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the-elephant-bird-FKB-kids-stories.txt

The Elephant Bird Munia knew that the giant, one-feathered elephant bird had not swallowed the horse. Yes, he was big enough to swallow a horse, but that didn't mean he had! The village of Adhania had only one horse-cart pulled by the two horses Vayu and Drut. And Vayu had gone missing near the lake in the jungle where the bird lived. The villagers had known about the elephant bird for generations. He was the last of his race, which was considered extinct for hundreds of years. The world did not know that the living relic of that race, who had lost all his feathers but one, still roamed the jungles of Adhania. The bird and the villagers kept a safe distance from each other. But not Munia. Although she walked with a limp, she was brave of heart. She often slipped into the jungle to watch the elephant bird. The elephant bird came near the lake in the daytime to bask in the sun or play in the lake alone splashing water. Sometimes he sat half-submerged in water. At other times there was no trace of him. Perhaps he just rested in some corner of the dense jungle. He stood as tall as a tree. He had a long strong neck, huge legs with claws and a heavy spear-like head. His long talons and nails looked scary. But Munia soon realised he was a shy herbivorous bird. He just munched on leaves by the lakeside. Munia felt she had something in common with him. The elephant bird could not fly and Munia could not run! Other village children mocked her limp and did not include her in their games. That was why she liked staying alone. Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers of water from the village well, and collected wood so that Amma could light the stove. And then she would be out for a long time. Amma believed she went out to play with the kids. Little did she know that Munia went into the jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived. One day, gathering courage, Munia stepped in the open near the lake. Without turning his head the elephant bird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closed them, uninterested by her advance. Getting no more attention than the flies buzzing over his head, Munia stomped her feet. Suddenly the elephant bird lifted one of his claws. Munia cried and fell headlong into the shallow waters of the lake. She came out drenched to see him shaking all over. He was laughing! "That’s funny, huh?" she asked angrily and turned to leave. Before Munia had walked away from the clearing, something hit her feet. It was a fruit that the elephant bird had thrown at her. The elephant bird wanted to play! Hesitantly, Munia threw it at him. He trotted sideways and caught the fruit in his beak. Thus, Munia’s friendship with the elephant bird had begun. And just when she had finally found a friend, Vayu had gone missing! And everyone’s suspicion had turned towards the elephant bird. After searching for Vayu high and low, the villagers gathered under the old banyan tree.Everyone agreed that there could be no thief in Adhania. They all trusted one another. The milkman swore that he had seen Vayu gallop away towards the lake. "There is no sign of Vayu anywhere. It must be something in the jungle that got him," a villager addressed the headman. "Who else can it be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird? He must be destroyed!" said the milkman. "For years he has been lying silent, hatching his evil plans!" The crowd agreed. Munia watched the proceedings quietly. She wanted to speak, but was scared of being punished for speaking up. Even if she spoke, who would believe her? "Yes, all these years of aimless living has made the giant dangerous," said Munia’s father. "Today it is a horse, tomorrow it may be our children…" The headman spoke over the villagers’ angry shouts, "Brothers, even though we are facing a giant, we have the strength of numbers. So let us go out and finish him!" A cheer of approval went up. "The elephant bird did not eat the horse," Munia said softly but firmly, limping forward. "I was with him when Vayu went missing!" A heavy silence fell on the gathering. "What does this mean?" roared the headman. "That the elephant bird is my friend, and he has not done this!" "This girl has lost her mind!" shouted someone from the back. The other children laughed. "He only eats leaves! How can he eat Vayu?" Munia shouted, not moving from her place. "You can’t even plait your hair and you are giving us advice?" Munia’s father fumed and came towards her. "Go play with your friends!" "This elephant bird is the only friend I have," said Munia. Her father glared at her. But she didn’t cry and stood there facing the villagers. "Forget about the girl, we will get the elephant bird in the morning," said the headman and the gathering dispersed. Munia had only one night to prove the elephant bird’s innocence. "Think, Munia, think!" she whispered to herself. "The milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the road that goes to the lake. But the road takes a turn before it reaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara. What if Vayu had gone that way?" Munia’s parents were angry with her and sent her to bed without speaking a word. Once they were asleep, she got out of bed, took the hanging lamp and stepped out of the house. She crossed Adhania, and came to the jungle path leading to Chandesara, the neighbouring village. Whoooo... rang the call of an owl in the jungle air. A jackal howled from a distance. The shadows of trees moved like long dark fingers. She hesitated for a moment but then thought of the elephant bird sleeping peacefully in the jungle. If she didn't do something to solve the mystery, the elephant bird may not be alive to see the next night. She took a deep breath and limped alone on the jungle path in the dead of the night. The next morning the villagers gathered near the lake with sticks, sharp stones and long kitchen knives. The elephant bird was resting when the crowd approached him. The sun shone on his featherless back. He got up slowly and stared at the crowd. Looking at his size, the villagers stopped at some distance. After a moment’s hesitation the headman cried, "Be ready!" The mob roared, firming the grip on the weapons, ready to run down the giant one-feathered elephant bird. "Stop!" Munia’s thin voice cut through the din. She limped between the mob and the giant. "Munia! Come back at once!" her father ordered. "Grab her!" cried someone else. Munia’s father and another villager rushed towards her. The elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and they stopped. "Okay… if this is how you want it, we’ll tackle both of you together!" yelled a man, holding a spear. "What’s going on?" someone shouted from behind the crowd. A slightly hunched man with a long beard came in holding a horse’s reins. The headman asked with a surprised look, "Saarthi, what are you doing here? And why is Vayu with you?" "Oh, as you know, I had sold Vayu to you some years back. Yesterday I was passing by your village early in the morning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru – Vayu’s brothers. I don’t know how Vayu got loose and followed us back to Chandesara! I couldn’t recognize him and didn’t know what to do with him until this morning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hut, asking about a lost horse. But what is going on?" he asked again. The villagers did not answer Saarthi. They hung their heads in shame. Munia’s father went to her, lifted her in his arms and took her back to the village. Since that day, no child laughed at Munia’s limp. They all wanted to be friends with her. And they all wanted to be friends with the elephant bird. Munia’s tale reached many villages and the villagers in faraway hamlets whispered to each other, "Munia knew that the giant one-feathered elephant bird had not swallowed the horse!" This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird (scientific name: Aepyornis maximus), the biggest bird that walked our planet. It inhabited the island of Madagascar. With more and more settlements on the island, and more forests ruined, the species became extinct around 1700 CE.

038-THERE-IS-A-MOUSE-IN-THE-HOUSE-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

There’s a mouse in the house and I saw him today. He ran across the floor as I started to play. There’s a mouse in the house; now, how can that be?. He stood on the table right by the TV. There’s a mouse in the house and I named him Ned. Since I gave him a name, he sleeps in my bed. "Hey mom," Gretchen shouted from her room. "I just wrote a great poem." "Really?" her mom replied. "How nice. I always knew you would follow in your father’s footsteps. He was a published author before the accident and I know you miss him as much, if not more, than I. Let me read it and I’ll give you my honest opinion." Gretchen’s mom read the poem, smiled, and in an extremely sincere voice said "Gretchen, it is a very cute poem. The rhyme is nice, it tells a funny story, and it makes the reader want more. It is very good." "You’re just saying that," Gretchen said. "No!" Her mom replied. "It is very good. In fact, why don’t you write some more?" "Okay," Gretchen said. "After dinner I’ll add some more." There’s a mouse in the house and I saw him today. He ran across the floor as I started to play. There’s a mouse in the house; now, how can that be?. He stood on the table, right by the TV. There’s a mouse in the house and I named him Ned. Since I gave him a name he sleeps in my bed. Now I feed him all day and he eats like a pig. He especially likes cheese and even dances a jig. He gets into the flower and into the rice. He even opens the cabinet and gets into the spice. What’s that, that I see? There’s not one but two! Ned’s on the counter and there’s another in my shoe. Gretchen took the poem to her mom and asked her to review it again. "Excellent!" she exclaimed. "You are very creative. In fact keep going and maybe Mr Smythe, your father’s publisher, will give you some pointers. It couldn’t hurt to submit it to him." The next day after school Gretchen finished her chores and went back to writing. There’s a mouse in the house and I saw him today. He ran across the floor as I started to play. There’s a mouse in the house; now, how can that be?. He stood on the table, right by the TV. There’s a mouse in the house and I named him Ned. Since I gave him a name he sleeps in my bed. Now I feed him all day and he eats like a pig. He especially likes cheese and even dances a jig. He gets into the flower and into the rice. He even opens the cabinet and gets into the spice. What’s that, that I see?There’s not one but two! Ned’s on the counter and there’s another in my shoe. There’s Ned and his friend but my, look at that. A little one, a bigger one, and one that is fat. It’s a family of mice that are living with me. A family of mice, oh how can that be? There’s five, now six, now seven and eight. Someone help me to shut the mouse gate. Gretchen again took the poem to her Mom and asked for her opinion. Her mom read it and smiled. "It really is good," she said. "Why don’t you do one more stanza?" "Sure," Gretchen said. "It’s really fun and a famous poet has to start somewhere." Gretchen went back to her room and read the poem several times and after a while she began to write the final stanza. There’s a mouse in the house and I saw him today. He ran across the floor as I started to play. There’s a mouse in the house; now, how can that be?. He stood on the table, right by the TV. There’s a mouse in the house and I named him Ned. Since I gave him a name he sleeps in my bed. Now I feed him all day and he eats like a pig. He especially likes cheese and even dances a jig. He gets into the flower and into the rice. He even opens the cabinet and gets into the spice. What’s that, that I see? There’s not one but two! Ned’s on the counter and there’s another in my shoe. There’s Ned and his friend but my, look at that. A little one, a bigger one, and one that is fat. It’s a family of mice that are living with me. A family of mice, oh how can that be? There’s five, now six, now seven and eight. Someone please help me to shut the mouse gate. The more that I look, the more mice that I see. They’re all over the house, oh how can that be? We have mice in our chairs and mice in our towels. We have mice everywhere and guess who they follow? That Ned all he does is look at me and smile. He brought his whole family to live with us awhile. Several days later, Gretchen and her mom met with Mr. Smythe. He was extremely pleased with her writing and told them that he couldn’t promise anything, but that he would talk to some people. Several days later Mr. Smythe visited Gretchen. He explained to her that very seldom does a new poet or author get her first work published. He watched Gretchen and the way she reacted to the news. She looked at him and thanked him for all he had done. She was sad but she understood. If she wanted to be a poet she would have to do a lot of writing and eventually, she would be published. "Mr. Smythe," Gretchen said. "I hope you understand that this is just the beginning and that you can expect me to be submitting many more poems in the future. If you will excuse me I am going to my room to do some more writing. Oh! By the way, my inspiration, Ned, is on your shoe. Come on Ned, we have work to do."

Princess-Azzurra-and-the-Gluttonous-Dragon-R-.txt

ONCE upon a time there WAS A little PRINCESS whose name was Azzurra and she used to live in tower. she ALWAYS PLAYED ALONE AND she always got EVERYTHING she wanted. UNFORTUNATELY OUT OF Her CASTLE THERE WAS A frightening and TERRIBLE ANGRY DRAGON! danger! very angry scary roaR O A RRR dragon! RR R bat wings smoke coming from his nostrils Then Azzurra read a book about dragons and she discovered what they Loved to eat ... ...dragons like candies! what a mess! where are all candies? come on! FInd them all! However Azurra did not the cat convinced her want to give anyone to share the bag of her candies! She wanted sweets with the dragon to keep them all! go princess! Take aim at the dragon and throw the candy! which of these three paths is the right one? The dragon was Azzurra was no very delighted of the more disappointed sweets. OF the gifts she made. princess Azzurra and the Dragon became friends ...and she did not play by herself anymore. help dragon in finding all the candies in the castle enter BEWARE for the guards! someone has mixed up the two halves of these pictures, can you recognize the right pieces?

Ghandi-marching-to-freedom-storybook-FKB.txt

Marching to Freedom Dhani knew something exciting was being planned at the ashram, but no one would tell him anything. "Just because I’m nine years old," thought Dhani glumly. "I’m sure they think I’m stupid. I am not!" Dhani and his parents lived in a very special place. It was Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad where people from all over India came to stay. Like Gandhiji, they were all fighting for India’s freedom. During their stay at the ashram, they spent their time spinning khadi thread on charkhas, singing bhajans and listening to Gandhiji’s lectures. At Sabarmati, everyone had to work – cook and clean, wash clothes, fetch water from the well, milk the cows and goats, and grow vegetables. Even Dhani had a job – he had to take care of Binni, one of the ashram’s goats. He quite enjoyed that because Binni was his best friend and he liked talking to her. That morning, as Dhani fed Binni with fresh grass and changed the water in her bowl, he said, "Something’s up, Binni! They all sit and talk in Gandhiji’s room. They are planning something. I know it!" Binni chewed and nodded as if she understood. Dhani felt hungry. He headed towards the kitchen, with Binni skipping along beside him. His mother was fanning the chulha, filling up the room with smoke. "Amma, is Gandhiji going somewhere?" he asked. His mother coughed in the smoke and said, "They are going on a march." "March? Where are they going?" Dhani queried. "Somewhere near the sea. Now stop asking questions and go away Dhani!" his mother said impatiently. "Let me finish the cooking first." Dhani wandered off to the vegetable garden where old Binda was digging up potatoes. "Binda chacha," Dhani sat beside him, "are you going on the march too?" Binda shook his head. Before he could say anything, Dhani eagerly asked, "Who is marching? Where are they going? What is happening?" Binda stopped digging and said, "I’ll answer all your questions, but first tie up that troublesome goat. She’s chewing up my spinach." Dhani dragged Binni away and tied her to the lemon tree nearby. Then Binda told him about the march. Gandhiji and some of the men from the ashram were going to walk through Gujarat to reach the sea at a place called Dandi. They would walk through villages and towns for a whole month. Once they reached Dandi, they would make salt. "Salt?" Dhani sat up and frowned. "Why will they make salt? You can buy it in every shop!" "I know," Binda laughed. "But Mahatmaji has a plan. You know he always marches to protest against something, right?" "Of course I know. He leads the Satyagraha marches to fight the British government and win freedom for India. But why is he protesting about salt? It’s silly!" "It’s not silly at all, Dhani! Do you know we all have to pay a tax on salt?" "So what?" "Everyone needs salt... that means, every Indian, even the poorest, has to pay this tax," explained Binda chacha. "That is really unfair!" Dhani’s eyes were hot with anger. "Of course it’s unfair. Not only that, Indians are not allowed to make any salt either. Mahatmaji has asked the British to stop the tax, but they have refused. So he has decided to walk to Dandi and make salt from seawater." "Walking for a month!" Dhani brooded worriedly. "Gandhiji will get really tired. Why don’t they take a bus or train to Dandi instead?" "Because, if he goes on this long march and walks all the way to Dandi, the news will spread. There will be pictures in the papers and reports on the radio, and people all over the world will know that we are fighting for our freedom. And that will really embarrass the British." "Gandhiji is clever, isn’t he?" Dhani’s eyes were shining. "Ah, that he is!" Binda’s eyes crinkled with laughter. "He’s even written to the Viceroy and told him what he plans to do! The British have no idea what they are in for!" Later in the morning, Dhani wandered up to the hut where Gandhiji was staying and peered in through a window. Inside, many of the ashram people were talking to Gandhiji. Dhani heard them planning the route along which they would walk to Dandi. He was thrilled to see his father sitting among the people. In the afternoon, when the ashram was quiet, Dhani went looking for his father. He found him under a tree, spinning on his charkha. "Pitaji, are you and Amma going on the march to Dandi?" Dhani got straight to the point. "I am going. You and Amma will stay here." "I am coming with you." "Don’t be silly, Dhani. You can’t walk so much. Only the ashram’s young men will go." "I’m nine and I can run faster than you can!" Dhani replied stubbornly. "You can’t stop me from coming with you." His father stopped spinning and explained patiently, "Only the people who have been chosen by Mahatmaji will go." "Fine! I’ll talk to him then! I’m sure he’ll say yes," said Dhani and marched off. Gandhiji was a very busy man and it was not easy to catch him alone. But Dhani knew exactly when he would have the time to listen – early every morning when he went for a walk around the ashram. The next morning, as the sun came up, Dhani slipped out of bed and went looking for Gandhiji. He found him in the cowshed checking on all the cows. Then he strolled into the vegetable garden to inspect the peas and cabbage and have a chat with Binda. All the while, Dhani and Binni followed him. Finally, Gandhiji headed back to his hut. He sat down beside his charkha in the verandah and called out to Dhani, "Come here, child!" Dhani ran up, with Binni skipping along. "What’s your name beta?" "Dhani, Gandhiji." "And this is your goat?" "Yes, Gandhiji! This is my friend Binni, who gives the milk you drink every morning." Dhani smiled proudly and said, "I take care of her." "Good!" Gandhiji leaned forward. "Now Dhani, tell me why you and Binni have been following me everywhere this morning?" "I wanted to ask you something," Dhani began nervously. "Can I come with you to Dandi?" Gandhiji smiled, "You are too small, beta. Dandi is 385 kilometres away and only young men like your father will be able to walk with me." "But you are not young!" Dhani said. "Won’t you feel tired?" "I am a very good walker," Gandhiji replied. "I am a good walker too." Dhani was adamant. "Ah yes," Gandhiji looked thoughtful. "But there is a problem. If you go with me, who will take care of Binni? After walking for so long, I will become weak. When I come back, I’ll need to drink lots of milk to become strong again." "Hmm, you’re right, Gandhiji. Binni eats only when I feed her." Dhani lovingly stroked Binni’s head, "And only I know what she likes to eat." "Exactly! So will you stay in the ashram and take care of Binni for me?" "Yes, Gandhiji, I will," said Dhani. "And Binni and I will be waiting for you." Fun facts of History 1. In March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led the march to Dandi to protest against the tax on salt imposed by the British. Gandhi and his followers walked through Gujarat for 24 days. All along the way, they were welcomed with flowers and songs. Newspapers across the world carried reports about the march. 2. At Dandi, Gandhi and his followers collected salt from the seashore and were arrested. The arrest sparked off the Non-cooperation Movement, and people all over India boycotted schools, colleges and offices. 3. There were 78 volunteers who accompanied Gandhi on the march. They covered a distance of 385 kilometres. 4. The march began on 12 March and ended on 5 April 1930. The youngest marcher was 16 years old. 5. The year 2005 marks the 75th anniversary of the Dandi March.

the-cottonwool-doctor_english.txt

Once upon a time, about 200 years ago, there was a girl called Margaret Ann Bulkly. Margaret lived in a cool, green land called Ireland, in a country called Great Britain. Margaret was clever and curious. Margaret had big dreams. Margaret was brave and fought when she thought something was wrong. Margaret’s mother and father paid for her brother to be educated as a lawyer. And then they used the last of their money so that he could marry a wealthy man’s daughter. Margaret was clever and had big dreams. But there was no money left for her to study, not even as a governess or a nurse. Margaret was brave. "I want to be a doctor!" she said. But two hundred years ago a girl could not become a lawyer or a politician or a doctor. Margaret had an uncle who was a famous painter. His name was James Barry. One of James Barry’s friends was General Miranda from Venezuela. General Miranda had a library – it was very beautiful and very big. His library had more than 6000 books! "I want to read this one! And this one! And this one!" said Margaret. Margaret was clever and curious. General Miranda was impressed. When Margaret’s uncle James Barry died, he left her some money. "It’s enough money to study to be a doctor!" said General Miranda. "But I can’t become a doctor," said Margaret. "A boy can become a doctor," said General Miranda. "And you can dress like a boy." Margaret was brave and she fought for what she believed in. She really wanted to be a doctor. So she cut off her hair. She practiced speaking in a deep voice. She put on boy’s clothes. From then onwards, no one knew that Margaret was a girl. She became James Barry, just like her uncle. James Barry was a hard-working medical student. He took 13 subjects and worked all through the summer when the other students went on holiday. But after five years, he nearly didn’t get to write his final exam. The examiners thought he looked too young! James Barry didn’t have a beard because he wasn’t a man. Dr James Barry was brave and curious. Dr James Barry had big dreams. So he joined the army. In the army you would see the world! In 1816, the army sent Dr James Barry to Cape Town. Cape Town was a small, interesting city in South Africa. South Africa was far, far away from Ireland. Dr James Barry felt excited. Dr James Barry was short and slim. He wore platform shoes to look taller and padding under his clothes to look bigger. The people of Cape Town called Dr James Barry the kapok dokter, the cottonwool doctor. "I would very much like to cut off your ears!" Dr James Barry would shout at anyone who challenged him. Dr James Barry even once fought a duel with pistols! Luckily, they both missed hitting each other. Why did the doctor fight so much? Margaret was brave, but she was also frightened. She knew that if anyone found out that she was Dr James Barry she would no longer be allowed to be a doctor. Everyone had to believe Dr James Barry was a man. Dr James Barry fought when he thought something was wrong. In Cape Town, people with leprosy were banished to Robben Island. The lepers were put on the island because people believed they could catch the disease from them very easily. Dirty houses and bad food made the lepers much sicker. Dr James Barry asked the leaders in Cape Town for cleaner living conditions and healthier food for the sick people on Robben Island. Many years later Dr James Barry worked in a war hospital. Here he met Florence Nightingale, a nurse. Florence Nightingale was also known as The Lady with the Lamp, because she would check on wounded soldiers at night. She became famous during the war because she asked the army leaders for cleaner living conditions and healthier food for the soldiers. Dr James Barry had been asking for the same things for many years. Dr James Barry travelled all over the world. He worked in South Africa, St Helena, Barbados, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Malta, Corfu, Jamaica, Crimea, West Indies, Canada… 11 places in all. What exciting adventures he had! People only found out that Dr James Barry was a woman when she died in 1865. In the same year, Dr Elizabeth Garret Andersen became the first woman to become a doctor in Great Britain. Dr James Barry has shown us that girls are clever. Girls are brave. Girls have dreams. Girls can fight for what they believe in. And girls can become doctors!

035-BUZZ-THE-BUZZARD-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

"Welcome stranger. I’m Buzz the Buzzard. You must be here for some advice. But I have to tell you- the old water hole has dried up, there’s no fast food restaurants, and the closest hotel is 100 miles due South. Now, how can I be of assistance? Ah, I understand. You’re just waiting for the Red Rock Tour Bus. Then you saw me, and decided to have a closer look. Well, while you are here, let me give you some advice. It’s free! There is nothing more important than your family. That’s it. Oh, I guess I could add that friends could be considered your family. Your family doesn’t just have to be your mom and dad, or step-parents, or brother, or sisters or cousins, aunts and uncles. Well, you get the idea. Your family is all the people who love you and all those you love. What’s that, little one? How do I know? Well, it is a long and sad story but I will make it short since I see your bus coming down the road. Not long ago, the sky around these parts was full of Buzzards. Yep, my family. One day I decided that living out here just wasn’t enough. I wanted to go to the big city. Now my family begged me to stay. They told me how much they loved me, how much they needed me, they reminded me of all the good times. But I didn’t listen. Off to the big city I went. But it wasn’t long before I knew that I had made a mistake. No one loved me in the big city. I had no family and I was all alone. But I was lucky because I could just flap my wings and head back home. Back home to my family. And that’s just what I did. I don’t know what happened but when I got home there was no one to greet me. No family, no friends, just empty space. Oh, I see your bus is here so go on, get along, but remember - there is nothing more important than your family." The bus pulled up, came to a stop, the doors opened, and Buzz‘s family stepped out carrying souvenirs from the big city. "We all went looking for you and are we glad you’re home," Betty Buzzard said with a smile.

Sharks.txt

Sharks Sharks are a kind of fish that live in every ocean around the world. Teeth of a giant shark that lived millions of years ago. Scientists think that sharks lived million years before the dinosaurs. That is a long time ago! There are many different types of sharks. See if you can tell which shark is a hammerhead shark, which is a tiger shark and which is a great white shark. Sharks come in all different sizes. The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world. It can grow to be feet long. Other sharks can be small, like this little leopard shark. The smallest sharks are only seven inches long. Some sharks are born live but others hatch from an egg case, like the one in this picture. Can you see its head, tail and fins? Baby sharks are called pups. A mother shark doesn’t take care of her babies after they are born, they have to take care of themselves. Sharks are deadly predators, which means that they hunt and eat other animals like fish, seals and even other sharks. Great white sharks eat five hundred pounds of meat every day! Sharks catch their prey with their sharp teeth. When sharks lose teeth, new ones grow. They have at least four layers of pointy teeth. Sharks have a good sense of smell and can follow the smell of blood from up to a mile away. Sharks can see about as well as people. They hear sounds underwater from miles away. The only animals that hunt sharks are other sharks and people. People catch sharks for food like the shark steaks in this picture. The best place to see a shark is at an aquarium. You might even be able to pet one!

The-Misadventures-of-Little-Toast.txt

This is Baby. Baby is a girl. Baby does not know her name! Baby learns to crawl. Baby sees popcorn. She wants some. Can she get it? She tries. The bowl falls down. There is popcorn everywhere. Oh well. The damage is done. So she eats some. Yumm! That is so tasty. Papa walks in. He says "If mama sees this, you're toast!" Baby is puzzled. "Is my name toast?" she wonders. Baby is curious about the trash can. She crawls to it and investigates. The trash can topples. There is trash everywhere. What fun! Baby tastes some. Papa walks in. He says "If mama sees this, you're toast!" Papa called me toast again. That must be my name. Hello, I am Toast. Nice to meet you.

Christmas-Time-The-Perfect-Festive-Rhyme-.txt

Christmas Time The little boy played outside, When the sound of a jingle bell travelled to his side, He smiled and shouted, "Sister can you hear? Christmas is near, a time for presents, Santa and reindeer." His dad who stood in the door now moved closer to lend an ear. Christmas is about so much more…" He heard his daughter as she skated by. "Like what, came her brothers reply?" "Like going to look at all the toys in the store," "Yes," said the boy excitedly, "and in other countries it’s about eggnog and snow." "Yes and Ho, Ho, Ho, And for us it’s summer so lots of fun in the sun." "Especially since we have no school, Christmas break is so cool." "Children, but what about the tree?" "Please dad, the tree is just the place where the presents wait for me." "It’s about so much more children; come inside and then you will see." The children sighed at the tree standing in the front room green and bare. "Come now children let’s get to work don’t just stand there. I will straighten the branches while you look for the lights in that box." They found the lights tangled beneath the red chimney socks. "Ah dad, this looks bad!" "Why don’t I tell you a Christmas story and maybe a rhyme? Then you will have it detangled in no time." Later their mom joined them with cookies and tea, "Oh my but you have been busy," She said as she looked at the tree. "This reminds me of a Christmas song about a jingle or a bell, or was it holly or jolly?" "Maybe we should put on the cd mommy?" "That’s a brilliant idea!" Said their dad as he brought the tree’s décor near. He handed them red ribbons, golden bells and balls in green and blue. And that just to name a few. Then came the Christmas song. At the sound their mom started to dance around and around. It made the kids giggle, but they joined in and sang along. Their dad passed them the trimmings to be hung, And together the family filled the branches and sung. Before they knew it the tree was almost done. "Wow dad this was so much fun." "Yes son and that’s the key." The family took a step back to look at tree. "Dad where is the star?" They asked as the top of the tree was still bare. "Right here," said their mom, as she took it out of its package with care. She reached and placed the star at the top of the tree. "The star has five points as you can see, Each point has something it stands for, To remind us that Christmas is a time for so much more, It’s a time of peace, and love, a time to care, A time to give and a time to share, This star is a reminder for us to shine bright not just now, but throughout the year, And to cherish the ones that are dear." The children now stood and looked at the decorated tree. "Dad you know, I don’t think Christmas is about gifts or even this tree," The little boy said, yes I agree said his sister, "It’s about spending time with loved ones like friends and family." The End

The-Best-Christmas-Gift.txt

Winter came and snow covered the valley home of the small fox, Bubu. All the animals hid in their houses. Bubu didn't like the winter much, but there was one day for which he was anxiously awaiting . . . Tomorrow was Christmas and Bubu was so excited that he could not fall asleep. What gift would Santa Claus have for him? A new ball? Or skates? Or maybe a bicycle? Or maybe—suddenly something flashed in the sky. What was it? A falling star? A plane? Or may be a giant bird? Whatever it was it dropped beyond the Dark Forest. Bubu jumped from the bed and put on his scarf. Brrr . . . it was really cold outside. Earlier in the day, Bubu and his father had cleared the snow from around the house, but the valley was still deeply covered in it. The road ahead would be difficult and frightful . . . He finally crossed the Dark Forest and started sniffing and looking around. Although he sniffled a bit, his nose could still smell everything—and there was a smell of something unknown. And finally he found it! It was a big red sack. Very strange, thought Bubu. How is it possible for a sack to fall from the sky? Sacks cannot fly . . . Then he opened it and everything became clear. . . This was Santa Claus’s sack! Here is the gift for the hedgehog, for the ducklings, for the squirrel—for everyone. Evidently the sack had fallen from the sled when Santa Claus flew above the valley. "This is great!" said Bubu. He picked up as many presents as he could and hurried up back to the valley. He first stopped at mole's house and looked through the window. It looked so nice and inviting inside: the fire was burning in the fireplace and the Christmas tree glittered. Bubu wanted to go home, but there was no way—these gifts must make it to their intended recipients—and so, he placed the gift for mole near the door and left quickly. Then went to the house of the two rabbits and left their gifts. There was a laugh and scuffle inside the house. Bubu enjoyed playing with the rabbits so very much, but this night he had an important task to do. Then he stopped by the squirrel's tree. It was already late, and a quiet snore was heard from inside. Bubu felt sleepy, so he pinched his tail, and then jumped up and hung the gift in front of the hollow. Bubu delivered gifts the whole night. It was becoming harder and harder to move forward, for a strong wind began to howl and push against him, and soon a heavy snowstorm started. It was hard to go on in this snow storm. He couldn't see anything and only his sensitive nose helped him to keep to the track. But then the snow storm become a blizzard, and Bubu, scared, frozen and weakened, hid in the sack. He wanted so much to be at home with mommy and daddy. Bubu rolled into a ball, wrapped himself with his tail and fell asleep. The wind continued to blow even stronger. The snow was covering Bubu's footprints and Santa Claus’ sack . . . Bubu stretched his legs and woke up. He was covered with a thick blanket and was toasty warm. He looked around surprised—he was at home, near the fireplace in the living room. "Am I dreaming?" wondered Bubu out loud. "No, it is not a dream." he heard a familiar voice. "Mommy! Daddy!" exclaimed Bubu, filled with joy. "You scared us so much, Bubu," said his mommy. "All the animals were looking for you, but there were no footprints. We were lucky that your father's big nose finally sensed your smell and, together with the moles, we dug up the sack. The important thing is that you are safe and everyone got their Christmas gifts." "Not everybody," said his father. "When we found you, there was one gift left in the sack: your gift. Come on, open it. Let us see what Santa brought you." Bubu smiled and said, "I already got the best Christmas gift. This night I found out that the only thing I want for Christmas is to be home with you and Mommy. This is better than a sack full of gifts." THE END

RoytheRatandhisSixThinkingHats.txt

Roy is a rat. Not an ordinary rat but a clever one! He has 6 different thinking hats to help him solve all his problems. You see life is dangerous where he lives because there is Blackie the cat… Hi! I’m R oy th I stan e Rat d on a , I chan m at an ge my d Just l hat ike th at! One day while he was wandering in the kitchen, he saw a box on the kitchen table. It was a beautiful big red box. Roy’s eyes sparkled with excitement! ‘I want that box’ he thought and then he said: I’m Roy the Rat I stand , on a ma I chang t and e my ha Just lik t e that! Roy put 0n his WHITE HAT and started thinking. ‘What do I know about the box? Well not much… So I need to collect information about it. I could ask Tina the canary or Fenia the fly. Blackie could know something about it because he is always around here but I’d better not go near him’. Unfortunately neither Tina nor Fenia knew anything about the box. Tina was busy singing in her cage and Fenia was busy flying in the garden when the box appeared in the kitchen. Roy wasn’t discouraged and said: I’m Roy the R at, I stand on a m at and I change my hat Just like that ! So he put on his RED HAT. ‘I don’t care what’s in that box but I want it!’ he said to himself ‘ I love its colour and everything that is inside it. I am not afraid. I will climb the table and I will open it. The box is mine!’ he shouted out loud. At that moment, Blackie the cat appeared just round the corner. Roy didn’t lose his temper and said: I’m Ro y the R I stand at, on a m I chan at and ge my Just li h at ke tha t! Roy put on his BLACK HAT. ‘Well maybe I shouldn’t try to open that box. It’s risky’ he thought. ‘Blackie is coming and I don’t want troubles with him. He might see me climbing the table. Maybe there is something dangerous inside the box, like a super high-tech mouse trap or a poisonous snake!’ So while Roy was having second thoughts he said: I’m R oy th I stan e Rat d on a , I cha mat a nge m nd Just y hat like t hat! …and he put on his YELLOW HAT. ‘Come on Roy, think positive!’ he said to himself. ‘Such a lovely box can’t hide anything dangerous inside it. There is most probably a fresh cream cake with strawberries or a great selection of Swiss chocolates or… even better cheddar cheese! Feeling overly optimistic and full of positive energy he said: I’m Roy the Rat, I stand on a mat and I change my hat Just like that! ….and he put on his BLUE HAT. ‘Now let’s get organized’ he said to himself and started thinking about the best ways to reach the big red box. Deep in his thoughts he felt he needed some help, so he said: I’m R I sta oy the nd o Rat, nam I cha at an nge m d Just y ha like t that ! At that moment, he put on his favourite GREEN HAT! Roy was happy and cheerful again because he was able to think ‘out of the box’ and lots of creative ideas flashed into his mind. He started writing down everything. It was a long list and within a few minutes he had made a plan on how to reach the red box. He waited for a while until Blackie was out of sight. Then he ran as fast as he could and sneaked under the kitchen carpet. He crawled and crawled until he reached the leg of the table. He opened a hole to the carpet with his sharp teeth and he climbed up the table. His plan was perfect! He was over the moon when he opened the box! To his amazement the contents of the box had nothing to do with his initial thoughts… Neither fresh cream cake with strawberries nor chocolates. Neither a high-tech mouse trap nor a poisonous snake. It was simply… a hat! ‘Oh! Roy said disappointed. I don’t need an extra hat. I already have six of them, which help me think’ and with a simple move he climbed down the table. On the way back Roy said: I’m R oy th I stan e Rat d on , I cha a mat a nge m nd Just y hat like t hat! … and he put on his YELLOW HAT again. ‘Well there was nothing interesting for me in that box but at least I had a great time trying to open it! It was such fun! Oh! This yellow hat is brilliant! It always helps me look on the bright side of life!’ he said with a big smile.

