young nation magazine 12 march 2011

Dear friends,How are you all? We have come back with another ex-citing issue. For this week, read interesting stories on bird in the snow and how precious a gift is! For those who love to draw not to forget to read the cover story section.

Best of luck!edi

Hey kids, kindly send us letters, stories, poems and events detail on the following

address: [email protected] Or

Editor Young Nation4- Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore.

Designed by Sohail Abbas

Story time

Cover story WWF

Movie Review

4

10 12

6

Hi edi,

I like your magazine. I am

your regular reader. But I am

not happy because you didn’t

publish my letter. I am very

disappointed because it has

happened many times. Please

do publish this

letter and also do

take the stories

into consideration

that I am send-

ing. Can I send you

hand made draw-

ings by email.

Regards,

Usama Rashid

Hi edi,

How are you? I hope you

are fine by the grace of God.

You and your team are doing

awesome job. I am a regular

reader of your magazine. I will

be obliged if you increase the

number of pages.

Thank you,

Your biggest fan,

Zunaira kashif

Beacon house school system

Dear edi,

Hope you are fine. Your maga-

zine is amazing. I am a regu-

lar reader of your magazine.

It is very informative. Please

publish the posters of Harry

potter and Winx club again.

I would be very thankful to

you.

Keep up the good job!

God bless you and your team!

Your fan,

Fizza Babar

Gujranwala

Young Nation-March 12, 2011 2

Words of wisdom

“Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The

essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark an-

other.” -- Marva Collins

Marva Collins grew up in Atmore, Alabama at a time when segregation was the

rule. Black people were not permitted to use the public library, and her schools

had few books, and no indoor plumbing. Nonetheless, her family instilled in her

an awareness of the family’s historical excellence and helped develop her strong

desire for learning, achievement and independence. Collins has received many

accolades in recognition of her outstanding work with children.


STORYTIME

As I entered the room, I saw what I hated most. It was a horrible, ugly little doll with dark brown skin and hair as red as blood. It was about the size of my thumb, with a creepy smile on its face. It was a fourteenth birthday gift from my grandmother who be-lieved that if you hung it from a thread over your bed, you wouldn’t have nightmares.I had only acted as if I loved it so I wouldn’t hurt my grand-mother’s feelings, but every-one else in the house knew I hated it.My friends had come and had seen the thing hanging above my head. They had hated it so much; they’d told me to either burn or bury it. I told them that my grandmother would be hurt but they told me to say that I had lost it and couldn’t find it anywhere. They had convinced me and that day I was about to do it.I pulled it away from the string it was attached to and took it outside. Before anyone could call me back inside, I picked up one of the gardener’s shov-els, pushed it into the soil and made a deep hole. Then I dropped the thing into it. It grinned at me from the bot-tom of the hole. I quickly cov-ered it back with soil.The next day, when my grand-mother asked me where the doll was, I gave her the story that I had lost it. When she heard that, she looked so hurt that I regretted having gotten rid of it. But then I remem-bered my reasons and said, “I’m sorry, Grandma, but I looked everywhere for it. I re-ally can’t find it.”One day when both of us were alone in the house and I asked her why she was so depressed all the time. For a while she said nothing and I thought she hadn’t heard me. But then she said sadly, “I miss that doll.”I knew she was waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t. She paused and then said, “It’s

the only thing I had left of my grandmother’s, and now it’s gone too. I know it was a bit ugly, but it reminded me of my fourteenth birthday when she gave it to me. She… died three weeks later. But, to me, the doll felt like it was part of her soul. Now… it feels like she’s died all over again.”I was shocked. I knew Grand-ma had been very close to her grandmother, and missed her a lot. And now I had buried her last reminder of her. But what could I do? It had been made of wood. It must have rotted already down there in the ground. “I’m sorry, Grandma,” I said, about to cry, “I wouldn’t have lost it if I knew.”“Did you love it?” she asked softly.“Uh…yeah,” I lied.She looked at me for a long time and then said, “Tell me the truth, dar-ling. Did y o u

love it?”I knew I couldn’t lie anymore. “Grandma,” I said, crying. “It was creepy. I’m sorry, but I didn’t like it. If I’d known it was so special to you, I would have tried to keep it safe.”“Do you think you would have tried to not bury it?” she said. She smiled at me, reached into her pocket and pulled something out. The doll. “I saw you bury it,” she explained.“I’m sorry, Grandma…” I said, weeping.“It’s okay, darling,” she said, putting her arm around me. Now the doll always hangs over my bed. My friends don’t understand why I’ve kept it. But every night I say goodnight to it. And every night the doll stays above

me, keeping me safe from nightmares.

