Explore and Discover
I’m Gareth, the Unusual Duck-Billed Platypus, on another adventure around the world. This time I’m off to Rapa Nui, or as it’s also known: Easter Island! This tiny and remote island has a fascinating history. Oh, and there’s these big stone heads called moai all over the place!
Rohin Mukherjee is a 10 year old Grade 5 student in the Gifted Program at Lanor Junior Middle School in Toronto. Some three years ago, he had built a small Robot with Arduino, and a couple of years ago, he had Coded a Video Game in Visual Basic.
In April, 2020, unable to attend school due to the pandemic, he built a PC from scratch. While he is thrilled with the attention after building his second PC, he is more keen on offering his skills to assist Seniors and technologically-challenged folks in the vicinity, and formulating an approach to do the same.
Currently, Rohin is reading ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, and trying to grasp the nuances of ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. He emphasizes that he is not remotely a ‘nerd’; and in his free time, loves to administer hugs to humans and dogs, indulges in gaming, skateboarding, playing tennis with his dad, and binging on TV shows.
Check out BAZOOF!’s new YouTube channel featuring Rohin’s accomplishment!
Saranya and Sarvani, Age 9, appear in the latest issue of BAZOOF! with their comments on Page 7 (B! Mail) and photo on Page 31 (Oay’s Bulletin Board). They share how they’ve been keeping busy at home during this pandemic.
“During COVID 19, our school has been closed but that hasn’t stopped us from learning and having fun. We are active with our choir and continue singing lessons virtually and learning new things.”
As this is a difficult time with COVID19 for many families handling expenses, BAZOOF! will NOT be sending out renewals for the next 4-5 months. In fact, all family subscribers whose subscription will expire in that time frame will have two complimentary issues granted to their order. BAZOOF! highly values its customers and are more than happy to do their part to reduce the impact felt at this time.
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Check out this interview about a member of the BAZOOF! creative team whose family has been facing the coronavirus in China, and now herself living in North America.
Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Evalyn Zhang. I am a graphic design intern at BAZOOF! I grew up in Henan, China where my family lives.
What brought you to Canada?
I always wanted to experience a culture different from my own, and Canada wins my heart with her beauty and diversity. I’ve been here for four years.
How has the coronavirus affected your family?
When the coronavirus spread in China, it was during the Chinese New Year. All the New Year celebrations were cancelled. Some of my family couldn’t unite because all the transportation was down. When they went outside, everyone needed to wear a face mask. The city was quarantined and everybody was out of work or school. The internet became a popular form of entertainment.
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The creative team here at BAZOOF! would like our readers and subscribers to know that our thoughts are with you all, and our global family, dealing with the affects of the coronavirus. It has been difficult to process but hold on to great hope that the world can be a better place having shared this time in history together.
Our production team have had adjustments to make as well—how and where we work that has caused some delays, but we’re pulling through fine! We are close to having the Spring issue ready and are continuing to complete it. We plan to have files ready for the printer March 30th. Having something positive to work on has been uplifting and encouraging.
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by CJ, Age 11
When I got Ozzy
I could see the inside of him
Afraid no longer with his family
Fear about going with us
Hiding under the car
Scared to death
When he left with me
My family
And I
I could feel him
Inside of me
His feelings
Thoughts ran through my head
Even more his
He made it back with us
Back to my grandmother’s house
When at Michigan
About an hour and a half
Away from his family
Going to another new place
In a few days
And once we made it there
He didn’t look like a puppy
Anymore
About as big as Jasper at that time
And still growing
Trying to adapt
After already adapting
Sean Chen shares his experience hiking the Routeburn Track in Queenstown, New Zealand found on Page 28 in BAZOOF! magazine #67. Here are a few photos he wanted to share as well.
by Victoria & Anniston, Age 14
Is Panhandling a Problem? Should panhandling be legal or illegal?
There are millions of people on the side of the road, streets, and elsewhere
Loads of cities allow panhandling meanwhile, other cities are more strict about it. In Cincinnati, panhandling within 50 feet of schools is considered illegal and begging is banned near ATMs, parking meters, and restaurants. In 2015, Utah banned panhandlers from soliciting in traffic. The same year, Atlanta outlawed panhandling through a downtown area.
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by Sabrina, Age 12
After she believes that her father has died, she enters an arranged marriage, even though she is only thirteen. The marriage is unhappy so she runs away, trying to get to California so she can meet her pen pal, Amy. Unfortunately, Julie gets lost, trudging through the icy snow of the tundra. She meets a wolf pack, who turns out to be friendly once she uses the communication skills her father taught her!
When I was reading this book, I was really struck by the descriptions of the tundra—so terrifying, yet so beautiful. Not only does it serve as a backdrop to Julie’s journey, but it also helped me understand Julie’s character. It captures Julie’s desire for adventure and shows her determination and bravery. The tundra is mostly flat and full of bare trees, so when she looks far away, it seems to her like the tundra is endless. This means that Julie is determined no matter how far away her goal might seem.
Also, though there are many predators around looking for prey, the snow provides many hiding places for them, such as holes and dens. Therefore, it’s harder for the animals to find prey. This is very much like Julie because she works hard and won’t stop until she finds the food she needs to survive.
The tundra also shows that Julie is a dreamer because she sees it as a magical place. She admires the sky reflecting onto the tundra, which causes many beautiful colours and shapes to form over the snow. For example, she sees it “glistening gold” or with “a feathering of snow.” Once she imagines how “every wind-tossed sedge is a silver thread” over the tundra. These descriptions show Julie’s dreamy personality. So, the tundra is also like a mirror because it reflects Julie and the way she sees the world.
The tundra helped me enjoy this book because it created all of the adventures that Julie went through. It also helped me understand her love for the wilderness and for her friends, the wolves. Also, the tundra is basically Julie’s life and is where all the twists in the book occur. Without the tundra, this book would not be as exciting.
I also love this book because it made me feel all kinds of different emotions! When Julie first encountered the wolves, I felt very nervous because I didn’t know if they would hurt her. But when she starts to bond with them I was very happy and relieved—even the wolf cubs play with her like a normal wolf, as if they don’t know that she is a human.
There are other parts that are extremely sad, like when one of her wolf friends die. Because of the wolves’ kindness and Julie’s determination, the story was really inspiring. It also made me wish I could communicate better with animals, like Julie’s special mastered skill with wolves. It made me want to talk to Daisy, my cat, in order to know what crazy things could be in a little cat’s brain! All in all, this is a very touching book full of beautiful, moving descriptions of challenges, bravery, and love.
To purchase or learn more about the book, visit here.
If you are reading a good book, send a description of what you enjoy about it to submit. Other readers would appreciate your comments!