Sailing with dolphins + Charlie's fascination + Mystery Machine marathon
We take a look at the lighter side of the news and what's trending online and on air.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
19-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Kitten's crayon chomping charming
What's a crayon good for other than drawing? Eating, of course. In writer and illustrator Marcus Cutler's latest picture book, The Crayon Stub (Putnam, 40 pages, hardcover, $25), a big cat finds all the crayons in the box gone, save one red stub. It doesn't notice the family kitten has crayon colours all over its whiskers. After a few moments of angst and a burst of hunger, creativity triumphs, and a 'totally spectacular' picture joins other drawings on the fridge. Cutler's subtle drawings add to his simple narrative. Children aged 2-5, many of whom may like to nibble on crayons, will also like this book. Buy on ● ● ● Wild rice was an abundant food source for Indigenous people before industries and governments began to control waterways by building dams. The loss of this nutritious grain contributed to the ruination of many communities. In Our Ancestors' Kitchen (Annick Press, 36 pages, hardcover, $24), Métis storyteller Willie Poll shows a modern-day girl learning about traditional foods in her grandmother's kitchen. Artist Shaikara David transports her back in time through colourful imaginings of her relatives as they gather rice in their canoes, looking 'happy, strong and well fed.' While she and her grandmother cook, the little girl is drawn further into the story of her ancestors and her rich heritage. Poll encourages parents and teachers to use this book as a starting point for all children to explore and celebrate their own cultures. Appropriate for children aged 4-7. Buy on ● ● ● Four characters — a goldfish, two plants and a spider — overcome their rivalries and personal issues to thwart a major robbery in Beth Ferr's Growing Home (Simon & Shuster, 272 pages, hardcover, $24). They put their heads (or rather, their wits) together in this clever adventure novel for children ages 8-11. An omniscient narrator explains the goings-on at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, peppering the text with sophisticated, eloquent words that are precisely decoded. The story has delightful humour, valuable life lessons and, critically, kids will learn one of the most important four-letter words. With their trademark skill, Toronto's Fan brothers capture the unique setting and ironic humour of the dialogue. And, yes, there is a typewriter. Buy on ● ● ● Every child needs a pet to overcome trauma, right? In Marie Etchell's Saving Obaachan (Red Deer, 284 pages, softcover, $15), Charlie's parents have split, he's moved to Victoria and in a new school. He becomes friends with Miyu, a girl of Japanese descent, and they discover they've each been graced by the company of Buster, a chocolate lab who mysteriously turns up where and when he's needed. When Miyu's grandmother suddenly refuses to speak or eat, Buster's magical abilities help Charlie and Miyu uncover the story of New Denver, a concentration camp for Japanese Canadians in the Second World War, shocking the children's perception of Canadian history, democracy and justice. This story about friendship and finding one's way after trauma will pull at the heartstrings of readers aged 9-12. Buy on ● ● ● Teddy Fitzroy is the contemporary version of The Hardy Boys, but this young sleuth tracks down missing animals in Stuart Gibbs' All Ears (Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, hardcover $24). In this, the ninth novel in the Fun Jungle series, Teddy is on the trail of Tansy, a missing elephant that's in great danger. But after his best friend is accused of vandalism to protect a lizard habitat, Teddy must decide where his priorities lie. Along the way, he uses deductive reasoning and instinct to unmask the bad actors and bring them to justice. Gibbs seamlessly works oodles of science and information about animals into the narrative for readers aged 9-12. Buy on Harriet Zaidman is an award-winning children's writer and reviewer. Her novel, What Friends Are For, will be released in the fall.