By Arhamah Zahid A Guardian


Cover Story

Sketching is a popular hobby which requires regular practice, so that one can become better at the art. If a professional like an artist, an architect or an anima-tor, wants to get better at sketch-ing, along with a lot of practice, observation and study of the par-ticular subject are also required. Listed below are the sketching tips for beginners and professionals.Sketching Tips for Kids and BeginnersGiven below are some sketching tips for kids and beginners? If you want to polish your skills, you can read sketching tips and tricks, for advanced sketching detailed

later in the article. To get started with basic sketching for begin-ners, the equipment required are, a sketch pad, some 6B pen-cils, eraser and sharpener. * Before starting a sketching session, always draw circles, ovals and horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines on a sheet of pa-

per. This will help you gain con-trol over your hand movements. * Start by doodling stuff, like objects, gestures, nature, etc. The sketch doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get your hand flow-ing on the paper, so that your confidence on your drawing skills rises. * After your hand movements be-come steady, start sketching with easy subjects like nature, still life and cartoons. You can always re-fer to books on these subjects for drawing lessons. * For the above subjects, first practice sketching the form, for example, if you want to draw a house, see that the proportions of the different parts of the house are correct. * After you get the form right, start shading or texturing the drawing. There are various types of texturing styles like smudging, hatching, cross-hatching, etc. You can buy some illustrated books, to learn basic texturing.Advanced Sketching Tips:Many times, professionals or stu-dents of arts and crafts get stuck in the vicious circle of perfecting their own art work. For sketching, three things are very important. First un-derstand the sketching rules that apply to a particular subject. Sec-ond is observation, and the third most important factor is regular practice.Equipment: It is important that you have the right equipment

sketchingArtof


depending on the subject you are drawing. For architects, it is very important to master per-spective drawings. So, things like rulers, technical pens, mechanical pens, etc. should always be kept handy. If you are a fine arts student, it is impor-tant that you master sketching subjects like nature, still life and portraits. For art students, basic equipment and a live sub-ject (to pose as a model) are very necessary. If you are study-ing animation, make sure you have basic sketching equipment and a digital camera to capture moving subjects for gesture draw-ings and expression drawings.Books: There are many advanced books for learning the art of sketching particular subjects. Observation: Constant obser-vation is an important key to improving your sketching skills. Wherever you are, keep observing. The place can be a bus stop, or an airport, but observation will only make

you a better art-ist. If you are facing problems sketching a particular subject, observe that subject more patiently and precisely. It is diffi-cult to observe a moving sub-ject, so you can refer to photo-graphs or sketches of the moving subject. If you want to learn how to sketch people, then pay observe them and pay attention to details. When observing a person at a pub-lic place, observe a person subtly and do not stare at the subject for long as it is considered rude.Practice: Practice, practice and practice some more, to get bet-ter at sketching. Practice is the single most important factor that contributes to good sketching. If you have difficulty at drawing a particular subject or object, practice sketching the subject. Always, keep your sketching equipment handy so that you can sketch at any public place like a bus stop, train station,

airport, etc. Do not feel shy to sketch in public, just ignore eve-rybody and concentrate on draw-ing the subject.Guidance: Guidance is also im-portant when learning advanced sketching. Show your sketches to your teachers or seniors in your profession, twice or thrice in a week. They will guide you in ways that will help you in getting the proportions and the form of the subject right. Keep asking questions if face difficulty in sketching something. If you are an art student, form a group with your classmates for sketch-ing and seek their help if you are struggling with a particular form of drawing.

(Courtesy: Pragya T)


By Zabreen Hasan

Once upon a time, a little fish called Firy lived in a river. She lived there with her mother and father and little brother, and went to school like all the other little fish did.The river where they lived had lovely, fresh, clean water. There were reeds in it, and all sorts of fish loved to swim in and out of them. On clear days the sun shone right through to the bed of the river.One morning Firy was sitting in school with her friends, when a very strange thing happened. First, her friend Eli started coughing. Then Lila

started sneezing. Then the teacher started sneezing.Suddenly something horri-ble floated past Firy. It was a glob of… a glob of… well, she didn’t know what it was a glob of, but it was awful! It was dark in some places and light in others, and smelt yucky.Everyone was having trou-ble breathing, and the lovely clean, clear water they were all sitting in had gone a murky brown. Firy could hardly see her teacher. “I think,” gasped the teacher, “we should all go home!”There was a scramble to get

their books packed, and in the dirty gloom it was hard to do. Then all the students ran for home. The teacher ran too, and got home before anyone else!Firy was very worried about her mother and father, and her little brother Mik. It was diffi-cult to find her way, because all the water was a murky brown now, and Firy couldn’t breathe properly.Suddenly Firy saw her father. “Oh, Firy, my child!” he said. “We were so worried, and I came out to find you. Come on, we have to leave home.


‘Want to learn more? Check out http://www.wwfpak.com or become a fan of WWF - Pakistan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WWFPak’.

