One Story A Day for Early Readers (Book 10 for October) DC Canada Education PublishingWritten by: Leonard Judge, Scott Paterson, Yang Liu, Jennifer Burrows, Gail Mcleod Ilustrators: Meredith Luce, Junpo Cao, Bin Kang Cover Design: Meredith Luce Narrators: Larry Stewart, Genevieve Spicer Producer: Meizhen Dang Editor: Anja Pujic Copyright © 2013 DC Canada Education Publishing Published by: DC Canada Education Publishing 180 Metcalfe Street, Suite 204 Ottawa, Canada K2P 1P5 www.de-canada.ca Published in Canada All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission of the copyright owner. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada for our publishing activities. One Story A Day for Early Readers - Book 10 ISBN: 978-1-926776-13-2 8 7654 Printed in China 2018 11 12 13 14Preface This is the tenth book of One Story A Day For Early Readers, a series of twelve books designed to develop a love of reading in children ages 6 and up. Written by a team of professional writers, these books comprise high- interest topics and motivational content that make children excited about reading. The stories are based on everyday life, funny tales of friendship and family, fables from around the world, and stories about nature, science and history. The One Story A Day series fosters children’s total development— linguistic, intellectual, social, and cultural-through the joy of reading. Both the content and structure of the books encourage children to read every day. Controlled vocabulary and targeted illustrations make the stories easy to understand. Moreover, each book comes with an audio CD with all stories narrated in clear, natural voices. This series can be used in a variety of settings and with many different approaches. The stories can always bring the joy of words and reading to the ears and minds of children at a crucial stage in their development. Sit back, relax, and discover the pleasure of reading! “ “Pe Reb ae &i oo sl So) om ew bo ee anak ot = = 1c) Table of Contents Don’t Fix It That’s a BIG Pumpkin Apple Time Mr. Squirrel Just One More House A Nature Artist Perfect Lost at the Beach -+-+-ssseseeeesceseesesseseestesessetseeeenees 20: Before Computers Touching the Tiger (I 26 Touching the Tiger (II) 28 Under the Table -v-sssssssssssssssssssssssnessseceecssssnnnnnseees 30 The Greedy Dog -s-ssssssssssssseeeesessseeeesnsseeeeeesey 32ub 18 19 20 21 22. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Walking Sweater - Falling Leaves, Rising Trees A Worrying Guy sess 38 Freddy the Frog -+++++ss+ssessessssssseesesssseeseeseeeeeesneses 40 Sun, Moon and Water (I)-- Sun, Moon and Water (ID). George’s Brother Ti dastes like Vinegay = 9 ee 48 Feeling Good With Music «++++++:++sssssseeseseeseeeeseeee 50 The High Jumper How Do Birds Eat? Guess the Holiday! - A Sudden Danger! --++++++sssesssessessseserteseeseneenteene 58 Billy’s Blanket ---ssssssssssssssesseseessssssssseeeseseeesenneees 60 Monster Dad -+-e-eeeeeeseeseeeeeseeseseeesseeseeseeeeseeeeeeee 62Don’t Fix It Luke had a new alarm clock. It was big and round with two bells on top. It ticked and tocked all night long. In the morning, it jangled and rang loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood! Luke wondered how it worked. So, he used his father's tools to open the clock. Springs and bits exploded everywhere! Luke tried to put them all back in the clock, but they wouldn't fit. So, he sat on the clock until it closed. He turned the key and shook the clock. It made funny rattling noises, but it wouldn't tick or tock! Luke put the springs and bits in a box. He decided to take the box to his Uncle Tony.Uncle Tony looked at the bits. He looked at Luke. Then, he got his car and took Luke to the store to buy a new clock. “Remember, Luke!” Uncle Tony said, “If something works, DON'T FIX IT!”That’s a BIG Pumpkin Harry Redin has a strange hobby. When he first started his hobby, all his friends laughed at him. What is Harry’s hobby? Harry grows pumpkins—GIANT pumpkins. Last year, Harry set the world record for growing the biggest pumpkin. How big was it? It was 914 pounds! Measured with a tape, it was 14 feet around its middle. It took nearly fifteen people to move it. And, if you carved it out, it was big enough for three people to get inside. Harry laughed and said, “You could make nearly 1,000 pumpkin pies with this pumpkin.” It takes a lot of work to grow a pumpkin like this one. But it’s Harry’s hobby and he loves it.How much did Harry win at the competition? He took home a cheque for $15,000. His friends aren’t laughing at his hobby now.Apple Time Last Saturday, Janet and her friends went to an apple