Whose-Button-Is-It-FKB_CC-BY-SA.txt

Whose button is this? Tinny Tim was sitting on the road when a button bounced his way. "I wonder where this comes from," he said. He wanted to find out. It was busy on the side of the road. "Woah!" He nearly got squashed. He made a lucky escape. "It’s scary out here," he said. "Hey there, is this yours?" The green man said nothing. He just turned red. "What a rude person." Tinny Tim carried on looking. "Whose button is this?" "Woah..! ...at least he’s friendly." "I’ve got to get to the other side. I’m sure that’s where this comes from." SPLASH! "That was close." He waited for the cars to pass before he carried on. Maybe this was who he was looking for. "Hello, who are you?" "I’m Ruby Rags." "I think this is yours," he said. "Thank you, little robot. Can we be friends?"

Singing-in-the-Rain.txt

Singing in the Rain Sukhiya Kaka lived in a village called Bitauna. Bitauna was famous all over Rajasthan for its singers. No celebration was complete without Sukhiya Kaka's sweet songs. Today he had been invited to village Jhalaura. Sukhiya Kaka twirled his big moustache and set off. He was singing raag Malhar. ...Come to me o rolling clouds... Suddenly, he heard, dhupp dhupp dhupp dhupp! Was someone giving a beat to his song? Dinoo, the dinosuar came running towards him. Sukhiya Kaka was so happy to see him! You don't get such a BIG listener every day! ... Come to me o rolling clouds, shower me with lovely rain! Sukhiya Kaka and Dinoo sang a duet and did a little jig to keep time. The clouds just had to listen to them! Lightning flashed and the wind danced. Dark clouds came rolling in. Sukhiya Kaka and Dinoo laughed with joy. As the rain came pouring down, Sukhiya Kaka and Dinoo shared a small umbrella. Then off they went to Jhalaura following the smell of yummy pakoras, singing ...O thank you for the lovely rain...O..la la la. Dear Reader, Have you ever seen a dinosaur? Do you think they would have sung songs? What do you like to do in the rain? What do you like to eat when it rains?

Amazing-Daisy.txt

Amazing Daisy Once upon a time on a little farm near a little village. There lived a little chicken called Daisy. "When I grow up, I want to fly high, high into the sky," Daisy said. But all the other chickens laughed at her. "You are so weird," they said. "We won't play with you anymore." "Daisy, we can all flap our wings but it's very difficult for chickens to fly," Mama told her. Daisy wouldn't give up. Every day she practised by herself, flapping her wings. Flap, flap, flap, she would flap her wings but she couldn't lift off the ground. While she practised, she imagined herself flying high into the sky and looking at the chickens below. She imagined herself flying past the sparrows and past the swallows. "Wow!" The birds would say. "A chicken that can fly!" So Flap, flap, flap, every day Daisy would flap her wings. She would lift off the ground but fall down again. "I'm never going to fly!" Daisy cried to Mama. "The others are right." "Daisy, you are different from the other chickens. They don't want to fly but you do! You can do it, " Mama said. The following day Daisy climbed to the top of the chicken coop and flap, flap, flap, she flapped her wings. She flew into the air and flapped her wings and flapped her wings and flapped her wings and... BAM! The other chickens laughed out loud. "Ha ha ha! We told you! Chickens can't fly!" But the next day Daisy climbed even higher, right up to the top of the hut. Flap, flap, flap, Daisy flapped her wings. She flew into the air and flapped her wings and flapped her wings and flapped her wings and... She kept flying! The wind beneath her wings grew stronger and she flew higher and higher! The sparrows and the swallows said, "Amazing! A flying chicken!" And the other chickens wanted to be just like her. They said, "Oh Daisy, you're amazing!"

Gecko-on-the-Wall.txt

GECKO on the WALL There's a gecko on my wall, I don't mind him there at all; Lying quietly watching me, he is quite good company. There's a gecko on the rock, she seems to be wearing a frock; And I think she is asking me, if I want to come to tea. There's a gecko in the pool, he really does look cool; Sipping a long cool lemonade, wearing sunglasses in the shade. There's a gecko on the roof, he is acting quite aloof; Whispering calmly to me: "I simply must get down, since I have to go to town, I need to be there by three." Of all the geckos that I see: The gecko on a rock in a frock; The gecko looking cool in the pool; The gecko who's aloof on the roof; I like best of all, the gecko on my wall, lying quietly, watching me. THE END

Clouds.txt

Clouds Look up at the sky. In many places you will see clouds. There are many different types of clouds. They are all different shapes and sizes. Have you ever wondered how clouds are formed? Clouds are made of evaporated water. Evaporation is when water changes from liquid to gas. Some clouds are fluffy, while others are wispy. Some are big and others are small. Some even resemble familiar shapes. Water evaporates from different sources all around you, like lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Can you guess the main source of water for clouds? The main source is the ocean. This is because the ocean makes up such a large part of the world. Seventy-one percent of our earth is covered by ocean. The kind of cloud that forms depends on the environment. Different clouds form at different heights. They change depending on the temperature, too. Water evaporates and becomes gas. This gas rises and mixes with particles in the air. It rises and rises until it cools and collects in one part of the sky. This forms a cloud. There are three major types of clouds: cirrus clouds, stratus clouds, and cumulus clouds. Each type of cloud looks different. Some are found high in the sky; others are close to the ground. This is a cirrus cloud. Cirrus clouds are the highest clouds in the sky. The higher elevation and winds cause them to be wispier. This is a cumulus cloud. Cumulus clouds are the puffiest clouds. The bottom is often flat and they can have tall peaks at the top. These are stratus clouds. Stratus clouds are low in the sky. They are flat and near the ground. Fog is a stratus cloud. One type of cumulus cloud is the cumulonimbus cloud. You may also know these as rain clouds. Rain, snow, hail, and sleet are all different forms water can take as it falls from the clouds. The word for water falling from the sky is precipitation. Snow is made when it is cold enough for the water in clouds to freeze. Freezing high in the air makes water turn into tiny crystal shapes. If they don’t melt while they fall, it snows. Precipitation occurs when too much water collects in the cloud. The cloud can no longer hold all the water and it falls to the ground. Temperatures often control the type of precipitation that forms. Hail also forms in cold temperatures. Hail looks like ice rocks. Water in clouds becomes hail because of strong winds. The wind blows the frozen water back up into the sky. It joins other ice crystals and gets bigger. This happens until it gets too heavy to be blown back up and falls to the ground. Sleet occurs when a layer of the air is warm. The water begins by falling from the cloud and freezing. It passes through a warm layer and melts. Then it freezes again as it falls. Water droplets within the cloud move and bump into each other. As they move, electricity builds up. The cloud has a negative charge. The ground has a positive charge. Negative and positive charges attract. These two charges connect and create the flash of electricity that you see. During some storms you see flashes of lightning. Lightning is an electrical current that is made during thunderstorms. Thunder occurs because of lightning. Lightning creates heat in the cloud which expands the air around it. This makes a loud boom, which is thunder. Clouds are very important. They help maintain the Earth’s climate. They reflect and absorb the sun’s rays. They regulate the amount of sunlight that hits the surface of the earth. All the water you see used to be part of a cloud and will be part of a cloud again one day. Every time you drink, you can thank a cloud! Clouds also help move water from one place to another. If there weren’t any clouds, wind, and rain, water would all drain into the ocean and stay there forever. Clouds are how water travels to the top of a mountain or the start of a river. This is called the water cycle. Clouds Clouds Review Questions! ? Art Project! Draw three types of clouds and one type 1. What are clouds made of? of precipitation. In your drawing, write the 2. What makes hail grow so big? names of each cloud and the precipitation 3. How do clouds help us? as a label. Show someone your drawing and explain why each cloud is the way it is. 4. What do you call a cloud that is near the ground? 5. What do you call a cloud that is very Clouds high? Hands on! 6. Where does the water in clouds come Is it going to rain soon? Take a jar or cup from? and leave it outside in the rain (make sure it doesn’t fall over!) When the rain is over, take a ruler and measure how many centimeters filled the cup. Now you’re a weather scientist and can measure rain!

CS-Arabella-Rose-for-Free.txt

Arabella Rose dances on her toes And all she ever wears are dancing clothes. She dances on her bed when she gets up in the morning, Donning her clothes, which are never boring. She dances in the kitchen where she goes to eat. She dances in the living room, waking her cat from its sleep. She dances in the garden. She dances at school. She even dances underwater in the swimming pool. She dances all day until late at night. Others thought it was an extraordinary sight. Anyone could see that Arabella Rose Is a dancer from the bottom of her feet to the tip of her nose. "But why? Why do you dance wherever you go?" A growing crowd wants to know. Then she turns and speaks to the baffled collection, Who are keeping her under their close-eyed inspection. "Dancing keeps me on my toes. That’s all I have to say about that," says Arabella Rose. But then she thinks it would be more fun If she were not the only one. "Why not join me?" she asks. "What kind of dancing would you choose, If you had on dancing shoes?" Hmmm, they think, What a most tantalizing thought. So she offers a number of suggestions, Hoping that they will make some interesting selections. "There is toe dancing, sometimes called ballet… And slow dancing in which the dancers sway. There is square dancing, which requires a group to participate… And chair dancing in which your arms must hesitate. In this dance you never leave your seat. You’re only allowed to move your feet. Germans like their polkas and schottische And there are jigs for the Irish and Scottish. There is dancing like Zorba the Greek… And to do the limbo, the Jamaicans must not be weak. The proper English prefer tea dancing… And some at rock concerts swear by free dancing. There are dances for the bride and groom And waltzes that fill a ballroom. There are rumbas and sambas and tangos And even flamboyant fandangos. The South Americans never stop with just a few. They are always coming up with something new. You might like the cha-cha-cha Or their delightful cucaracha-cha. How about a lovely quadrille Or a simpler dance in the form of a reel? In France the ladies do the can-can. But don’t try it unless you think you can can. There are some silly dances like belly dances, Grizzly bear dances, and tarantella dances. And there are even dances for loafers called clogging… And dances for loggers on logs called logging. There is, of course, fox trotting, bunny hopping, Jitterbugging, and hip hopping. Then again you might prefer a line dance. Every cowboy considers it a fine dance. Tap dancing and the Charleston were popular long ago… So was the colorful Caribbean calypso. You might not be up to the Polish mazurka dance And would wish to join in a gentler May pole dance. Keep in mind that there are many dances with dips And many others requiring flips And still other dances that wiggle hips." As Arabella Rose rattles on Her suggestions begin to catch on. The crowd begins to pick up their feet. They discover that dancing is indeed a treat. She calls out, "It doesn’t matter, choose any style. Each will lead you to a smile." As they boogie-woogie to their hearts’ delight They find that even cowgirls love dancing in the moonlight. Then they all yell, "Thank you, Arabella Rose, For unlocking our dancing toes." "Now which dance would you choose, If you had on dancing shoes?"

Out-and-About-R-.txt

I love going out and seeing new places. "Thanks for taking me along, Dad. This is great fun!" "Oh look!" says Dad, "There is my friend, Greg." After Dad and Greg shook hands, then it was my turn. But I’m very shy, and don’t feel like shaking hands or saying "Hello." "If you don’t want to shake hands, can I shake your foot?" Greg asked me. That’s funny. Of course, I don’t want someone to shake my foot. "Or, can I pinch your nose?" asked Greg. Think, Think, Think. What should I do? Hmm, I’d better shake his hand before he asks to squeeze my cheeks, I thought. "Hi Greg, it’s nice to meet you!" I said, as I shook his hand. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. On the way home, Dad said, "Thanks for greeting my friend. I’m sure he was happy about that." I felt happier as well. It’s important for me to treat others with kindness even when I feel shy. The next day: Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! "Hello Mrs. White! It’s nice to meet you".

Lost-and-Found-.txt

Lost and Found Not here, not there. Where have you gone? Not on the sofa. Not under the cot. Not in the box. Not under my sister's frock. Not under the pillow. Not in my bag. Sob, sob, where have you gone? I have looked in every room, l have looked under every book. I have looked under the chair, I have looked under the stool. Where have you gone? Soon granny came back from her walk. "Look what I found in the park." "It can sway, it can bounce. It can spin, it can dangle. Ha-ha, hee-hee," said Granny with a giggle. Oh Granny! Thank you so much! You have found my dear yo-yo! "Yo-yo? What a funny name! What a funny toy! I want to play with it, It gives me so much joy!" Giggle, giggle, giggling away, Granny played, with my little toy. For the rest of the day!

londi-the-dreaming-girl_pdf-ebook_readonline.txt

Londi was a dreaming girl. Up in the sky, she didn’t see clouds. Instead Londi saw flying geese, jumping fish, and fluffy sheep running home. One afternoon, Gogo came outside, looking tired. "Londi, stop dreaming!" she said. "It’s time to go and fetch the water." Londi stood up and smiled at her feet. "Let’s go, feet! You know the way there!" Londi started walking to the tap. She crept past Mama Neli’s house. She hopped over the rocks. She dashed down the path. "We’ll have to wait. Let’s stay in line. No dreaming away!" The line at the tap was long. "Oh no!" Londi said to her feet. Ooh! Londi thought. But what’s that shining over there? I wonder who lost their shoe? Did it belong to Or something else… a girl like me? And what’s that under there? Cheep! Cheep! And what’s that big shadow? Uh oh, it’s Gogo! "Londi, your bucket nearly rolled away!" "Sorry, Gogo. I dreamed too far, again." "Come let’s go, my dreaming girl," said Gogo. They filled up the bucket together. Londi watched the big sun sink into the hills. "Look, Gogo! There’s a pink pig in the sky!" "Oh Londi… It’s just a cloud," Gogo sighed. Londi took Gogo’s hand and they walked home together happily.

Behind-the-Lie-English-Worksheet.txt

Behind the Lie – English Worksheet Word count 1297 words; Approximate Grade Level: Read out loud time: approximately 8 minutes. As soon as their father left for work, Ramesh swept up the broken glass while Valli made tea. Though she was only eight years old, she had already learnt how to make the strong, sweet tea that their mother liked. In between sips, Amma held the warm glass to her throbbing forehead. And to her swollen cheek. I fell. I tripped. The glass shattered when I dropped it. "Buying bread for the third day in a row?" asked Murugan, the owner of the neighbourhood store. There weren’t many customers at his store that morning so he chatted with Valli as he entered her purchases into his account book. "If your Amma is still not well enough to cook, don’t you think you should take her to the doctor?" "It’s not that kind of illness, Murugan anna," Valli sighed. "What kind of illness is it, then?" Murugan persisted. "Just that her arm is hurting very badly. Because she tripped on the road and fell straight on her shoulder," Valli repeated her mother’s lie. But her eyes told another story. And though she avoided Murugan’s eyes, he felt very uneasy. Something was not right. He discussed it with his wife, Sarasa, later that evening and was shocked to hear the truth about Valli’s mother, Meenakshi. "It’s not tripping or falling. It’s her monster of a husband. Looks like he wouldn’t hurt a fly! But that’s just a mask. Poor Meenakshi — she puts up with all his blows and beatings to protect the children." Murugan was very upset. "I didn’t know this. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? We should have done something." After all, both families had lived on the same street for years. It wasn’t right that Meenakshi and her children should suffer like this. "You mean you’ve never noticed?" Sarasa was surprised, "Meenakshi’s bruises? The cut lip some weeks ago? It breaks my heart," she sighed. "But what can we do? Interfering might only make things worse." Murugan wondered how he could help without making things worse for Meenakshi and her children. He thought about it deeply before coming up with a plan. The help Murugan arranged arrived at Valli’s door some days later. It came wearing a wide smile a khaki police uniform. "I’m Sub Inspector Jaya," the young policewoman introduced herself. "My uncle, Murugan maama, asked me to visit you. I got off duty early today, so I stopped here on my way home." Luckily for Valli and her family, Appa was travelling on work. When their father was at home, the three of them lived under a cloud of fear, always scared about doing something that could set off his violent temper. "Don’t make Appa angry," Meenakshi would beg her children every day. "No singing, Ramesh. Please! Don’t bounce that ball, Valli." SI Jaya listened patiently when the children told her all of this. Then she and Amma spoke in low voices for a long time while the children did their homework. When it was time to leave, Jaya insisted that they note down her mobile number. "You can call me any time. Day or night. And if I can’t come myself, I’ll have the beat policeman at your door in minutes," she promised. "But I don’t have a phone," Amma pointed out, "My husband refuses to let me have one." Jaya made Amma write down her number anyway. "This terrible situation is not your fault," were her parting words to them as she got onto her bike. "This violence is not okay. And the three of you should never suffer in silence thinking it is normal. Meenakshi, you must think about what we’ve discussed and do some of the things I’ve suggested." After she left, Valli asked Amma what Jaya meant. "The SI wants me to write to someone in our family telling them how things are. She says we should not keep hiding our problem. That we should share our problem with people who care for us. She also said I could file a complaint at our Police Station if I wanted. But I don’t know what to do. Ramesh nodded gloomily. He was moody, and suspicious of everyone these days. More so ever since he too had become the target of Appa’s anger whenever he rushed to help Amma. "The SI wouldn’t have given us her personal number anyway. Try calling that number," he challenged his mother and sister bitterly. "I bet you a full bar of chocolate that you’ll just get a recorded message. Or no one will answer." "Let’s write to someone first then. Why not write to Paati?" Valli knew Appa was a little scared of his mother. It took a few days, but Amma did finally write to Paati. Then, they all waited eagerly for a reply. A visit from Paati would be nice. She was strict with them but what fun they had when she visited, bringing tins of home-made snacks with her. She would braid Valli’s hair in a new way each day and play cricket with them in the tiny lane. Amma would join them sometimes. Paati and Ramesh would sing together at home, and though Appa would look very irritated, he would control his temper while Paati was there. But when two weeks passed with no answer from Paati, all three grew downcast. What could they do next, they wondered sadly. Appa had been travelling and when he returned, he had some news for them. "My mother called me a few days ago," he said gruffly. "She’s arriving here tomorrow. She wants to stay a few months. Months! I can’t understand why. Here…" he flung some money on the kitchen counter. "Pay the bill at the store and don’t forget to buy my mother’s special brand of coffee when you buy provisions for the month." As soon as he left, slamming the door angrily behind him, the children jumped with excitement. "Give us a little of that money to buy sweets, Amma!" Ramesh pleaded. Amma agreed. More rare than the money she gave each of them was the half-smile on her face. On their way to school, Valli made Ramesh stop at Murugan’s store. After SI Jaya’s visit to their home, Murugan made it a point to talk to the children whenever he could. He was busy when they entered the store, so Valli prodded Ramesh to the place where the sweets were displayed. "You had better buy me that full bar of chocolate before you spend your money on anything else," she demanded, "because I am surely going to win the bet." It took Ramesh a minute to remember the bet he had made the day SI Jaya had visited. He laughed and told his sister to hurry up. When Valli had chosen what she wanted, she went up to Murugan and asked whether she could make a call from his phone. She dialed Jaya’s number. "Yes, Murugan maama," answered a familiar voice at the other end. Valli wiggled her thumb at Ramesh. So much for him thinking that the policewoman wouldn’t answer their call. "Jaya akka, it’s me. Valli." "Is everything alright, Valli? Do you need help?" Jaya sounded concerned. "We’re fine, akka. I just called to tell you that my Paati is coming to stay with us for a few months because Amma wrote telling her about Appa. And… how bad things were." The call over and Murugan’s many questions answered, the children started unwrapping their chocolate as they left the store. Valli’s heart felt lighter. Not just because of the chocolate they were sharing. Not even because of the whole extra bar she had won from her brother. But because, for the first time in months, she could hear Ramesh singing softly to himself as they walked to school. ELA - English Language - Reading Comprehension Questions Reading Comprehension about Behind the Lie - A story about domestic violence True/False Questions 1) Are the family's injuries from accidents like tripping or falling? 2) Does the family in the story lie about the cause of their injuries? 3) Does Murugan know about the family's problems at the beginning of the story? 4) Does the policewoman ask Meenakshi to contact a family member about her problem? 5) Does Paati help when she comes to stay? Fill in the Word and Short Answer Questions Provide a synonym and an antonym for the following words: 6) uneasy 7) angry 8) suspicious 9) insist Complete the sentences: 10) Ramesh began to copy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' _ lies. 11) Valli won the _ _ _ with her _ _ _ _ _ _ _. 12) SI Jaya _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ they _ _ _ _ _ down her _ _ _ _ _ _ number . 13) Paati _ _ _ _ stay with the family for a _ _ _ ______. Answer these questions about the story: 14) From the text what do we assume about why Ramesh is sweeping up the broken glass? 15) Why does the police woman suggest contacting a family member to help? 16) What does the author mean by "living under a cloud of fear? 17) What is the main reason Valli happy at the end of the story? Writing Questions 18) If Ramesh and Valli were your friends at school, and they shared with you about their father's temper, what advice would you give them? 19) Write a short book review on Behind the Lie, including a concise summary, intended reader group, and your opinion of the content. 20) Write a paragraph about what you think can be done to help victims of domestic violence.

how-to-be-an-otter-FKB-stories.txt

How to Be an Otter Learn to swim. Learn to swim well. Well enough to catch fish, and escape from danger. Your webbed feet and long, paddle-like tail will help you. Look after your fur coat. It is waterproof and will help keep you warm when swimming in cold waters. Know your fish. You will grow to like fishy smells and smelly fish. You’ll find small fish and large fish and fish that look like snakes, and even some with cat-like whiskers. Not all of them are easy to catch! But remember, NEVER eat dead fish. The river is your home. It is here, on the banks of the river, that you will dig a den for your family. You will live in a group, as a family. You will hunt and play together. You will also protect each other. The elders of the family will guard the pups. Listen to the elders, for they know the river well. The river is also your playground. Here, you will have sand to dig, places to hide, and rocks to nap on. Learn to share your space. You will have to share the river with large herons, shy turtles, peaceful pelicans, honking ducks and moody mugger crocodiles. The mugger crocodiles prefer to be left alone. DO NOT disturb them! The fisherman can be your friend, but watch out for his nets. Like us, the fisherman needs to catch fish to feed his family. Keep away from him, and he will keep away from you. Stay away from anything that does not belong to the river—it could be a trap. Do not be curious about shiny, metallic objects. The river will keep changing. Your favourite sandbank may disappear tomorrow, just asit may return after the rainy season. You have to learn quickly and trust your instincts. And remember, the river will always be your home.

Keeper-Nakita-and-Her-Elephants.txt

Why is phonics important to learn? The English language seems like it is full of a lot of crazy pronunciations and spelling. While a small amount of English must be rote learned due to exceptions from rules, much of it can be decoded using phonics. When you know phonics, you are like a detective following clues to solve a mystery. In this series, we use only words that your little reader will be able to break down into standard phonemes. This will build reading confidence while strengthening their phonics foundation. Is this the right level for my little reader? If your reader can decode about 90% of the words in this book independently, this will be an appropriate platform to begin their study of phonics. By understanding a majority of the words, a reader can use context to decode new terms. If a reader breezes through, you might need to take them up another level. If this level is still a bit too tricky for them, get your reader to try some of the earlier levels first. Challenges can be good, but too much too quickly could overwhelm your reader. Take things slow and steady. Enjoy the books and the journey together! How can I be a good learning buddy for my reader? If you are helping somebody to read this book, there are plenty of ways that you can go about it. Do the initial exercises together before you begin to read so that you have both experienced the isolated sounds and discussed them. If the reader gets stuck, cover up all but the first phoneme in the word so that the sound can be isolated again. Slowly move along and reveal more phonemes. Once they can say each individual part of the word, you can focus on blending. Say the words so that they can hear them, and get them to repeat it out aloud several times. To consolidate knowledge after you finish a page, talk about what happened and what is in the picture. Then, try saying some of the words on the page and see if the reader can identify them. Get the reader doing this as well, saying words which you need to find. Above all, you should be patient. Create a safe place to make mistakes so that the reader is willing to give things a go. Special Words This book has some special words that you should take your reader through before you begin. Many special words are those that we use in day-to-day conversation. Unfortunately, a lot of their phonetic structures do not conform to rules that your reader has learned. These words can be frustrating and confusing, but they are also a part of natural reading, writing, and conversation. Nakita, she, loves, their, to, they, go, to, the, onto Say each word to your reader a few times so that they can get used to its sound. Get them to repeat it back to you. Afterwards, see if your reader can think of any words that rhyme with this sound in order to help lock in how to pronounce it. Finally, think of some basic sentences that use this word. For example, if the word is ‘the’ you can create basic sentences with a subject, verb, and object: "The hat is on the table." Nakita is an animal keeper and she loves her job. She looks after animals all day. Nakita likes all animals but she likes elephants best. Nakita loves seeing elephants swing their trunks, stamp in mud, and spray dirt and dust. Nakita keeps elephants for a short time to help them get better. Her elephants are hurt and need care. This elephant had a sore foot. This elephant had a skin problem. This elephant got sick. Now all three elephants are better and are happy. They can go back to the forest and be free. Nakita walks with the elephants and the elephants see a family. The old elephants and the little elephants are back together. Nakita can hear a little elephant cry out. The little elephant is hurt and Nakita will help it. Nakita follows the sounds and brings grown ups to help. The little elephant fell in a hole and hurt its leg. Nakita will look after this little elephant and make it better. The grown ups get rope. Nakita talks with the little elephant as it is sad. The grown ups get the ropes around the little elephant. The little elephant can reach its trunk for Nakita and she holds onto its trunk. The little elephant is now in a truck and Nakita sits with him. Nakita and the little elephant get to the park. A vet looks at the little elephant and sees its leg is twisted. It must stay off its leg for a week. Nakita looks after the little elephant all week. She feeds him and sings to him. Little elephant keeps its trunk around Nakita’s hand. Little elephant is all better now! He can go back to the forest. It is time to see his family. Here is the little elephant's family. Grown up elephants trumpet as they are happy to see him. The little elephant hugs Nakita, then walks away. The little elephant is safe and happy now.

the-very-shocking-report-card-pratham-FKB-CC-BY.txt

The Very Shocking Report Card Papa took Pattu’s report card from Ms Anuradha like it was a big box of sweets –with a big smile to match. Last time, Pattu had made a paper plane out of his report card. He said he sent itflying home – it never got there. Wonder why? Maybe the sparrow in the tree could tell you what a warm nest it made. Or the peanut seller could tell you what a nice cone it made. So this time, Papa went with Pattu to get his report card from the teacher himself.Papa looked at Pattu’s report card. His smile went from a slice of papaya to the thin wedge of a lime. 3 out of 10 for Reading. Papa’s eyebrows dashed together like colliding bulls. 4 out of 10 for Recitation. He shook his head from side to side, like a tree in a storm. 2 out of 10 for Spelling. He let out a long whoosh, which sounded like a train engine. As they walked home, Papa thought, "This report card needs to be made not into a paper plane, but into a rocket and launched far, far away. What will Pattu’s Mummy say? She always used to come first in her class." Just then, Pattu’s friend Shambavi came running and gave Pattu a toffee. "This is for sharing your pencils with me yesterday, when I forgot to bring one," said Shambavi. "No wonder Pattu comes home with no pencils," thought Papa. On the way home, a bunch of dogs ran alongside them, wagging their tails happily. Pattu bent down and patted their heads. "I. . . er. . . I give Kalu, Chintu and Bintu a few puris from my lunchbox," he said. "And your mummy is so happy you are asking for extra puris," thought Papa, "If only she knew where they disappeared!" Pattu and Papa were almost home, when their neighbour Das Uncle called out from his garden, "Hello Pattu, I don’t need medicines today." Papa wondered, "We don’t need medicines as well. Why is he talking about medicines?" Das Uncle said, "I ask your son to buy medicines from the corner shop for me. He always brings back exact change. You must be proud of him." At home, Mummy came out and asked, "How is Pattu’s report card?" Papa closed his eyes, and said, "It was a big, big shock!" Pattu’s face was as small as a crushed grape. "9 out of 10 for sharing," said Papa. "10 out of 10 for kindness. 11 out of 10 for respect." Pattu’s face was like an orange and Mummy’s like a watermelon – both bright and full of joy. Mummy sat down with Pattu. "This is my real report card," Pattu said. Mummy smiled. "12 out of 10 for honesty. No one could get a better report card."

June-Peters-You-Will-Save-the-World-One-Day.txt

As June, her family, neighbors, and friends pulled up to the park, they notice the long line of homeless men and women already waiting. "Wow! Dad, did you do that?" June asked while looking at the large banner that read: JUNE'S FEED THE HOMELESS DAY "Yes June-baby I did " ' ' ' "Thank you, Dad, thank you. I love it." All of June's family and friends began passing out the lunches. Everyone was pleased and very impressed that such a young girl could have a big heart. June could not stop smiling. "Hello young lady," a man said, standing next in line for his lunch. June looked up and noticed that it was the man she had been giving her money to the last few mornings before school. "Hello sir, I was waiting for you. I have a special lunch just for you." June handed him a big bag from under the table. The man looked inside and smiled at June. "Bless you." "I told you that one day you would change the world."

chaku-s-cycle.txt

Chaku's Cycle Chaku liked to play with his friends. He liked Lila’s tricycle. Chaku decided to make his own tricycle. Chaku looked for logs. Chaku remembered he also needed nails and hammer. Chaku went to his uncle for help. Chaku’s uncle gave him the tools. Uncle asked Chaku to be careful. Chaku thought about how to build his tricycle. Chaku started to build. What a lovely tricycle! But it was not stable. Lila saw Chaku's trouble. She decided to help. Together, they made a strong tricycle. Chaku rode his tricycle wherever he went. But his favorite time was when he and Lila cycled together.

