Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals

Moths are positively phototactic, which means they are attracted to light - porch light, your headlights or your campfire. While there is no definitive explanation for this phenomenon, there are some interesting theories.

Some types of moths are known to migrate, and it is possible they get the navigational clues from the night sky. A moth’s up-down orientation might depend in part on the brightness of the sky relative to the ground.

Some scientists suggest that moths use the moon as a primary reference point and have the ability to adjust their flight paths as the Earth’s rotation causes the moon to move across the sky.

Thus a moth’s attraction to an artificial light or to a fire could be related to orientation, and lead to disorientation — the moth was not “expecting” to actually get to “the moon” (the light source) or to be able to fly above it, so confusion results.

Source: Howstuffworks “Why are moths attracted to light?”. Retrieved on 2 July 2008, from Howstuffworks website: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/question675.htm

You can also listen to the audio clip, “Why are moths attracted to flame?”, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12903572, where Dr. May Berenbaum (http://www.life.uiuc.edu/entomology/faculty/berenbaum.html) was interviewed by the National Public Radio station.

Here are some recommended library books on moths:

The life cycle of a moth by JoAnn Early Macken; reading consultant, Susan Nations.
Publisher: Milwaukee, WI : Weekly Reader Early Learning Library, 2006
Series Title: Things with wings
Call No.: J P 595.78 MAC

Moths by Fran Howard
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2005
Series Title: Pebble plus. Bugs, bugs, bugs!
Call No.: J P 595.78 HOW

Night science for kids : exploring the world after dark by Terry Krautwurst
Publisher: New York : Lark Books, 2005, c2003
Summary: “Provides ideas and activities for discovering what changes in the world after dark, including the arrival of moths and owls, fog, and the stars.”
Call No.: J 591.5 KRA

Where did the butterfly get its name? : questions and answers about butterflies and moths by Melvin and Gilda Berger ; illustrated by Higgins Bond
Publisher: New York : Scholastic Reference, c2002
Series Title: Scholastic question and answer series
Summary: “Presents information about the physical characteristics, habitat, behavior, and life cycle of butterflies and moths in question-and-answer format.”
Call No.: J 595.78 BER

All websites were last accessed on 2 July 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com, www.scholastic.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Originally answered by Ms Noriahni Binte Ismail
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Recreation

Spain won the Euro 2008, after footballer Fernando Torres’ single goal in the final match ended Germany’s dreams of lifting the prestigious Cup. This is their second time winning the Euro Cup, with their previous win in 1964.

Here’s the list of previous winners of the Euro Cup:

1960 - USSR
1964 - Spain
1968 - Italy
1972 - West Germany
1976 - Czechoslovakia
1980 - West Germany
1984 - France
1988 - Netherlands
1992 - Denmark
1996 - Germany
2000 - France
2004 - Greece
2008 - Spain

Source: euro2008.uefa.com - History. Retrieved June 30, 2008, from euro2008.uefa.com Web site: http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/history/index.html

For more information, here are some recommended library books on European soccer:

50 years of the European Cup and Champions League by Keir Radnedge
Publisher: London : Carlton, c2005
Summary: “First published in 2005 to celebrate the golden anniversary of European football’s grandest competition, “50 Years of the European Cup and Champions League” covers every season’s competition with a full report and statistical summary of the Final.”
Call No.: 796.33464094 RAD -[REC]

A season on the brink : Rafael Benítez, Liverpool and the path to European Glory by Guillem Balagué
Publisher: London : Orion, 2006
Call No.: 796.3340942753 BAL -[REC]

Fields of glory, paths of gold : the history of European football by Kevin Connolly and Rab MacWilliam
Publisher: Edinburgh : Mainstream Pub., c2005
Call No.: 796.334094 CON -[REC]

Spirit high and passion pure : a journey through European football by Charlie Connelly
Publisher: Edinburgh ; London : Mainstream, 2000
Summary: “Is modern European football just big business? Or is the game a vehicle for passion, spirit, and national identity? In an attempt to find out, Charlie Connelly embarks upon a European journey in search of the soul of the European game.”
Call No.: 796.334094 CON -[REC]

You can also visit the website, http://www.uefa.com/, for more information about Europe’s soccer scene.