orchard. They had been waiting for this day for months. Back in early September, their teacher told them, “One day this fall, we are all going to pick apples.” Finally, the day came.When the school bus pulled up to the orchard, the children couldn't wait to get off. There were apples everywhere! Some were on high branches. Some apples were right in front of them. Others had fallen to the ground. All the kids had to do was pick them up and put them in their baskets! After just half an hour, all the baskets were full of apples. The farmer carried the baskets to the wagon. Soon, everyone was eating a freshly picked apple. They were so sweet and crisp! Janet decided to bring home a basket of apples for her mother. This way, she could enjoy the fruits of her labour at home too!¥ Mr. Squirrel In our backyard, there lives an old squirrel. He has been there for as long as | can remember. | named him Mr. Squirrel. One day, the old squirrel was being chased by our neighbour's young cat. Just as the cat was about to catch him, Mr. Squirrel ran onto the middle of the road. | knew from years of watching this squirrel that he knew how to cross the road. | had seen him run across many times. But the young cat had never crossed the road.He didn’t know how dangerous it was to run across the busy road. “SCREEEEECCHH!” A car had just missed the young cat. The car stopped in the middle of the road as the old squirrel escaped up a tree. Maybe Mr. Squirrel did it on purpose, maybe he didn’t. Regardless, he was smart to run away from that cat! | was amazed.10 Just One More House The cold wind blew through the trees. But Eddy was warm in his cowboy costume. “Let’s go!” he said. His mom walked with him to the first house. He rang the doorbell and said, “Trick or treat!” The woman at the door gave Eddy a piece of candy. He put it in his bag. He walked from house to house for hours, collecting lots of candy. “Let’s go home now,” said Mom. “Your brother was sad that he couldn’t come.” “Just one more house,” Eddy said. He walked to the next house and got another piece of candy. “Let's go home now,” said Mom. “Your brother is home sick.”“Just one more house,” Eddy said as he walked to the next house. He got another piece of candy. “Let's go home now,” said Mom again. “We've been gone too long.” Eddy ran all the way home. He kicked off his cowboy boots and ran to his brother's room. Then he dumped his bag of candy on his brother's bed. “| got these for you,” he said. “Happy Halloween!” Hl,Cars (I) lt was about 1672. A European man from Belgium was visiting a Chinese emperor. As a gift to the Emperor, the man made a toy. The toy was powered by steam. It had wheels. It was about 65 centimetres long. This toy might have been the very first model car. Of course, the car was too small for a person. But, many people think that this was the beginning of trains, cars and even steam-powered boats. 12Today, cars are everywhere. We all know that they pollute a lot. They also crowd our roads. And they can be very unsafe if people aren’t careful when they drive them. But why do people still like cars? Because cars are good in a lot of ways too. cE oot ae Se 1314 & Cars (Il) Cars help people get to places that are far away. They travel long distances quickly. And, they bring families together. Of course, most people in the world don’t have a car. Some people have never even seen a car. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. Can you imagine how much fun people would have if they drove horse carriages, or if the streets were full of people riding bikes? You could chat with the person next to you while riding your bike.One hundred years ago, there were only a few cars in the whole world. Today, there is one car for every eleven people on earth. How many cars is that? Well, that’s about 600 million cars on our little planet. Think about how much gas these cars can burn! | think I'll stick with my bicycle for now. It never needs gas!Fall comes in slowly. Leaves start changing the colour and soon after, they fall down. “Can we rake the leaves yet, Dad?” asked Sarah. “Not until they are all down,” said Dad. Sarah looked up at the branches of the tree. There were a bunch of leaves left. Sarah grabbed the trunk of the tree. She tried to shake it. But that didn’t make any leaves fall.Sarah waited in her tree fort. She peaked out the window to see if the leaves had fallen yet. They hadn't. Sarah jumped up and down in her tree fort. The tree shook. A few leaves fell, but most of them were still on the tree. Sarah was cold. The wind was getting stronger. She gave up waiting for the leaves to fall. She climbed down from