Saschas-Train.txt

Sasha’s Train Opa 7/17/2014 Sasha was first in the car. You must be joking! "C’mon, Mum, hurry up! That’s not Thomas, We’re going to see Thomas." Is it? "Ah, there’s the station, Mum." "But that’s not our train," Monkey, Dad replied. "But Where’s Thomas?" "I can’t see him anywhere!" "See, here he comes, Sashi." "He’s right on time." I guess I better get back to Mum or I might miss the ride. "Ummmmmmmmm!" "He didn’t stop, Mum." "It’s OK, Sashi, he’s just changing tracks." I’d better get on board. "Look, Mum, we’re moving." "Yes, Dad, I’m here with Mum, in the carriage." "We’re going to the left." "Now we’re going to the right." "Help", Dad, the trees are on fire!" "It’s OK, Monkey, it’s just the smoke." I see the station." "Over too soon!" "Can we do it again tomorrow?"

I-Can-Help.txt

I Can Help! I am a big girl. I can help other people. After school, I like to feed my brother. He loves it. When I have a holiday, I help my mother to get ready to go to the office. In the evening, I help my father in his shop. But sometimes my mother says, "Please, do not help me!" And sometimes my father says, "Thank you, but please do not help me today." Sometimes they both tell me to sit in one place. I like to read a book then! I like to help my grandmother. She tells me stories. My brother is still small. He cannot help at all. But I am a big girl. I can help other people.

What-If...-3-18.txt

Nandi sat on the blue steps of her house. She was wondering... What if jelly beans made you jump really high? You could get to school in one big leap! What if goats and chickens could talk? Would they tell good jokes? What if houses were rocket ships? Your family could go on holidays to the moon! What if no one had to cook? What if supper just arrived on the table? (And it was always your favourite.) What if ice-lollies never melted? They could last all summer. What if the pictures in books flew around your head when Dad read to you? What if my pink gumboots were magical? I could run faster than my big brother! What if you squeezed your eyes shut and... "Nandi, what are you doing?" asked Nandi’s big brother. Nandi sat back on the step with a big smile on her face. "Just wondering," she said.

The-Zoo-Mystery.txt

One sunny summer day, a little girl was playing with her dog. Mama and Daddy were sitting at the table. Daddy was reading the newspaper. "Did you hear?" "One of the giraffes is missing from the zoo", Daddy said. The little girl stopped playing. "Where did it go?" "Well," Daddy said "this morning the Zoo Keeper noticed the missing giraffe. No one knows where it went and they’re giving a reward to whoever finds it." "We should go and investigate." Mama Said After a short car ride. They were at the "Let’s look at the animals." "We may find a clue," Mama said. "Right!" Daddy said. They saw an elephant A lion A rhinoceros A hippopotamus And a camel An old lady said, "Did you hear about the missing giraffe?" "That’s why we came to the zoo." Daddy said. "Hmm," the little girl looked at the old lady. They kept looking at the animals. A monkey A bear A moose A kangaroo And a man riding a bike. "Hmm," the little girl said looking at the man on the bike. "Let’s keep looking at animals." They looked at ostriches Snakes Seals A panda When suddenly a bright light blinded them Just a person taking a photo. "Hmm," the little girl said again. "Mama?" "Daddy?" "Yes!?!" "That lady… and man on the bike… and that photographer… ARE the giraffe!" "Huh?!?" She was right. Mama, Daddy and the little girl told the Zoo Keeper… "AH HA!" The Zoo Keeper said. "For finding the giraffe." "Thanks!" The best part of the trip was a photograph of the giraffe. The End!

brave-rima-RtR-FKB.txt

Brave Rima Rima went to the fair with her uncle. It was a Boishakhi fair! So many colours everywhere. Red, white, and all the others. Uncle especially loved red. There were so many shops! And so many things to buy! Rima looked at everything in wonder. Suddenly… she didn't see her uncle. Where did Uncle go? He was nowhere to be seen! Rima was upset. But she did not lose courage. I know how to find lost things, Rima thought. I will explore the fair and look for Uncle! A crowd was gathered under a tree watching the snake act. Rima called out. But Uncle was not there. Maybe he is buying a doll for me! Rima thought. She ran to the doll shop. Rima called out. But Uncle was not there. Where did Uncle go? Perhaps he has gone to the red merry-go-round, Rima thought. So she ran there. Rima called out. But Uncle was not there. Then Rima saw a man nearby. He was wearing a red panjabi like Uncle's! Rima called loudly, "UNCLE!" The man turned to look at Rima. "Oh, dear. Have you lost your Uncle?" he asked. Rima saw balloons flying above a tree. Near the tree she saw a boy. He was all alone and he was crying. "What happened?" Rima asked. "Why are you crying?" But the boy didn’t stop. "MAAAA! BABAAAA!" he cried. Rima knew just what to do. She took the boy to the closest microphone. "This boy needs our help," she told the announcer. "Please tell his parents he is right here!" The boy’s parents arrived soon. They were so happy! But where was Rima’s Uncle? Wait… is that... "UNCLE!" They rushed towards each other. Uncle said, "Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you." "I was looking for you!" Rima answered. "But Uncles shouldn't need children to look for them!"

Turtle-Trouble-2-17.txt

Mom asked me: "Why is the floor in my room all wet?" "I don’t know." I said. Mom then saw the bucket I had hidden in the bathtub. "What’s this bucket doing here?" she asked. "I don’t know." I said. Mom then picked up the turtle that I had hidden in the bathtub. "And what’s this turtle doing here?" she asked. "I don’t know." I said. "Buckets and turtles don’t just get in my bathtub on their own." said Mom. The truth was that I had found the turtle in the garden and was getting some water for him. Then, I spilled the water all over the floor. I don’t want any more time-outs. I don’t want Mom to be upset. So, I told Mom that I wasn’t going to put turtles in her bathtub anymore. She wasn’t upset about the turtle; but, she was unhappy because I didn’t tell her the truth. "I would have helped to take care of the turtle." said Mom. Think! Think! Think! Oh, I get it! Telling the truth works much better than lying! I’ll try that the next time.

The-Fascinating-Fibonaccis.txt

The Fascinating Fibonaccis Numbers. We use them everyday. To count, measure, call friends on the phone and even to find out what something costs. But did you know you can also use numbers to create patterns - geometrical shapes, rangoli designs, and more? Did you know number patterns can be seen within patterns in nature? But first, what is a 'Number Pattern'? A Number Pattern is a sequence of numbers where each number is connected to the previous one in ONE specific way. Take this very simple number pattern: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4... How is each number in this sequence connected to the one before it? Well, every number in this sequence is the previous number with 1 ADDED to it. Here's another number pattern: 14,12,10, 8, 6... Each number in this sequence is the previous number with 2 SUBTRACTED from it. Now for a slightly more tricky pattern: 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15... How does this sequence work? Let's see. 0+1=1 1+2=3 3+3=6 6 + 4 = 10 10 + 5 = 15 Do you see the pattern here? What will the next number in this sequence be? Yes, 21, because 15 + 6 = 21. Now, let’s take the 'number pattern' we just discussed: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15... , and see if we can create a 'SHAPE pattern' from it. We can! We now have a 'shape pattern' of triangles that get bigger and bigger as we increase the number of dots according to our number pattern! A number pattern has become a shape pattern! If you found that interesting, it's time you were introduced to a beautiful number sequence called the Fibonacci (or Hemachandra) Sequence of numbers. The Fibonacci Sequence of numbers goes like this: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34... Can you find the pattern that connects these numbers? Yes! Every number in the Fibonacci Sequence is the sum of the two numbers before it! Like this. 0+1 = 1 1+1 = 2 2+1 = 3 3+2 = 5 5+3 = 8 8+5 = 13 13+8 = 21 21+13 = 34 Got it? Good. Now for the REALLY interesting part - linking this number pattern to patterns in nature. The number of petals flowers have are often linked to Fibonacci numbers! Can you think of flowers with 1, 3 and 5 petals? (These are all Fibonacci numbers.) Here are some examples to help you along. 1 petal - 1. Anthurium; 2. Calla lilies 3 petals - 3. Bougainvillea; 4. Clovers 5 petals - 5. Temple tree; 6. Hibiscus; 7. Jasmine Flowers with 2 petals are not very common. The Crown of Thorns, which you see here, is one example. Flowers with 4 petals (4 is NOT a Fibonacci number) are also rare. Count the petals of flowers that you come across and see for yourself! The most interesting flower of all, where the Fibonacci sequence is concerned, is the daisy. Different daisy species have 13, 21, or 34 petals - which are all Fibonacci Numbers! There are even more complex and stunning patterns in nature that appear to be based on the Fibonacci numbers. If you are willing to do a little math, you can see it for yourself. Shall we try it out? Now, what would we get if we squared* each of the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence? Fibonacci Sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc. If we 'squared' each of these numbers, we would get: 1 x 1 = 1 Squared or 1 2= 1 2 x 2 = 2 Squared or 22= 4 3 x 3 = 3 Squared or 32= 9 5 x 5 = 5 Squared or 52= 25 8 x 8 = 8 Squared or 82= 64 13 x 13 = 13 Squared or 132= 169 So the Fibonacci Sequence Squared: 1 – 4 - 9 – 25 – 64 – 169 - etc. Now, just like we converted a number pattern into a shape pattern with the triangles before, let's try to convert the Fibonacci Sequence Squared into a shape pattern. Let's try to DRAW 12, 22 , 32 and so on. 12 is easy enough – it is just one square. 22 is drawn like this - 2 squares across and 2 squares down. We know that 22 = 4, and there are 4 squares in the figure (we call this figure a 'grid'). Similarly, 32 is drawn as 3 squares across and 3 squares down. Again, we know that 32 = 9, and there are 9 squares in the grid. 52 is drawn as 5 squares across and 5 squares down, making a grid with 25 squares, 82 as 8 squares across and 8 squares down, making a grid with 64 squares, 132 squared is drawn as a grid with 169 squares, and so on. Now, let's push all the grids we've drawn so far towards each other, and arrange them like in the picture. Done? Now draw a smooth curved line from one corner of the smallest grid to its opposite end, as shown in the figure. Now take the same curved line through each of the other grids, from smallest to biggest, from corner to opposite corner, ending with the 13 squared grid. What we get is a lovely spiral pattern. What is the link between this spiral pattern created by squared Fibonacci numbers, and nature? Well, the exact same Fibonacci Spiral can be found in nature! Where? Let's see, shall we? Here's the Fibonacci Spiral with one more grid - 212 - added to our original figure. See how the spiral continues? Does the spiral look familiar? Of course it does! You can see the Fibonacci spiral in seashells (although you might have to twist your head around a bit to see the exact spiral pattern of the previous page)... ... snail shells ... even eggs (see how this spiral goes the other way (anti-clockwise) as compared to the clockwise spiral on page 14?)! Even larger structures like hurricanes and even some galaxies seem to follow the Fibonacci Spiral pattern. Fascinating, isn’t it? A BRIEF HISTORY To end this exciting tale of Fibonacci Numbers, let's touch briefly upon the history of the Fibonacci Number Sequence. In the 11th century (almost 1000 years ago), a Jain scholar and monk called Hemachandra, who lived in present-day Gujarat, discovered an interesting mathematical pattern while studying poetry and music. He was looking at the number of different ways in which you could combine 'long' and 'short' sounds in music to create different rhythmic patterns. Around 100 years later, an Italian mathematician called Leonardo Fibonacci (c.1170 – c.1250) – wrote about the very same mathematical pattern in his book Liber Abaci, or 'Book of Calculation' in 1202. Fibonacci travelled extensively along the Mediterranean coast, meeting merchants from the East and finding out about how they did mathematics. It is possible that Fibonacci came across Hemachandra's sequence during his travels, but since he was the first one to introduce it to Europe, these numbers became known to the world as the Fibonacci Sequence. A word of caution: Although there are many examples in nature that seem to follow the Fibonacci pattern, there are also many examples in nature that do not – like four leaved clovers, or flowers with 4 petals. What's intriguing, though, is how often these Fibonacci Numbers do appear in nature. So far, scientists haven't figured out WHY nature seems to love Fibonacci numbers so much. Maybe YOU can find the answer when you grow up! Almost a thousand years ago, an Indian scholar called Hemachandra discovered a fascinating number sequence. A century later, the same sequence caught the attention of Italian mathematician Fibonacci, who The Fascinating Fibonaccis wrote about it. The Fibonacci sequence, as it began to be called, was straightforward enough - what made it fascinating was that this particular set of numbers was repeated many, many times in nature - in (English) flowers, seashells, eggs, seeds, stars... Find out more inside this book!

Physics_Bookbot_freekidsbooks.txt

LITTLE BOOKS OF BIG FACTS Written by Bel Richardson Liquid Matter is all things that take up space, which Heat includes all liquids, solids, and gases. Energy is something that can be transferred between matter, like heat. Work happens when energy is transferred from one bit of matter to another. What is physics? The field of physics is about Do you think that light is understanding matter and matter or energy? energy and how Solid Light is a form of energy. they interact. Some of these things, like bombs, have been destructive. Other research has revealed things about our universe and It is a unit What is an of matter. helped us to improve technology. Different elements atom? have atoms with different structures. Understanding Which of these are made the structure of up of atoms: your bones, atoms has water, our atmosphere? helped us to do amazing things. All of these things are made up of atoms! By observing time, mass, and Why are distance in physics experiments, time, mass, we can calculate the work that is done, the energy that is and distance transferred, and how it important in transforms. physics? What is the difference if you lift If physics is all about the ways the first ball of Newton’s cradle a that matter interacts and how little or a lot? energy transfers between this How far you lift the first ball changes the work matter, we need ways to record that it can do and the energy that is transferred. energy transfers and If you lift the ball a little, it gently taps the others. transformations. If you lift it a lot, it sends the end ball flying. Work is all about when What are Heat and work are something is moved by heat and forms of energy transfer. force, such as bike pedals. Heat can be work in transferred to work, and work can be physics? transferred to heat. Heat is transferred from one bit of matter to another, from hot to cold, When you rub your like how you can be warmed by a hot water bottle. hands together, is heat causing work or is work causing heat? Work is transferring to heat. What are forces? They affect objects in different ways, depending on things like mass. The power of the force also changes the outcome. One very important force is gravity. We Why can some track gravity by the mass of something, how it speeds things float in up as it falls, and how this is different in water? other environments. Only things with a mass denser than water will have gravity drag it down. How do we see light and color? Physics also helps us to understand how light works, Why can’t you including how we see colors. When we see colors, our eyes are catching different wavelengths of light. touch a rainbow? The wavelengths range from short to long. Different objects absorb and reflect different wavelengths, It is made up of light reflecting off mist. and this is why we see things as different colors. The mist is matter, but the light is not. It also lets us understand how sound How do affects us, other we hear animals, and plants. sound? Just as our eyes pick up wavelengths How did Beethoven continue to of light, our ears pick up waves of sound. They start from the vibration compose music after he went deaf? of an object and are picked up by our Beethoven worked with vibrations. ears. Understanding how sound works has let us make different instruments and music. Physics has also been important as we have made computers, video games, and robots. Not only does physics explain how technology is powered, an understanding of it lets us keep improving our machines. Knowledge of energy What does physics have to transfer lets us make do with computers and machines that can do other machines? faster and more complex jobs. Why do we do physics tests on robots? We need to see how well a robot can interact in our world. What parts of Why is our gravity physics can be different to other planets explored in in the Solar System? space? The mass of a planet affects the gravity on it. Physics doesn’t just apply to our planet, but to everything in our universe. Physicists explore changes in gravity, find new planets by looking at light from stars, and even think about things that we cannot yet understand - like black holes and dark matter. There is a lot of work to do, but it is fascinating. How can Now that we are running out of fossil fuels to make physics help us electricity, physics is also with power and helping us to find new ways of making power energy? with renewables. Physics also helps us How can you get power understand how we can from the wind? turn things in our environment into energy, how things are powered, and how much energy As the wind turns turbines, it is different homes, cities, and doing work. This generates countries use or need. power that we can store. Why can Physics can also help us to understand geology, natural forms such as how our and disasters landscapes were formed and how they be explained might change with time. by physics? We can also understand natural disasters like earthquakes and How is a beach formed? tropical storms with physics by predicting how severe these A beach is made by the waves as disasters will be and they move sand, dirt, and rocks. when they might occur. Just imagine What will all of the physics do in amazing things you the future? might see in a lifetime. What is a good way to There are endless things to study in physics. From hear about what is energy efficient structures happening in physics? and engines to advances in Reading science and medical science, our understanding of physics technology news can will make new and keep you informed. wonderful things a reality.

Whales.txt

Whales Whales are the biggest animals on the planet, even bigger than elephants! 1 The blue whale is the largest animal in the world. It’s about 94 feet long. That’s as long as a basketball court! 2 Whales live in all the oceans on the planet. They can live in both warm and cold water. 3 Whales are mammals just like cows or tigers or people. Whales give birth to live babies and feed their babies milk. 4 Different whales eat different things. Sperm whales eat giant squid and fish. Blue whales eat little shrimplike things called krill. 5 Whales can swim underwater for a long time but they must come up to the top to breathe air. They have blowholes on the top of their heads to help them breathe. 6 Whales sing songs to talk to one another, but they don’t use their mouths. They only make sounds with their blowholes. 7 Whales often jump out of the water. No one knows why they do this, but some people think it is a way of talking to each other. 10 Whales don’t have fins like fish do. They have flippers and a strong tail that help them swim long distances. 8 When winter comes, whales travel to where the water is warmer. They swim in big groups and can travel up to 3,000 miles. 9 Don’t be fooled by the killer whale! The name might trick you to think it’s a whale, but killer whales are a kind of dolphin. 11 It’s an amazing thing to see a whale. But I don’t think I’d want to get this close! 12

NOAA_whale_activity_book_2010.txt

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary lies within the shallow, warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands and is one of the world’s most important humpback whale habitats. Hawai‘i is the only place in the United States where humpback whales mate, calve, and nurse their young. Every year, from November to May, more than half of the North Pacific humpback whale population migrates nearly 3,000 miles to the warm protected waters of Hawai‘i. During whale season it is common to see humpback whales resting near shore or performing acrobatic displays that can be seen from miles away. In the spring and summer, humpback whales return to feed in the cool, nutrient-rich waters near Alaska and other northern areas. The sanctuary helps protect Hawai‘i’s ocean wilderness through research, education, conservation and stewardship. Explore fun games and activities and learn more about humpback whales and the sanctuary online at: Scientists identify individual humpback whales by studying their tails, which are also known as flukes. The scalloping, color patterns, and scars on the undersides of the flukes are as unique as your fingerprints. Match the numbered flukes on the left with the same flukes on the right. Whales are often seen leaping from the water (breaching) or slapping the surface of the water with their pectoral fins and flukes. These behaviors may serve a number of social functions. Whales may engage in these behaviors to communicate to other whales, to check out what is going on above the surface, or to simply play. If you are ever in a boat or swimming and see a whale exhibiting these behaviors, be sure not to get closer than 100 yards. Whales are protected by law, and we should be especially careful not to disturb them in a whale sanctuary, where they have come to give birth to their young. Find and circle the words that relate to whale behavior. Connect the dots to complete the humpback whale. North Pacific humpback whales feed in the cool, nutrient-rich waters near Alaska and other northern areas during the summer months and migrate south in winter to mate, calve and nurse their young. The exact route of approximately 3,000 miles is unknown. The open ocean poses many hazards such as collisions with vessels, entanglement in marine debris, and attacks by predators. Find a migration route from the waters off Alaska to the protected waters of Hawai‘i. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are part of a group of mammals called cetaceans. There are about 80 different species of cetaceans in the world. Humpback whales (also known by their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae) are one of the more easily recognized cetaceans in Hawaiian waters. Don’t forget that Hawaiian waters also provide habitat for numerous other marine species including Hawaiian monk seals, green and hawksbill turtles, many species of fish, and coral reef inhabitants. Some of these are found nowhere else in the world. Connect the cetaceans shown below with their names to learn what other species may be found in Hawai‘i. Humpback whales display a wide variety of behaviors while in the waters off Hawai‘i. Can you identify the various humpback whale behaviors below? Tail Slap Head Slap Breach Peduncle Slap Spy Hop Pec Slap Answer the following questions with true or false. Can you explain your answers? 1. Whales are fish because they live in the ocean. T or F 2. Humpback whales live in Hawaiian waters all year long. T or F 3. Pec slapping may be a way that whales communicate. T or F 4. Humpback whales come to Hawai‘i to feed. T or F 5. The flukes of every humpback look the same. T or F 6. Whales are protected by laws. T or F 7. Humpback whales have hair follicles just like other mammals. T or F 8. Whales do not play. They are very serious animals. T or F 9. You must stay at least 100 yards away from a humpback whale. T or F 10. North Pacific humpback whales migrate over 6,000 miles T or F every year. Page 6 Answer: 1.b, 2.e, 3.a, 4.c, 5.d 1. Breach 2. Spy Hop 3. Pec Slap Page 7 4. Peduncle Slap 5. Head Slap 6. Tail Slap Answer: 1. False. Whales are mammals. 2. False. They migrate Page 8 to Hawaii in the winter. 3. True. As well as other social functions. 4. False. Most humpbacks feed in the colder waters off Alaska. 5. False. Humpback tail flukes are unique to each individual. 6. True. 7. True. 8. Whales, as well as humans engage in playful activity. 9. True. 10. True. Round trip from Alaska to Hawai‘i is approximately 6,000 miles. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY E-mail: hihumpbackwhale@noaa.gov Maui Headquarters Office & Sanctuary Kaua‘i Office Education Center 4370 Kukui Grove St. 726 South Kihei Rd. Suite 206 Kihei, HI 96753 Lihu‘e, HI 96766 Phone: (808) 879-2818 Phone: (808) 246-2860 Toll Free: 1-800-831-4888 Kona Office O‘ahu Office 73-4460 Queen Ka‘ahumanu Hwy. 6600 Kalaniana‘ole Hwy. Suite 112 Suite 301 Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 Honolulu, HI 96825 Phone: (808) 327-3697 Phone: (808) 397-2651 State of Hawai‘i DLNR Office Toll Free: 1-888-55-WHALE 1151 Punchbowl St. Suite 330 Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: (808) 587-0106 Humpback Whale Activity Book 5th Edition January 2010

005-SUNNY-MEADOWS-WOODLAND-SCHOOL-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

The sun shone brightly over the meadow as Class 1 of Sunny Meadows Woodland School set off for their first trip to the Shadow Woods. Everyone was excited to be going on the adventure that they had been talking about for weeks. Their teacher, Miss Squirrel, had promised a trip to remember and the whole class now skipped excitedly through the meadow. Well, nearly all of the class; alone at the back of the group waddled Hank. Hank was a hedgehog who found it difficult to make friends. He always felt like the outsider. The others in the class, especially Matilda Mouse, kept away from Hank because they thought him odd. Yes, Hank was not really looking forward to the day. The journey to the Shadow Woods was longer than expected because Mr. Mole’s tunnel train was broken. Indeed Mr. Mole was there waving them off before he got back to work. This just made Miss Squirrel happier though, as she could talk to the children about all the wonderful flowers that filled Sunny Meadow. There was color everywhere. It looked as if a rainbow had crashed into the field. However, at the edge of the meadow, not everyone was looking at the flowers… Soon though, the Shadow Woods were upon them and something that looked small from far away suddenly grew very large before them. Each member of the class gave a slow gulp-Matilda Mouse, Rachel Rabbit, Wendy Weasel and Ralph Racoon. The biggest gulp came from Hank. He was nervous enough before they got to the woods and didn’t have a friend to hold on to. Matilda pretended to be brave, however, and ran on ahead compelling her friends to join her. Miss Squirrel was not happy about that and so she shouted for Matilda to come back. Then off she chased after her. Soon the whole class followed and before they knew it, they were right in the middle of the woods. Now instead of bright sunshine, only shadows scattered before them. The class stopped, their little mouths open in awe and wonder. Miss Squirrel was still chasing Matilda though and did not notice that she had left the little ones behind. Rachel Rabbit, Wendy Weasel and Ralph Racoon all held paws as they looked around them. Three very small friends.And Hank.The only noise now in the woods was silence. Suddenly, everyone got a fright as behind them Matilda mouse jumped from behind a berry-bush and shouted "BOO!" as loudly as she could. After they all had stopped shaking, her friends laughed.All except Hank. "Silly Hank," said Matilda. "You are just no fun!" However, before Hank could reply, another noise made everyone turn around. This time though there was no Boo! of surprise and no laughter afterwards because there before the class was a very large and very hungry snake. His magical eyes twinkling with delight as his tongue spiked forward. "Mmmm!! Lunchtime." said the snake. It was at this point that the class realised that Miss Squirrel had not returned from chasing Matilda. The class was alone. Squeaks of fright squeezed out of the little animals’ mouths. Matilda and her friends all hugged each other fearing that this was the end. Suddenly though, Hank was scared no more. He found a way to save the class. He knew just what he had to do. "Quick everyone- down this hole." he shouted as he pointed to a hole under a hanging chestnut Tree. The animals stared at him and then jumped down the hole. Hank followed only to be stopped by Matilda who looked very angry. "Hank, we are trapped now- you foolish hog." But before she could add to her insult, Hank jumped up and flipped himself into a ball. Next, he rolled towards the mouth of the hole and blocked it with his pointy sharp spikes. There would be no lunch for the snake today! Later, back at school, Miss Squirrel was telling the head teacher, Mr Owl, about what had happened and how the snake had fled Hank’s pointy spikes. After the snake had slithered away, the class had quickly returned to school and each one had thanked their new friend Hank. Matilda gave him a big hug and apologised for what she had called him before. Hank was not odd, he was a hero and her new best friend. Hank, who was still unused to lots of attention, turned pink and popped into a ball as all his new friends cheered him.

SticksMasterpiece-Brothers-Whim-FKB-R.txt

Spencer  Hanson Randy  Hanson I'm  sorry  I  can't  help  you  bird. I’m  just  the  me  you  see. I  cannot  paint  a  feast  for  you. Oh!  what  good can  I  be? Some  cotton balls for dinosaur, Just  then  she  saw  her  simple  shapes had  beauty  past  her  skill. She  did  not  ever  want  to  rest. So  much  to  do  here  still. When  morning  came  she  woke  and  saw, was  greeted  by  the  sun. Her  lines  and  shapes were  so  much  more. Her  masterpiece was  done.

31924-telephones-bell-to-cell.txt

Telephones - Bell to Cell When you want to make a call, what do you do? Reach out for a cell phone? Or use a landline plugged to a wall? Perhaps the one in the post office or the phone at the grocery store, where you pay the shopkeeper to use it? Whichever it is, the way you make the call remains the same: you enter the number and wait for it to ring. But it wasn’t always this simple. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the 1880s. He made the first call on March 10, 1876, in his office in Boston, USA, to his assistant Thomas Watson. Bell shouted into the mouthpiece, asking Watson to come and see him. The assistant heard Bell through his earpiece and came running from the next room. At that time, the telephones did not have dials - the two phones were directly connected to each other by a wire! As more people began to get telephones, a central place called an exchange was set up. The exchange had a switchboard connected to every telephone in the area. An operator could plug in the wires on a switchboard to connect any two phones. A switchboard looked like this. And the telephones looked like this. They had a separate mouthpiece to speak into and an earpiece to listen from. They still didn’t have number dials! How did you make calls then? "Hello! How may I help you?" "Operator, could you please connect me to Doctor Andrew?" "One moment." First, you picked up the receiver. A telephone operator would greet you. The operator would then plug in a few wires and the doctor’s phone would start ringing. But you had to be mindful of what you said, because the telephone operator could listen to your conversation if she wanted to. As the number of telephones grew, it was not possible for an operator to know all the connections. So telephones were designed to have dials. You dialled a number instead of telling the operator to connect you. This number would get transmitted to a switchboard that could automatically connect telephones. However, operators still routed long-distance calls. In the late 1920s, the design of the phone changed. What changed? The mouthpiece and the earpiece were fused into a single handset. You could hold the handset in one hand, or cradle it between your neck and shoulder, leaving your hands free to write or wear your watch. Soon, people wanted to make calls on the move. No, they didn’t have cell phones yet. But you could stop on the street and call someone from public telephone booths. By the 1930s, many major cities across the world had such booths. In fact, this is how most people made calls. Only very rich people had telephones at home. Some years later, people wanted to use telephones while driving. So phones – complete with handsets and dials – were built into cars. But these car phones had no wires! They used radio waves to connect to other phones. In the 1970s, a few people had phones that they could carry around in their bags. This was the satellite phone. It could connect to other phones using satellites. Satphones were never popular because they needed a clear line-of-sight to a satellite in the sky. So if you lived on the second floor of a 20-storey building, you would have to go up to the terrace to make or receive calls. Cell phones began to be used at around the same time. These did not need a straight connect with a satellite. They connected to a tower nearby. So you could make calls sitting inside your house or office. The first cell phone, made in 1973, weighed more than one kilogram! Later, it got smaller and smaller until it could fit into your pocket. A cell phone is convenient in other ways too. Landline phones have to be connected with wires. This means a lot of digging to lay cables across and between towns. Since this also requires money, many villages did not have phones. But the wireless cell phone has changed that. Nearly everyone has a cell phone now. Today’s cell phones are for more than just making calls. You can chat, play games, send emails, browse the internet, listen to music, watch movies, click photos and record videos, download apps... What we call a smartphone is really a computer that can also make calls. What else could a phone of the future do? Today, you can speak out your friend’s name and your phone will call her up. Maybe one day you would be able to tell your phone, "Find me the number of my third standard math teacher," and it would! The phone might be able to beam out three-dimensional images of objects. So you can look at a school bag from every side before you buy it online. On the inside too! I also imagine these phones as bendy. You can wrap them around your wrist or roll them up to fit a tiny purse. And charging! There has to be a better way to do that. Solar cells would be great – you would only have to be out in the sun to charge it. Or motion-based charging. This would use kinetic energy, which means that the phone would keep getting charged as long as it was on the move. If the battery was dying, you could take a quick run down the road. The phone would get charged and you would get some exercise. Smartphones become outdated very quickly! Most people throw away their phones in one or two years to buy newer ones. That means a lot of waste. How nice it would be if phones were earth- friendly. No harmful radiation, no toxic materials – all reusable or biodegradable parts. Now, that’s really smart technology! Now, tell me, what do you think phones will be like in the future? Inventor and Teacher Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Other scientists also worked on similar inventions. Bell’s parents inspired him to learn about sound and speech. His father was a professor of elocution. Alexander’s mother was almost completely deaf, but she learnt to play the piano. Alexander used to speak close to her forehead so that she could feel the vibrations and make out the words. He later started a school for the deaf in Boston. Throughout his life, Alexander kept discovering new ways to communicate. He had 18 patents to his name. His first invention, as a 16-year-old, was a machine to remove husk from wheat grains. Bell was fascinated by the way sound travels through vibrations. If you place your fingers on your throat and speak, you can feel the vibrations of your vocal chords that make the sound. When someone speaks, the vibrations reach your ears and make the eardrum vibrate. That’s how you hear things. As people move farther away, the vibrations become weaker and fade out. See the Sound! -An experiment Things you need: - 1 bowl - Plastic cling wrap - A few grains of rice - A steel plate and spoon Steps: 1. Take the bowl and stretch a plastic cling wrap tightly over it. Make sure it doesn’t sag. 2. Sprinkle a few grains of rice on the plastic film. 3. Take the steel plate and spoon, go close to the bowl with the plastic film, but don’t touch it. 4. Start hitting the plate with the spoon. But be careful not to touch the bowl! What do you see?

