Stump the Librarian

Episode 90 the Littlest Bear in the World

Join Liz and Jill as we answer the questions “Why do we use soap to wash our hands?” and “What is the smallest bear in the world?” We have a fact about bread bubbles and a sweet chapter book about animal friends. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

Regarding soap.... 

https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/data-research/facts-stats/index.html 

"soap and detergent." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Dec. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/soap-and-detergent/277108. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026. 

https://www.livescience.com/57044-science-of-soap.html 

https://globalhandwashing.org/about-handwashing/history-of-handwashing/ 

"germ." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Dec. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/germ/442739. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026. 

Regarding bears... 

Sun Bear by Julie Murray: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1209298 

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/worlds-smallest-bears 

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/sun-bear-fact-sheet/ 

https://planetwild.com/blog/sun-bear 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/sun-bear 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_bear 

https://zooatlanta.org/animal/malayan-sun-bear/ 

 

Episode 89 Owl Moon

In today’s episode we answer the questions, “How do owls fly so quietly? What do owls eat and what happens to the parts they cannot digest? Can I have a pet owl?” and “Why can we see the moon in the daytime?” We hear some D&D trivia from Librarian Tabby and Jill recommends a chapter book about kids protecting owls. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!   

Jill’s book recommendation: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen  

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C206833 

Concerning owls: 

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/owl  

"owl." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Dec. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/owl/332197#main-ada. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.  

https://blandfordnaturecenter.org/ambassadors-2/?#owls  

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Strigiformes/  

https://www.thesprucepets.com/do-owls-make-good-pets-390707  

https://www.internationalowlcenter.org/owlsaspets.html  

https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/owls-1  

 

Concerning the moon: 

The Moon Tonight by Jung Chang-hoo: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C936619  

https://earthsky.org/moon-phases/do-we-all-see-the-same-moon-phase/  

https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/why-can-you-see-the-moon-during-the-day-we-asked-a-nasa-scientist-episode-19/  

https://science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/  

https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question43.html  

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en/  

Moon doesn’t go around the Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4z0Z7vC6gE  

Solar time lapse: https://youtu.be/o-DHwNFDgOU  

 

 

Episode 88 Orange Cat, Orange Fruit, and the Color Orange

"orange." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Jan. 2017. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/orange/57261#main-ada. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026. 

https://www.livescience.com/45057-oranges-nutrition-facts.html 

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/health-benefits-oranges 

https://www.uslanguageservices.com/blog/the-history-behind-english-color-names/ 

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/color-etymology 

Episode 87 Turtle-Flour!

In today’s episode we answer the questions, “What is flour made of?” and “What do turtles do in winter?” We hear a library fact of the day from KDL’s Data Coordinator Sheri and Liz recommends a delicious graphic novel about two friends on an adventure. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

  

Liz’s book recommendation: Night Chef by Mika Song 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1229987 

 

Concerning flour: 

https://www.funkidslive.com/learn/homeschool/baking/mission-3-how-do-we-make-flour/  

"flour and flour milling." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 May. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/flour-and-flour-milling/274353. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.  

"bread." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 Jan. 2022. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/bread/273343. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.  

"wheat." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Dec. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/wheat/277720. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.  

https://fabflour.co.uk/fab-flour/how-is-flour-made/  

 

Concerning turtles:  

The Book of Turtles by Sy Montgomery & Matt Patterson  

"turtle." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 4 Dec. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/turtle/277471. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.  

https://blog.nature.org/2017/01/30/turtles-under-ice-winter-survival-hibernation-adaptation/#:~:text=Painted%20turtles%20spend%20most%20of,the%20mud%20beneath%20the%20water.  