her tree fort. A great gust of wind blew. Just then, the leaves on the tree swirled to the ground. “Yay!” yelled Sarah. She started raking the leaves into a pile. Dad helped her make the pile huge. “One, two, three!” yelled Sarah. Sarah and Dad jumped into the pile of leaves together. a7,18 A Nature Artist Michael is Dan’s best friend. One day, he received a special gift from Dan’s father. It was a gourd with a little animal carved on it. Why was it special? Well, Dan's father grew the gourd himself. Every spring, Dan’s dad plants little seeds, planning to create some special gifts. Every day, he nurtures the soil and watches his plants carefully. The plants grow bigger and bigger. Then, little flowers appear. Gradually, the flowers change into little fruits, which grow bigger with each day. Dan’s dad then turns the fruits to expose them evenly to the sun. This ensures that the colour of the fruits is uniform. By fall, the fruits are ready to be cut from the plants.That's when Dan’s dad harvests them. Using a special tool, he carves little animals on the gourds. Then, he gives these special gifts to his son and his son’s best friend. Dan's father is an amazing artist—a nature artist.99) it O\ & Perfect Ryan got a toy sailboat and a kite for his birthday. The sailboat was his favourite gift. Following the instructions, he took the pieces of the sailboat out of the box and put them together. Ryan looked at his finished sailboat. “Perfect!” he said. Ryan took the sailboat to the pond to test it out. He felt the wind. It blew hard against his face. “Perfect!” he said. 20Ryan put the sailboat in the water. It sailed fast, but the strong wind blew it over. “That’s not perfect,” he said. Ryan pulled the sailboat to shore. He set it up again. It sailed fast, but the strong wind blew it over again. “That's not perfect!” said Ryan. Just then, Ryan’s dad walked to the pond and handed Ryan his new kite. Ryan smiled as the wind rustled through his hair. “Now that’s perfect!” he said.22 9997, \ 11\ Lost at the Beach Yesterday at the beach, | saw a man walking slowly. He was holding a strange machine in his hand. Every now and then, he stopped to dig in the sand. | was curious. What was the man doing? “lam searching for treasure,” he said. “A treasure?” | asked. “Yes,” the man told me. “This machine is a metal detector. It’s a special machine that can find valuable things under the sand.” Many people lose things in the sand. A metal detector can find things like coins, rings, and keys. In fact, it can find anything made of metal, even when it is buried in the sand.When the machine passes over metal, it beeps loudly. It tells the man there is something under the sand. So, he digs and usually finds something valuable. Then, he takes the treasures to the Lost and Found, where people come to look for things they have lost on the beach.24 ? Before Computers Have you ever wondered how people typed before computers? More than one hundred years ago, people started using machines that sat on their desks. They were called typewriters. They had keyboards just like computers. But they were very different. There was no screen to look at. You would put a piece of paper in the typewriter. Each letter on the keyboard was connected to a metal arm that reached up and stamped the paper with ink as you typed! lf you made a mistake, you had to start over with a new piece of paper or use a special drop of white paint to cover your mistake. These typewriters had hundreds of moving parts and were very hard to fix.It took people a long time to type anything with a typewriter. But, some people could type more than 120 words per minute on these old machines—with no mistakes! Today, most people can type about 60 words per minute on a computer. How fast can you type? 25:26 Touching the Tiger (I) One day, a zookeeper discovered that the tiger in the zoo wasn't eating his food. What could be wrong? Just a day ago, the tiger was eating chickens happily. Now, the tiger was having difficulty eating anything at all. The zookeeper decided to see Doctor Wong. He wanted the doctor to find out why the tiger had stopped eating. After watching the animal for a while, Doctor Wong told the zookeeper that the tiger had something stuck in his throat. “What should we do?” asked the zookeeper. “We have to do a surgery on the tiger,” the doctor answered. “You mean that we have toopen the tiger's mouth to get the thing out?” asked the zookeeper, his eyes wide with fear. “Yes.” “But how?” the zookeeper wondered.28 £ Touching the Tiger (II) The doctor said that he had to give the tiger a special needle to put him to sleep. Then, he could