We’re going to stay with some friends.”“But what’s happening, Dad-dy?” asked Firy. “I’ve never seen the water like this be-fore!” “Somebody,” said her father, “is pouring effluent into the river.” He looked very, very angry.“What’s eff… effl… er, what’s that?” asked Firy. But her fa-

and they tried to settle in and get on with their lives.But of course they couldn’t, because this wasn’t home. Firy and Mik longed for their own bedrooms, and their own toys, and their own books – oh, how they missed their books! And their friends, and school…One day Firy asked her father

ther had no time to reply. He hurried her home. On the way they saw lots of other fish, and they were all hurrying to and fro, some looking sad, others angry.Firy’s parents quickly did their packing, and then set off for where their friends lived in a tributary of the main river. It was a long way off, and the going was hard because of the darkness, and the horrible smell.The tributary of the river was quite clean, and everybody heaved a sigh of relief when they got there. The friends gave them a warm welcome,

what effluent was again, and this time he told her. “Efflu-ent,” he said, “is the horrible chemical waste that comes out of factories.”“What are factories?” asked Firy. “They’re places where

the humans who live on the surface make things. And then, all the waste that’s left, they just throw it away. A lot of the time they throw it into the water.”Firy and Mik were very un-happy to learn all this. They wondered how their friends were. How many of them had managed to get away? How

many were all right? Firy was specially

worried about her teacher, who had

gotten so sick before she ran from school.

Was she all right?Firy was very sad. She

hoped that one day the sil-ly humans would stop dump-ing their waste into the river, and they’d all be able to go home again…


STORYTIME

It was a dark snowy night. The bright moon illuminated the cobwebs making them shim-mer. It was quiet, in fact, it was eerie. I could bear it no longer. I had to do something. As quick as a flash I had jumped out of bed.Put my slippers, dressing gown, socks and a teddy bear in a bag along with my pyjamas and then I got changed. I put the bag on my back and crept qui-etly downstairs. I picked a bar of Galaxy chocolate, crunchy apple and some dried fruit.At last I began my adventure. I opened the back door and stepped out into the cold night air. By the time I had started walking it was snowing. I tasted the gentle but cold snowflakes landing softly on my lips and nose.The trees were silhouetted spookily across the ground. I walked out of the garden and shut the gate behind me with a small click. It was just a beauti-ful sight. The snow was all over the village. It was fun walking all alone. The snow made won-

derful crunching noise when stepped on it. But just then the snowy trees made a different noise a sort of “swish swish”. The icicles made it very peculiar. I said it loud to myself. “I wonder what is happen-

By Summer Iman Ahmed


ing to me.” As if in reply, all the icicles flew around me and formed wings and it was just then most wonderful feeling soaring through the air at top speed. I was so busy flying that I didn’t notice that the snowy landscape was changing. The buildings were getting whiter, in fact everything was getting whiter. It was a cold wintry wonderland!!!My wings murmured “It is the land of snow.”“Whoa” I said. It was awesome. The houses looked so sweet and they were decorated with tiny pieces of ice carved into jewel like shapes. “So, do peo-ple live in these houses?”“Of course!” muttered my wings. “What kinds of people?” I asked.“Snowmen” whispered the flut-tering wings on my back. At last I landed: with a bit of a bump too. I picked myself up and began walking steadily to-wards one of the houses and

tired. But tonight was different. I went to bedbut I couldn’t get comfortable. There was a noise that brought fear to myheart; A drumming noise that came from the ceiling...I woke Frost and we both grabbed our bags and tiptoed out of the house.Frost grabbed hold of my waist. I started to fly. It was seem-ingly impossible to fly with Frost holding onto my waist. It was bitterly cold and I was extremely tired. I could barely see. Frost’s weight was holding me down. I had to go on. But just then, a miracle happened; Frost sprouted wings too! “Frost, fly!” I shouted. We both flew through the misty sky. I be-gan to wish that I could land. We flew, and flew. Frost and I held each other’s hands. Frost said to me “Here take this, it’s a gift from me” I opened the lit-tle box and inside was the most beautiful little glass snowflake model ever!“Thank you so much Frost, and carefully I put it in my bag.Suddenly I heard a powerful applause of thunder echoing around me and a knife of light-ning seemed to slice the sky in half. My wings disappeared andI started falling. Falling at a tre-mendous rate....THUD!!!I woke up in my bed “It was a dream” I told myself firmly. But then I realised something. In my hand, I still had the glass snowflake. It must have been real.....

picked up the carved ice door-knocker and gently knocked on the cold, hard door. Slowly the door opened and a snowy per-son came out. “Hello” said the snow person dreamily.“Hi!” I said.“What’s your name?” said the snow person. “My name is Sum-mer” I said.“What is your name” I asked the snow person.“My name is Frost” she replied.“Do you want to come and play outside?” I asked.“Oh yes please” replied Frost eagerly.So out we went!!! “Here is the Ice Lolly tree”.“The Ice Lolly tree?”“Yes” said Frost “it gives you any flavoured ice lollies you want. When wehad finished our ice lollies we had a snow ball fight! “Catch me if you can”Frost chanted. After that Frost and I went to her house. Inside it wasadorable and I enjoyed every minute of it. That night I slept on Frost’sbed. Then we went outside to build snow castle. It was such fun!Soon it got dark and I grew

Young Nation-March 5,2011 13


Shoaib Rashid

Yousaf Raza

Krona Emanuel

Sehrish Suleiman

Subha Farda

Artist’s Corner


NOTE: Kindly email your draw-ings at [email protected]

Iqra Rasheed

Syed M Raza

Hajra Rasheed

Harris Abbassi

Artist’s Corner

Hina Shabir

Daniyal Ali

young nation magazine 12 march 2011

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