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/39771-Chrysemys-picta  

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/education/michigan-species/reptiles/turtles  

https://wildlifeinwinter.com/painted-turtle/  

https://www.sarett.org/painted-turtles  

https://virginiazoo.org/where-did-the-turtles-go-for-the-winter  

Turtles breathing underwater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcqcfFd2htg 

 

Episode 86 Slurp, Click, and Growl

Join Liz and Jill as we answer the questions “What year was the first phone invented?” and “What noise does a seahorse make?” We have a fact about buying books for the library and a road trip novel that you are sure to love! To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

 

Regarding telephones... 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/telephone/110260 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_telephone#:~:text=1667:%20Robert%20Hooke%20invents%20a,(non%2Delectrical)%20telephone. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/theres-a-1200-year-old-phone-in-the-smithsonian-collections-180947641/ 

"Alexander Graham Bell." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 May. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Alexander-Graham-Bell/15220. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026. 

Regarding Seahorses... 

Seahorses by Melissa Gish: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C921475 

Sea horse. (2024). Salem Press Primary Encyclopedia.  

https://www.livescience.com/46718-seahorses-growl.html 

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/sea-life/seahorse-facts/ 

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/seahorses-make-racket 

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/seahorse-fact-sheet 

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/seahorses-growl-when-theyre-stressed/ 

https://projectseahorse.org/ 

https://www.theseahorsetrust.org/seahorse-facts/ 

Pygmy seahorse camouflage: https://youtu.be/Q3CtGoqz3ww?si=uspCBEInzoqShwKr 

 

 

Episode 85 Stink, Stank, SKUNK!

In this episode we answer the questions “How do skunks produce that stinky substance?” and “Which came first, Yeti or Bigfoot?” and “Is Bigfoot real?” We also share a turtle fact of the day from Librarian Laura and Liz recommends a heartwarming chapter book about a very important bear. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Laura’s fact of the day: The Book of Turtles by Sy Montgomery 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C922118  

Liz’s book recommendation: Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1192274  

 

Concerning skunks: 

"skunk." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Jun. 2022. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/skunk/68133. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.   

https://www.discovermagazine.com/10-facts-about-the-striped-polecat-and-no-its-not-a-skunk-46050  

https://www.ourherald.com/articles/a-story-to-hang-onto-the-ultimate-skunk-remedy  

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/chemistry-skunk.html  

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-what-makes-skunk-spray-smell-so-terrible-180955553/  

Science of skunk spray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-4xNQuqZ1k  

 

Concerning Bigfoot & the Yeti: 

https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/online-exhibit/curators-choice/tracking-legend-bigfoot#:~:text=A%20Native%20American%20tradition%20in,the%20Sasquatch%20or%20Bigfoot%20legend  

https://www.history.com/articles/bigfoot-legend-newspaper  

 https://mil.wa.gov/the-legend-of-bigfoot  

https://www.livescience.com/24598-bigfoot.html  

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-so-many-people-still-believe-in-bigfoot-180970045/  

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220720-the-true-origin-of-sasquatch  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson%E2%80%93Gimlin_film#  

  

 

Episode 84 Orange You Glad It’s Orangutan?

Join Liz and Jill as we answer the questions “Are Maine Coons the largest cat?” and “Do orangutans eat oranges?” We have a fact about animal jobs and an adventure novel that you are sure to love! To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

Regarding Maine Coons... 

 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Why-Are-Maine-Coon-Cats-So-Big/648427 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Longhair-Cat-Breeds/649275#421786.toc 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Maine-coon-cat/472805 

https://a-z-animals.com/animals/maine-coon/#single-animal-text 

https://www.petmd.com/cat/general-health/big-cat-breeds 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/cat/106124 

https://web.archive.org/web/20150714021608/http://www.tica.org/index.php 

Regarding Orangutans... 

