Linda Reed, age 8, of Lynn, Mass., for her question:

HOW WAS AUGUST NAMED?

If the early Roman calendar, August was the sixth month of the year and it had 30 days. At that time it was called Sextilis, which means sixth.

Then the Romans renamed the month to honor the emperor Augustus. And it became the eighth month in the calendar.

According to tradition, Augustus lengthened the month to 31 days, or taking one day away from the month of February.

In the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, August marks the height of summer. Although the longest days of the year have passed, August is apt to be one of the hotter months.

In the Southern Hemisphere, August signals that winter will soon be over.