use tools to take the thing out of the tiger’s throat. It was scary. The zookeeper had never even touched the tiger before. Now the doctor wanted to put his hand into the mouth of the beast! There was another problem. The doctor didn’t know how much medicine to use for a tiger. If he didn’t use enough medicine, the tiger might wake up before they finished the job. If he used too much, the tiger might never wake up. Doctor Wong carefully calculated the amount of medicine needed for the weight of the tiger. Then he gave the tiger the needle.When the tiger went to sleep, the doctor and his assistants worked quickly. They opened its mouth and used some tools to get down deep into the tiger’s throat. Fifteen minutes later, they found a chicken bone and removed it. A little while after the surgery, the tiger woke up and started eating again. 29Under the Table Sam liked to play under the table. Mom and Dad sat beside the table. The dog slept on the rug. Under the table was a secret place—it was Sam’s magic den. In the magic den, under the table, Sam could see his mom and dad’s shoes. He could see the dog’s paws. Sometimes, in the evening, when the sky got dark, Sam could see big, shiny green eyes.He pretended the big green eyes belonged to a monster waiting to gobble him up. That's when the magic den under the table turned into a scary place. Sam moved closer to Mom. “Meowwwwww!” said the scary monster as it purred and rubbed against Sam’s foot. Sam laughed. The cat was not as scary in the light. It was the same cat in the dark. Sometimes things look scary in the dark. But when the lights come on, they aren't that bad at all!4 The Greedy Dog (based on a European fable) There once was a greedy dog that was very big. All the other dogs were afraid of him. One day, the greedy dog was sitting beside a pond. He saw a little old dog with a bone. The greedy dog ran over and took the bone from the little dog. 32But, the little old dog was very wise. He had a plan. e 0 He stood on a large rock in the a water. He looked down into the water = and started to bark. Y “What are you barking at?” the \ greedy dog asked. “Come and see,” replied the Ne} JAS little dog. & G : The greedy dog walked closer Sv to the pond and looked into the water. He saw a big dog with a bone staring back at him. He didn't know that he was looking at his own reflection. So, the greedy dog dropped his bone and tried to steal the one from the dog in the water. The little dog, who had been watching the whole time, picked up his bone and ran away.34 ae Walking Sweater Jill has a new sweater. Her grandmother made it for her. That makes it really special. Even more special is that her sweater used to walk around on four legs on her grandparents’ farm. How can a sweater walk? Well, Jill's new sweater is made of wool. Do you know where wool comes from? It comes from sheep. And of course, sheep walk on four legs. Jill’s grand- parents raise sheep. Once a year, they cut the sheep’s fur. This is called wool.Jill's grandma washes the wool. Then she spins it on a machine. When she is finished, she has wonderful strings of pure wool. This is called yarn. She uses special needles to turn the yarn into a sweater. Jill wore her new sweater to school. The kids were amazed when she explained how her sweater once walked around on four legs. 35Falling Leaves, Rising Trees When | was young, | thought falling leaves ar were sad. They fall at the end of summer and are a sign that winter is coming. The leaves on the ground were alive in summer. But a dry leaf on the ground is dead, right? Well, this is just one step in the life of a tree. The leaves that fall on the ground are food for the soil. The soil is food for the tree. The tree takes the food from the soil and grows bigger. It's a never-ending circle of life.You know what else is great? The leaves make the fall season beautiful too! Now, | am no longer sad when fall comes. 37Ra A Worrying Guy John is a typical teenager. But one morning while he was in the shower, he noticed that he was losing a lot of hair. This made John worry. As time went by, more and more hair seemed to fall off his head. “What's happening to me?” John wondered. “Why am | slowly going bald?” John thought that without hair he would look old and unattractive. He couldn’t sleep at night. He didn’t let anyone touch his hair, not even 38himself. He was afraid to get a haircut. Eventually, he was even afraid to wash his hair in the shower. Still, his hair kept falling out. John decided to see a doctor. After looking at John’s head and asking a few questions, the doctor said, “You worry too much. It’s normal for hair to fall out. But, if you worry too much, your hair will fall out even faster.” John took this advice and two months later, his hair was back to normal. 