All websites were last accessed on 30 June 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Kids ASK! about Science & Technology

Rice comes from the rice plant, which produces the edible grain.

Read these fast facts to find out more about rice:
- It is a staple food for half of the world’s population.
- The rice plant, a type of grass with narrow and tapered leaves, can grow from 60 to 180 cm tall.
- Rice is grown in more than 100 countries and it is particularly productive in tropical regions with high rainfall.
- Rice grains are ready for harvest in three to six months.
- Raw rice may be ground into flour for many uses, including the making of beverages such as amazake, horchata, rice milk and sake.
- Ground, boiled rice can be made into glue.
- Edible paper, used to wrap spring rolls and other Asian foods, is made from rice flour.

I remember singing this song when I was a child – “Planting rice is never fun, bent from morn to set of sun, cannot stand and cannot sit, cannot rest a little bit….”. Rice cultivation is labour-intensive and the price of rice has risen sharply in the past few months due to rice shortage. Therefore, we should appreciate every grain of rice that we put into our mouths.

Sources of information:
1) www.kidsregen.org/howTo.php?section=celeb&ID=10
2) encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569224/Rice.html
3) en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rice&oldid=222606987

Books for thoughts:

Bread, rice and pasta by Susan Martineu and Helen James
Publisher: London : Franklin Watts, 2006.
Call Number: J 641.3 MAR

The biography of rice by John Zronik
Publisher: New York, .N.Y : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2006.
Call Number: J 633.1 ZRO

 You can check the availability of the above titles through our online catalogue.All websites are last accessed on 30 June 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use. 
All book covers were extracted from www.bn.com.
Posted by Ms Adeline Tan
Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Science & Technology 

Before you jump into this, do you know what is colour?

Colour is the complement of the wavelengths of light that reaches our eye. If a cube appears red, that’s because it is reflecting red light into our eyes.

Now sunlight contains the whole visible spectrum of light, from violet to red. The colour of the sky we see depends on the wavelength of light that reaches our eyes. When sunlight travels throught the sky, it is scattered by the air molecules. This effect is explained by Rayleigh scattering. The lower the wavelength of light, or the greater the amount of particles passed it will pass through, the higher the scattering effect.

On a clear day, blue light (lower wavelength) will be scattered more than red light. Hence, the background of the sky appears blue. The yellow, orange and red light are scattered less and appear to come directly form the sun. Thus, the sun looks bright yellow.

At dusk or dawn, the sun is low on the horizon. Sunlight is scattered more as it travels through a greater amount of atmosphere. The background of the sky appears dark blue, while the clouds are tinted pink or orange as yellow and red light are scattered less and travel straight into our eyes.

Questions like this are called imponderables. Perhaps because they are so puzzling and popular, books have been written to answer them. Find out here.

Reference:
1. New Scientist, 2006, Why don’t penguins’ feet freeze?, London, Profile Books: pg 153-155. (Call No.: 500 WHY)
2. Hart-Davis, A. 2005, Why does a ball bounce? and 100 other questions from the world of science, London, Ebury Press: pg 89. (Call No.: 500 HAR)
3. Kusky, Timothy. “why seawater is blue.” Encyclopedia of Earth Science. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Science Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin= EOES0614&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 23, 2008).

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Anything & Everything

[ASK! editor speaks: My colleague, Lynn, receives this question: ‘What grammar rules do I apply to determine the form (singular/plural) of the verb in a noun clause?’ I know, you must thinking what on earth are you talking about?? Below is an example to illustrate]

Example 1: They suggested Mother cook this weekend.

Example 2: They suggested Mother cooks this weekend.

