Good morning and welcome to Kidnews Summer Style.

Through July, we're bringing you a Kidnews Classic Story, followed by a Newdler Challenge.

This one is generously underwritten by the Anderson Family Trust, supporting organizations

that inform and engage future generations.

Every year we say Happy Birthday to the emoji.

More than 40 years ago, computer science professor Scott Falman from Carnegie Mellon University

combined a colon, hyphen, and end parenthesis to create a sideways smile that added a little

levity and some context to whatever he was sending his colleagues.

Guinness has confirmed it as the first digital emoticon and the four runner to today's

3,600 e-faces, symbols, and gestures.

Design a new emoji that expresses the feeling that you're having today.

Write a short explanation underneath it.

Tune in tomorrow for a new story and question taken from our podcast and from our free monthly

worksheet known as the Newdler. Each exercise is designed to take our Kidnews kids

beyond the headlines to get them thinking critically about current events.

And while you're noodle, we're recharging our news batteries and looking forward to getting back

on the air with fun fresh episodes on Monday, July 31st.