39SEN Freddy the Frog Steve had a pet frog. He called it Freddy. One day, Steve decided to teach Freddy some tricks. Steve built a hurdle. He sat the frog in front of it and said, “Jump!” Freddy jumped, but in another direction. “No, Freddy,” said Steve. “Jump over the hurdle.” Steve lifted Freddy over the hurdle so he would understand. But, it didn’t work. Every time Steve told Freddy to jump, the frog would just stare at the hurdle or jump in another direction.All of a sudden, Steve had an idea. He knew that flies were Freddy's favourite food. So, he caught one and held it up by the hurdle. “Jump!” At last, Freddy jumped over the hurdle. He really wanted to eat that fly. “| bet you're the only frog in the world that can do tricks!” Steve said proudly.21 Sun, Moon and Water (I) (based on a traditional African story) Why do the sun and moon live in the sky? That's an interesting question. And here’s an interesting answer. Long ago, the sun and moon lived on earth like everyone else. During this time, the sun and the water were very good friends. Every day, Sun visited his friend Water. They had many good and interesting conversations. However, there was a problem. Water never returned the honour of visiting Sun in his home. One day, Sun asked Water why he did not visit. “Your house is too small,” explained Water. “My family is big and we take up a lot of room.”“| will build a big house so you can come visit me there,” answered Sun. “And you must bring all your family too!” Water agreed, making his good friend Sun very happy, indeed!44 22! ‘ 228 — Sun, Moon and Water (Il) (based on a traditional African story) Sun returned home and told his wife, Moon, what he was going to do. She agreed. And so, Sun built a very big house and invited Water for a visit. Water knocked and asked if he could come in. “Please, my good friend,” said the sun. “Please come in.” Soon, the water level started rising in the house. Water's family was VERY large, indeed. “Shall we stop now?” cried Water. “There are SO many of us and already, the water is up to your knees.” But Sun cried, “Come in, come in! Everyone is welcome in our home!” As more and more of the Water family entered the house, the water soon rose to the roof. Sun and Moonbecame frightened. Just as the water filled the entire house, they escaped and floated up high into the sky. And that is why, today, water covers the earth and the sun and moon shine down on us from the sky.46 * George’s Brother George had no brothers and no sisters. “I wish | had a brother or a sister,” George would always say. “Maybe someday,” replied Mom and Dad. “| wish | had a brother or sister,” George told Grandma. “Maybe you could sponsor a child,” suggested Grandma. “What does that mean?” asked George. “You could send money to help a child in a poor country. Your money would help them buy food and clothes, and go to school.” Grandma continued, “You could give the money from your allowance. And | could give the rest. That way, you would have the brother or sister you always wanted. And | would have another grandchild.”George liked this idea. With Grandma, he wrote a let- ter to Sponsor a Child. One day, George got an envelope in the mail. Inside was a picture of a boy named Niawat who lived in a country far, far away. “This is my brother,” said George, showing the picture to everyone. George wrote a letter to Niawat and Niawat wrote back. They were both happy to be brothers in a special way. 47= It Tastes Like Vinegar Have you ever tasted vinegar? It is very sour. My dad loves vinegar. | always wondered, “How could anyone like something that tastes like that?” He puts vinegar on french fries. He even puts it on noodles! | thought this was gross. One day, we had a big family dinner. Many family members came. | watched my dad prepare his famous salad dressing that we all love. He mixed olive oil, garlic, salt, honey and something from a bottle. That something was brown. “What is that?” | asked my dad. 48“That is the special part. Brown vinegar!” he said. “Try it.” | closed my eyes and tasted it. It was very good! Now, | am a big fan of vinegar. | like lots of brown vinegar on my french fries. What about you? You'll never know unless you try! 49Feeling Good with Music We all have music we love to listen to. But, we don’t all like the same music. | like quiet music, but my brother loves rock and roll. And my dad loves bagpipe music. One day, | was feeling sick so | turned on my favourite music. Soon, | felt much better. Later, when | told this to my doctor, she said, “Music is very powerful. It actually helps people feel better.” She added, “Even people with head injuries find that music helps them get better, faster.” When | got home afterwards, my brother was listening to his music. It was very loud, so | asked him to turn it down. He said, “| don’t feel well and it makes me feel better.”