So is example 1 or example 2 correct?

The basic grammar rule to apply in this case would be subject-verb agreement. This means that “the subject of a sentence agrees in number (singular or plural) with the verb which follows it”.

Source: Nelson, G. (2001). English: an essential grammar. London: Routledge

Hence, example 2 is correct. 

‘Mother’ is the singular subject, and thus the verb should be the singular ’cooks’.

To learn more about grammar, below are some book recommendations: 

The grouchy grammarian: a how-not-to guide to the 47 most common mistakes in English made by journalists, broadcasters, and others who should know better by Thomas Parrish

Call no.: 428.2 PAR

The only grammar book you’ll ever need: a one-stop source for every writing assignment by Susan Thurman, edited by Larry Shea

Call no.: 428.2 THU

English grammar for the utterly confused by Laurie Rozakis

Call no.: 428.2 ROZ

To check availability of titles, please use our online catalogue. 

 Orginally answered by Lynn Koh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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ASK! about Anything & Everything

Online resources

1) Rootweb.com

Rootsweb.com is a thriving, free genealogy community on the web, providing a robust worldwide environment for learning, collaborating and sharing for the expert and novice alike.

 2) Ancestry.com

With more than 5 billion names, and 23,000 searchable databases, Ancestry.com is the #1 online source for family history information, including the web’s largest collection of historical records.

3) Genealogy.com

Few other family history sites are as trusted or as visited as Genealogy.com, which offers a wide range of family and local histories, vital records, military records and much more.

 4) Familysearch

The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

5) NLB’s pathfinder on ‘Tracing your family history’

This is a guide for people who are beginning a search on the history of their family.

*Above sites’ introductions are taken from the respective websites.

Books

1) The people detective: discovering your family roots by Tom McGregor

Call no.: 929.107 MAC

2) Finding your roots online by Nancy Hendrickson

Call no.: q025.069 HEN

3) Genealogy online for dummies by Matthew L. Helm & April Leigh Helm

Call no.: 929.102 HEL

4) Tracing your family history by Anthony Aldoph

Call no.: 929.107 ALD

5) @home with your ancestors.com: how to research family history using the internet by Diane Marelli

Call no.: 929.102 MAR

6) The everything family tree book: finding, charting, and preserving your family history by William G. Hatley

Call no.: 929.1 HAR

To check availability of above titles, use our  online catalogue

Originally answered by Ng Kiak Peng, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

 Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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Kids ASK! about Singapore

[Editor’s note: When I first saw this question, I was stumped. It would be really difficult to put an exact number to the trees as in addition to the planted trees, we do have small nature reserves with dense vegetation. Nonetheless, it is still an interesting question and fellow colleague Stephanie, gave this answer.]

It will be difficult to put an exact figure to the number of trees in Singapore. However, I will attempt to provide some information that will give an idea to the number of trees in Singapore.

From an article in The Straits Times dated 9 April 1990:
“Over the past 10 years, the number of trees planted by the department has doubled - from 327,000 to 660,000. Shrubs doubled from 2.4 million to 4.5 million. And last year, the department planted a total of 41,370 trees, including fruit trees and palms”.

Source:
The Straits Times, 9 April 1990 - accessible from Factiva, an online database consisting of archives of over 9000 news and information sources, including The Straits Times, Business Times, New York Times, etc. Factiva.com can be accessed from all multimedia stations available in our libraries.

From Singapore Infopedia:
“The Tree Planting campaign was launched by the government in 1963 with the objective of making Singapore a green city. Every year a minimum of 10,000 saplings are planted as part of this campaign. The campaign consists of an annual Tree Planting Day”.

Source:
Tree Planting Campaign by Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala - accessible from Singapore Infopedia database, which can be accessed via our multimedia stations available at the libraries.

From Singapore: the encyclopedia:
“Although over 95 percent of Singapore’s original vegetation cover has been cleared due to urbanization, there are still some 200 ha of (mostly secondary) rainforests left, as well as stretches of mangroves. Presently, Singapore has over 2000 species of flora”.