Busy-Bees-Flower-Friends-.txt

Busy Bee’s Flower Friends The WILD FLOWER SOCIETY Registered Charity Number 271694 The Wild Flower Society is the only national society created specifically for amateur botanists and wild flower lovers in the UK. It aims to promote knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the British flora and its conservation among the general public and in particular among young people. For more information, write to: The Wild Flower Society, 82A High Street, Sawston, Cambridge CB2 4HJ Busy Bee is very busy. She has to visit lots of flowers to get nectar and pollen so that she can make honey. Can you help her to find all the flowers? First, she goes to see a poppy. The poppy has four red petals. "Hello, Poppy," says Busy Bee. "Please may I have some nectar to drink, and some pollen to make into honey?" "Why, of course you can," the poppy replies. "Thank you," says Busy Bee. "Can I do anything to help you in return?" "Yes please," says the poppy. "I need you to carry some of the pollen to another poppy flower." "Why is that?" asks Busy Bee. "Pollen is special flower dust," the poppy explains. "Each flower needs pollen from another flower of the same kind so that it can make seeds." "I see," says Busy Bee. "I shall find another poppy right away!" And with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another poppy. Poppies have four red petals. Which flower is a poppy? "Hello, poppy," says Busy Bee. "I have some pollen for you." "Thank you very much," says the poppy. "Would you like some nectar?" "Yes please," says Busy Bee, and she drinks the nectar. The poppy takes some pollen. "Now I can make my seeds, and next year those seeds will grow into more poppy flowers." Next, Busy Bee visits a Daisy. Daisies have more than ten white petals, and a yellow centre. "Hello, Daisy," says Busy Bee. "Please may I take some pollen and nectar?" "You may," says the daisy, "but you must promise to take some of the pollen to another daisy. "I promise I will," says Busy Bee, and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another daisy. Daisies have more than ten white petals, and a yellow centre. Which flower is a daisy? "Hello Daisy," says Busy Bee. "I have some pollen for you." "Thank you," says the daisy. "Now I can make some seeds. Would you like some of my pollen to make into honey?" "Yes please," says Busy Bee. "Thank you very much." Next, Busy Bee visits a daffodil. Daffodils have six yellow petals. "Hello, Daffodil," says Busy Bee. "Do you have any pollen for me to carry to another daffodil?" "Yes, I do," says the daffodil, "and there is some spare for you to make into honey." "Thank you," says Busy Bee, and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another daffodil. Daffodils have six yellow petals, Which flower is a daffodil? "Hello daffodil," says Busy Bee. "I have some pollen for you." "Thank you," says the daffodil. "You can take some of my pollen too." "Thank you," says Busy Bee. Next, Busy Bee visits a mallow flower. Mallow flowers have five purple petals. "Hallo, mallow," says Busy Bee. "Hello, Busy Bee," says the mallow. "Would you like some pollen and nectar?" "Yes please," says Busy Bee, "and I will take some of your pollen to another mallow flower." "Thank you," says the mallow flower. "You’re welcome," says Busy Bee, and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another mallow flower. Mallow flowers have five purple petals. Which flower is a mallow? "Hello mallow," says Busy Bee. "I have some pollen for you." "Thank you very much," says the mallow. "Now I can make my seeds." Next, Busy Bee visits a bluebell. Bluebells have six blue petals, made into a bell shape. "Hello bluebell," says Busy Bee. "Do you have some pollen?" "Here you go," says the bluebell. "Take some to another bluebell and there will be some left over to make into honey." "Thank you," says Busy Bee, and with that Busy Bee buzzes off to find another bluebell. Bluebells have six blue petals, made into a bell shape. Which flower is a bluebell? "Hello, bluebell," says Busy Bee. "I have some pollen for you." "Thank you," says the bluebell. "You can have some of mine too." "Thank you very much," says Busy Bee. Next, Busy Bee visits a speedwell. Speedwells have four blue petals. "Hello, speedwell," says Busy Bee. "Hello, Busy Bee," says the speedwell. "Have you come to collect my pollen?" "Yes please," says Busy Bee, "and I will take some to another speedwell flower for you." The speedwell gives Busy Bee some pollen. "Thank you," says Busy Bee, and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another speedwell. Speedwells have four blue petals. Which flower is a speedwell? "Hello, speedwell," says Busy Bee. "Here’s some pollen." "Thank you," says the speedwell. "Now I can make my seeds so there will be more speedwells next year." Next, Busy Bee visits a buttercup. Buttercups have five yellow petals. "Hello, buttercup," says Busy Bee. "Hello, Busy Bee," says the buttercup. "Would you like some nectar to drink?" "Yes please," says Busy Bee. "Would you like me to carry some pollen to another buttercup?" "Yes please," says the buttercup. "No problem," says Busy Bee, and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another buttercup. Buttercups have five yellow petals. Which flower is a buttercup? "Hello, buttercup," says Busy Bee. "I’m not a buttercup!" says the flower. "I am a primrose." "But you have five yellow petals," says Busy Bee. "Yes," says the primrose, "primroses have five petals too, but our petals are a different shape. Look, there’s a buttercup." "Oh, I’m sorry," says Busy Bee, and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to see the buttercup. "Hello, buttercup," says Busy Bee, "I have some pollen for you. Sorry I’m late." "Don’t worry," says the buttercup. "Thank you for coming." Then Busy Bee sees the grass. "Hello grass," says Busy Bee. "Do you have any flowers?" "Yes I do," the grass replies, "but they are green and brown, and very small." "If your flowers were bigger and brighter, I could see them more easily and visit you more often to carry your pollen," Busy Bee suggests. "No thank you," says the grass. "The wind carries my pollen for me." Then Busy Bee visits a dandelion. Dandelions have more than ten yellow petals. "Hello, Dandelion," says Busy Bee. "How are you today?" "Very well," the dandelion replies. "I have lots of pollen for you." "Thank you," says Busy Bee, "I will take some to another dandelion," and with that, Busy Bee buzzes off to find another dandelion. Dandelions have more than ten yellow petals. Which flower is a dandelion? "Hello, dandelion," says Busy Bee. "Here is some pollen for you." "Thank you very much," says the dandelion. "Now I can make my seeds. Look, that dandelion has already made seeds. Dandelion seeds make a dandelion clock." Busy Bee goes to the dandelion clock, and blows it as hard as she can. One o’clock… Two o’clock… Three o’clock… Four o’clock… Five o’clock! Time to go home for tea. Next time you are in a field or garden, or at the park, see what flowers you can find. You might see some of Busy Bee’s flower friends. You might even see Busy Bee herself, but don’t disturb her: remember, she’s very busy! Notes for Grown-ups 1) This book. This book can initially be used for practicing numbers and colours, then hopefully later on, children will begin to learn the flowers by heart. If the story is too long for the very young, miss out different flowers each time: this also ensures that they are learning the numbers, colours and flowers, and not just the order of flowers in the book. It is better to go through a few flowers properly, reading actively, naming colours and counting petals, than to skim through the whole book. 2) Activities. The next page contains a quiz activity, and a separate activity booklet will be available soon. 3) Outside.
           should be able to find some of these flowers, if only daisies and grass! It is vital, of course, to impress upon children that bees in real life do not make good playmates! A bee sting is not pleasant, and can cause a dangerous allergic reaction, but it can probably be better avoided by showing bees a healthy respect ("Don’t disturb her: remember, she’s very busy!") than by running and screaming in terror. 4) Taking things further. Look out for children’s events organised by your local nature reserves and wildlife groups. The Wild Flower Society (details inside back cover) provides support for families, young people and adults to develop an interest in field botany. But most importantly, get a good field guide book, go outside and open your eyes! Happy flower-finding!
   ’s Flower Friends to their names. Mallow Buttercup Speedwell Primrose Dandelion Daisy Grass Daffodil Poppy Bluebell

The-Day-it-Rained-Fish.txt

The Day It Rained Fish Avanti was the zookeeper of Pitara zoo. There were many, many animals in Pitara, but Avanti's best friend was Ballu, the bear. Ballu was big, brown and strong. On his fourth birthday, Avanti organised a little party for Ballu. "Ballu, can you blow out all the candles at once?" Avanti asked. "Of course!" said Ballu. He filled his chest with air. He huffed and puffed and puffed and huffed and went "WHOOSH!" The blast of air blew the candles out. Then rising up, it crashed into the clouds in the sky. And all of a sudden, there was was a roar of thunder and it started to rain. "Hey, it’s raining fish," Avanti shouted. Ballu looked around with wonder. Then he picked up a huge basket and ran around collecting fish as they fell from the sky. Every time the basket filled, he dropped the fish in a little pond and ran back for more. Then, as he was rushing for the tenth time to the pond, he turned back. The water level had risen and he could see that Avanti was scared. Ballu came back quickly, picked Avanti up and placed her on his shoulders. Avanti put her arms around Ballu's neck and thanked him. Soon, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out. It was bright and cheerful once again. "I will never again ask you to blow the candles out," said Avanti. "Why?"asked Ballu. "Who knows? Next time it might start raining frogs," Avanti said and the two friends started laughing.

FKB-kids-stories-grandmas-glasses.txt

Grandma’s Glasses Nani keeps losing her glasses. "Where did I keep them?" she always asks. Without her glasses, she cannot find her glasses. So she needs me. To be her eyes, to find her own eyes! Sometimes her spectacles are in the bathroom. Or on her bed. Or on her head. "Nani," I say, "they are on your head!" "Of course! How silly of me. Thank you, Richa dear," she says with a giggle. This time, though, I cannot find Nani’s glasses. Not yet. I have looked everywhere. In all the usual places. On her head, in the bathroom, inside her cupboard, and on the puja shelf. I have looked under her favourite chair and on the dining table. Nothing. No glasses. Where could they be ? I decided to be a good detective. I decided to find out what she had done all day. "I did nothing much today. Except that Veena’s mother-in-law came, you know. And how much she gossips! We had many cups of tea. And she ate all the laddoos your mother had made," said Nani. Raju said, "Nani was very busy today. She wrote a letter to the Chief Minister about her pension." Amma said, "She spoke for a long time to your Masi. She finished knitting the sweater for Raju. And then she went for a short walk." I now had many clues. I quickly looked around new places in the house. Aha! I have found the missing glasses! The spectacles were wrapped in wool, kept next to her pen, under the phone, on her desk. And I found a half-eaten laddoo there as well. For Nani's next birthday, I will save money for an extra pair of glasses!

Professor-Archie-Makes-a-Bang.txt

Why is phonics important to learn? The English language seems like it is full of a lot of crazy pronunciations and spelling. While a small amount of English must be rote learned due to exceptions from rules, much of it can be decoded using phonics. When you know phonics, you are like a detective following clues to solve a mystery. In this series, we use only words that your little reader will be able to break down into standard phonemes. This will build reading confidence while strengthening their phonics foundation. Is this the right level for my little reader? If your reader can decode about 90% of the words in this book independently, this will be an appropriate platform to begin their study of phonics. By understanding a majority of the words, a reader can use context to decode new terms. If a reader breezes through, you might need to take them up another level. If this level is still a bit too tricky for them, get your reader to try some of the earlier levels first. Challenges can be good, but too much too quickly could overwhelm your reader. Take things slow and steady. Enjoy the books and the journey together! How can I be a good learning buddy for my reader? If you are helping somebody to read this book, there are plenty of ways that you can go about it. Do the initial exercises together before you begin to read so that you have both experienced the isolated sounds and discussed them. If the reader gets stuck, cover up all but the first phoneme in the word so that the sound can be isolated again. Slowly move along and reveal more phonemes. Once they can say each individual part of the word, you can focus on blending. Say the words so that they can hear them, and get them to repeat it out aloud several times. To consolidate knowledge after you finish a page, talk about what happened and what is in the picture. Then, try saying some of the words on the page and see if the reader can identify them. Get the reader doing this as well, saying words which you need to find. Above all, you should be patient. Create a safe place to make mistakes so that the reader is willing to give things a go. Special Words This book has some special words that you should take your reader through before you begin. Many special words are those that we use in day-to-day conversation. Unfortunately, a lot of their phonetic structures do not conform to rules that your reader has learned. These words can be frustrating and confusing, but they are also a part of natural reading, writing, and conversation. Professor Say each word to your reader a few times so that they can get used to its sound. Get them to repeat it back to you. Afterwards, see if your reader can think of any words that rhyme with this sound in order to help lock in how to pronounce it. Finally, think of some basic sentences that use this word. For example, if the word is ‘the’ you can create basic sentences with a subject, verb, and object: "The hat is on the table." Professor Archie is intelligent. He loves science and he loves making new things. Archie thinks about things that have not been made yet. Archie thinks by day. Archie thinks by night. Archie thinks in bed. Archie thinks in the shower. Archie scribbles at his desk. Then it clicks, and a new thing is started. Archie made a computer that can make food. It can put bread in the toaster. It can crack eggs into a pan. It can cook meat in the oven. It can even squeeze oranges. Time to eat! Archie made a pencil that can draw on its own. If a photo is taken, Archie’s pencil gets a digital note. It starts drawing on paper. It can draw a dolphin. It can draw a spaceship. It can even draw a dolphin driving a spaceship! Archie made a bicycle that can make energy. As he rides, his feet turn the wheels. As the wheels turn, they make energy. Archie’s bicycle can charge a phone. It can even run a computer! Archie made an ambulance that can lift up over the road and fly. If the ambulance needs to get to a place quickly, it can! Archie even made it that the ambulance can land in the sea. Good work Professor Archie! At times, Archie likes to make simple things. A backpack that can tell which way to walk. A fridge that can decide which food he needs to eat. Ice cream that never melts! These things make us glad. Good job Professor Archie. What will Archie make next…?

Practice_test-Math-5th_Grade-Nebraska_2016_WA.txt

A 2 STOP. 1 1. What is ÷3? 4 1 A. 12 3 B. 4 4 C. 3 D. 12 2. Billy jumps 4 yards. What is the length of his jump, in inches? A. 40 B. 48 C. 124 D. 144 3. What is 9,887 rounded to the nearest thousand? A. 9,000 B. 9,800 C. 9,900 D. 10,000 A 3 Go on to the next page. 4. Use the picture below to answer the question. How many edges does the right rectangular prism have? A. 6 B. 8 C. 10 D. 12 2 3 5. Which set of steps shows the sum of + in simplest form? 3 4 2 3 8 9 17 5 A. + → + → → 1 3 4 12 12 12 12 2 3 5 5 10 3 B. + → + → → 1 3 4 7 7 7 7 2 3 6 12 18 1 C. + → + → → 1 3 4 12 12 12 2 2 3 8 9 17 7 D. + → + → → 1 3 4 12 12 12 12 6. Which is true? A. 4.09 > 4.50 B. 2.31 > 2.18 C. 5.23 < 5.14 D. 6.80 < 6.29 A 4 Go on to the next page. 7. Use the graph below to answer the question. Animals at the Zoo 12 Number of Animals 10 8 6 4 2 0 elephant shark penguin giraffe Type of Animal Which conclusion is true? A. There are six more giraffes than penguins. B. There are two more elephants than giraffes. C. There are three more penguins than sharks. D. There are eight more penguins than elephants. 8. What is 4,376 ÷ 36? A. 121 B. 121R20 C. 122 D. 122R16 A 5 Go on to the next page. 9. Which figure is labeled correctly? A. B. prism sphere C. D. cone cube 10. Use the graphic below to answer the question. + What is the sum of the fractions represented by the blocks? A. 0.12 B. 1.155 C. 1.2 D. 1.65 A 6 Go on to the next page. 11. Which number does 105 represent? A. 50 B. 500 C. 10,000 D. 100,000 1 1 1 12. A recipe calls for pound of nuts, pound of candy pieces, and pound of dried fruit. What is 4 8 3 the total weight, in pounds, of nuts, candy pieces, and dried fruit the recipe calls for? 1 A. 15 3 B. 15 17 C. 24 17 D. 8 13. What is the product of 18 × 24? A. 108 B. 128 C. 432 D. 632 A 7 Go on to the next page. 14. What is the standard form of forty-five and nine tenths? A. 45.009 B. 45.09 C. 45.9 D. 45.910 15. Use the coordinate grid below to answer the question. y 7 6 5 4 P 3 2 1 x 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 What are the coordinates of point P? A. (3, 5) B. (5, 3) C. (5, 4) D. (6, 3) 16. When solving the expression 4 + 6 ÷ 2 × 5 – 3, which operation is performed first? A. 4+6 B. 6÷2 C. 2×5 D. 5–3 A 8 Go on to the next page. 3 17. Which shows as a decimal? 4 A. 0.25 B. 0.34 C. 0.43 D. 0.75 18. Use the figure below to answer the question. Key = 1 cubic unit What is the volume of the figure? A. 11 units3 B. 27 units3 C. 34 units3 D. 36 units3 19. What is 170 × 10? A. 17 B. 170 C. 1,700 D. 17,000 A 9 Go on to the next page. 20. Which set of ordered pairs could be generated by the rule y = 7x? A. (0, 7), (1, 14), (3, 28) B. (1, 7), (2, 14), (4, 28) C. (7, 0), (14, 1), (28, 3) D. (7, 1), (14, 2), (28, 4) 21. This question has two parts. Answer part A, and then answer part B. Part A Use the equation below to answer part A. 14 × 10? = 140,000 What is the missing number that makes the equation true? A. 2 B. 4 C. 6 D. 8 Part B Use the equation below to answer part B. 4,800,000 ÷ 10? = 480 What is the missing number that makes the equation true? A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 7 A 10 Go on to the next page. 22. Use the graph below to answer the question. y 5 C 4 3 2 A 1 B x –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 1 2 3 4 5 –1 –2 –3 –4 –5 Select all of the statements that are true. Select all. A. Point B is located at the origin. B. Point A is located only on the x-axis. C. Point C is located only on the y-axis. D. Point A is located on both the x-axis and y-axis. E. Point B is not located on either the x-axis or y-axis. A 11 Go on to the next page. 23. Use the bar graph below to answer the question. Tabitha’s Class’ Shirts 10 9 8 Number of Students 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 black green white Color The bar graph represents the numbers of students in a class wearing black, green, and white shirts. Select all of the statements that are true. Select all. A. There is a total of 6 students in the class wearing green shirts. B. There is a total of 10 students in the class wearing white shirts. C. There is a total of 25 students in the class wearing black, green, or white shirts. D. There is a total of 15 students in the class wearing either a black shirt or a green shirt. E. There is a total of 19 students in the class wearing either a black shirt or a white shirt. A 12 STOP. NeSA-M Grade 5 Reference Sheet Shape Area Perimeter Key Rectangle A=l×w P = 2l + 2w l = length s = side length Square A=s×s P=s+s+s+s w = width Standard Units Metric Units Conversions – Length 1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in.) 1 centimeter (cm) = 10 millimeters (mm) 1 yard (yd) = 3 feet (ft) = 36 inches (in.) 1 meter (m) = 100 centimeters (cm) 1 mile (mi) = 1,760 yards (yd) = 5,280 feet (ft) 1 meter (m) = 1,000 millimeters (mm) 1 kilometer (km) = 1,000 meters (m) Conversions – Volume 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces (fl oz) 1 liter (l) = 1,000 milliliters (ml) 1 pint (pt) = 2 cups 1 liter (l) = 1,000 cubic centimeters (cu. cm) 1 quart (qt) = 2 pints (pt) 1 gallon (gal.) = 4 quarts (qt) Conversions – Weight/Mass 1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces (oz) 1 gram (g) = 1,000 milligrams (mg) 1 ton = 2,000 pounds (lb) 1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (g) Grade 5 Mathematics Practice Test Answer Key Sequence Key Points 1 A 1 2 D 1 3 D 1 4 D 1 5 A 1 6 B 1 7 C 1 8 B 1 9 C 1 10 C 1 11 D 1 12 C 1 13 C 1 14 C 1 15 B 1 16 B 1 17 D 1 18 D 1 19 C 1 20 B 1 21 Part A: B 2 Part B: A 22 A, B, C 2 23 B, C, D 2 Grade 5 Mathematics Practice Test

Butterflies.txt

Butterflies A butterfly is an insect. It has six legs and four wings. A butterfly’s body head has three parts. The abdomen helps a butterfly eat, breathe, and make thorax babies. The thorax is where the legs and wings are abdomen attached. A butterfly’s head has a mouth, two eyes and two antennae. Butterflies use their antennae to smell. A butterfly has a long tube for a mouth that works just like a straw. It helps the butterfly drink nectar from inside flowers. A mother butterfly lays her eggs on plants. She chooses plants that her babies can eat for food. Butterfly eggs only take a few days or weeks to hatch. Baby caterpillars are tiny when they are first born. Caterpillars do nothing but eat and grow. Some grow to full size within a week. Others can take up to a year. When the caterpillar reaches full size, it finds a safe place and attaches itself to a branch. Its skin comes off and under the old skin is a new, hard skin called a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar is turning into a butterfly. Sometimes this takes a week, but it can take up to eight months. The caterpillar has changed into a butterfly! It is ready to fly away, lay more eggs and start the cycle all over again.

behind_the_lie-domestic_violence-pratham-FKBMAD.txt

Behind the Lie As soon as their father left for work, Ramesh swept up the broken glass while Valli made tea. Though she was only eight years old, she had already learnt how to make the strong, sweet tea that their mother liked. In between sips, Amma held the warm glass to her throbbing forehead. And to her swollen cheek. I fell. I tripped. The glass shattered when I dropped it. These were Amma’s usual excuses. And no one looked beyond what she said. Not even when the children started repeating the lies. "Buying bread for the third day in a row?" asked Murugan, the owner of the neighbourhood store. There weren’t many customers at his store that morning so he chatted with Valli as he entered her purchases into his account book. "If your Amma is still not well enough to cook, don’t you think you should take her to the doctor?" "It’s not that kind of illness, Murugan anna," Valli sighed. "What kind of illness is it, then?" Murugan persisted. "Just that her arm is hurting very badly. Because she tripped on the road and fell straight on her shoulder," Valli repeated her mother’s lie. But her eyes told another story. And though she avoided Murugan’s eyes, he felt very uneasy. Something was not right. He discussed it with his wife, Sarasa, later that evening and was shocked to hear the truth about Valli’s mother, Meenakshi. "It’s not tripping or falling. It’s her monster of a husband. Looks like he wouldn’t hurt a fly! But that’s just a mask. Poor Meenakshi — she puts up with all his blows and beatings to protect the children." Murugan was very upset. "I didn’t know this. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? We should have done something." After all, both families had lived on the same street for years. It wasn’t right that Meenakshi and her children should suffer like this. "You mean you’ve never noticed?" Sarasa was surprised, "Meenakshi’s bruises? The cut lip some weeks ago? It breaks my heart," she sighed. "But what can we do? Interfering might only make things worse." Murugan wondered how he could help without making things worse for Meenakshi and her children. He thought about it deeply before coming up with a plan. The help Murugan arranged arrived at Valli’s door some days later. It came wearing a wide smile a khaki police uniform. "I’m Sub Inspector Jaya," the young policewoman introduced herself. "My uncle, Murugan maama, asked me to visit you. I got off duty early today, so I stopped here on my way home." Luckily for Valli and her family, Appa was travelling on work. When their father was at home, the three of them lived under a cloud of fear, always scared about doing something that could set off his violent temper. "Don’t make Appa angry," Meenakshi would beg her children every day. "No singing, Ramesh. Please! Don’t bounce that ball, Valli." SI Jaya listened patiently when the children told her all of this. Then she and Amma spoke in low voices for a long time while the children did their homework. When it was time to leave, Jaya insisted that they note down her mobile number. "You can call me any time. Day or night. And if I can’t come myself, I’ll have the beat policeman at your door in minutes," she promised. "But I don’t have a phone," Amma pointed out, "My husband refuses to let me have one." Jaya made Amma write down her number anyway. "This terrible situation is not your fault," were her parting words to them as she got onto her bike. "This violence is not okay. And the three of you should never suffer in silence thinking it is normal. Meenakshi, you must think about what we’ve discussed and do some of the things I’ve suggested." After she left, Valli asked Amma what Jaya meant. "The SI wants me to write to someone in our family telling them how things are. She says we should not keep hiding our problem. That we should share our problem with people who care for us. She also said I could file a complaint at our Police Station if I wanted. But I don’t know what to do. Will any of this really help us?" Ramesh nodded gloomily. He was moody, and suspicious of everyone these days. More so ever since he too had become the target of Appa’s anger whenever he rushed to help Amma. "The SI wouldn’t have given us her personal number anyway. Try calling that number," he challenged his mother and sister bitterly. "I bet you a full bar of chocolate that you’ll just get a recorded message. Or no one will answer." "Let’s write to someone first then. Why not write to Paati?" Valli knew Appa was a little scared of his mother. It took a few days, but Amma did finally write to Paati. Then, they all waited eagerly for a reply. A visit from Paati would be nice. She was strict with them but what fun they had when she visited, bringing tins of home-made snacks with her. She would braid Valli’s hair in a new way each day and play cricket with them in the tiny lane. Amma would join them sometimes. Paati and Ramesh would sing together at home, and though Appa would look very irritated, he would control his temper while Paati was there. Yes, their grandmother would tell Appa that his violence was not acceptable. But when two weeks passed with no answer from Paati, all three grew downcast. What could they do next, they wondered sadly. Appa had been travelling and when he returned, he had some news for them. "My mother called me a few days ago," he said gruffly. "She’s arriving here tomorrow. She wants to stay a few months. Months! I can’t understand why. Here…" he flung some money on the kitchen counter. "Pay the bill at the store and don’t forget to buy my mother’s special brand of coffee when you buy provisions for the month." As soon as he left, slamming the door angrily behind him, the children jumped with excitement. "Give us a little of that money to buy sweets, Amma!" Ramesh pleaded. Amma agreed. More rare than the money she gave each of them was the half-smile on her face. On their way to school, Valli made Ramesh stop at Murugan’s store. After SI Jaya’s visit to their home, Murugan made it a point to talk to the children whenever he could. He was busy when they entered the store, so Valli prodded Ramesh to the place where the sweets were displayed. "You had better buy me that full bar of chocolate before you spend your money on anything else," she demanded, "because I am surely going to win the bet." It took Ramesh a minute to remember the bet he had made the day SI Jaya had visited. He laughed and told his sister to hurry up. When Valli had chosen what she wanted, she went up to Murugan and asked whether she could make a call from his phone. She dialed Jaya’s number. "Yes, Murugan maama," answered a familiar voice at the other end. Valli wiggled her thumb at Ramesh. So much for him thinking that the policewoman wouldn’t answer their call. "Jaya akka, it’s me. Valli." "Is everything alright, Valli? Do you need help?" Jaya sounded concerned. "We’re fine, akka. I just called to tell you that my Paati is coming to stay with us for a few months because Amma wrote telling her about Appa. And… how bad things were." "That’s such good news! And now you also know how to reach me, right? You can call me any time for help." The call over and Murugan’s many questions answered, the children started unwrapping their chocolate as they left the store. Valli’s heart felt lighter. Not just because of the chocolate they were sharing. Not even because of the whole extra bar she had won from her brother. But because, for the first time in months, she could hear Ramesh singing softly to himself as they walked to school. How children can cope with violence in the home Children who live with an abusive or violent parent often feel scared or angry or ashamed. This is only natural. If you know anyone in this situation, let them know that: No one should suffer violence in silence. All children and adults have the right to live in safety, especially within their home. The violence is never the child’s fault. The child’s actions or behaviour does not cause the violence. Violence in the home is a crime. In India, the law provides protection to children and women once the crime is reported. Those found guilty of the crime will be punished. When children cannot act on their own to report abuse, their friends and classmates can help by: Suggesting they share the problem with trusted people and following up until they do. Trusted adults could be grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbours, school principal. Discussing the problem with their own parents and seeking their help. Calling for help on their behalf if required. Call 1098. This is CHILDLINE, the 24-hour helpline which can be dialled from any part of India by any child or adult. It provides immediate help to children seeking protection from child abuse, violence against a parent at home or any crime against children.

manners-in-the-park-spot-the-difference-pratham-FKB.txt

Manners in the Park - Spot the Difference 1a. The children in this park are playing happily. 1b. The children in this park are not playing happily. Can you spot why? 2a. The children are playing as a team. 2b. The children are not playing as a team. Can you spot why? 3a. The people are walking in a spotless park. 3b. The people are walking in a messy park. Can you spot why? 4a. The children are having fun together. 4b. The children are not having fun at all. Can you spot why? 5a. The water in this park is clean. 5b. The water in this park is polluted. Can you spot why? SPOT THE DIFFERENCES In one park, the children are playing happily and making friends. In the other park, the children are neither kind nor considerate. Who could spot the most differences – your friends, teachers, parents or you? 1a, 1b 1. Two children are trying to get on the swing at the same time. 2. A child is pulling another child’s leg while he is on the monkey bar. 3. A child is throwing sand at anyone who tries to enter the sandbox. 4. The monkey bar is missing two rods. 5. A red swing seat has turned blue. 6. The shovel in the sand box is missing. 2a, 2b 1. A girl is arguing with the referee. 2. Two children are about to punch each other while tackling the ball. 3. A player from one team is tripping the runner from the other team. 4. All the blue checks on a white shirt become blue stripes on a white shirt. 5. A girl’s hairstyle is different. 6. The referee has a blue whistle around his neck. 3a, 3b 1. A man is seen throwing a toffee wrapper on the ground. 2. A tea seller has a clutter of plastic cups around him. 3. A child has thrown some trash into the bin and missed. 4. There is a blue plastic packet in the bushes. 5. The walls along the boundary of the park have old posters. 6. There is a pile of rubbish under the lamp. 4a, 4b 1. A girl in the green top is angry with the boy who wants to skip with them. 2. A few younger kids are seen seated with their roller skates on, the older girl is not letting them skate with her. 3. One roller skater is elbowing another. 4. One of the shoelaces on the roller skates is untied. 5. The hopscotch area has an extra box. 6. One skipping rope is blue. 5a, 5b 1. The child in a red shirt, standing next to the gardener, has plucked a flower. 2. One child is twisting a dog’s tail, the dog looks distressed. 3. A jogger is spitting into the water. 4. One of the flowers in the garden is yellow. 5. The water is foaming. 6. The goose leaving the pond has a film of black liquid on its wing.

SamSam-and-Marzipan-The-Cubby-House.txt

Sam Sam and Marzipan Sam Sam and Marzipan is an imaginative adventure story as seen through the eyes of a four year old boy. Sam and his faithful off white and ginger cat - Marzipan, live in a magical world where Marzipan not only talks but understands Sam’s every thought and is his most loyal friend. Other objects come to life and assume characters as imaginative and creative as only a four year old boy can be. In a world where imagination has no boundaries Sam Sam, creates his own world with - his silly old cat. Sam Sam is Sam’s imaginative name - an extension of Sam, and his name when he assumes his world of imagination, which as a sole child, he seeks out regularly. As Marzipan sits on the table, Sam Sam shouts to his cubby friends. Sam’s dad built the cubby with table, kitchen chairs and a wooden stove. ‘Come on Tock! Come on Dish! Come on Spoon! Gather around and listen!’ says Sam Sam, As Tock waves his arms and joins Dish and Spoon to hear Sam Sam tell them about today’s adventure.. ‘We’re heading to sea! A big chocolate sea, with mountains made of marshmallow and ALL sorts of things!’ Sam Sam says excitedly. Everyone is excited as Sam Sam leans out the cubby window and, like the Captain of a ship, stares out over a large chocolate sea. The ship is smashing against big waves. ‘Hold on!’ Sam Sam shouts as he puts his hand out and tastes the chocolate sea. ‘Mmmmm yummy!’ he exclaims in delight. ‘What do you think Dish?’ Dish tastes the chocolate sea. ‘Pretty good, don’t you think?’ asks Sam Sam. As Tock steers the ship they pass giant vanilla icebergs that they can taste. They all eat vanilla ice-cream until it is dripping down their chins. Sam Sam knows that his mother would tell him off, but as Captain of the ship he can do whatever he likes! Sam Sam and Marzipan stare out at the chocolate sea, the vanilla icebergs, and the Marshmallow Mountains that are on top of the small island ahead. ‘Go to the island Tock!’ Sam Sam yells. The island is made of coconut and the trees are large ice cream cones filled with lollies! Sam Sam and friends were so full from eating they could hardly move! But it was getting late and time to head home. When they got home Sam’s mother yells out that it is time for dinner. Marzipan moves back onto the table in the cubby house which is filled with bags of lollies. Sam looks on, ‘Silly old cat!’ he says.

