• the preamble, the seven articles and 27 amendments• the “big ideas” of the document• the history of its making and the signers

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Guide to the Constitution

Popcorn for breakfast Many American Indian tribes grew popcorn. Some ground the kernels to make a cornmeal that could be made into porridge. The cornmeal was easy to carry when they traveled. The Iroquois popped popcorn in a pottery jar heated with hot sand. They often made it into a kind of soup. European colonists were fascinated with this food that exploded. Colonists ate it for breakfast with sugar and cream or as a snack. They popped it in a rounded sheet of iron that turned on a rod in front of the fire.

Popcorn grows more popular In 1893, at the Chicago World’s Fair, a businessman showed fairgoers the first movable popcorn popper. The machines could be moved easily and were powered by steam or gas. Street vendors began selling popcorn wherever a crowd gathered, such as at fairs and parks. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, popcorn was often the only luxury people could afford. Popcorn businesses boomed.

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A popcorn vendor in 1895 set up his mobile popper in the middle of a crowd that had gathered to see a religious speaker.

When you think of the movies, do you imagine munching on popcorn? This American treat has become the perfect match for fun events such as ball games, the circus and movies. October is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month. To celebrate, The Mini Page talked with a popcorn expert.A tradition of the Americas Thousands of years ago, popcorn popped up in South and Central America. It became such an important food to the Aztecs* that they used it in religious ceremonies. They decorated their headdresses with popcorn and put popcorn necklaces on statues of their gods. In the 1500s, the Spanish saw Aztec women wearing strands of popcorn in their hair and dancing a popcorn dance. A Spanish explorer described popcorn as a “kind of corn which bursts when parched and … makes itself look like a very white flower.”*The Aztecs were a group of Native Americans who lived in the area that is now Mexico.

Snacking on popcorn is part of the fun of watching movies with the family. In the early 1950s, when more people began getting TVs, grocery sales of popcorn jumped. When microwave popcorn came out in the 1980s, popcorn’s popularity took another leap. In fact, today many microwaves have a special popcorn button.

Pop a Popular Treat…

Popcorn!

Ready Resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2011 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.On the Web:• www.popcorn.org/ForKids/tabid/54/Default.aspx• www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/images1/popcorn.html• www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/popcorn.htmlAt the library: • “Popcorn!” by Elaine Landau • “100 Pounds of Popcorn” by Hazel Krantz • “Popcorn Plants” by Kathleen V. Kudlinski

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Popcorn Goes to the MoviesA pop star is born In the early 1900s, people were so amazed by the new invention of motion pictures that crowds gathered wherever movies were showing. Popcorn vendors followed the crowds, selling popcorn and peanuts outside theaters. Theater owners hated this because they thought the popcorn and peanuts would make a mess. But they didn’t want to turn away the crowds. They decided if they couldn’t beat the vendors, they’d join them. Theater owners started popping and selling popcorn themselves. They realized the smell was so

great, it attracted even more people. They began popping and selling popcorn at the entrance to their theaters so people would smell it and come in.

Popcorn and movies By the late 1920s, the new “talking pictures” had gotten so good that audiences came to watch the movies, not just to see a new invention. Movies became even more popular during the Depression because they offered people an escape from hard times. As movie ticket sales rose, so did popcorn sales. Theater owners realized they could actually lower the price of their tickets and still make big profits from selling popcorn. Many theater owners who didn’t sell popcorn went out of business. The connection between popcorn and movies is a special part of American life. Movie theaters in other parts of the world don’t usually even sell popcorn.

This boy snuggles in with a popcorn snack while watching a video. About 70 percent of all popcorn is eaten at home. Most of the rest is eaten at the movies. Every year, Americans eat an average of 51 quarts of popcorn per person.

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Words that remind us of popcorn are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: AMERICA, AZTECS, BUY, COB, CORN, EAR, EAT, EXPLODE, FIELD, FUN, GRAIN, GRASS, HOT, HULL, KERNEL, MAIZE, MICROWAVE, MIX, MOVIES, OIL, POP, SEED, SNACK, STEAM, THEATERS, VENDORS, WATER.

Popcorn tRy ’nfind

PoP yourself a tasty treat!

C G G K C A N S A C I R E M A M O R R T A E S C E T Z A B T A V R A A F L I O R E T A W H I E H N S I I S E I V O M K E Z N S U K S N E S T E A M E A E D H E L B O C L R A E M R T P O F O E L B U Y D X I M N E O R U K T D E D O L P X E E R P S N E V A W O R C I M X L S

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from The Mini Page © 2011 Universal Uclick

Carrie: Why do spiders like the Internet?Cassie: Because of all the websites!

Cindy: Why are elephants and computers alike?Corey: They both have big memories!

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All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?

Cam: What happens when you are bitten by a powerful computer?

Craig: You get a megabyte!

Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy is bringing the popcorn for movie night with her mom and brother. See if you can find:• bell • letter I • letter Z • letter E• number 2 • ruler • pencil • number 3• squirrel • word MINI • letter A • bandage• heart • cat • dog’s face • number 7• ladder • letter T • elephant’s face

from The Mini Page © 2011 Universal Uclick

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from The Mini Page © 2011 Universal Uclick

Meet Stephen and Bonnie Ward Simon Stephen Simon and Bonnie Ward Simon are creators of the “Stories in Music” series, which consists of classical music CDs for kids. This series mixes music with information about the music and composers. Stephen is a symphony conductor, known for his work

with the music of George Frideric Handel. One of the “Stories in Music” CDs is “My Name Is Handel: The Story of Water Music.” Bonnie writes about music for adults and kids. She has helped manage several music programs and taught middle-school music. Stephen started taking piano lessons when he was 4. Even though he was Jewish, he used to go to church to hear the organ. Bonnie played the violin in her school orchestra, but switched to the flute when she was 16.

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Rookie Cookie’s RecipeHappy Halloween Mini Popcorn Balls

You’ll need:• 10 cups popped corn• 1 cup diced dried fruit (papaya, mango or peaches)• 1 cup butterscotch chips• 1 (1-pound) bag miniature marshmallows• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine• orange food coloringWhat to do:1. Place popcorn, fruit and butterscotch chips in large bowl; set aside.2. Heat marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan over low heat until

melted and smooth.3. Stir in several drops of food coloring.4. Pour over popcorn and candy, tossing to coat evenly. Cool for 5 minutes.5. Grease hands and form into 3-inch balls. Makes about 16 balls.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.

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Recipe courtesy The Popcorn Board

from The Mini Page © 2011 Universal Uclick

Popping the Questions

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

What is popcorn? Corn is a member of the grass family, and it is a cereal grain. Popcorn is a type of corn, or maize (maze). Here are the four most common kinds of American corn: Sweet corn is the corn we eat as corn on the cob. Field corn is not as tender and sweet as sweet corn. It is used mainly to feed livestock and to make corn products such as corn syrup, cereal or ethanol fuel. Most of the corn grown in the United States is field corn. Indian corn has tough black, brown and yellow kernels. It is used for decoration and is not usually eaten as it is. Some forms are ground to make tortillas or taco shells. Popcorn is the only corn that pops.

What are the parts of popcorn? The unpopped kernel is the actual seed of the popcorn plant. The hull is the outside brown covering over the seed, or kernel. The white part we love to eat is the food for the growing part of the seed. The food is called starch.

Some fun popcorn facts Popcorn is a whole grain and is good for you. Most of the popcorn in the world is grown in the United States corn belt: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. Popcorn kernels 1,000 years old have still popped.

What makes popcorn pop? There is a small drop of water inside the starch in each kernel. When the kernel is heated, the water starts to expand, or get bigger. When the water gets hot enough, the water turns to steam. It starts to melt the starch. The starch turns into a super-hot, jelly-like goop. The kernel keeps getting hotter until it reaches about 450 degrees. As the goop boils inside the kernel, the pressure grows and grows. Finally, the hull can’t hold everything in anymore, and it explodes. The hull shatters. The steam shoots out. The mushy white starch spills out and cools immediately. When it cools, it hardens, turning into the white popcorn we recognize. The puffy popped corn may be 40 to 50 times bigger than the same starchy material that was inside the kernel. Bits of the brown hull may stick to the white popped corn pieces.

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This photo series shows the kernel as it pops open to release the white popcorn.When they pop, kernels can shoot 3 feet up in the air.Microwave popcorn kernels are coated with oil so they will get hot enough to pop.

photo courtesy The Popcorn Board

Popped popcorn lies by a jar of kernels.

The Mini Page thanks Wendy Boersema Rappel, The Popcorn Board, for help with this issue.

Look through the ads and the movie section of your newspaper. Do you see any pictures of popcorn?Next week, The Mini Page is about Fire Prevention Week.

photo courtesy The Popcorn Board

Most popcorn is sold in the fall. Popcorn can form fun Halloween treats.

from The Mini Page © 2011 Universal Uclick

Supersport: Keegan BradleyHeight: 6-2 Birthdate: 6-7-86Weight: 190 Hometown: Woodstock, Vt. Once upon a time, Keegan Bradley’s biggest sporting thrills came when he swerved down the snowy slopes of Vermont as an all-state skier. Later, golf became his main game and led to greater fame,

first at St. John’s University in New York, and recently on the pro tour. Displaying skill and poise, Bradley won the first major tournament he entered, the 2011 PGA Championship, after a three-hole playoff. It was the second PGA tour victory and 10th top-10 finish of the year for Bradley, the son of club pro Mark Bradley and nephew of Ladies Hall of Famer Margaret Bradley. Bradley has a few quirks. His PGA bio notes he always marks his ball with a “heads-up” coin. Keep an eye on this PGA rookie, who has a golfing name and a champion’s game.

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