Source:
Book title: Singapore: the encyclopedia [editor-in-chief, Tommy Koh ; general editors, Timothy Auger, Jimmy Yap, Ng Wei Chian].
Call No.: RSING 959.57003 SIN -[HIS]

[Editor’s post humorous note: Well we do not know how many trees are in our rainforests but from the numbers above, just from the tree planting campaign alone, at least 450 000 trees were planted (45 years multiplied by a minimum of 10, 000 trees). That’s quite a lot of trees but some would probably say it is not enough.]

If you want to read more about trees, here are books that you can check out at our library.

Tropical trees and shrubs : a selection for urban planting by Wee Yeow Chin
Call No.: SING 582.16095957 WEE

Trees of our garden city : a guide to the common trees of Singapore
Editors: Tee Swee Ping, Wee Mei Lynn; Contributors, Low Yong Kwee … [et al.].
Call No.: RSING 582.16095957 TRE

The common plants of Singapore by Wee Yeow Chin
Call No.: RSING 581.959 WEE [CD ROM]

All websites are last accessed on 20 June 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Originally Answered by Stephanie Tan
Librarian, Children’s Services

Posted by Felicia Chan
Librarian, Children’s Services

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

The universe is a huge place and it is possible that there are beings out there that we, human beings on earth, have not come into contact with. The word “alien” has different meanings but for now we shall just take “aliens” to mean “extraterrestrial life” which can be anything that is living outside planet Earth like germs and bacteria.

It is easy to imagine aliens as Martians with insect like features, strange eyes and green skin. After all, that is what the movies have led us to believe. However, we cannot forget that such an image of aliens is more a result of our xenophobic tendencies as opposed to what really is out there. Because we fear the unknown, we imagine aliens to be repulsive and in the spectrum of living things that we know in this world, insects probably have what we would consider repulsive characteristics and therefore we imagine aliens as insect looking.

There are scientists who believe that aliens have visited earth and that they are responsible for making strange shapes in crop fields (known as crop circles) where plant stalks are bent in such a way that when viewed from the top, the field will show mysterious shapes or symbols. This mystery has not been solved and some believe that it is either a hoax or a result of natural causes. There are also people saying that they have seen unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and use that as proof that aliens exist. The Roswell incident is one such example. An unidentified aircraft crashed to the ground and people speculated that it came from a flying saucer and that there were even aliens in it.

However, no one has actually seen or caught a living alien to prove once and for all that aliens exist. Most of what people have been saying up till today is really speculative. Scientists are constantly looking for signs that other planets can support life, planets that are Earth-like, meaning that they have water and oxygen and other important traits that will allow the existence of living things. They believe that that is a more fruitful approach to the search for aliens but again, we cannot assume that aliens require the same basic needs such as oxygen and water to survive since they can be totally different from us.

There are also many who believe that aliens do not really exist but given that there is so much of the universe that we do not know and have not discovered, we cannot rule out the possibility that aliens exist somewhere in the great big out-there.

Ultimately, the best thing anyone can do if they are interested to know if aliens exist is to read up more and follow updates where discoveries in outer space are concerned.

Reference:
1. Jakosky, B. (2008, Feb 20). Quest for extraterrestrial life. Retrieved June 19, 2008, from nature.com Web site:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7181/ full/451890a.html
2. Martin, M. (2006).Crop Circles. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press.
3. Sievert, T. (2005). The Unexplained UFOs. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press.

If you want to read more about aliens, here are books that you can check out at our library.