Tanias-Cycling-Adventure-.txt

Tania's Cycling Adventure It was summer. The month of May was unbearably hot in Bombay. So every year during the worst of the sweltering hot weather, Tania and her parents left the city for a week long vacation to a hill station. This year they went to Shimla. Shimla is a hill station in the mighty Himalayan mountain range. Tania and her parents were staying in a resort with sprawling grounds. The area around the hotel was surrounded by lush green cedar and pine forests. The place was indeed very picturesque. Every morning after breakfast and every evening after a scrumptious tea, Tania and her parents went for walks in the forests. Mama pointed out pretty flowers of many different colours and sizes. Tania would sometimes spot the flowers before mama and cry out "Mama, look there is an orange flower." During the day there was not much for Tania to do. Her parents liked to read, laze, play cards or chat, and that was too boring for the energetic little four year old. The hotel had a children's activity room where Tania had found a pretty pink tricycle. She wanted to ride the tricycle around the hotel grounds. Mama thought it was a good idea and comfortably settled down to read a book on a shady spot on the lawn. She said "Tania, don't wander off too far away. You may get lost. The grounds are quite big. Stay where I can see you." Tania was merrily cycling up and down a path in front of the lawn where mama sat. She was a fairly good girl and typically listened to mama. After a few minutes Tania spotted a squirrel. Tania loved little furry animals. She started riding towards the squirrel. But as she got close the squirrel started running away. She followed as fast as she could, completely forgetting what mama had said about staying in sight. She saw that the squirrel had stopped near a large tree at a short distance. She got off the cycle and slowly approached the squirrel so as not to startle it. She pulled out a couple of almonds from her pocket and stretched out her hand offering the nuts to the squirrel. The squirrel looked at her suspiciously for a minute. Tania knew she should not get too close or the squirrel would run away again. Cautiously the squirrel started approaching her. Then it suddenly darted towards her, grabbed the nut and stepped back again. It chomped away on the nut keeping a sharp eye on Tania. Tania waited patiently holding the second nut. Slowly the squirrel began to trust her. He was less skittish when he approached her for the second nut. Tania fed the squirrel a few more nuts and made friends with it. She was happy she had the nuts in her pocket. She had put them there to snack on during the morning walk with her parents. After playing with the squirrel for sometime, Tania got up to get back on her cycle. It was only then that Tania realised that she had never seen this part of the hotel grounds before. She was so intent on following the squirrel that she did not see where she was going. "Oh, oh!" she thought, "Now I am lost." She decided to cycle along the path for a little while. May be she would see something familiar. In the mean time mama was getting worried. She had not seen Tania in a while. She started looking for her but couldn't find her. The grounds were huge and mama was feeling annoyed with Tania for wandering off. She informed the hotel staff and they sent out a few people in different directions to search for her. As Tania cycled on she came across a fountain. It had a shallow pool of water around it. It was really quaint, and Tania walked up to it for a closer look. She saw a frog in the pool. She was seized with the desire to touch the frog, so she leaned over the edge of the pool and stretched out her hand. But she slipped, lost her balance and fell in to the pool. Soaking wet and a little bruised, she started crying loudly for mama. Fortunately one of the hotel staff searching for Tania heard her cry. He picked her up and took her too mama. Mama was relieved to see Tania and she gave her a big hug. Then she noticed that Tania was soaking wet. She asked her "What happened Tania? Where were you, and why are you wet?". Tania told her everything that had happened. Mama scolded her for wandering off and told her that she could have been badly hurt. Tania apologised and mama hugged her again. Then she carried Tania off to the hotel room to give her a nice warm bath.

peppercarrot_episode14-original.txt

Cayenne! Thyme! Can one of you go find me some Dragon's Tooth? In this cold?! No thanks! No problem, ^ I'll take care of it! A good set of pliers, a little body armor, and we'll have those Dragon's Teeth! Vlhoo ! I think it'll be a teeny tiny bit more complicated than I thought. 1 Carrot! ... ... Swamp dragons are famous for their docile nature! VWI? Impressed, aren't you' I haue at least a hundred Dragon's Teeth! ... but Pepper, Dragon's Tooth.

A-Dancers-Tale_-The-Story-of-Phyllis-Spira.txt

A Dancer's Tale: The Story of Phyllis Spira Samantha Cutler English Once upon a time, in Joburg's Orange Grove, a little girl called Phyllis was born into the world. Two people in love, hugged their sweet little babe. No-one knew then, what a dancer they'd made. By the time she was four, she had learned very quick. She impressed all her teachers, with her ducky feet flicks! Before school and after, she danced everyday. Nothing pleased Phyllis, more than ballet. When the world was ready for Phyllis at fifteen, She arrived in big, old London, ready to live her dream. She said goodbye to all her friends. She was ready to start fresh. Watch out Royal Ballet School! Phyllis is here to impress. When Phyllis danced Swan Lake, it was fit to show the Queen! After years of pirouetting, she was ready to be seen. Dancing for the audience, she turned and twirled about. Look! Everyone is smiling! See how they clap and shout! From Mexico to Canada. From the USA to France. Phyllis travelled far and wide, so the world could see her dance. With the Royal Ballet Company, and her ballerina friends, she spread her love for ballet. She never wanted it to end. Phyllis always knew, that dance was in her heart. But she longed to return home again, and make a fresh new start. So she leaped and bounded, back to her beautiful land. Her ballerina roots were regrown. She was once more South African. Dancing wasn’t just for fun, as Phyllis always knew. She’d work at dancing day and night, and with hard work she grew. Always smiling, always trying, through good times and through tough, Phyllis always did her best. She couldn’t get enough. Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and Giselle. Phyllis danced these for the people: graceful, tireless, well. With partners Gary Burne and Eduard Greyling too, her magnificence inspired the audience. To her, flowers they threw. Reward comes easily, when you put yourself to the test. Phyllis came to realise this, once she was called ‘The Best.’ She was awarded ‘Prima Ballerina Assoluta.’ The greatest dancer of them all! Phyllis would be forever known. She wanted nothing more. Goodness! What a catch! Phyllis met her loving partner. His name was Phillip Boyd. He was another dancer. Together they were married. and together they would dance. No-one could be better matched, given half the chance! Though they had no children, Phyllis and Phillip were never sad. They two of them found another way to help other Mums and Dads. They started Dance For All, a special school for dance. So that children with no money, could also learn to prance! She left a legacy of dance, and incredible success. Her magic was passed on to others to help them become their best. Her students spread across the world, inspired by her ducky feet. They dance on while we watch, dreaming from our seats.

Mystic-Moon-Saves-the-Day-F-Meintjies.txt

Mystic Moon Saves The Day Mystic Moon wandered the Magaliesberg hills for many days and many months. In this time, he had seen no other wolves. He had come across some lions but kept his distance. Now and again they growled at him from a distance as he moved between the age-old brown rocks and the vegetation − bushes, grass, wild flowers. At other times, careful to stay downwind, he came close to the lions, just watching them and getting to know the other animals in the area. He loved climbing to the crest in the afternoon light. Up there, he could feel the cooling air, sometimes gusting and sometimes gentle. He could see far into the distance  the grasslands far away and here and there a human dwelling. Sometimes when the wind pushed hard, it caused tears in his eyes. But he was at peace here, finding a stillness in himself. One day he noticed two young lions playing on the hillside, moving higher and higher up in the folds between the crag. His eyes drifted to some eagles circling a few miles west. He also saw a few grey clouds drifting in and wondered if rain would come. When he turned back to look at the cubs, they were perched on a narrow ledge. Below them, the valley fell away, hundreds of feet. He could see no adult lions nearby. Before the cubs the small stone walkway continued for a bit; then it ended in a sheer rock-face. Above them, the rocks perched precariously. He watched as one of them tried to walk backwards, but its paws fumbled on loose stones and the young lion froze. One jump away was a flat rock that again opened up to the bushes on the incline. Mystic Moon bounded down along a path, getting close to the pair. "Hey kids," he said. The cubs dared not look up. He heard one call out: "Hey, hello .... where are you, who are you?" . Then the other's voice trembled: "P..p..please help us!". The wolf said: "I am Mystic Moon. Don't look up. Just stay calm. I am coming to help." Just then Mystic Moon heard a loud growl. He looked down. It was the lion he knew as Matseng. A few steps behind him was Cleo, a lioness that the wolf had seen a few times with Matseng and his brother Zukhara. "Keep away from them," Matseng roared again. "Yes you, wolf!" In the silence of the mountain, it was like thunder in the wolf's ears. Mystic Moon looked at them. Normally he feared lions, especially since they hunted in a pack; but his concern for the cubs made him stand his ground. He walked onto a small rock nearer the edge: "Matseng, I come in peace." he said. "We have had our differences. I know you are fussy about who comes into your hunting grounds. But this is no time for that. Can't you see your little ones are in trouble." Matseng roared again. But Cleo intervened, moving to stand in front of Matseng and looking into the big lion's face. Mystic Moon waited patiently. He could feel the wind building up. One of the cubs, the darker brown one with a some black hairs on the ridge of the back, slipped and small pieces of stone went raining down and landed on a small outcrop halfway down. Mystic Moon couldn't hear what Cleo was saying to Matseng. Now and again Matseng let off a soft growl that petered out. Mystic Moon called out: "You will never reach them in time. Let me help them". One of the cubs whimpered and a blast of wind whistled through the grass and rocks. "Fine," Matseng said, looking up at Moon and at the cubs. "Just this once. Because you are up there. And we have nothing to lose by letting you help them." Cleo stepped to the side and joined Matseng in looking up at the brown rocks and the three animals up there. Matseng's ears were up and directed slightly forward; his tail pointed up. He leaned forward on his forelegs. It struck Mystic Moon that Matseng was as worried as Cleo, although he tried to hide it. Mystic Moon jumped down to a spot in front of the cubs. He grabbed one at the scruff of the neck. Then, after measuring the distance with his eyes, leapt across the crevice to a flat rock across. He put the one youngster down and went back for the other one. When both cubs were on the other side, the wolf led them and said. "Come, follow me. I know an easy way down." He first climbed up higher to pass a spring before making a turn to a path on the other side of the gully and its sticky mud. The cubs followed him. "I am Mystic Moon, a wolf," he said as he waited along the path for the cubs to catch up. "My mother gave me that name because the moon had a strange reddish colour the night I was born". "Thank you, we were so scared," said the tawny cub. "I wasn't," said the brown youngster with sprinkles of black hair on the back of his neck. Mystic Moon replied: "If you say so, but it is no shame to feel scared," He noticed the young lion lifting himself higher on his forelegs and raising his tail. "Truly, I wasn't. By the way, my name is Little Warrior," the cub said. Moon shepherded the cubs down the pathway. Halfway down, Moon stopped and the cubs brushed past him on the path before also coming to a stop. Moon could see Matseng pacing slowly down below. Cleo was resting on her forepaws on a small mound. But she kept her eyes focused on the hillside. Mystic Moon called out, "Here they are, Matseng and Cleo!" He turned and made his way back up the mountain. He heard Cleo roar. It sounded like a friendly roar. He heard the light brown cub call out: "Thank you for helping us, mister Wolf". He turned to glance back briefly, nodding his head. Then he continued to climb. The wind had blown many more clouds over this part of the Magaliesberg mountains; they hung low. It was going to rain for sure. Mystic Moon picked his way from stone to stone and between the bushes, heading towards his cosy den higher up.

Ranger-Forester.txt

Why is phonics important to learn? The English language seems like it is full of a lot of crazy pronunciations and spelling. While a small amount of English must be rote learned due to exceptions from rules, much of it can be decoded using phonics. When you know phonics, you are like a detective following clues to solve a mystery. In this series, we use only words that your little reader will be able to break down into standard phonemes. This will build reading confidence while strengthening their phonics foundation. Is this the right level for my little reader? If your reader can decode about 90% of the words in this book independently, this will be an appropriate platform to begin their study of phonics. By understanding a majority of the words, a reader can use context to decode new terms. If a reader breezes through, you might need to take them up another level. If this level is still a bit too tricky for them, get your reader to try some of the earlier levels first. Challenges can be good, but too much too quickly could overwhelm your reader. Take things slow and steady. Enjoy the books and the journey together! How can I be a good learning buddy for my reader? If you are helping somebody to read this book, there are plenty of ways that you can go about it. Do the initial exercises together before you begin to read so that you have both experienced the isolated sounds and discussed them. If the reader gets stuck, cover up all but the first phoneme in the word so that the sound can be isolated again. Slowly move along and reveal more phonemes. Once they can say each individual part of the word, you can focus on blending. Say the words so that they can hear them, and get them to repeat it out aloud several times. To consolidate knowledge after you finish a page, talk about what happened and what is in the picture. Then, try saying some of the words on the page and see if the reader can identify them. Get the reader doing this as well, saying words which you need to find. Above all, you should be patient. Create a safe place to make mistakes so that the reader is willing to give things a go. Special Words This book has some special words that you should take your reader through before you begin. Many special words are those that we use in day-to-day conversation. Unfortunately, a lot of their phonetic structures do not conform to rules that your reader has learned. These words can be frustrating and confusing, but they are also a part of natural reading, writing, and conversation. Ranger, families, finds, the, watches, who Say each word to your reader a few times so that they can get used to its sound. Get them to repeat it back to you. Afterwards, see if your reader can think of any words that rhyme with this sound in order to help lock in how to pronounce it. Finally, think of some basic sentences that use this word. For example, if the word is ‘the’ you can create basic sentences with a subject, verb, and object: "The hat is on the table." Ranger Forester looks after a forest. He knows all animals in this forest. If an animal is missing or hurt, Ranger Forester knows. Forester keeps animal families safe. Ranger Forester is walking. Forester can see bugs. Bugs are good for forests. It means that a forest is balanced. Ranger Forester sees bees. These bees will not sting. Ranger Forester is walking. Forester can hear birdsong. Forester knows which bird it is by its song. Forester finds a feather. Forester knows a bird by its feathers. Ranger Forester sees a snake. Forester is not scared. Forester will watch the snake as it sits on a rock in sun. This snake is sleepy. It will not bite. Still, Forester knows to stay away. Ranger Forester can see spiders in webs. These spiders are eating. Spiders get insects in webs. Spiders spin silk sacs. Insects turn to drink. Forester watches spiders fix webs that bugs broke. Ranger Forester sees a kangaroo family. A little kangaroo is missing. Where is the little kangaroo? Ranger Forester will look for it. Forester looks in scrub. Forester sees tracks. The little kangaroo is stuck. Its tail is in a trap. Forester is upset. He frees the kangaroo. Forester checks its tail. It is not bad. This little kangaroo will heal. It bounces away. It finds its family. Forester keeps the trap. He will find who laid it. Forester brings the trap along to a meeting. The rangers are all upset. The rangers find who laid the traps and they get cops. The animals are safe again.

thats-not-thabi-thats-a-hippopotamus_20180115-4-18.txt

Lucy woke up. Her sister Thabi wasn’t in her bed. "Thabi’s in the kitchen eating breakfast." "Where’s Thabi?" Lucy asked Ma. "That’s not Thabi!" "That’s a hippopotamus!" Lucy looked all over the house. "Where’s Thabi?" Lucy asked Pa. "Thabi’s swimming in the pool." "That’s not Thabi!" "That’s a hippopotamus!" Lucy kept looking around the garden. "Where’s Thabi?" Lucy asked the neighbour. "Thabi’s playing in the park." "That’s not Thabi! That’s a hippopotamus!" Then Lucy heard a funny noise. She gave the hippopotamus a big tickle. "There’s Thabi!" "Thanks," said Thabi. "It’s very boring inside a hippopotamus."

Sunflowers.txt

Sunflowers Have you ever eaten a sunflower seed? Did you know you are eating part of a flower? Growing a sunflower starts with seeds that are planted in the ground. The seed will begin to sprout into a little plant called a seedling. With lots of water and sunlight the seedling will grow and grow. Soon, a bud grows on the little plant. A bud is where the flower will grow. As the bud gets bigger, it’s getting ready for the flower to open. Finally, the flower opens up. This is called blooming. The middle of the flower is where the seeds start to grow. Behind each little yellow part of the flower, a sunflower seed is growing. A giant sunflower can grow to over 12 feet tall. A sunflower can have up to 2,000 seeds. How many seeds do you see in this picture? You can collect the seeds to grow more sunflowers or the seeds can be a yummy snack for you or a friend!

Animal-Homes.txt

Animal Homes People live in houses and apartments. Where do animals live? Foxes live in holes in the ground that help them hide and keep warm. Bats live in caves. They sleep in the day hanging upside down. Bees live in hives. 50,000 bees can live in one hive. Birds live in nests so they can take care of their babies. Spiders live on webs. The webs are sticky and help spiders catch insects for food. Starfish live on coral reefs. Fish, crabs, shrimp and other animals live on the reefs too. Animals live in lots of different places. Some animals live in houses too!

How-Far-Is-Far-.txt

How Far is Far? Today, we will climb up a ladder together. It is a rather unusual ladder. In this ladder, the distance between the rungs gets bigger and BIGGER and BIGGER as you climb up the steps, growing 10 times at each step. Sometimes we will climb one step at a time and at other times we will skip many steps at one go. The funny thing is that we are not even sure which the last step is or whether the steps go on forever. Let the exciting journey begin! Step 0: 1 metre What do a five year old boy, a cricket bat and a newborn baby elephant have in common? All of them have a height of about 1 metre (or 1m for short)! It would be awkward to say that the ceiling of a room is 3 baby elephants high. So we make the sensible choice of saying that the height of the ceiling is 3 metres. Step 1: 10 metres Now that you have a feel for the size of one metre, we are ready to climb to the next step of our ladder, at 10 metres. A three storey building or a mango tree is roughly 10 metres high. A cricket pitch is about twice that length. Can you think of other objects that are about 10 m long or high? Step 2: 100 metres Have you noticed that with every step we add a zero to the right of the number we had before and the step number matches the number of zeroes? Keep track of that as we climb along. If you have run the 100m race on school sports day, or watched sprinters do it on TV, you know exactly how far that is. Now imagine if the 100m track stood up! That would be about the height of two Gol Gumbaz*-es. *The Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur, Karnataka, is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah. When it was built in 1656, it had the largest dome in the world. It held the record until 1881! Step 3: 1000 metres Thousand metres has a special name - it is called 1 kilometre or 1 km. You would cover this distance if you ran the 100 metre race 10 times - phew! You would need to climb about 9 km to reach the top of Mount Everest. Step 6: 1,000,000 metres Now let's skip 2 steps and go to step 6, which has six zeroes to the right of 1. The distance from the northern tip of India in Kashmir to the southern tip at Kanyakumari is about 4 times this distance, or 4 times 1,000,000 m, or 4,000,000 m. Because 4,000,000 m is quite a mouthful, we usually say 4000 km, which is the same thing. Step 8: 100,000,000 metres How far away is the bright, beautiful moon? It is right there on the 8th step of our distance ladder at about 4 times 100,000,000 m, or 400,000 km away from the earth! Step 11: 100,000,000,000 metres Let us skip two more steps and race to the blazing hot Sun. How far away is it? It is about 100,000,000 km PLUS another 50,000,000 km. That is very, VERY far away indeed! But the far, far away sun still lights up the world and makes us sweat in summer. Amazing, isn't it? Last Step??? Is there a last step on the ladder? We don’t know yet! But with powerful telescopes, scientists have been able to see way beyond the sun. The farthest object that they have been able to spot is on the 26th step, 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 m away! That is SERIOUSLY FAR! Maybe when you grow up, you can discover something even further away, on the 28th or 29th step. Isn’t that an exciting thought? Fun with Measuring The following activity done in a classroom setting is a great way to give children a feel for large distances and can engage the children either in a single group, or in teams. 1. Ask the children to cut long strips (each about an inch wide) from old newspapers. 2. Ask them to stick the strips end to end with tape or glue to make longer strips, until they get a strip that is 1 metre long (they can use a measuring tape for this). 3. Now ask the children to use this 1 m long strip as a measure and make 10 similar strips and stick them end to end to make a 10 m long strip. They can lie down next to this strip, head to head and feet to feet, and see how many of them it takes to make 10 m. 4. They can then stick ten 10 m strips together to make a 100 m strip that goes round the classroom many times. 5. What about a 1 km strip? How many times does that go around the classroom? Which team was able to create a 1 km long strip fastest? Notes for Parents & Teachers: - When writing down big numbers with lots of zeroes after the 1, it is very easy for children - and adults! - to make mistakes. That is why the 'Powers of 10' notation is such a useful thing. Through this book, children can be taught how to use it - all they need to do is to count the number of zeroes to the right of the 1, and write that number as a superscript of 10. For instance, 1000, which has 3 zeroes after the 1, can be written as 103. And 10000000 (7 zeroes after the 1), can be compactly written as 10 7. Simple! - In this book, we stopped our 'How far is far?' game at the Sun. If you want to take the game further, you may want to bring in the nearest star beyond the Sun, Proxima Centauri, which is 1016 m away from the Sun. Or the distance from one end of the Milky Way to another, which is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (or 1021) m! - One thing you should know is that the distances that are given in the book are approximate, not exactly accurate. For example, 3984 km is given as 4000 km. This is not 'unscientific'. Rough estimates are very useful in science! Maybe you can do an activity with the kids to emphasize this. Is the length of a pencil closer to 101 cm or 102 cms? Is the weight of the schoolbus closer to 103 kgs or 104 kgs? Let the children come up with their own questions for their classmates too.

the-best-house-of-all-career_architecture_picturebook.txt

The Best House of All I am an architect. Architects design and make buildings because they like buildings and houses. Just like I do. Which is why Ma calls me her 'little architect'. To build a house, you need space in some place. Your house could be in a full-of-trees forest place, a hot-hot-hot desert place, a really-high-up mountain place, a brrr-it’s-full-of-snow place, a splashy-sploshy rainy place, a muddy green village place or a tall-and-big-can’t-see-the-end city place. Or be a house inside a house! To build a house, you also need stuff. To find stuff, you must look around. A forest has trees. A mountain has stones. The Arctic has snow. A village has mud, big leaves for thatch, and bamboo. A city has bricks, cement, steel and glass. A house has all kinds of stuff. Before you build your house, you must know what you want it to do. Igloos made of snow keep you warm! Wood and stone houses with sloping roofs make the rain and snow run right off. Native American teepees made with poles and animal hide keep you cosy. They are easy to pack up and carry around. Houses on stilts keep you away from water… … and wild animals! Once you have space and stuff, you begin to build. Your house can be any shape and size. Round and small like a mud house with a thatched roof. Tall-enough-to-scrape-the-sky skyscraper. Upside-down-ice-cream-cone teepee. Round-like-a-cake Mongolian yurt. Ball-sliced-in-half igloo. Huge-castle-shaped … To know more about the houses marked out in bold lettering, turn to the back section. ... castle! Or a super-fancy house like mine. But the best house of all… … has family to make it a home! Some Houses Around the World Yurt: Found in Mongolia, yurts are made with a wood frame and thick mats. The parts of the yurt are light enough to be carried on horses and yaks. Teepee: Made with long poles and animal hide by the Native North American Tribes in the plains, this is another house that can be packed up and carried around! Toda dogle: A half-barrel-shaped hut of the Toda tribe, these are made with sticks, bamboo and thatch. They have a tiny entrance to crawl through. This keeps out wild animals. The Toda people live in the Nilgiri hills in South India. Igloo: Did you know that a house made of tightly-packed snow bricks can keep you warm? At least warmer than the-40 degrees centigrade outside! You can find them in the Canadian Arctic and in Thule in Greenland. Stilts: What shape is that? Like an insect? Stilts help keep the place cool and are common in South East Asia.

one-three-five-help_pratham_FKB_stories.txt

One, Three, Five, HELP The coconut beetle loves to count. He is counting petals now. One, two, three, four – THUMP! "Ladybug!" he shouts. "Can you flip me over, please?" The ladybug pushes and huffs and puffs. But she can’t flip the coconut beetle over. "Cicadas!" she calls out. Three cicadas come to help. The coconut beetle counts his friends. "One, two, three, four. Four is an even number!" Four insects push and huff and puff. But they can’t flip the coconut beetle over. 1+3=4 "Lily moths!" calls the ladybug. Five lily moths come to help. The coconut beetle counts his friends. "Nine of you to help me. Nine is an odd number!" Nine insects push and huff and puff. But they can’t flip the coconut beetle over. 4+5=9 Seven jumping spiders come to help. TUP TUP TUP. The coconut beetle counts his friends. "Now there are sixteen. Even number!" Sixteen friends push and huff and PUFF. But they can’t flip the coconut beetle over. 9+7=16 "Call the lacewings!" shouts the ladybug. Nine lacewings come to help. "Woohoo, that makes twenty-five," says the tired coconut beetle. "Twenty-five is an..." "…ODD NUMBER!" shout the twenty-five friends. 16+9=25 Twenty-five friends PUSH and HUFF and PUFF and… FLIP! At last, they flip over the coconut beetle. Even numbers end with any one of these digits 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 Odd numbers end with any one of these digits 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9. Count the number of odd things and even things on this page. Do you get an even number or an odd number when you add them? Odd number + Even number =? Even number + Even number =? Odd number + Odd number =?

Tanias-Safari-Adventure.txt

Tania's Safari Adventure It was late Friday afternoon. Tania and her family had just arrived at a hotel outside the Gir forest sanctuary and national park. They were spending the weekend there. Mama had arranged for a Jeep safari of the forest on Saturday afternoon. Tania was really looking forward to that. Tania loved animals. She would get to see a lion, a real live lion. And not just in a cage at the zoo, but in the wild! Just imagine that. The lion may be just a few feet from her. That would be splendid, thought Tania. The hotel was on the banks of the Hiran river. In the evening mama, papa, Tania and Sonia all went for a walk on the river bank. The river was fairly shallow so they all stepped in to it. The water was refreshingly cool and bits of moss floated around. Tania splashed around in the river with mama and papa walked up and down with baby Sonia on his shoulders. On the way back to the hotel, Tania heard a sound much like Kazoo's mewing. She was startled and asked, "Mama, do you see a cat anywhere?" Mama laughed and said "No honey, look it is a peacock! They make a sound very similar to a cat." Indeed a few feet away was a gorgeous peacock, strutting around. Tania wished it would open up it's tail feathers and dance. The next morning, during breakfast at the outdoor restaurant, Tania spotted half a dozen squirrels scampering up and down the trees. She also noticed a bird sitting absolutely still near some bushes. To her surprise the bird did not move, even when a man walked right past it. She asked "Mama, why does that bird not move at all?" Mama too had noticed the unusual behaviour of the bird. She said "The bird may be injured. Poor thing." After breakfast, papa and Tania went to take a closer look at the bird. Tania asked "Papa what bird is this?" Papa said "I cant be sure, but it looks like a hawk." The bird stayed still even though Tania and papa were peering at it up close. Tania supposed the bird really was injured, but, sadly, there was nothing she could do. After lunch the Jeep arrived to take Tania and her family on the safari. Soon they were inside the forest. They were in an open Jeep and Sonia was sitting on mama's lap. The ride was so bumpy, Tania was afraid Sonia would fall out of the Jeep. Fortunately mama had the baby carrier and she strapped Sonia in safely. The forest was dry, unlike the evergreen forests Tania had seen before at hill stations. The guide explained that colouring of the dry forest was ideal for lions to camouflage themselves. The guide went on to explain, "The Gir forest sanctuary is the sole home of the Asiatic lion. There are only 411 of them including the babies. And the forest is huge. So it is really hard to spot a lion. We will do our best. But don't be too disappointed if you don't see one. There are plenty of other interesting animals to see too." Before Tania had a chance to brood over the slim possibility of seeing lions, the guide pointed out a tree with a ghostly white trunk. He said it was a gum tree like the one in the song "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree". Tania knew the song well and sang it out loud. The guide said every one would have to be as quiet as possible, so they did not disturb the animals. Tania nodded, and switched to talking in whispers. Soon Tania spotted some lovely birds by a watering hole. The guide said "The big ones are storks and the little white ones are egrets." Sometime later Tania saw a deer. She was really excited. This was the first big animal they saw on the safari. It was a beautiful spotted deer, but it was quite far away. Soon they saw more spotted deer. The guide told them that there were some 46000 spotted deer in the sanctuary. One spotted deer came quite close to the Jeep and papa got a good picture of it. A little further down the road there was an explosive sound that startled everyone. The birds nearby flew away in fright. Tania held on tight to papa and Sonia woke up from her nap. The driver had driven over a sharp piece of rock and now they had a flat tire. Oh oh! They all had to get out of the Jeep while the driver replaced the flat with the spare tire. For the first time, Tania was a little scared. What if a lion came by while they were fixing the tire? The guide tried to comfort her saying, "The Maldhari tribal community lives here and their children roam the forest. A lion has never hurt any of them as far as I know." Tania still looked apprehensive, but mama distracted her by pointing to a group of 3 peahens and a peacock. Tania was watching them. Suddenly the peacock spread it's tail feathers and began to dance. Tania couldn't believe her luck. She forgot all about the lions and watched the dance. Papa managed to get a nice picture. Soon the flat tire was fixed and the safari resumed. Tania's good luck continued. After about half an hour the guide spotted a lion and a lioness. The driver stopped the Jeep so everyone could take a good look. A deer came by and the lioness started moving towards it. Then she hid in the dry bushes getting ready to pounce. Tania was amazed to see that the movements of the lioness were very similar to those of Kazoo's, when she got ready to attack one of her toys. The dry bushes camouflaged the lioness so well that she was barely visible. The lioness waited patiently for the right moment to pounce. Unfortunately, Tania did not get to see what happened next because the driver said it was getting late and they had a lot of ground to cover, so they would have to move on. Tania had mixed feelings about this. The hunt was so exciting, she wanted to stay and watch it. But she would feel really bad for the deer, if he got caught. So, on the whole, she thought it was good they left. Tania got to see many more types of birds, a sambar deer and a few blue bulls. The hide of blue bulls actually had a bluish hue. The guide said "The blue bull is the largest Asian antelope and is called nilgai in Hindi." At this point, it was almost 6:30 pm. The light was staring to fade. The safari was over. Tania had a splendid time. She couldn't wait to tell everyone in school that she was barely 20 feet away from a lion. Now that was something to brag about. That evening Tania thanked mama for taking her on 'The most awesome holiday ever'. She meant 'The most awesome holiday to date' of course. Mama is a great holiday planner. I can't wait to hear about their next holiday, can you?

003-DOING_MY_CHORES-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

I like doing my chores. Well, maybe not all of them but most of them. Hmm, maybe not most of them. But a lot of them. Okay, maybe not a lot of them. But a few of them. Well, maybe not a few of them but … None of them! Just fooling … I really do like doing my chores. When I do my chores, it helps my Mommy and Daddy, and as you know Mummies and Daddies sometimes need a lot of help. When I do my chores, it makes me feel important and I like to be important. Don’t you? Sometimes I get bored so I do some chores, even if they are not my chores. Sometimes I have chores that I do not like to do. When that happens I make up a silly game and that makes the chore easier. Like yesterday, I had to put my laundry away and I pretended that I was hiding it from my Mommy. It was fun and I think I remember where I put it. Just fooling … It is in my dresser where it belongs. Sometimes when all my chores are done, we go to the park or have other special time. I know if my chores weren’t done we wouldn’t be able to do that. "So be important and have some fun. Do your chores until they are done."