"Orangutan." World Book Kids, 2025, 

   www.worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar831672. Accessed 17 Dec. 2025. 

https://orangutan.org/ 

https://www.orangutan.org.uk/blog/orangutan-stories-the-art-of-nest-building 

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/orangutan/ 

Nest-building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAz26FGACZc 

Orangutans by Nicki Clausen-Grace: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C911137 

Orangutans by Mara Grunbaum: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C588337 

 

 

Episode 83 Pop Goes the Bamboo

In this episode we answer the questions “Can you hear bamboo grow?” and “How do you find out a tree’s age?” We also share a fact of the day from Data Coordinator Sheri and Liz recommends a chapter book about an octopus rescue with a lot of heart. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!    

Liz’s book recommendation: Three Blue Hearts by Lynne Kelly 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1235498 

Concerning bamboo: 

https://www.guaduabamboo.com/blog/where-does-bamboo-grow  

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giant-panda  

https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/bamboo  

https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/bamboo/273085  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome  

Bamboo forest sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vky3vEL6Dc  

  

Concerning dendrochronology: 

https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/historyculture/the-prometheus-story.htm  

  

https://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-you-measure-age-tree  

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/dendrochronology/29924  

"tree." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Nov. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/tree/277422#main-ada. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.  

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://redbuttegarden.org/media/documents/calculate-tree-age-activity.pdf  

https://youtu.be/MwNJC-IRgPE?si=bifxTMjO-J8U8kLG  

https://www.environmentalscience.org/dendrochronology-tree-rings-tell-us  

https://ltrr.arizona.edu/about/treerings  

https://www.arborday.org/  

 

Episode 82 That's a Beautiful Volcano

Join Liz and Jill as we answer the questions “Can kangaroos hop backwards?” and “How hot is lava?” We have a fact about satellites and a dragon graphic novel that you are sure to love! To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

Regarding kangaroos... 

https://www.billabongsanctuary.com.au/red-kangaroo/ 

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/kangaroos 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo 

"kangaroo." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/kangaroo/275222. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025. 

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/big-red-roos-the-roo-files/2415/ 

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/tree-kangaroo/ 

Kangaroos by Nicki Clausen-Grace: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C911135 

Kangaroos: Amazing Jumpers by Lisa M. Harrington: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C721420 

Regarding lava... 

 

"lava." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Oct. 2023. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/lava/47378. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025. 

https://www.whoi.edu/ocean-learning-hub/ocean-topics/how-the-ocean-works/seafloor-below/volcanoes/lava-flows/ 

https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/lava-flows-destroy-everything-their-path 

“Eruption! The Story of Volcanoes.” Ganeri, Anita. DK Readers, 2015. 

https://youtu.be/0jKoOUZ1GBM?si=aA1k4D9pub_B97xo 

Episode 81 Presidental Pretzels

In this episode we answer the questions “Did George Washington eat pretzels?” and “How are hurricanes named & who names them?” We also share a fact of the day from Manager Karen and Jill recommends a captivating chapter book about a school for crime fighters. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!       

 

Karen’s Fact of the Day: Dung for Dinner by Christine Virnig 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C755338 

Jill’s book recommendation: The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1197812 

Concerning George Washington's pretzels: 

https://www.thespruceeats.com/german-pretzel-history-4796280 

"pretzel." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 26 Jul. 2021. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/pretzel/61315#main-ada. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025. 

"George Washington." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2025. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/George-Washington/108779. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025. 

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/dining-at-mount-vernon 

https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/religious-history-pretzels 

https://www.history.com/articles/the-pretzel-a-twisted-history 

https://youtu.be/3whRvgEK8ZI?si=u5_q9qdDDXJ7ixig 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel 

 

Concerning hurricanes: 

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/hurricane 

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone 

https://wmo.int/resources/wmo-fact-sheets/tropical-cyclone-naming 

"Hurricane." World Book Kids, 2025, 

   www.worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar830933. Accessed 05 Nov. 2025. 

 

Rafferty, John P.. "How Do Hurricanes Get Their Names?". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Aug. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/story/how-are-hurricanes-named. Accessed 5 November 2025. 

 

All About Hurricanes by Cody Crane: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C847225