Calgary Herald
04-06-2025
- Calgary Herald
Mall life: VR experience allows Chinook shoppers to experience the first flickers of life on Earth
During the new, immersive, virtual-reality experience Life Chronicles at Chinook Centre, visitors will eventually come across a nest of hatching Dakotaraptor eggs. Article content It's a nice 'miracle-of-life' type of moment until the mother of the new hatchlings catches on and lunges at us with Jurassic Park levels of intensity, leading to one of many hasty exits via time travel with the help of a know-it-all robot from the future named Darwin. Yes, the spectacle is definitely educational. But, at that point, it's more like being thrown into The Lost World. Article content Article content 'It's like being in a sci-fi movie,' promises Fabien Barati, CEO of the Paris-based company Excurio that created Life Chronicles. Article content It is the latest VR 'immersive expedition' to open at Chinook and will run simultaneously with Horizon of Khufu in the 10,000-foot space that once housed Nordstrom. Khufu, which was also created by Excurio, has attracted 65,000 people since opening in December. It is an ambitious spectacle that takes visitors on a time-travelling trip through Cairo and ancient Europe while telling the story of Egyptian monarch Khufu. Article content But Life Chronicles is arguably even bigger in scope, taking visitors from the first flickers of life on Earth 3.5 billion years ago right up to present-day Tanzania and into a future city in 2223. Article content Article content There are definite sci-fi elements beyond the frequent time travel. The adventure begins when our excitable biologist/guide, Charlie and Darwin accidentally activate a time probe while attending a conference on the evolution of life. This whisks participants back 3.5 billion years and through various stages of evolution. Charlie and Dawrin must locate different probes in the time period to keep the robot's batteries charged so he can help bring us back to 2223. Before the journey, visitors are shown the formation of the Earth in the solar system before travelling to the Cambrian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods as well as the modern African Savanna. Fitted with VR headsets, we follow Charlie and Darwin. At some points, visitors are miniaturized to observe early forms of life, such as marine worms and hitch a ride on the back of a trilobite. We dodge massive flying reptiles, scary-looking marine reptiles and witness a showdown between some lumbering triceratops and tyrannosaurus before encountering giant herbivores such as Edmontosaurus and Alamosaurus and eventually the Hobbit-like Flores humans. Article content Article content Article content As with Khufu, which bases its narrative on real history, Life Chronicles is as educational as it is spectacular. While walking on cliff ledges, precariously climbing massive trees filled with snakes and other creatures and dodging dinosaurs and the spear-wielding but undeniably endearing Flores humans, Charlie excitedly pontificates with dizzying scientific detail about each period. Article content Before coming to Calgary, Life Chronicles was in Paris, London, Montreal, China and Australia. Roughly 160 people were working on it for two years before it was released, helping bring 150 species to life. It is a co-production between Excurio and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in France, which had 30 scientists lend their expertise to the project. Article content 'They helped us recreate all those species: the plants, the animals, through different periods,' says Barati. 'It was not so easy because for all these species we only know them through fossils. No one has seen them in real life. They helped us see how they look, the colours, the textures and how they moved because, once again, nobody saw them move. We are going underwater, going into the sky and in lots of different landscapes. So it's a bit crazy. It's an adventure.'
CTV News
01-06-2025
- CTV News
Pooch's paradise: Pups party at Woofa-Roo Pet Fest
There was plenty to bark about for the dogs who took over the Libro Credit Union Centre for the Woofa-Roo Pet Fest. There was plenty to bark about for the dogs who took over the Libro Credit Union Centre for the Woofa-Roo Pet Fest. There was plenty to bark about for the dogs who took over the Libro Credit Union Centre for the Woofa-Roo Pet Fest. The two-day event kicked off on Saturday with hundreds of pooches and people eager to work their paws in agility training or stroll through a tunnel of vendors. For Amherstburg's Katie McEvoy and three-year-old Yellow Lab Charlie, each spring means another opportunity to compete in dock diving. 060125_woofaroo amherstburg pet festival windsor Katie McEvoy and Yellow Lab Charlie show up to the festival each year to show the latter's skills on the dock. May 31, 2025 (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor) One by one, dogs take a running leap off a platform and into a pool, competing to see who can jump the furthest. 'A lot of people do it for competition, we do it for fun. She loves to swim, I don't care if she does well or not, we just like to do it,' McEvoy said. The Woofa-Roo Pet Fest continues in Amherstburg on Sunday.