24754-dipa-karmakar-in-perfect-balance.txt

Dipa Karmakar - In Perfect Balance Dipa loved to jump. She loved to climb trees. And most of all, she loved to run and play with her Puja Didi. Dipa lived in Agartala, the capital of Tripura. Agartala is green and beautiful with agarwood trees and pineapple, orange and litchi orchards. Her Baba was a national weightlifting champion. On most days, she went with him to the gymnasium, where he was a coach. Ma and Baba wanted both their daughters to take up sports. So, at the age of five, Dipa started training. Gymnastics is a lot like acrobatics and aerobics. Quick movements. Tumbling and soaring. Fluid twists and turns. Breathtaking somersaults on narrow beams, vaults and uneven bars! Gymnastics needs balance, lots of mental effort, and control over muscles. One false step can mean a bad fall. Or a broken leg or an injured back! Dipa started training. But she was so scared of falling, that she wouldn’t even step onto the beams. She threw tantrums and complained a lot. Baba believed that she would get over her fear. He was right! Wheeeee! Dipa was cartwheeling. Whoooosh! She was sailing through the air. Baba and her coach Soma Nandi were so happy. When Dipa turned nine, she participated in the balancing beam event in the 2002 Northeastern Games. And guess what? Dipa won the gold medal! What a golden moment for her. This win meant a lot to her and Baba. She was no longer a reluctant gymnast. Dipa still had to work hard. She was flat-footed, which means that the soles of her feet didn’t have the usual natural curve. Flat feet affect how a gymnast runs, and how she lands on her feet during jumps. But Dipa had come so far — she decided she would not give up. Her coach Soma Nandi introduced her to Guruji, Bishweswar Nandi, who took over her training. Soon, she was doing special exercises that helped her feet develop an arch. Gymnastics has never been popular in India. It did not matter to Dipa that she did not have the best infrastructure or space to train in. Guruji created equipment with scooter parts to serve as springboards. Crash mats were piled on top of one another to become her vaulting platform, and seats from old cars became her landing space. Dipa’s days were busy! Dipa ran. She jumped. Twisted and turned. She did rolls and stands on her head. For eight hours a day. Her bones ached and her muscles were painfully sore. She was moody, hungry and very tired. Like most children, Dipa loved ice cream. But she was put on a strict diet. She sometimes had to live and train in a sports hostel, far from home. And on top of all of that, she had exams! Did she mind working so hard? No, she did not! All Dipa wanted was to win medals. And become the best. The years went by and Dipa won all the junior and national titles she competed in. However, she didn’t win anything at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Ashish Kumar became the first Indian gymnast to win medals at that event — it was a proud moment for India. Dipa was inspired by this win. She was determined to do better. Four years later, Dipa won the bronze at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. And also at the 2015 Hiroshima Asian Gymnastics Championship. It was so thrilling to stand on the winners’ podium! So far, Dipa had won 77 medals, and that included 67 gold ones! But Guruji wanted her to make a mark in the international arena — she had to perfect something that hadn’t been attempted by most gymnasts. Something bold. And dangerous. Guruji trained her to do the Produnova vault. It was named after the first woman who mastered it — Yelena Sergeyevna Produnova. Only four other women in the world had landed this extremely dangerous manoeuvre. In 2016, Dipa was 23 and she was ready to show her skills to the world at the Rio Olympics. The country waited eagerly to see her win a medal. And she missed! She missed winning a medal by just 0.15 point. But her performance left everyone awestruck. As Dipa began training for the next Olympics, she also had a new plan up her sleeve. She wanted to create a new gymnastic manoeuvre. When Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci met her, she said, "Good for India to have a role model in Dipa Karmakar… I hope kids look up to her and take up gymnastics because that is how we all started." Dipa continues to make India proud. (Dipa with her coach Bishweswar Nandi) Dipa Karmakar was born on August 9, 1993, in Agartala. She was the first Indian female gymnast to compete in the Olympics. Dipa participated in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and is one of only five women to successfully land the dangerous Produnova vault. She was five when her father Dulal Karmakar, a national weightlifting champion, initiated her early training. Soma Nandi was Dipa’s first coach and then her training was taken over by Bishweswar Nandi, a national gymnastic champion. Dipa has been conferred the Khel Ratna award and is a Padma Shri recipient.

Everyone-has-a-right-to-a-bath-STEM-FKB.txt

Everyone Has a Right to a Bath Mrs Earthworm is angry. She is fed up of being covered in mud and never being able to have a proper bath. She insists that her husband install a bathtub with running water. The bathtub is easy to make. Mr Earthworm finds an old flower pot lying in the kitchen garden. He patches up the few holes and some gaps. And it’s done! The installation of running water at their home was quite another thing. The first attempt was with straws connected to the surface. But the flow was too weak and during heavy rains the mud rose obstructing the mouth of the pipes. He improved his device by connecting a garden hose directly onto a drainpipe. The flow was absolutely satisfactory. But this water was not suitable for Mrs Earthworm. She finds that it had too much residue, is not clear enough and does not smell good. There was another more important problem that dampened Mrs Earthworm's craving for a bath - the temperature. The water is too cold! Mr Earthworm got back to work and added a filter and a handmade water heater. Now it’s perfect. Mrs Earthworm can finally relax in the bath that she so wanted.

the-special-painter-RTR-FKB.txt

The Special Painter Teo loves to draw! Teo's mom is a painter. Teo's dad is an art teacher. Teo's right hand is missing fingers, but he dreams of being a painter and wants to draw beautiful pictures. Teo's mom enrols him in a class at the children's centre. The teacher asks the class to draw a zoo. The students are excited. Na wants to paint peacocks. Ti loves drawing cats. Bin wants to draw a polar bear. Hoa is curious. "Which one do you want to draw?" she asks Teo. "I want to draw all of them!" says Teo. Ti is sharpening pencils. "Will you use the paint brushes or the pencils?" he asks. "I will use both," says Teo. Bin takes out the colour box and asks, "will you draw with your left hand?" Teo is confused. "I will try to draw with both hands." Na blends the colours. "Which colours will you use?" she asks. "I will use all of them!" says Teo happily. But Teo cannot hold a brush in his right hand because he does not have fingers. It keeps slipping off. Teo tries to draw a chicken first. But soon, his hand is splattered with colours. Teo feels like giving up. Suddenly, he spots a funny shape on his palm. The spot on his hand looks like a chick! Teo has an idea! Teo paints his hand brown. He giggles. "Now I will draw with my hand," he says. Teo places his hand on the corner of the paper. He smiles and adds a few brown spots. Look, it’s a cute puppy! Teo makes two more yellow marks with his hand and his arm. Then he adds orange dots to them. Look, a giraffe! Next, Teo paints his foot brown and steps on the paper. He draws a few lines. How cool! An adorable bear appears. Teo continues to paint his heels blue and pink, and stamps them on the page. A few lines more, and colourful birds appear on the paper. "The train that takes us around the zoo is missing," says Teo. "Does anyone want to draw it with me?" This is the coolest class ever! Together the kids paint a wonderful picture.

FKB-kids-books-The-story-of-stories.txt

The Story of Stories It was a beautiful summer day in the Forest-By-The-Sea in the glorious land of Somewheristan. Whales danced in the waves, singing to each other. Sea lions, their smooth brown bodies glistening in the sun, played peek-a-boo with the noisy seagulls, barking and scolding. Every creature in the Forest was happy, happy, happy. Excuse me! you say. That can’t be true. There’s NEVER a time when EVERY creature ANYwhere is happy, happy, happy. Hmmm. Maybe you’re right. Maybe not EVERY creature was happy. This journalist bear, for instance. In this picture, Bear is trying to smile, but he has a great sorrow. He simply cannot find a ‘BREAKING NEWS’ story. He even sent Bird to look - because Bird moves faster and sees better - but Bird came back with nothing. ‘BREAKING NEWS’ stories are about anger and fear and hate and greed, and there was none of that in the Forest. Everything was happy, happy, happy. A journalist bear without a ‘BREAKING NEWS’ story doesn’t deserve to be a journalist bear, thought Bear sadly to himself. He should be a Waiter Bear, or a Sweeper Bear, or a Telephone Voice Bear, saying, ‘Please check the number you have dialled’, or ‘Kindly wait - you are in a queue’. He packed his things and started walking to the bus-stop, when Singing Sardarji popped out from behind a tree. "Arrey oh Journalist Bear!" said Sardarji. "Going somewhere?" "Don’t call me that or I will cry," said Bear, and told Sardarji he was leaving to become a Telephone Voice Bear. "Don’t be such a silly bear, Bear!" scolded Sardarji. He pulled out a guitar and began to sing. "If Tweety birds stop tweeting, and Hooty Owls stop hooting, the world would be a sad playyyy-ce, don’t you see?" "Don’t you seeeeeeee?" sang the Tweety Birds and the Hooty Owls. "If Singing Sardarjis don’t, and Journalist Bears won’t, the world would be a bad playyyyy-ce, don’t you see?" sang Sardarji. "I do enjoy being a Journalist Bear," Bear said sadly. "I do love finding out things, and talking to people, and writing their stories, but I also do NOT have a ‘BREAKING NEWS’ story, which means..." ‘A-HA!’ said Singing Sardarji. "What?" said Bear, puzzled. "You like finding out things! And talking to people! And writing their stories! You are a Journalist Bear, Bear, but you have the soul of a... drumroll please... Writer Bear!" Bear beamed. Sardarji was right! He really WAS a Writer Bear. "Tell you what, Bear," Sardarji went on, "let’s travel the world, you and I. I will sing, and you, Bear, will write. Not 'BREAKING NEWS' stories - no one remembers those after three days, anyway - but real stories of real people, stories that will never grow old." "Hurray!" said Bear. And that was how Writer Bear and Singing Sardarji set out to explore the world. Everywhere they went, Sardarji sang to the people, and Bear listened to them. Over time, Bear wrote many, many stories. Happy stories that made people cry, funny stories that made them think, sad stories that made them hope, and scary stories that made them laugh. And Storyweavers all over the world picked up the long, strong, shining threads of Bear's stories, and wove them into new and wonderful stories for all of us to enjoy.

Tanias-Discovery.txt

Tania's Discovery Tania was helping mama with her gardening. Mama wanted to grow some tomatoes. She had already got the seeds and the pot. But she needed some mud. Tania offered to get her the mud. The housing society had a small little garden. Mama had talked to the society gardener, and he had told her that she could get some mud from the muddy patch near the swing. Tania went there with her bucket and spade in the evening to get some mud for mama. She met Tanisha on her way and Tanisha offered to help her. Tania and Tanisha settled down with the bucket and spade near the muddy patch but the mud was too hard and dry. There was very little loose mud. They managed to scoop a couple of spades full but that would not be enough. They wondered what to do. Tania noticed a tap at the corner of the garden. That is where the gardener would connect the hose to water the garden. Tania and Tanisha walked over to the tap and filled their bucket with water. Then they brought the water back to the muddy patch and wet it thoroughly to make the mud soft. But they realised they had nothing to dig with. Tania had only brought her spade and no fork, because she had expected the mud to be loose. Tanisha suggested they look for some sticks in the clump of trees behind the swing. The 2 girls found a couple of nice sturdy sticks. Rather pleased with themselves, they made their way back to the wet muddy patch. Tania and Tanisha started digging busily. As they dug away they chatted, gossiped and joked about this and that. Soon they had dug up a big pile of mud. Tania and Tanisha looked at the mud pile and decided they had enough to fill the bucket. They were just about to stop digging and even up the hole when Tania noticed something odd. The bottom of the hole was shinning red. Tania touched it and it felt smooth like plastic. Tanisha and Tania got curious and dug some more. What could be there? With their curiosity aroused Tania and Tanisha dug efficiently and cleared away the mud rapidly, to reveal a red plastic box. The box was a little stuck but Tania and Tanisha managed to pull it out together sweating and panting. They were amazed at what they had found and could not wait to open it. On the count of three they flipped open the cover together and pulled out the contents. What a weird collection of things they found! There were a couple of photos of some children, some candy, an audio CD of songs, a list of book titles and finally a list of 4 names with a profession noted next to each name. Tania and Tanisha carefully examined the contents. They also found a small chit of paper with 18th May 2009 printed on it. Tanisha was examining a paper and the photos. She suddenly exclaimed, "Trisha is my older sister! That is her name there on the paper. And this is a picture from when she was about 4 years old in 2009! I wonder what this is all about." "We could ask her", said Tania. They rushed over with the box to Tanisha's house. Trisha was surprised to see Tania and Tanisha so excited and she was even more surprised to see what they were holding. She recognised the red plastic box immediately, though it had been years since she had thought of it. Tania and Tanisha were bubbling with questions and Trisha tried to answer them all. She said "The box is a time capsule. The four of us were best friends. We still are. We decided to document things that were important to us then, like our favourite candy, songs, books and what we wanted to be when we grew up. Then in 10 years we would check it out to see how much we had changed. It was buried in a box under the swing. We were supposed to open it on 18th May 2019." She smiled nostalgically. "Oh! I am sorry" said Tania. "We can bury it back." "No, no. Don't worry about that. Why don't you make a time capsule of your own instead and bury it in the same spot. My friends and I can take a look at this now. It will be fun. Then you can see if some nosy kids go dig up your time capsule before you intended for it to be dug up." She winked at them and smiled. Tania and Tanisha returned to the garden. They picked up the bucket of mud to give Tania's mother. On the way up they excitedly discussed what they could put in their own time capsule.

Fat-King-Thin-Dog-.txt

Fat King Thin Dog This is a fat king. The fat king has a thin dog. The fat king and his thin dog go for a walk. The dog sees a bird. The dog runs after the bird. The king runs after the dog. They run and run. They run and run for many days. The king catches the dog. Now the fat king is thin.

there_must_be_a_rainbow_readonline.txt

Nestled in the Kingdom of the Zulu is a magnificent place called the Valley. A little girl called Jabulile lives here. Jabulile was always a happy child. She was also curious, and full of questions about life. Everything fascinated her. Jabulile’s father was a mielie farmer. Her mother was a teacher. They taught her to dream big dreams. Jabulile’s biggest dream was to help people. Everyone in the village was Jabulile’s friend, especially the elders. They taught her about the wise men and women who once lived in the Valley. Jabulile also wanted to be wise. One awful day, the clouds began to gather over the Valley. Everything grew dark and grey. An ugly storm swept over the land. Great gusts of wind blew the roofs off the huts. All the animals lost their homes. It was a very sad day. The village folk cried, "What shall we do now?" "All the crops are ruined!" cried the farmers. "Our homes are gone!" said the elders. All hope seemed lost. But Jabulile remembered something her wise father once told her. Jabulile started speaking to the villagers. "The storm only hurts us," she said, "because of the way we choose to see it. If you look up the sun is shining again. It is a new day. "After every storm, there must be a rainbow!" she shouted excitedly. Just then a glorious rainbow appeared in the sky. The villagers saw the rainbow and they began to smile. It stood as a promise that the storm was over. The villagers rebuilt their homes. Farmers planted new crops. The grass grew greener than ever before. Once again there was hope and happiness in the Valley.

Swift-Walker.txt

A Continental Journey Written But Swift kept right on walking. Swift Walker walked faster than everybody. Even his little dog could barely keep up with him! His mom would say, "Slow down, Swift!" His dad would say, "Son, you walk too fast!" His sister would say, "One day you’ll walk so fast, you won’t be able to stop!" One sunny afternoon, Swift took Before he could blink, Swift a walk…a fast walk, of course. walked all the way to… After a few hours, Swift realized he was tired. He wanted to slow down, but his feet would not stop. They kept right on walking! Swift walked by… Africa! …the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world. The sun shone brightly as the dry air warmed his face. …Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. …the Serengeti, where he saw a herd of large African elephants. …the beautiful Nile River, which runs from one end of Africa all the way to the other. "Wow!" he said, "Amazing!" But Swift’s feet kept right on walking out of Africa and straight on to… He couldn’t believe what he saw... Europe! …the Eiffel Tower looked like it reached the sky and touched the clouds. …St. Basil’s Cathedral, the most beautiful cathedral in Europe. What a masterpiece! …the North Cape in Norway with its peaceful waters. It looked like paradise. "Wow!" he said, "Amazing!" But Swift’s feet kept right on walking out of Europe and straight on to… "Wow!" he said, "Amazing!" Asia! But Swift’s feet kept right on walking out of Asia and straight on to… Swift sauntered by... …the Taj Mahal, the grandest building he had ever seen. I wonder if anyone still lives here, Swift thought. …a Siberian tiger, the largest in the cat family, only found in Central Asia. …the Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia. Australia! His eyes grew wide at the sight of... …the Kanangra Falls in Kanangra Boyd National Park where waters cascaded down the big rock wall. …Koala bears eating from a fragrant eucalyptus tree. …the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in Sydney. He could see the whole city from there! "Wow!" he said, "Amazing!" But Swift’s feet kept right on walking out of Australia and straight on to… Swift passed by... Antarctica! …the slow moving rivers of ice called valley glaciers. …a mommy seal and her pup rubbing noses. …Observation Hill where he saw the best view, clear across Antarctica. "Wow!" he said, "Amazing!" But Swift’s feet kept right on walking out of Antarctica and straight on to… South Swift’s excitement grew at the sight of... …Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, the world’s tallest active America! volcano. Will it erupt soon? Swift wondered. …the damp Amazon Rainforest and the towering Brazil Nut Trees. …a red poison tree frog whose colors are a warning to stay away! …the Atacama Desert in Chile with the Hand of the Desert made of cement and iron. "Wow!" he said "Amazing!" But Swift’s feet kept right on walking out of South America and straight on to... North America! Swift spotted... …the Spirit of Washington sailing down the Potomac River in Washington, DC, the nation’s capital. …Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. It looked like the bend was full of green and blue jelly! …an enormous whale, diving in the waters of the Auke Bay off the Alaska Shores. "Wow!" he said "Amazing!" But Swift’s feet kept right on walking until he found himself… …in his bed. When he looked down at his feet, he realized his great adventure was a dream. Swift promised himself he would slow down and pay attention to see all he could see. He understood his adventure was just beginning. What an adventure it would be! "Wow!" he said, "Amazing!"

amazing_max_disabled_kitten_FKB_stories.txt

It was a cold Winter morning. So cold all the little kitties in the animal rescue centre were cuddled up together fast asleep. All except for one small kitten who lay shivering all on his own. This frighten little kitten had not slept a wink. He was sad, confused, and very alone. came laughed Seymour.

animal-homes-pratham-FKB.txt

Animal Homes Animals live all around us. Birds build their homes up high. And so do bees. Spiders spin their homes. Tiny termites build tall, tall homes. Snails and tortoises grow homes on their backs. Fish live in the water. Frogs can live in water and on land. Rabbits and rats live in burrows under the ground. Monkeys and apes make trees their homes. Bears and wolves live in dens. Crocodiles live in swamps. Deer live in forests. And so do tigers! One Large Home Some animals live close to us and some live far away. But do you know what we have in common with all the animals of the world? We all build our homes in one large home: planet Earth!

here-comes-the-camel-and-other-poems-Pratham-FKB.txt

Here Comes the Camel and Other Poems Butterfly I met a butterfly, yellow, black and brown. Hovering over flowers, flying up and down. She sits so near I touch her with no fear. At once she flies away, she sits but doesn’t stay. Thump Thump Thump Thump goes the elephant! Thump Thump the elephant comes! He lifts his trunk, he lowers it. Wading into the water, his trunk becomes a shower. Bump Bump goes the elephant! Bump Bump the elephant comes! Bananas for his big fat tum, he eats ten and counts one! Burp Burp goes the elephant! Burp Burp the elephant comes! Off to School Leaves are green and flowers red. Ready for school as you leave the bed. Left your pencil, dropped your book! Pick them up and off to school! Flying High Lovely little butterfly, yellow and blue butterfly. She looks like a petal on a flower, crossing flowerbeds afar. A wave of colour, with her wings aflutter, she looks so bright. Her quiet flight, in the morning light. Here Comes the Camel Here comes the camel rocking gently down the road! Such a tall animal! Here comes the camel! With a neck so tall, and a back so high, the camel gently goes by. His feet like the sand, carrying loads across the land, walking quietly on the sand. When he tires, he will sit. On his right or his left? That is his own SECRET! Peacock Look how the peacock dances, on dainty steps he advances. All his feathers in an arc, glowing hues light and dark. When the sky turns cloudy grey, the peacock begins to sway. Moving gently on his feet, dancing to the rainy beat! Food So Precious! How about some idli-dosa, or a nice hot samosa? Let us eat some sweet mithai, yummy rabri and malai! Would you like some poori bhaji, or fried brinjal bhaaja? Spongy fresh dhokla is nice, to gobble up in a trice. But do not hurry when you eat, careful not to spill any treat. Because FOOD is so precious, and also so DELICIOUS! Drip Drop Drip Drop raindrops! Can I touch them as they Plop? Eyes shut and face upturned, for silver beads on curling lashes. Eyes open to see what splashes! Leaves and branches dripping wet. Birds shedding little droplets! Silver sheets on roofs and walls, I see the rain as it falls! The Race A tumbling red tomato, racing green peas! Stumbling came the cauliflower, not far behind is coriander! Who will reach the finish line in this race against time? Swinging High To and fro swings the doll, pulled by the bird so small. Uncle Monkey hides a smile, in his hat of the latest style. Aunty Kitten is also here using her fat glasses to peer. She also wants to have a go to touch the sky, to and fro! Umbrella Who went to the market with Papa? His dear old umbrella! He is safe from the beating sun with his dear old umbrella! His bag in his right hand, guess what the left demands? When the rain comes pouring down, Umbrella-time all around! It gets wet but keeps Papa dry. Like a roof on his head that is not very high! Paper Boat Let us make a paper boat, in the water it will float! Away floats the paper boat running to a river unknown. Dancing on the swirling waves, a little speck as it sails away! My Pencil My pencil is so special, it jots down letters neat. In maths, it's hard to beat! Leaves and flowers, plants and pots, lions and birds, it draws in a shot! Drawing lines for a house so tall, my special pencil does it all! Chugetty Chug There goes the train, Chugetty Chug! On the tracks, Chugetty Chug! The longest whistle in the land, Chugetty Clack! Not the slow passenger train, the fastest sleekest streaking Mail! Chugetty Clack Goes the train! My Ball Bounce Bounce goes my ball! Run Run runs my ball! I like to run for my ball! Quickly hides my naughty ball! Bounce Bounce comes my ball! I'm happy when I find my ball!

zanele-sees-numbers_english_FKB_20170208.txt

Everyone tells Zanele that numbers are all around her. But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t see them. Zanele asks Gogo to help her see some numbers. Gogo points to the jars on the shelf and counts, "one, two, three, four." But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren’t numbers. Those are jars!" Zanele asks Mom to help her see some numbers. Mom points to the carrots in the garden and counts, "one, two, three, four." But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren’t numbers. Those are carrots!" Zanele sees Linda counting the chickens, to see if they have all come back home. But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren’t numbers. Those are chickens!" Zanele sees Auntie counting the hours until supper. But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren’t numbers. Those are hours!" Zanele can’t see the numbers in the world. She goes to speak to her sister, Gugu, who is eight years old and knows everything. "If you look at anything in the right way, you can see a number in it," says Gugu. Gugu gives Zanele a pair of magic glasses and tells her to go look for numbers in the world.

ann-nem-oh-nee_childrens-picture-book-en_20180329-4-18.txt

Ann-Nem-Oh-Nee lived in the ocean. All day long she clung to the same slippery rock with her single big foot. Her tiny tentacles caught tasty treats. On days when she felt cross, her stinging tentacles kept the other creatures away. But today her rock felt lonely. "I have no fins. I am different to every other creature." I have no feet. "Even that hermit crab is off having adventures!" "Save me! That fish wants to pluck me out of my shell!" Ann-Nem-Oh-Nee whipped up her stinging tentacles and hid the hermit underneath them. "Go away, you big bully!" The big fish bared his teeth, but was afraid of being stung. He gave up and swam away with a cheeky flick of his tail. "That was close!" said the crab. "Is it safe now?" "You can come out, Crab. What’s your name?" "Herman. I’m a hermit, but I think I need a bodyguard. I wish I was as brave as you!" "I’m Ann-Nem-Oh-Nee. I wish I had amazing adventures like you." "But why don’t you?" "I’m stuck to my rock. And I don’t have He asked. legs!" She replied. "Well, I don’t have stings, but I do have an idea!" Herman took Ann-Nem-Oh-Nee by the First Ann-Nem-Oh-Nee snorted, and then tentacle and danced around her, pulling she giggled — and then she laughed so silly faces. hard she popped right off her rock. Herman gently picked her up and settled her on his shell. "Are you ready? I feel an adventure coming on." He said. Ann-Nem-Oh-Nee adventures all over Now she only uses her stinging tentacles the ocean, catching tasty treats. to keep the nasty fish away from Herman. And she never, ever feels lonely.

crookedmanotherr00newyiala.txt

CROOKED MAN There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile, And he found a crooked six-pence against a crooked stile ; He bought a crook'ed hat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house. Go to bed Tom, go to bed Tom Merry or sober, go to bed Tom. Little Tommy Grace, Had a pain in his face, So that he could not learn a letter ; When in came Dicky Long, Singing such a funny song, That Tommy laughed, and found his face much better. Shoe the horse, shoe the mare, Let the little colt go bare. A dog and a cat went out toge- ther, To see some Mends just out of town; Said the cat to the dog, "What d'ye think of the weather ? "I think, Ma'am, the rain will come down." "But dont be alarmed, for I've an umbrella That will shelter us both," said this amiable fellow. Oh, the ni&ty, dusty, rusty miller, I'll not change my wife for gold or siller. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, And Jack jump over the can- dlestick. Hiccory, diccory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock ; The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hiccory, diccory, dock. A horse and cart Had Billy Smart, To play with when it pleased him; The cart he'd load Bythe side of the road, And be happy if no one teased him. Bow-wow-wow, Whose dog art thou ? Little Tom Tucker's dog, Bow-wow-wow Hark ! hark ! the dogs do bark, Beggars are coming to town, Some in jags, and some in rags, "* And some in velvet gowns.

Peter-Rabbit.txt

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT BY BEATRIX POTTER First published 1902 This edition published by Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were— Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fr-tree. 'Now my dears,' said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, 'you may go into the felds or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.' 'Now run along, and don't get into mischief. I am going out.' Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, and went through the wood to the baker's. She bought a loaf of brown bread and fve currant buns. Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries; But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden, and squeezed under the gate! First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes; And then, feeling rather sick, he went to look for some parsley. But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor! Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, 'Stop thief!' Peter was most dreadfully frightened; he rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate. He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe amongst the potatoes. After losing them, he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new. Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who few to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself. Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve, which he intended to pop upon the top of Peter; but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket behind him. And rushed into the tool-shed, and jumped into a can. It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not had so much water in it. Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the tool-shed, perhaps hidden underneath a fower-pot. He began to turn them over carefully, looking under each. Presently Peter sneezed—'Kertyschoo!' Mr. McGregor was after him in no time. And tried to put his foot upon Peter, who jumped out of a window, upsetting three plants. The window was too small for Mr. McGregor, and he was tired of running after Peter. He went back to his work. Peter sat down to rest; he was out of breath and trembling with fright, and he had not the least idea which way to go. Also he was very damp with sitting in that can. After a time he began to wander about, going lippity—lippity—not very fast, and looking all round. He found a door in a wall; but it was locked, and there was no room for a fat little rabbit to squeeze underneath. An old mouse was running in and out over the stone doorstep, carrying peas and beans to her family in the wood. Peter asked her the way to the gate, but she had such a large pea in her mouth that she could not answer. She only shook her head at him. Peter began to cry. Then he tried to fnd his way straight across the garden, but he became more and more puzzled. Presently, he came to a pond where Mr. McGregor flled his water-cans. A white cat was staring at some gold-fsh, she sat very, very still, but now and then the tip of her tail twitched as if it were alive. Peter thought it best to go away without speaking to her; he had heard about cats from his cousin, little Benjamin Bunny. He went back towards the tool-shed, but suddenly, quite close to him, he heard the noise of a hoe—scr-r-ritch, scratch, scratch, scritch. Peter scuttered underneath the bushes. But presently, as nothing happened, he came out, and climbed upon a wheelbarrow and peeped over. The frst thing he saw was Mr. McGregor hoeing onions. His back was turned towards Peter, and beyond him was the gate! Peter got down very quietly off the wheel- barrow; and started running as fast as he could go, along a straight walk behind some black- currant bushes. Mr. McGregor caught sight of him at the corner, but Peter did not care. He slipped underneath the gate, and was safe at last in the wood outside the garden. Mr. McGregor hung up the little jacket and the shoes for a scare-crow to frighten the blackbirds. Peter never stopped running or looked behind him till he got home to the big fr-tree. He was so tired that he fopped down upon the nice soft sand on the foor of the rabbit-hole and shut his eyes. His mother was busy cooking; she wondered what he had done with his clothes. It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight! I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some camomile tea; and she gave a dose of it to Peter! 'One table-spoonful to be taken at bed-time.' But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper.