“Oh no!” | thought. “| hope Dad doesn’t get sick too!” My poor ears will hurt!52 e, The High Jumper Dina is a miracle girl at my school. She always wins many medals at school sports meets. This year, she won a gold medal for high jump. She jumped over 1.40 metres. That is nearly as tall as her! The amazing thing is that she just survived a big earthquake and recovered from it. Two years ago, the earthquake hit her city while she was sleeping. Her house collapsed and she was buried alive. When the rescue team found her, she couldn’t move her legs. The major joints were all broken. She was taken to a hospital in a helicopter. Doctors immediately operated to fix her legs and other injuries. People thought she would be disabled forever. But,she recovered. And now, she walks normally. On top of that, she is the greatest athlete in the whole school!How Do Birds Eat? Little Ann is watching a bird eat. The bird is not chewing. “| chew my food with my teeth,” she thinks. “Do birds have teeth?” she wonders. No, Ann. Birds do not have teeth. Look at the pointed thing on a bird’s head. It’s called a “beak”. Birds use their beaks to pick up food. Then, they swallow it without chewing. But the food doesn’t go directly to the stomach. Birds store food in a special place intheir necks called a “crop”. Birds are the only animals that have crops. After a while, the food slowly moves down to the bird’s stomach. Inside the stomach, there is a special part called a “gizzard”. The gizzard is filled with sand and small stones that break down food into very small pieces. Some birds have VERY strong gizzards that can even break down small pieces of steel! Wow! That is really strong. All animals eat. But not all animals need teeth to eat well. That's just the way it is in nature. a 559997 » Guess the Holiday! Can you guess my favourite holiday? Here are some hints. It happens once a year in the fall, usually only in Canada and the United States. We get together with family and close friends to give thanks for everything we have. It celebrates a good harvest, hard work, health, family and friends. ( There is always a huge dinner S with lots of good food like turkey, 0 ; potatoes, gravy, and my favourite, pumpkin pie!On this day, everyone is in a good mood! Have you guessed it yet? That's right—it’s Thanksgiving. And it’s the best holiday to me and my family. Why? Because it makes everyone stop to think about the important things in life.SEE a su My sister had a scare at dinner the other day. After eating her meal, her tongue suddenly swelled up. Dad immediately took her to see a doctor. The doctor said, “You are allergic to something.” “What?” my sister was very surprised. “| have never been allergic to anything.” 58The doctor explained. “An allergy happens when your body overreacts to something. Allergies can be caused by food, drinks or even air. Sometimes, even a tiny thing can become a big problem for some people.” The doctor continued, “Allergies can happen at any age. | have an 88-year-old lady who came to see me because she developed a new allergy.” My sister was still puzzled by her new allergy. “How do | get rid of it?” she asked. “Well, you need to identify the source of the allergy. Then, like the saying goes, prevention is the best cure.” said the doctor. 5962 Monster Dad October 31st of every year is a special day. It is called Halloween. On this night, kids dress up as scary monsters. They knock on doors and yell, “Trick or treat!” This is a fun way of saying, “Give us some candy or we will play a trick on you!” My dad loves Halloween. Sometimes, he dresses up as a scary monster too. When the doorbell rings, he throws the door open and yells “AAARRRGGHHHH!” This Halloween, my dad got his own special surprise. The doorbell rang. As usual, he threw the door open and roared. But guess who was standing there! A little girl. The little girl was so scared that she burst into tears.This made my dad feel very bad. My mom was mad. She lifted the little girl onto her knee and gave her an extra big helping of candy. Now, my poor Monster Dad has to put away his costume forever. He'll just have to think of a new trick for Halloween But he had better be careful because Monster Mom will be watching very closely.ao eenel eet