For Children:

Image retrieved from www.amazon.com

Aliens and UFOs by Marc Tyler Nobleman
Publisher: Oxford : Raintree, 2007
Call Number: J English 001.942 NOB

Image retrieved from www.bn.com

What really happened in Roswell? : just the facts (plus the rumors) about UFOs and aliens by Kathleen Krull
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Harpertrophy, c2003
Call Number: J English 001.942 KRU

The alien files by Paul McEvoy
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa.: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005, c2003
Call Number: J English 001.942 MAC

All websites are last accessed on 20 June 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Answered by Felicia Chan,

Librarian, Children’s Services

With the recent outbreak of Hand, Mouth and Foot Disease (HFMD), a concerned library customer posed the above question to us. We decided to ask the experts and wrote to the Ministry of Health’s Communicable Diseases Division (www.moh.gov.sg). Below is the reply:

“There is no need to disinfect the returned books as enteroviruses cannot remain indefinitely in the environment. No special precautions are necessary for staff handling the books, but basic hand hygiene should be continued by all staff.”

For additional information on HMFD, a list of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) is available below at the Health Promotion Board’s website  (http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/default.asp?pg_id=865&aid=272&altid=0)

1. What is Hand, Foot and Mouth disease?

2. How is HFMD transmitted?

3. What is the incubation period of HFMD?

4. When is an infected child contagious?  When will the child stop to be contagious?

5. Is HFMD associated with fatalities?

6. Does HFMD affect only children?

7. What is the treatment for HFMD?

8. What is the HFMD situation in Singapore?

9. What should parents do if their child has HFMD?

10. Are there any precautions that parents can take to prevent transmission of HFMD?

Here are books on children’s diseases available in the libraries:

    1. The complete guide to children’s health/ Norman Saunders and Jeremy Friedman, general editors.  Call no.: 618.92 COM -[HEA]

    2. Baby & child health/ editor, Jane Collins.  Call no.: q613.0432 BAB -[HEA]

To check the availability of titles, please visit our online catalogue (http://vistaweb.nlb.gov.sg/)

Posted by Kweh Soon Huat,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Recreation

Heard of it? I hadn’t, until I picked up a newsletter during while on Molly’s visit to Salvation Army Gracehaven today.

Like sports such as soccer and basketball, Tchoukball is a team game. The goal post, is a trampoline inclined at an angle on the ground. To score a goal, your ball must hit the net. It is played in a 40m by 20m court, slightly larger than a basketball court. The sport actually had its origins far back in the 1970s, and was invented by Swiss biologist Dr Hermann Brandt who wanted to have a sport where players were less prone to serious injuries.

 A list of centres that offer Tchoukball programmes are available on the Singapore Sports Council’s website, of which the Salvation Army’s Youth Development Centre at Kallang Bahru is listed as one of the centre’s with Tchoukball programmes.

There is, quite amazingly to someone who has heard of this the first time, a International Tchoukball Federation (FITB). The organisation was founded in 1971 and has organised several Tchoukball games worldwide.

In Singapore, the Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS) supports and promotes the game at both national and international level through competitions, workshops, and courses.

Tchoukall is also one of the ball games competitions in the 2009 World Games, which will be held in Kaohsiung. 

The article I had come across is a real life story in Salvation Army’s May issue of their monthly newsletter, ‘Partners In Caring’. It is about a teen called Matthew, who learned about life and its responsiblities after playing the game. If you are interested, Salvation Army’s newsletters can be found on their website here.

Lastly, do you know how to pronounce ‘Tchoukball’? It is actually ’chuke-ball’. Or have you already guess?

Information from:

- “What is Tchoukall?”, Straits Times, 11 April 2008, Newsbank, 10 Jun 08, (Available on NLB eResources)
- “Tchoukball takes off - Two years after its introduction, sport has a growing following in schools” Straits Times, 11 April 2008, Newsbank, 10 Jun 08, (Available on NLB eResources)
- Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS), http://www.tchoukball.org.sg/, 10 Jun  08.
- Ball Sports: Tchoukball, World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, http://www.worldgames2009.tw/english/index.asp, 10 Jun 08, URL: http://www.worldgames2009.tw/english/Sports/tchoukball.asp

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.