The-Girl-Who-Saw-God.txt

In the Pacific Ocean there is an island composed by two mountains. It is as if someone had placed together two big handfuls of earth and stones in the heart of the sea. The bigger one is called Sadness and the smaller one Joy. Mythology tells us that many centuries ago Joy was larger and higher than Sadness, but, due to an earthquake, part of it fell in the sea, shaping the mountain the way we find it today. No one knows if that is really the truth. The fact is that where those two geological accidents meet live a girl named Aletheia and her grandmother. Aletheia and her grandma are like the mountains: two persons who are always together. Today the girl is shorter and smaller than her grandmother; but some day, nobody knows when, Aletheia will wake and she will be taller than her grandma. Aletheia is going to grow up and I think that when this day comes, they will still be together, just like the mountains of the island. One day this girl asked: "Grandma, who made the world?". To what her grandmother replied, "God". - "All of it?". - "Yes, all of it". - "By himself?". - "Yes". Aletheia left the room with that conversation on her mind. She was not convinced. She thought about this for a few days. In order to digest her thoughts she went for a walk through the island. Alone she thought. Aloud she though and she began to share her thoughts with whatever crossed her way: leaves, trees, stones, ants, crickets, etc. Had God created the world by himself? After long discussions with stones, trees, the river and frogs of the island, Aletheia went back to her grandma saying: "It is a lie. God did not make the world". The old lady was surprised: "And why do you think so, Aletheia?". - "Because God does not exist", answered the girl. - "No?". - "No". - "May I ask you how you figured that out?". - "I looked all around and I do not see him anywhere. Ever". - "Not even a clue?". - "Nothing". Her grandmother thought for a while and asked: "If you see Him, will you believe in Him?". - "Yes", answered Aletheia, for children always want to believe in beautiful things, as long as they make some sense. - "Then tomorrow I shall take you to see God". Aletheia's face was enlightened. - "Really?". - "Yes". - "Do you promise?". - "I promise". She imagined him with many arms and many hands and hundreds of fingers, operating alone the whole world. God probably had wings to fly. Maybe He had eyes on the nape of his neck and on the palms of his hands... to keep an eye on every single creation. She wished to know how his voice was, because she wanted to make some questions and expected answers. She left her imagination wander until she fell asleep. The next morning she woke up early and her grandmother asked: "Are you ready to see God?". - "Yes, I am!". - "Then move", urged the grandmother, "for we must climb the mountain". - "Which one?" – inquired Aletheia, who was a little bit lazy and did not enjoy climbing mountains. - "Sadness". - "Right the higher one? Why don't we climb Joy?". - "It is simple, because from the top of Sadness we can see the whole of Joy, but from the top of Joy we can only see one side of Sadness. Now let us go. God is waiting". Aletheia did not understand the explanation very well, but she followed her grandmother and they both started the hiking. Right after taking their first steps, her grandmother asked, "What color is Joy?". Aletheia stared at the mountain. It was early in the morning, the air was cold and the mountain was covered by dense white dew; besides, as the sun was still low, the shadow of Sadness swallowed the entire Joy. So the girl answered: - "It is white and gray". Her grandmother agreed and they kept on climbing. They walked for some time and the dew around slowly began to fade. Joy was still overshadowed by Sadness when Aletheia's grandmother asked: "What about now, what color is the mountain?". In a glance, the girl saw that Joy was now blue: - "It is blue". Her grandmother agreed and the hiking restarted. By this time Aletheia was already tired, "When are we going to see God?". - "When we get to the top. Be patient", said the old woman. Those were words blown in the wind. Kids are impatient by nature, because it takes time to learn how to wait. The girl wanted to leave; only curiosity kept her moving. Her grandmother continued walking. Despite her age, she seemed to display much more disposition and energy than her young granddaughter did. Isn't there a saying about this? "Will can remove mountains?". Not youth nor strength, but will. Long was the walk until the sun leaked its rays from behind Sadness enlightening Joy. Once again her grandmother asked: "What is the color of Joy?" The mountain, covered by the forest, was now green, completely green. Aletheia was a little bored about those questions about colors, but answered promptly; "Green, Grandma, the mountain is green". Her grandmother agreed and back they went to their walking. The day was getting warmer and the hikers decided to take a break and eat their lunch. - "Grandma, what is God doing up there?". - "The same he does everywhere else". - "If he does the same thing everywhere, how come we have to climb Sadness?". - "So you can see better". - "And why do you keep asking me the color of Joy?". - "To train your eyes". Aletheia finally stopped asking and ate her food. She thought maybe God was colorful. It was early in the afternoon when they went back to their climbing. Again, the old woman asked: "What color is Joy?". Now, with the sun in the center of the sky, the colors were vivid. - "It is still green", was the answer. - "And how many shades of green can you see?". Aletheia stopped, paid close attention ans distinguished, with daze, a multitude of shades of green covering Joy. Light green, almost white, yellow green, orange green, blue green, green red, green green, dark green, almost black, bright green, brown green... There were so many shades her brain was confused. The girl had never noticed how the colors changed and how different they could get along the day. The grandmother and the granddaughter only reached the top late in the afternoon. There, the old woman asked about the color of Joy. It was almost dusk and Aletheia saw the mountain reddish. Her grandma agreed. Then the girl, perceiving they were all alone on the top of Sadness, asked, "Where is God, Grandma?". - "Before I show you where He is, you must answer me another thing". - "What?". - "What is the true color of Joy?". - "I do not know", she said, "it depends on the time of the day". - "Then what is the color of the day?". Aletheia did not know the answer, for the day did not have a color, but it also bore all the colors.. - "God is like the color of the day",said her grandmother, "We cannot see it, but because of it we see everything around us, because it is everywhere, showing everything". Aletheia understood: God was light. Not the sunlight, but the light of the soul and of the heart. The night fell and while she looked at the clear sky, Aletheia saw God in each flickering star. Her grandmother had kept her promise and she now believed the world was made by God. The next morning they climbed down Sadness and they could see all the Joy. THE END

025-DRAGONS-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

Chinese Dragons The Chinese love dragons. They believe that the dragon is powerful and wise and brings good luck. There are many temples built to honor the dragons in China. Chinese dragons are snake-like, wingless animals with four legs and five claws on each leg. According to stories, Chinese dragons have a magic pearl which gives them the power to fly and go into heaven. The Chinese believe that dragons control water, rainfall, hurricane, and floods. Korean Dragons Korean dragons are the most kind-hearted of all the dragons. A Korean dragon is a snake-like, wingless animal with a long beard. A Korean dragon has four legs with four claws on each leg. In Korean stories, dragons are water animals, which control water and farming. Japanese Dragons Japanese dragons are large, wingless, snake-like animals with three claws on each foot. Japanese believe that dragons are water animals that control rainfall and water. According to Japanese stories, dragons were first born in Japan. Dragons are very popular in Japan and are used a lot in art, music and architecture. Indian Dragonns Indian dragons are wingless animals that are half-snake and half- human. Indian dragons are called Nagas and are said to live in an underground kingdom. In Indian stories, Nagas are found in rivers, lakes and seas and they are believed to be guardians of great treasures. Filipino Dragons The Filipino Dragon is called Bakunawa, which means "moon-eater". According to an ancient story in Philippines, Bakunawa is a snake-like dragon with whiskers, two pairs of wings, a red tongue, and a mouth as big as a lake. In the story, the Bakunawa lived in the sea and would rise out of the water into the sky and eat the moon. Thus, the Filipino dragons were believed to be the cause of eclipses. Welsh Dragons The flag of Wales has a red dragon in a green and white field. The flag tells the story of the red dragon which saved Wales from the icy white dragon but died after the fight. The Welsh flag was made to honor the red dragon and remember him forever. Greek Dragons The most famous Greek dragon was the Hydra, which was killed by the Greek hero, Hercules. The Hydra was a nine headed snake-like water dragon with poisonous breath and blood. It had the power of regeneration; it grew two new heads for each head that was cut off. In this Greek story, the dragon was killed by Hercules, who burnt its neck stumps to stop any new heads from growing. English Dragons In most English stories, dragons were evil animals. They lived in dark caves, guarded great treasures and fought with English knights. English dragons have four powerful legs and claws, scales on its body, huge wings and a sharp tail. They have fangs, poisonous breath and breathe fire. Russian Dragons In Russia, a dragon was believed to have three heads, which could grow back if cut off. In popular Russian stories, dragons were green, walked on two back paws, had small front paws and breathed fire. Scandinavian Dragons The most evil among all dragons is the Scandinavian dragon, Nidhogg. He is a huge, multicolored, wingless dragon who lives underground. In the Norse story, this thirty-foot, snake-like dragon keeps eating the roots of the world-tree Yggdrasil. This is dangerous for Earth because this is the tree that keeps the universe safe. Bhutanese Dragons The Druk is the "Thunder Dragon" of Bhutanese stories. This dragon is the national symbol of Bhutan. The Thunder Dragon is a giant snake-like, wingless animal with four legs and scales on its body. The flag of Bhutan has a Druk and the Bhutanese people call their country Druk Yul (Land of Druk).

tine-and-the-faraway-mountain-pratham-FKB.txt

Tine and the Faraway Mountain "I completely let go of fear. Fear of norms and fear of society. I was neither afraid of failure, nor dying. I believed in my own strengths and nurtured my natural talent. I improved my weaknesses. And above all, I always followed my heart" —Tine Mena, mountaineer Today is a big day for Tine Mena. At the age of 25, she has become the first woman from Northeast India to climb Everest. At 8,848 metres, Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It’s as high as five thousand men (who are six feet tall) standing on top of each other! This is the story of Tine’s journey, a girl who loves to climb mountains. Whooshoo! Whooshoo! In the Mishmi hills of Arunachal Pradesh, Tine heard a wondrous call from the distant mountains. She was drawn to it, a sound only she could hear. Tine loved to climb. She climbed trees, ran through the jungle and went fishing in the river. She was as fearless and strong as Naaya, her grandmother. If Tine fell down, Naaba, her father, would tell her to get up and carry on. Tine and her younger sister Sony loved eating apples, oranges, and berries from the forest. They spent long days lying under the sun. Ah, Tine would smile, what a wonderful life! But one day, Tine’s world turned upside down. There was no school in Echali, so her family moved to the closest big town, Roing. There, the ‘Whooshoo’ became a faint whisper. All she wanted was to be in the mountains. Ten years later, Tine finished school. The mountain call was strong again - whoshooo, whoshooo. To be close to her mountains, Tine applied to be a porter for an army expedition. She could carry heavy loads and march for days, shoulder to shoulder with others. But there was one small problem—women were not allowed to be porters. But did that stop her? Of course it didn’t! Tine dressed as a boy and began working. She’d carry nearly 25 kilos every day. It took a week for everyone to realise that she was a girl disguised as a boy! Tine was scolded for breaking the rules. But she could work as much as the boys and knew the route better than anyone. So the officers agreed to let her continue working. Her act would later help lift the ban on female porters. Tine worked hard and became a coordinator, someone who plans mountain trips. That’s when she met Dr. Romeo Meitei, the leader of an expedition. "I must say that you have all the makings of a naturally gifted climber," he said. "You have the build, the strength, and the determination. Now all you need, is technique." Dr. Meitei became her mentor and Tine began her training. But it was when Tine saw The Race for Everest, a film about the first climb of Mount Everest, that she heard about her dream mountain. The Whooshoo became a roar. Climbing Mount Everest became Tine’s dream. Finally, Tine left for Nepal. She was anxious, but determined. At the Everest base camp, it was cold and the air, thin. After her training, Tine began her climb with Cherring Sherpa*. The climb was divided into four sections so climbers could rest at different camping points and continue to the top over a few days. By the time Tine and Cherring Sherpa reached the second camp, the weather had worsened. *Sherpas are a Tibetan ethnic group living in high Himalayan regions who are known for their climbing skills. But the musical Whooooshooing was also growing louder and hypnotic! "Do you want to go ahead?" Cherring asked. "I don’t think I will get another chance to do this," Tine said. Somehow, they reached their final camp. But the wind blew their tent and supplies away. They found another tent in which they took shelter. No walkie-talkies, no medicines, all Tine and Cherring had was a packet of noodles. "Let’s share half of it," Cherring suggested. "If we make it alive, we will eat the other half," Tine said with a determined smile. For every two steps they took, the wind sent them reeling back a step. The stormy winds howled, "Go awayyyyy". But Tine could only hear "Whoooshoooo". With new resolve, they fearlessly began the last push to reach the top. At 10.45 am on May 9, 2011, Tine summited the highest mountain in the world. The young girl who loved to climb trees had climbed to the top of the world. She had found her faraway mountain, and was one with the sound that had called her all her life. Whoooshoo, she dances with her beloved mountain. Tine Mena, the mountaineer Tine Mena is an adventurer who holds the distinction of being the first female Everester from Northeast India. At Dr. Romeo Meitei’s suggestion, Tine enrolled at the Manipur Mountaineering and Training Association in Imphal. She won a gold medal at the course and another for best student of the basic mountaineering course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. Tine turned down a well-paid job as a mountaineering instructor to chase her Everest dream. She raised private sponsorship for her expedition. Tine has inspired many youngsters in the northeast, starting with her cousin Ruby Lombo, a cycling athlete. Tine continues to be a role model for adventurous children.

Monkey-Adventures.txt

Monkey Adventures Baby Monkey is hugging her momma. She just got up from a nap. Baby Monkey likes to ride on her momma’s back. They go for a ride. They go to look for Baby Monkey’s sisters and brothers. Baby Monkey likes looking at them playing on the rocks. Her sisters and brothers are climbing on the rocks. Baby monkey’s big sister is pulling on her brother’s tail! I don’t think he liked that so much! He’s telling her, "Please don’t do that to me again." Except, maybe he didn’t say please . . . Now it’s play time! That means more tail pulling and some face pushing too! Baby Monkey’s sisters and brothers like to play a lot. Mom just looks. She knows they are just playing and that they will all be ok.

Pigsley_and_rio-into_the_orchid-FKB-Online.txt

It was morning on the farm and Pigsley the pig woke to a warm, sunny day. His very best friend, Rio the dog, stuck his head around the barn door. Now before we continue with this story, you need to know a very special secret. This is a "Hello Pigsley," he woofed. "It is time to wake up. secret most adults do not even know... Come on. Up, up, up! Where are we adventuring today?" animals talk to each other YES, THEY REALLY DO! And that is why Pigsley understood what Rio was saying. Even though Pigsley was a pig and Rio was a dog. "Morning Rio," yawned the sleepy pig. "Hmmm, let me think, think, think, how about the orchard? The apples are falling from the trees so there will be lots of delicious "Yes, yes, yes!" yapped Rio, jumping up and fruit to eat. And plums and figs too. Yum, yum!" down. "Come on Pigsley, let us go." You may have guessed by now that Rio was a very excitable dog, always bouncing about here, there and everywhere. He thought he was still a puppy. So off the friends walked. Past the big tree, and into the orchard where apple trees, past the cottage, where the people lived, plum trees and past the hedge, fig trees grew. across the garden, Rio ran to an apple tree, lay down under it and As you may know, a pig's nose is called a snout. started munching on the fruit that had dropped And a very strong snout it is! beneath it. Pigs spend a lot of time digging in the ground And Pigsley snuffled about with his nose in the with their snouts, sniffing out roots and grubs to ground, taking bites of the apples that had eat. fallen. And this is just what Pigsley did, making furrows all over the orchard. side view of snout front view of snout "Hey, you two! What are you doing down there?" shouted someone. Pigsley and Rio looked around trying to find the "I am up here." owner of the voice. Both friends lifted their heads and discovered a They looked under a plum tree and behind a fig creature staring down at them from the branch tree, but they did not see anyone nor anything. of an apple tree. "Who are you?" snorted Pigsley. "And what are you?" growled Rio. They had never seen an animal like that before: all furry, with a looong tail. "My name is Sam. I am a Samango monkey." "What are you doing up in that tree?" asked Pigsley. "I was searching for food and saw these delicious apples so I have stopped to eat my breakfast." replied Sam as he plucked an apple and took a bite. "Monkeys spend a lot of time in trees. We move around by climbing and jumping from branch to branch. And we can see far from up here." Sam thought for a while... he ate another apple then replied, "Not today, thanks. I am meeting my friends on the next farm for a tree party." "Oh!" exclaimed Pigsley. "Well, my name is Pigsley and this is my friend, Rio. We live on this farm and today we are exploring the orchard. And eating apples, just like you. Do you want to come down and play with us?" "Goodbye!" he howled. "I will come back and play with you soon. And bring my friends too." Pigsley and Rio were confused. They knew what a tea party was, because they had seen the people in the cottage having one, but what was a tree party? Scratching his head Rio asked, "What is a tree party?" "We all bring food to share and have a party in the trees," explained the monkey. "We play games, do tricks on the branches and have a fun time together." With that, Sam grabbed a few more apples and jumped away through the trees. Pigsley and Rio decided to climb the apple tree. But no matter how hard they tried, they just could not get up it. Pigsley and Rio watched in amazement. This was the first time they had met a monkey and the very first time they had seen one jumping through the trees. "Wow!" exclaimed Rio. "That sounds like fun. Should we join Sam and his friends for the tree party?" The pig nodded in agreement. Eventually they realised that maybe climbing trees was something monkeys did and that pigs and dogs were not meant to. So the friends spent the rest of the day playing in the orchard. Rio dug a big hole. He was trying to catch moles. And Pigsley rolled around in it and got very dirty. They both ate a lot more apples, plums and figs until their tummies were full. As the sun began to sink behind the hill, they heard the farmer call. "Piiiigsley!" "Riiiiooo!" The pig and dog walked back home to their dinner and beds. Looking up at the trees, they wondered where Sam was eating his dinner tonight. Goodnight Pigsley. Goodnight Rio. We look forward to your next adventure. Samango monkeys eat fruit, flowers and leaves. Sometimes they eat insects. They live with other monkeys in a group called a Sam Samango troop. Sam the Samango climbing through the trees off to see his monkey friends for a party stopped for breakfast of apples and plums met Pigsley and Rio now his new chums he couldn't come down to play but will be back soon and bring his friends for the afternoon The troop live in or near a forest. We need to respect and look after nature.

Karabos-Question-Readonline.txt

Liesl Jobson • Natalie Edwards • Marike Beyleveld My sister Kifue chases roosters that crow. My brother Katleho has a ball to throw. My cousin Kutloano plants seeds in a row. My cousin Kamohelo leans on her hoe. My aunt Keromang has a dress to sew. My uncle Khotso herds the cattle that low. Mama dries wheat when the wind does not blow. Papa rides a horse over mountains in snow. Grandpa’s slow donkey walks to and fro. Grandma sings songs till the fire burns low. You know how to say yes. You know how to say no. That’s what you do! That’s what you know! Everyone laughs when you put on a show. Your work is to play. Your work is to grow.

A_Whistling_good_idea_FKB.txt

A Whistling Good Idea "Nivi! Turn the cooker off after three whistles, okay?" Ma says. Ma is going to the market to buy vegetables for dinner. Nivi makes a face. THUMP! She puts her book down. PWFFT! She sticks her tongue out at the cooker. Nivi taps her foot on the floor. She waits and waits for the whistle to blow. All of a sudden, she has an idea! Nivi picks up the rolling pin and places it close to the gas knob. She arranges a row of tomatoes and potatoes behind it. The rasam-and-dal ladle is next. Nivi keeps it carefully at the edge of the shelf above the cooker. She then makes five of Nani’s spoons stand up. These are the ones Nani uses to sip her watery khichdi. Finally, Nivi places her favourite plastic ball right above the spout of the pressure cooker. WHOOSH! The ball moves a little. WHOOSH! A little more. WHOOSH! The ball rolls down the third time. Nivi jumps, claps, and whistles herself! The ball hits the spoons. The spoons fall on the ladle. The ladle swings off the shelf. BLOOONG! The ladle hits the potatoes. The potatoes roll into the tomatoes. The tomatoes crash into the rolling pin. The rolling pin hits the knob of the stove. THAAD! The knob turns. The stove switches off. Nivi opens the pressure cooker carefully. Inside it is yummy, perfectly cooked rice. Nivi goes back to reading her book happily. Build Your Own Genius Machine Nivi builds a type of machine called the Rube Goldberg machine. This is a machine that works on the principle of cause and effect. This is what happens when you hit a coin with a striker on the carrom board and it, in turn, smashes into another, causing the second coin to land in a pocket! In a Rube Goldberg machine, a series of objects that carry out simple tasks work together to meet a common goal in a very complex way. Sure, it’s simpler to do things the easy way, but building a machine to do them is more fun. Try your hand at building your own Rube Goldberg machine to drop a teaspoon. Here’s how. You will need: 1 thin book rolled up as a cylinder, 2 smooth long sticks for a slope, 2 thick books, 2 rulers, 1 marker, 1 eraser, 1 ball, 3 notebooks, 1 light plastic jar, a bundle of string, 1 teaspoon, 1 vessel, 1 smooth beam Slide the cylinder down a slope. The cylinder hits two books, placed standing up. They fall on a ruler, which is balanced on a marker. This, in turn, tips a ball. The ball hits three notebooks. They land on the edge of the second ruler, balanced on an eraser. A jar, placed on the other end of the ruler, is attached to a piece of string. The string is looped around a smooth beam above. The free end of the string is tied to a spoon. The jar rises when the third notebook falls on the ruler. The string falls down, dropping the spoon into the vessel.

God-and-My-Chair-R-.txt

bject lessons God and my Chair with Be-Me I sit on my c h a i r to read my Bible everyday. I stand on a chair to reach my mom and give her a kiss. I hide under a c h a i r and pretend I’m in God’s secret place. I paint my chair and remember how God colored the world for us. .. 3 . . 1 . . 2 I use my c h a i r to relax while I count my blessings. I offer my chair to an older person who needs a seat. I share my c h a i r with a friend. I lean over a chair to kneel and pray. I use two ch a i r s to make a bed and dream of Heaven. I use my chair for a tent to remind me of God’s protection. I sit on a c h a i r and thank God for my yummy food. Can you think of other things you can do with a chair ?

The-Flying-Train.txt

The Flying Train It was such a cold night, that Timmy and Nelly were put to bed early. Teddy and Dolly also slept beside them and Puppy and Kitty slept on the floor, next to the bed. Later on, when everyone was fast asleep, Timmy was awakened by a strange sound. "Whooooof…chuff…chuff…" "What’s that noise?" Timmy murmured, still half asleep. "It’s coming closer!" he cried. Nelly and the others woke up at the sound of Timmy’s voice. They all looked up toward the sound and saw an amazing sight. "It’s a flying train!!!!" Timmy and Nelly shouted at once. "Come on everyone!" the train shouted. "I will take you for a ride in the sky. All aboooooard!" "What?" everyone cried. "A ride in the sky? How wonderful! Let’s get in…let’s get in." So, Timmy, Nelly, Puppy, Kitty, Teddy and Dolly jumped into the train. "Here we go…" "Whooooooooff…whoooooooooff… chuff…chuff…" The train went flying through the air, chuffing, whoofing, hooting and puffing smoke, all along the way. It flew away from the window. They went so high above the birds, and the birds watched the train fly by, in wonder. They dipped their wings and waved at them. Everybody waved at the birds. Timmy, Nelly and their friends were so happy. Over the clouds, under the clouds, and through the clouds, the train went. It flew, flew and flew. Everybody aboard, yelled and laughed with joy. "Oh, it’s so cold, up in the sky," Dolly said, as she began to shiver. Still, the train flew up and up. It went through the misty clouds, farther and farther away. And suddenly, "Look, look, look over there!" Teddy shouted. "Oh, what is that?" said Timmy. "That must be fairyland!" said Puppy. "Oh! Look, look, look over there," Dolly shouted. "There are mountains of ice-cream, rivers of honey, beautiful gardens, juicy fruits…and such lovely fairies." Timmy, Nelly and the others couldn’t quite believe their eyes. They couldn’t wait to get there. But, the train was in a big hurry. It didn’t want to stop. So, on they went, right past the wonderful place, waving to the fairies. The fairies waved back as they flew on. "Whoooff…chuff…chuff…" The flying train kept going. It went farther and farther, into the sky. "There! There! Look over there," Timmy said. "The stars are glittering all over the sky." "Yes," said the stars. "That is what we do. We glitter like the sun. We are all suns, as you must know." "Oh, yes indeed. you are so beautiful," Timmy said. Timmy and the others waved at the stars, as they flew on. "Let’s go to see the moon," said Teddy. "Oh, there it is!" cried Dolly. "It’s so beautiful!" "The moon is very big, isn’t it?" said Kitty. "It’s so strange! When we saw the moon from the ground, it was quite small. But look, how big it is, up here!" Dolly yelled, excitedly. "And see, how far we are from earth and how close we are to the moon. That’s why we see it, so big." said Tommy. The moon was reflecting the sunlight. Timmy, Nelly and their friends waved goodbye to the moon, and on they flew, in their flying train. "Oh, be careful! Be careful!" Nelly shouted. "Here comes a big rain cloud!!" But the flying train would not listen. It was not afraid of anything at all. "There, there...don’t be scared." As the engine turned to calm its passengers… "Crr….aaaa…..shhhhh……!" "Sr…..sssssss…!" The train crashed, right into the rain cloud. Big, water droplets splattered all around, leaving the friends wet and dripping. And a heavy downpour gushed from the smashed cloud. "Oh, no!" Nelly yelled. All of them were soaked to the skin. But the train would not stop flying. It zig-zagged all over the sky. Round and round the sky, it went. "Aaaah-choooo!" Nelly began sneezing. Soon, everyone was sneezing. "Aaaah-choooo! Aaaah-choooooooooooooooo!" "Oh, if mummy could see us, we would be scolded," said Nelly, looking around, as if Mother was watching. The flying train flew faster and faster. What a hurry, it seemed to be in! The wind became stronger, as the train went faster, still. Soon, the earth was far below. So far, that it was nothing but a small marble. "Oh, what is that?" Kitty shouted pointing at a big reddish globe. "That is a planet!" said Nelly. "Look, it’s going around the sun!" Puppy was amazed. "Yes, yes…my teacher said the planets move around the sun, just like our earth planet." said Nelly. "Look, look, there are some strange people on that planet," Teddy said, pointing at the tiny creatures they could just make out, on the planet. "Oh, I know. It’s the planet Mars," Timmy explained. "We learned about it in school. Those are the Little Grey People. And look at their flying saucers." Everyone looked at the planet, curious to see, people from another world. "Yes, we are the Little People of Mars. You are most welcome to visit our planet," said the Little People, waving at the train. Timmy, Nelly and the others would have loved to meet them. But, the train was in such a hurry. It couldn’t wait. It hurried past the planet Mars and went farther and farther out into space. "How big the sky is!" the passengers cried. "Unbelievable!" "There’s no end!" "Look, look! The sun is rising. Let’s go, let’s go…let’s see the sun!" Puppy shouted. "Oh, look, how big the sun is! It’s very hot! The sun is glowing like a ball of fire," Teddy whispered, rather fearfully. "No, no! We surely should not go any closer," Dolly said. "It’s burning hot. We can’t even look at him. Mummy always says that it’s not good to look at the sun directly. He looks very wicked." "No, no…I’m not wicked," said the sun. "I love you all. I’m the one who gives you light, warmth and so much more." "Yes, of course. The sun gives us a lot," Timmy told the others. "We can’t live without the sun. He is very good to us." Seeing the sun, he suddenly remembered something. "Oh! It’s almost dawn!!! We have to get ready for school!" "Yes, yes, yes, we’re going to be late for school," Nelly cried. "Stop! Stop! Please..." Timmy and Nelly both shouted, at the train engine. The train went on flying, as if he didn’t hear them. It was going round and round, farther and farther all over the sky, laughing away. He was in such a hurry! "What should we do? We are going to be late for school," said Nelly, nervously. "Let’s jump! Let’s jump! Let’s jump off the train," Nelly exclaimed. "Yes, yes, let’s jump off the train!" said Puppy, too. "Then close your eyes. One-two-three…," Timmy counted. Everybody jumped out of the train. "...Thu…dddddddddd !" "Oh, Mummyyyyyyyyy…my leg... oh, my arm…ouch…ugh… ooooouuuuch!" Everybody was screaming. Just then, Timmy heard his mother’s voice, as if in a dream. "Why, why, why are you making all these noises in the middle of the night?" "Have you had a dream?" mother asked, as she rushed into the room. "Oh....!" Timmy woke up rubbing his knees and elbows as if hurt, still shouting. Everybody else also woke up. "Was it a dream?" Timmy murmered looking around. "Oh, Timmy!!" Everybody roared in laughter together.

small-birds-big-adventure-bookdash-FKB.txt

Wesley van Eeden ˙ Nick Mulgrew ˙ Jennifer Jacobs Small Bird was a small bird. He was very small and very birdy. Small Bird lived in a beautiful house with the Giant. Small Bird loved the Giant very much. She was a kind Giant. She gave Small Bird lots of toys. Small Bird was sad when the Giant wasn’t around. So one day Small Bird went to go find the Giant. Small Bird flew up and up until he could see the whole world. He wanted to find the Giant. Where would he land? Small Bird landed in a huge forest, filled with trees and flowers and treasure. Small Bird loved playing with the shiny jewels! But where was the Giant? Small Bird walked into a vast field of snow. The snow was white and soft. Small Bird loved rolling around on the cool ground. But where was the Giant? This time, Small Bird flew even higher into the sky. He flew among the stars and galaxies! He saw the moon! He saw a comet! But where was the Giant? From way up high, with his sharp birdy eyes, Small Bird saw something! What could it be? Small Bird dived down, down, down. Where would he land? Small Bird landed right in the Giant’s hands! He was so happy to see her. "I love you, Giant!" he shrieked. The Giant held Small Bird close to her. "I love you too," the Giant said.

ELA_Grade2_Unit4_The_Subway-Reading-Comp.txt

The Subway When Kim and Kurt were finished eating, Kim paid for the meal and left a tip for the waitress. Then they went out of the diner. "We need to get on the subway and go into Manhattan," she said. "Manhattan?" Kurt said with a loud sigh. "This job hunt will take all day!" "It won’t take that long. I’m just having no luck here in Brooklyn. Maybe I can find a job in Manhattan." They walked to the subway stop. Kim got out the fare card her mom had given her. "Which train will we take?" Kurt asked. "The Number 3 train." Kim pointed to a map on the wall. She showed Kurt a red line on the map. "We will ride from here in Brooklyn over to Manhattan and all the way up to Times Square." Kurt pointed at the spot on the map that marked the East River. "Will we get to see the river?" "No," said Kim. "The subway goes under the river. That’s why it’s named a subway. Sub means under. A subway is a train that goes under things like rivers and roads. It travels underground." Kurt and Kim waited on the platform for the subway train. Soon, Kurt could hear the sound of the train as it got closer. There was a gust of air. The train rolled up to the platform and stopped. The people inside the subway train were packed in tight. There were no seats, so Kim reached up and grabbed a strap. Kurt held on tight to Kim’s leg. The train started off with a jerk. All the people swayed from side to side. Kurt could hear the train squeaking and creaking. Soon, the train slowed down. A voice came over the speaker, "This is Clark Street. Next stop is Wall Street." "Where are we?" Kurt asked Kim. "This is the last stop in Brooklyn," Kim explained. "Next, the subway crosses over to Manhattan." "Then can we get off? I’m so squashed I’m having a hard time breathing." "Hang in there," Kim said. "Some people will get off as soon as we get to Manhattan." Kim was right. The next stop was Wall Street. Lots of people got off the train. At last, Kurt and Kim got seats on the train. "This is much better!" Kurt said. Name 10.4 The Subway 1. Where do Kim and Kurt need to go on the subway? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2. Will Kim and Kurt get to see the East River? Why or why not? _________________________________________________ Directions: Have students reread the story and answer the questions in complete sentences. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 3. What is the meaning of the word "sub"? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 4. Why does Kurt want to get off the train? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 5. What happens at the Wall Street stop? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 6. Have you ever taken a subway? If so, what was it like? If not, would you like to? Why or why not? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ First, number the sentences in the proper order. Then rewrite the sentences in the right order. Kurt and Kim got seats on the train. _______ Kurt and Kim waited on the platform. _______ Kurt and Kim left the diner. _______ Kim grabbed a strap, and Kurt grabbed Kim’s leg. _______ Kurt and Kim looked at the subway map. _______ 1. _________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________

033-DO-YOU-_WONDER-HOW-SNAKES-SLITHER-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

Sammy saw the snake and snuck around its side. Sally saw the snake and scampered down the path. The snake saw Sammy... and Sally... and slithered away. Did you ever wonder how snakes slither? Well, let me tell you. I am Slithers, the Snake and here is how we do it. As you noticed, we don’t have legs but still get around quite well. We actually have 4 ways of moving. And since we don’t have legs we use our tummy scales and muscles to get us around. Most of you think slithering is the only way we move. It is our most common way and you could think of it as your walking. We push off something like a bump on the ground or a rock to get going. Then we move in a wavy motion using our tummy scales and muscles to pull us along. It is called the Serpentine method but slithering is just fine. We can hold on to something with our tail portion, even the ground, and spring our front part forward. Then we drop the front part, hang on, and pull our back part along. Maybe this is like your running as we can go pretty fast. It is called the Concertina method but slithering is just fine. In the sand, mud, or on slippery rocks we move along in a funny way. It is like your hopping. It’s hard to tell you how we do it. It looks like we toss our head forward, but off to the side, not straight ahead. Then the rest of our body follows in a sideways motion. It is called Sidewinding but slithering is just fine. Sometimes you slowly crawl on your tummy. Well, so do we. When we need to be quiet and move very slowly, we use some of our wide scales on our back part to grip the ground. Then we push straight ahead with the others. It is called the Rectilinear method but slithering is just fine. People walk, run, hop, and crawl. We snakes serpentine, concertina, sidewind, and rectilinear. And we both get to where we want to go. Wow! After talking to you about the way we move, I guess it is easier just to say we SLITHER.

Bee-Not-So-Busy.txt

All day long the Busy-Bees flew from hive to flower and back to hive, gathering pollen and nectar. Their wings beat so fast that they caused a buzz! "Look at us! We’re humming with activity!" they sang. Bee-Not-So-Busy was different from the other bees. "Why don’t bees enjoy the garden like the other insects?" she wondered. "I’ll leave the hive and live like the beetles and the butterflies, the ants and the grasshoppers!" she said. She saw a beetle on a leaf. Beetles are smart. Instead of gathering nectar and making honey, they eat the leaves on the plant," she said. After dressing up in a beetle suit, she flew down beside the beetle. Bee-Not-So-Busy took a big bite and almost vomited. "Yuck! This leaf tastes horrible!" She flew to a flower and sipped some nectar and felt better. "I’ll live like a butterfly. They sip nectar but don’t work like bees." "They fly over flowers before choosing one. They don’t rush at all. And they don’t hum." "They have so much fun!" Bee-Not-So-Busy found a bright and colorful butterfly costume. She had a nice day sipping nectar and flying among the flowers. By evening, she was tired. Like the other butterflies, she folded her wings and went to sleep under a leaf. Suddenly there was thunder and lightning. Thick drops of rain fell hard and fast. Bee-Not-So-Busy took shelter under a bunch of flowers. The flowers grew heavy with the rainwater. Bee-Not-So-Busy was scared she would drop into the puddle that had formed around the plant. The rain stopped after sometime. Bee-Not-So-Busy threw away the wet butterfly coat and rested on a stem. She saw ants rushing out of an anthill. "Our food is all gone! Our home is all wet!" they cried. Moths, beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers were all wet. They would have no food until the sun shone tomorrow. Bee-Not-So-Busy missed her dry, warm, and safe beehive. She was also hungry and longed for the food stored in the hive. There was honey and nectar and pollen in there. She shook herself dry and flew back to the hive. Bee-Not-So-Busy had a tasty meal. Happy to be back in her safe, warm, and dry home, she fell asleep. Early the next morning, she flew from flower to hive and back to flower. She worked all day long. Bee-Not-So-Busy had became a Busy-Bee.

The-Misadventures-of-Little-Toast-Honey-I-Love-You.txt

This is Baby. Baby thinks her name is Toast. Baby watches mama make pancakes for breakfast. When the pancakes are ready mama calls out to papa: Honey, breakfast is ready. Come and get it. She always calls papa Honey. That must be his name. Honey. I'll remember that. The table is set for breakfast. Papa helps himself to pancakes. Then he says: Please pass the honey. I want to pour some on my pancakes. Mama passes the jar of honey to papa. Honey Baby looks at it curiously. So this is honey? That is what mama calls papa. I wonder what honey tastes like. Mama sees that baby is curious. She gives her some drops of honey to taste. I love you honey. You are so sweet and delicous. Yummm! Mmm! Tasty! This is the only way to eat honey. Hey! Just a minute. I am tasteless toast and papa is delicious honey. Hmmph! Honey Arrrgh! What have you done? Save it. I know. When mama sees this I'm Toast. Heee hee hee. Serves her right for naming me Toast. Honey is so much better. A big thankyou to you guys at Open Clipart for making these pictures freely available.

Tanias-Diwali-Celebration.txt

Tania Celebrates Diwali Tania was really excited. The last day of school was finally over. Tania's Diwali vacation had begun. Diwali was still a few days away. But there was a lot of preparation to do. Diwali is the Indian festival of lights. It is celebrated with sweets, lights, decorations, games and firecrackers. Tania was now old enough to enjoy it all and she had been looking forward to it for a while. Mama had planned some fun activities for Tania. First on the agenda was to decorate diyas. Tania asked "Mama, what is a diya?" Mama said "A diya is an oil lamp made of clay. We pour oil into the clay bowl and make a wick from cotton. When we light the oil soaked cotton, the flame lights up the area around. It is very pretty. The clay lamps are plain and brown, so we are going to paint them." Mama and Tania sat on a large plastic mat on the living room floor and decorated the lamps with various designs. They used a lot of the flashy silver and gold colours which would shine beautifully in the lamp light. Diwali week is the time to do some house cleaning and decorating. Tania and mama spent a morning cleaning up and arranging cupboards and drawers. So in the afternoon they decided it was time for some fun. Mama told Tania they would be making a "Rangoli". She saw Tania's curious, puzzled expression and explained, "A Rangoli is a design made on doorsteps as a welcome sign. We are going to use rice flour to make it." Mama took some rice and put it in the grinder. Tania pressed the button and made rice flour. Then mama and Tania took the rice flour to the doorstep. "Now what do we do mama?" asked Tania. Mama said, "Sprinkle the rice powder to make some nice design like this flower here." Mama also used a little bit of some coloured powders she had bought. Tania and mama had an enjoyable afternoon making a lovely floral Rangoli. But enough about decorating. Diwali would not be complete without tasty Indian sweets. Mama had bought some dry- fruit sweets from the sweet shop. But mama always made gulab jamuns at home. Tania helped mama make a dough consisting of milk powder, flour, baking powder and cream. They then made little round balls of dough the size of marbles and deep fried them till they were golden brown. Mama also made a sugar syrup flavoured with rose water. Once the fried balls of dough cooled a little, mama and Tania put them in the syrup to soak. Soon it was the night before Diwali. Diwali is on the night of the new moon, so the night before Diwali is the darkest night of the month. It is believed that the ghosts and spirits prowl the earth on that night. So in some parts of India it is customary to light 14 diyas and place them all over the house to ward off the ghosts. Tania and mama lit their beautifully decorated diyas and placed them all over the house. On Diwali morning Tania woke up early. Grandma and grandpa were coming in the afternoon. Mama made a snack of "pani- puri" and "dahi-puri" for everyone. Tania helped set up the table with the puris, curd, mashed potatoes, tamarind chutney and of course the super tasty "pani": water flavoured with cumin, rock salt and mint coriander chutney. Grandma and grandpa arrived around 2:00. Traditionally the family spent Diwali afternoon playing cards. But to include little Tania, this Diwali they played "Uno". Instead of the usual betting the victor got to collect a certain amount of candy from the rest at the end of each game. Tania thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was an expert at Uno and collected a good amount of candy. Everyone chatted and ate pani-puri while playing Uno. This was Tania's first time eating pani-puri and she found it to be a messy and enjoyable experience. They also ate gulab jamuns and other sweets. The afternoon passed by quickly with everyone having such a good time. Soon the sun had set and it was time for fire crackers. This was what Tania had been looking forward to most of all. The housing society had set aside some space for the children to safely light crackers. Tania lit sparklers, fountains and a rotating ground fire cracker called a zameen-chakra. Last year mama had only let her watch. It was so much more fun to actually light the crackers. That night Tania went to bed happy and tired. It was the best, most exciting day she had ever had.

i-dont-want-to-go-to-sleep_en_FKB-4-17.txt

n t to go to sleep t wa ! n’ I do " " "Goodnight, Nandi." "I … don’t … want … to … go … to … slee p." "That’s enough now. Goodnight, Nandi." eep !" ’ w t anttogot osl "I w on ant mo " Id re supp Ano er. ther Just o boo n k! e mor e son g?" "Goodnight, Nandi." "M A M A! ... I need a glass o f wat "I DON er. Please? ’T WAN Please T ." TO GO L E E P ! " TO S "It’s time to go to sleep now. Goodnight, Nandi." "… yes … " Mama sighs: "What about an adventure? Do you want an adventure?" "Do you want to creep through the jungle on the trail of the fearsome hippocrocoturtleduck?" "Yes! Yes! Yes!" y! e sk s t h cros t to fly a " I wa n ar! Leap f rom star to st Fill my p with stardust!" ockets nt a N a ndi-sized g "I wa tur lass sub e th e c re a e s at t marin to s e h e bott e of the ocean! om a p et giant squid to And m do w ater th er e w ith e! " ballet n gs w i fl y e r b utt r o f s ky "I want i to build myself a pa t he o f of to t he ro rl d and zoom w o l l th e where I’ll se e a !" it i ng in and everyth "Look here, Nandi. Here is your very own adventure boat. It’s waiting to take you wherever you want to go. See, put your head here ... that’s right ... and I’ll just tuck you in ... there we go ... now, off you go! Adventure awaits ..." "Goodnight, Nandi." Draw your dreams here.

010-CAPTAIN-FANTASTIC-Free-Childrens-Book-By-Monkey-Pen.txt

Princess Aura always has the best birthday parties and this year friends from all over the galaxy were heading to her planet to enjoy the celebrations. Captain Fantastic and his wonder dog Winston had picked the perfect present for their inspiring friend. However, Captain Fantastic’s arch nemesis, the evil Doctor Zob was determined that there would be no birthday cake for the pair at the end of this trip. The Rocketship stood proudly on the launch pad ready for takeoff. Captain Fantastic had just finished loading Princess Aura’s awkwardly long birthday present. "That’s it, Winston." he said patting his faithful dog. "Now I just need to go and return all this wrapping paper."and he headed towards the hanger while untangling himself from all the super sticky tape he’d used to wrap up the gift. Winston gave a happy bark and off Captain Fantastic went into the space hanger. As Winston returned to the spaceship he thought he saw someone walking away from their Rocket Ship. He looked familiar; was that Doctor Zob? Later, in the ship all systems were go. Lights blinked, screens lit up and Captain Fantastic and Winston were strapped in ready to go. "5,4,3,2,1, Blast Off and away we go." shouted Captain Fantastic, a big grin on his face whenever he headed back out into space. Today Winston only gave a little whimper though; what was that Doctor Zobup to? On Doctor Zob’s great black ship however, there was only laughter, the kind only an evil genius can produce; deep from the stomach and exploding from the mouth. "Good luck Captain Fantastic, enjoy your ride." Both ships were now busy with the sound of song: "Roaring in our Rocket, flying really fast, Being in a spaceship is a blast blast blast!" sang Captain Fantastic. While on the dark ship of Zob his creepy chorus rang out: "My mean machine is in the socket. It will make the Captain Fluster. Magnetic power will route his rocket To the Crazy Comet Cluster" "Not long now, Winston. Princes Aura’s planet is just around the next sun." explained Captain Fantastic. Out of the window Winston stared at the golden planets, and the shining suns flying past as they hurtled through space. "WahWahWah". The cool hum of the spaceship was suddenly thrown into chaos as the red warning light flashed and the ship suddenly and sharply turned around. "Oh no!" cried Captain Fantastic. "We’re going the wrong way". Winston looked at the screen and saw where they were headed: "Oh no, indeed!" The yellow rocket ship was now headed towards the Crazy Comet Cluster, the zaniest place in space. Hundreds of blazing red comets swarmed around a golden Yellow sun and if a spaceship got too close, they would chase and churn it for hours upon hours. Winston barked and ran to the back of the ship. "Don’t worry, boy." said Captain Fantastic. "It will be ok….I hope." as he started pressing buttons and fighting with the spaceships steering wheel. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his eyes widened into two moons of panic. Winston was not really scared, however, he was searching for whatever the mischievous Doctor Zob had hidden on their ship. Winston knew that it was the only reason they were in trouble, but what was it? Watching from behind a small green moon was the shadowy spaceship of Doctor Zob. A big smile of satisfaction grew on his face as he watched the Captain’s ship head towards the Crazy Comet Cluster. Once again his evil laugh echoed around the gleaming cockpit of his ship. "Magnetic force, keep that rocket off course." he whispered to himself. Winston knew they were almost out of time when he saw it; or rather he sniffed out the evil stench of where Doctor Zob had been. It was a small blinking box just underneath the main computer. That had to be it. Doctor Zob had made the yellow rocket go in the wrong direction using one of his mischief machines. Quick as a flash Winston snatched the box in his jaws and teetering along the lengthy birthday gift threw it to the Space Particle Accelerator Machine (SPAM for short).He then used his paws and sent the device back to Doctor Zob’s nearby ship. ‘Lets see how much he enjoys those crazy comets.’ thought Winston. Back on the bridge Captain Fantastic was still banging, twisting pushing and pressing everything he could, When suddenly the ship turned around and headed back to Princess Aura’s planet. Winston trotted in and gave a friendly happy bark. "I told you not to worry Winston; as I say ‘with the Captain around a solution is found.’" Winston gave a happy bark before picking up his favourite bone and settling back to enjoy the remainder of the journey. A short while later Captain Fantastic and Winston were getting hugs and high fives as Princess Aura opened up her birthday present."Anti-Gravity skies! "Cool!" she said while up above some crazy comets were chasing a rather unhappy Doctor Zob.

RAJ-THE-RAMBLING_RADIATOR-BoodleBobsEP-01-By-JO-KEMP.txt

RAJ THE RAMBLING RADIATOR Boodlebobs This is a story all about Raj. And yes, he’s a radiator. It didn’t matter how hot it was, it could never be too hot for Raj - so it was just as well he was a radiator. "Bring me damp towels!" he called from across the hall, "Bring me wet washing and socks!" Anything that was cold.. or damp… or just plain soaking wet.. loved Raj. And there was always room for one more on top. Timmy – his friend - had been hanging out on the line and had got frozen. "I think..…… I think…I’m getting AH…AH… ATISHOO… …..A cold." He sneezed. "Come and sit on my head while I find you some honey for your cold," said Raj kindly. And with Timmy on his head, they went into the garden. "I need some honey," he called. And Big Fat Bee came and landed beside him. "Follow me," said Big Fat Bee and led Raj towards the rhododendron bush. (ROW-DOW-DEN-DRUN is how you say it.) Boodlebobs [EP-01] - RAJ THE RAMBLING RADIATOR 5 "Wait here," he buzzed, "I’ll be back as soon as I can." Raj had just settled down to wait when two long pink sticks came and planted themselves in front of him? "I’ve been imprisoned!" he panicked, "I am a prisoner!" and shook the sticks as hard as he could. "No you haven’t," said a large pink head which dropped into view, "You’re just shaking a leg. Well, two actually – mine." The legs stepped back and Pink Fedora came into view. "Have you seen my egg?" she asked. Raj didn’t quite know what to say. "Your egg?" he said sounding puzzled, "No… I’m sorry I have not". "Oh,That’s a shame," said Pink Fedora sadly, "It rolled away and if it gets cold…. "COLD!!" said Raj horrified, "No, no! We cannot have that. Come, we must go quickly and find it." Just at that moment, Big Fat Bee came back and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. "It’s a large blue egg," explained Fedora, "But please hurry because…" "IT CANNOT GO COLD!!" finished Raj. Boodlebobs [EP-01] - RAJ THE RAMBLING RADIATOR 6 "I’ll get the squad together." said Big Fat Bee summoning his friends who were soon zig-zagging over the garden. It didn’t take them long to find the missing egg. But there was a problem. Sitting next to the egg was Ratty and the only thing on his mind was BREAKFAST and a lovely big blue egg would do nicely!! Oh no you don’t!" shouted Raj. And - with a bit of quick thinking - he grabbed Timmy, twirled him around and…around.. FLICK!! "Ouch!" squealed Rat. "Ouch!" squealed Timmy. "That really hurt!" they both squealed together. But it did the trick. Ratty forgot all about BREAKFAST and decided the best thing he could do was to run for it! Tenderly, Pink Fedora nuzzled her egg, "It’s still warm," she sighed with relief. "But it needs to be warmer," added Raj, "Timmy, can you help me?" Timmy was only too happy to help. He wrapped himself gently around the egg as Raj sat them both on his warm flat head. Boodlebobs [EP-01] - RAJ THE RAMBLING RADIATOR 7 And then they waited. And they waited until a small crack appeared and out popped a baby pink flamingo. "MAMA!" she exclaimed in a surprisingly deep voice and wrapped her tiny wings around Raj. "DAD!" she chuckled as looked up and embraced the long pink legs of her mummy. "Ohhhh!! Tea towel!" she added and laughed as she put Timmy in her beak. And that was it really. Wherever Raj went he was followed by a baby pink flamingo called Flora holding Timmy in her beak. And wherever Flora went, pink Fedora went too. I think we are a very happy family," smiled Raj contentedly. And radiated.

feathered-friends_storybook_FKB.txt

We are the oakum boys. We do everything together. Penguins don’t fly, they swim. But we’re too young to swim. So we walk. One day we went for a long walk. We walked and walked. Until we saw something new. He’s got something on his head! You’re changing! So are you! It’s not so bad! It’s not so cold! I will! But who’s going to teach us to swim? In this book you’ll meet king penguins, chinstrap penguins, and one lonely macaroni ... as seen through the eyes of the oakum boys, which are what king penguin babies are before they grow up. All of these penguin species (and a few more) are found in Antarctica, the coldest, driest, windiest place on earth. It takes some very special qualities to survive in this harsh landscape. But if you are lucky enough to visit here, you will find that no matter how alike the penguins seem, each one is different – and all of them are special. We hope that by learning about these amazing animals, future generations will want to protect them as much as we do.

TheBigRedBalloon.txt

Over a lagoon there is a balloon It is a big balloon! It is a big red balloon It is a beautiful big red balloon It is MY beautiful big red balloon Oh NO! Now what? Where Over there! I swear! I can see your balloon your big balloon your big red balloon your beautiful big red balloon It flies like this, it flies like that It swirls in the sky with... ... a dancing bee fly! Oh NO! Now what? Where Over there! I swear! I can see your balloon your big balloon your big red balloon your beautiful big red balloon It jumps like this, it jumps like that It hops on the grass and over the road with... ... a grumpy toad! Oh NO! Now what? Where Over there! I swear! I can see your balloon your big balloon your big red balloon your beautiful big red balloon It spins like this, it spins like that It swims across the river with... ... an eager beaver! Oh NO! No w w h at? W h e re Ove r th e re ! I s w e ar! I can see your balloon your big balloon your big red balloon your beautiful big red balloon It waves like this, it waves like that It moves over the hills and plays with... ... two yellow daffodils! Oh NO! Now what? Where Over there! I swear! Look at the square and then.... I saw my balloon my big balloon my big red balloon my beautiful big red balloon having a chat with... ...a persian cat! Lesson Plan 1. Read the story once. 2. Read the story a second time and encourage students to mime the actions of the balloon. 3. Put students in pairs or in groups and draw a balloon on board. 4. Ask students to brainstorm as many words as possible to describe the balloon and create a word cloud. 5. Students put these words into categories that represent opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material. If there are no words for all these categories ask students to brainstorm relevant vocabulary. 6. Draw students' attention to the fact that there is a specific word order of adjectives in English. 7. Put students in pairs or in small groups. Ask them to draw three balloons and to write short sentences using adjectives from the word cloud. 8. Students choose one balloon and they present it to the class. 9. They could also mention the places they would like to go with this balloon or whether their balloon has got any magic powers, for example it can make people laugh, swim, fly, speak with animals. 10. Display the balloons and let students decide on the most original one.

In-Open-Sea-R-.txt

Summer came and Bubu, together with his friends Oskar the rabbit and Rico the hedgehog went to a summer camp at the seaside. They were learning to sail, digging tunnels in the sand, swimming and many other things. One day while they were building a huge sand castle Bubu noticed something glittering in the sea. "Treasure!" cried Bubu jumping into the water and swimming as fast as he could. When he came nearby he found that it was only a bottle. Yet he grabbed it with his teeth and swam back to the shore... Oscar and Rico pulled him out of the water and while Bubu was drying off, Oskar looked over the bottle. "Hmm...there is something inside!" Rico pulled up the cork with one of his thorns and pulled out a palm leaf with something written on it. The three friends started reading... Help! We shipwrecked on a lonely island. Our food and water is running out. The heat is immense. Please, send us help! The three friends exchanged glances. "I will take food and water!" said Rico. "Then I will prepare the sails!" proposed Oskar. "And I am going for maps and a compass. Meet you on the ship in one hour!" cried Bubu already running. In an hour the ship was ready and the anchor weighed. Oskar climbed into the crow's nest on the top of the mast, Rico was taking care of the sails and ropes, and Bubu was at the helm and following direction with the compass. There was a strong wind and the ship was sailing fast forward. All was quiet and just when Bubu intended to take a nap, Oskar cried anxiously, "Sharks to the right!" Bubu grabbed the telescope and looked. A school of sharks was chasing a small whale. The whale was wounded and the sharks were already very close. There was no time to lose. Bubu turned the helm sharply to the right and cried, "Oskar! Rico! A whale in danger! Prepare for battle!" Oskar climbed down in seconds, shaking with fear. "Battle? With the fearful sharks? Impossible..." Rico was also worried. "I've heard horrible stories about the sharks. It is better to leave them alone. And we are on a rescue mission and have to hurry." "I know...but the whale also needs to be rescued. And if we do not help then who will?" asked Bubu. Oskar exchanged glances with Rico and said, unsure, "Maybe you are right, Bubu. But how are we going to fight the sharks?" "I don't know yet, but I will search in the hold. I will be back in a while." Bubu quickly got into the hold and looked around. If he could find a fishing net and throw it over the sharks...or maybe a canon...or maybe some of those special whistles which scare the sharks... But there was no fishing net, or canon, or whistle. But maybe if... thought Bubu. Then he grabbed one chest and hurried up to the deck. During this time Rico hoisted all the sails and even the tablecloth and his handkerchief. Oskar was throwing into the sea everything unnecessary, to make the ship lighter and faster. The ship was advancing at high speed, but the sharks were already reaching the whale. One of the sharks opened her jaws and... "Take cover!" cried Bubu, lighting a match and squeezing his eyes. Oskar and Rico dove down and held their breath. Baaaam! Boooom! Baaaam! A dozen fireworks and rockets, left from the New Year celebrations, thundered into the sky. Thick smoke rose from the ship and formed into a huge sea dragon. Bubu, Oskar and Rico began screaming as loud as they could, although they were not sure how a sea dragon should sound. The sharks stopped for a moment...and swam away in panic. The whale was safe! Bubu and Rico bandaged her wounded tail and Oskar brought out the tastiest biscuits from the ship’s supplies. "Thank you boys," said the whale when at last she caught her breath, "if you were not…..." "A piece of cake," said Oskar, "we have coped with much bigger and more fearful creatures." "Come with us Kittie," said Bubu, "we are on "Really? But who are you?" asked the whale. a rescue mission and a skilled swimmer like "I am Oskar and this is Bubu and Rico. you will be very helpful." And what is your name?" "I would like to come," said Kittie, "but I have "Kittie." to go back home. Mom and Dad are probably already worried." "Pity. Well...we also have to go. Bye Kittie!" "Bye! And good luck with the mission," Kittie waved her tail. The three friends lifted the anchor and set sail. They sailed for the whole day and just when Bubu began to worry if they were heading the right way, Oskar cried, "Land!" Bubu looked through the telescope and breathed a sigh of relief – someone on the coast was waving desperately. Soon they dropped the anchor and the happy castaways got on board. They were very hungry and thirsty and Rico prepared a real feast with biscuits and seaweed soup. Everybody wanted to go home as soon as possible and after dinner they set sail. But their homeward voyage would not be so easy. Dark clouds covered the sky and a powerful storm pounced on the ship. "Hide in the cabin," cried Bubu while trying to keep the ship upright against the waves. The storm grew stronger and stronger. The waves were hitting and sweeping over the ship and Bubu left alone on the deck, shivering in the cold could hardly hold the slippery helm. Suddenly a huge wave swept over the ship. "Hold on!" cried Bubu clinging to the helm. The wave crashed onto the deck with terrific power, sweeping away everything in its path and threw Bubu overboard... Bubu's legs were caught by something and he hung just above the waves. "Gotcha!" cried Oskar above him. "Hold on! We will pull you out." But another big wave hit the ship. Water and sea foam filled Bubu's mouth and ears. "The ship is sinking," he heard someone cry with fear...then he fell unconscious. Bubu opened his eyes, spat out a gulp of sea water and looked around. "What happened? Where am I?" "The ship sank," said Rico desperately. "All that is left is this piece of the mast. What will we do? We have no food, no water, in the middle of the sea..." "Hey, see there!" jumped in Oskar filled with joy, "something is coming our way! We are saved! This is a ship." But it was not... The sharks surrounded them and started swimming in a circle rattling their teeth. "Don't be scared," said Bubu trying not to shiver, "Rico, we need swords." Rico clenched his teeth, broke off his longest and sharpest thorns and handed them out. "We can't stop them with this..." said Oskar taking two thorns and shaking his head, "we are doomed." One of the sharks smiled cunningly and dove. "She will attack us from below! Hold on!" cried Bubu. The water around splashed and broke into foam. Something hit the mast with immense power and threw it away. Seems like the sea cracked and then a huge island emerged from the deep. "What is happening? What is this?" cried Oskar terrified. Whatever it was, it was scary for everyone – the sharks were swimming away as fast as they could. "Hello boys!" said a familiar voice. "Kittie?!?" exclaimed Bubu looking around surprised. "But how?!? From where?!? But then..." Bubu rubbed his eyes in unbelief. The island was not an island but a huge whale. "Don't be scared," said Kittie, "this is daddy. When the storm started yesterday I thought you could be in danger. Together with daddy we went looking for you and here we are." "And just in time," smiled Bubu and sat down exhausted, but relieved. At last they were safe. When later on they entered the harbor, everybody went out to welcome them. They had to retell their adventures at least one hundred times and everybody wanted Kittie's father to take them a short ride. In the evening Bubu, Oskar, Rico and Kittie gathered on the quay, ate biscuits and told each other stories about sea adventures. At the end it was really time to go to bed when Bubu had an idea. "Do you want to go in search of a pirate treasure tomorrow?" "Great idea!" exclaimed Oskar, Rico and Kittie as one. "So...decided!" said Bubu. "Have a good sleep. Meet you on the quay at dawn..." The End

82-i-want-that-one.txt

I Want That One! It was a holiday for Amma. She was reading a book. Anil had a holiday too. He wanted to do.... SOMETHING! "Amma, I want to see what is in that blue box!" said Anil. "Later, Anil," said Amma. Anil put a stool over a chair. He climbed up to get the box down. "No, no! Not that one! All the boxes on top of that will fall on our heads, Anil!" said Amma. Anil was very angry. He was angry with his mother. "Come, let’s go to the market and get you something," said Amma. Anil was very angry even after they went to the market. "I want that one!" he said, pointing at an orange. "No, no, not that one! The fruits will all fall down!" said the shopkeeper. "I want that book!" said Anil. "No, no, not that one!" said the shopkeeper."Take this one." "I want that one!" shouted Anil, almost pulling out a samosa from a high stack of samosas. "No, no, not that one!" warned the shopkeeper. "All my samosas will fall to the ground!" "I want that one!" said Anil loudly. He was now in a very, very bad mood. "No, no, not that one!" said the flower seller. "Don’t touch them! They will wilt." By now, Anil was crying loudly. Everyone was looking at Anil. "I want that one! The black one!" said Amma loudly. Anil stopped crying suddenly. "Amma, no, no! Not that one!" said Anil. "Let’s take this brown one!" said Anil. Then Anil gently lifted the brown puppy on top of a pile of puppies. "Amma, I am very angry with you! All the puppies would have fallen down!" Amma smiled. Anil was smiling too. He was not angry at all now.

Clouds-2-17.txt

Clouds Look up at the sky. In many places you will see clouds. There are many different types of clouds. They are all different shapes and sizes. Have you ever wondered how clouds are formed? Clouds are made of evaporated water. Evaporation is when water changes from liquid to gas. Some clouds are fluffy, while others are wispy. Some are big and others are small. Some even resemble familiar shapes. Water evaporates from different sources all around you, like lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Can you guess the main source of water for clouds? The main source is the ocean. This is because the ocean makes up such a large part of the world. Seventy-one percent of our earth is covered by ocean. The kind of cloud that forms depends on the environment. Different clouds form at different heights. They change depending on the temperature, too. Water evaporates and becomes gas. This gas rises and mixes with particles in the air. It rises and rises until it cools and collects in one part of the sky. This forms a cloud. There are three major types of clouds: cirrus clouds, stratus clouds, and cumulus clouds. Each type of cloud looks different. Some are found high in the sky; others are close to the ground. This is a cirrus cloud. Cirrus clouds are the highest clouds in the sky. The higher elevation and winds cause them to be wispier. This is a cumulus cloud. Cumulus clouds are the puffiest clouds. The bottom is often flat and they can have tall peaks at the top. These are stratus clouds. Stratus clouds are low in the sky. They are flat and near the ground. Fog is a stratus cloud. One type of cumulus cloud is the cumulonimbus cloud. You may also know these as rain clouds. Rain, snow, hail, and sleet are all different forms water can take as it falls from the clouds. The word for water falling from the sky is precipitation. Snow is made when it is cold enough for the water in clouds to freeze. Freezing high in the air makes water turn into tiny crystal shapes. If they don’t melt while they fall, it snows. Precipitation occurs when too much water collects in the cloud. The cloud can no longer hold all the water and it falls to the ground. Temperatures often control the type of precipitation that forms. Hail also forms in cold temperatures. Hail looks like ice rocks. Water in clouds becomes hail because of strong winds. The wind blows the frozen water back up into the sky. It joins other ice crystals and gets bigger. This happens until it gets too heavy to be blown back up and falls to the ground. Sleet occurs when a layer of the air is warm. The water begins by falling from the cloud and freezing. It passes through a warm layer and melts. Then it freezes again as it falls. Water droplets within the cloud move and bump into each other. As they move, electricity builds up. The cloud has a negative charge. The ground has a positive charge. Negative and positive charges attract. These two charges connect and create the flash of electricity that you see. During some storms you see flashes of lightning. Lightning is an electrical current that is made during thunderstorms. Thunder occurs because of lightning. Lightning creates heat in the cloud which expands the air around it. This makes a loud boom, which is thunder. Clouds are very important. They help maintain the Earth’s climate. They reflect and absorb the sun’s rays. They regulate the amount of sunlight that hits the surface of the earth. All the water you see used to be part of a cloud and will be part of a cloud again one day. Every time you drink, you can thank a cloud! Clouds also help move water from one place to another. If there weren’t any clouds, wind, and rain, water would all drain into the ocean and stay there forever. Clouds are how water travels to the top of a mountain or the start of a river. This is called the water cycle. Clouds Clouds Review Questions! ? Art Project! Draw three types of clouds and one type 1. What are clouds made of? of precipitation. In your drawing, write the 2. What makes hail grow so big? names of each cloud and the precipitation 3. How do clouds help us? as a label. Show someone your drawing and explain why each cloud is the way it is. 4. What do you call a cloud that is near the ground? 5. What do you call a cloud that is very Clouds high? Hands on! 6. Where does the water in clouds come Is it going to rain soon? Take a jar or cup from? and leave it outside in the rain (make sure it doesn’t fall over!) When the rain is over, take a ruler and measure how many centimeters filled the cup. Now you’re a weather scientist and can measure rain!

Tania-is-a-Detective-.txt

Tania is a detective Tania and mama were in the park. Tania wanted to sit on the merry-go-round. As usual, she had taken Anne with her. Anne was Tania's favourite doll. Mama put Tania on one of the seats of the merry-go-round and Anne on another seat. Then mama pushed it to make it go round. Tania was delighted and shouted, "Faster mama, faster! I want it to go faster." So mama pushed harder and soon it was going quite fast. Suddenly it started raining heavily. Mama quickly picked up Tania and took her indoors. But they had to run some distance in the rain and they were both soaked. In their rush they forgot all about Anne. Poor Anne. Mama rushed Tania home. She undressed her and dried her vigorously with a towel. Then she put her in clean dry clothes. Mama dried and changed herself too. When they finished, it was time for dinner. Tania went to get Anne so they could have dinner together. Papa was going to be back late from office. So it was just the 3 of them. Tania could not find Anne in the usual place. She asked, "Mama, have you seen Anne? I can't find her." "When was the last time you saw her?" asked mama. Tania thought for a moment and said, "We took her to the park. She was on the merry-go- round." "Oh no!" said mama, "I suppose we left her there when we rushed back because of the rain." Tania looked very upset. She said, "Mama, Anne is wet in the rain and all alone. Can we go get her now?" "Yes of course sweetie." said mama willing to delay dinner for such an important matter. Tania and mama walked up to the merry-go-round, but Anne was not on it. Where could she be? Tania asked, "Mama where is Anne? How do we find her?" Mama replied, "Lets ask the building watchman. He may know what happened to Anne." So they went back to the building and asked the watchman. The watchman said "I saw the doll on the merry-go-round. I did not know who it belonged to. So I brought it in and put it on my desk here. Just a few minutes back I went to the rest-room, and when I was back the doll had disappeared. I assumed that, the person it belonged to, had come and taken it." "That is odd." said mama. "When we came out of the elevator you were not here and neither was the doll." "Yes, I suppose I left for the rest-room before you came out of the elevator." "So what now?" asked Tania. "Did someone kidnap Anne? Mama what will happen to her? Will she be okay? Where can we look now?" Mama said "Tania, lets go home and have dinner and figure out what to do next." Mama was unlocking the door when Tania exclaimed, "Look mama! This is the button from Anne's jacket. You sewed it on last month, remember? That means she was here mama." "But Tania, that button could have fallen off when we took her down to the park." "No. The button was on Anne's jacket when she sat on the merry-go-round. I remember that." "Are you sure?" "Yes. That means someone brought her here." "You are right. Someone from the building must have recognised Anne to be your doll and brought her here. The person must have been coming up on one elevator while we were going down on the other one. By the time we were down the person had already picked up Anne from the watchman's desk. But when the person got here we were not home. So he or she took Anne home to keep her safe. You are a smart little detective Tania." "Mama, I think it was Tanisha. She would know Anne lives here. She was supposed to come back from dance class at that time." "Call Tanisha and find out." Tania rushed to the phone and dialled Tanisha's phone number with trembling fingers. She was desperately hoping her deductions were correct and that Anne was safe. Tanisha's mother answered the phone and Tania waited impatiently while she called Tanisha. Tanisha said, "Tania don't worry. Anne is with me. She was wet on the watchman's desk and he was not there. So I picked her up and brought her to your house. But no one answered the door bell. So then I brought her home. Mama helped me dry her with a hair dryer. She is fine now. I was going to call you after dinner and let you know." Tania heaved a sigh of relief. She said "Thanks Tanisha for keeping her safe. I'll come right now and get her." Tania ran up the stairs to Tanisha's house and got Anne back. She put her safely on the sofa. It was getting really late and Mama brought out the dinner. Just then the doorbell rang. Mama went to answer it grumbling, "We will never finish dinner tonight." Papa was at the door. He was home a little earlier than he had expected. Papa joined Tania and mama for dinner and they told him how they had cleverly solved the "Mystery of Anne's Disappearance".