001Hello my friends. I'm so glad you're joining me today for our stories. Welcome to Calling All Kids. I'm your storyteller Jennifer Temple. I have a couple of fun stories to read with you today. Do you know about Memorial Day? Memorial Day is a special day when people in the United States remember and honor soldiers who died protecting our country. And it's always at the end of May and we have no school on that day and it's a day to say thank you to all the people who were brave enough and protected us and are keeping us safe. So I hope you will enjoy the story about Memorial Day. And it's called Memorial Day Surprise. I wonder what the surprise is. Let's read and find out. It's written by Teresa Martin Golding and it's illustrated by
002Alexandra Arteaga. Let's find out. Look at all the celebration going on. See the American flag. Usually around Memorial Day there's lots of American flags everywhere and sometimes people go into the cemetery and put American flags next to the soldiers' gravestones. Maybe that's something you could help do sometime. A lot of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts do that. And there's also usually a parade and I think this story has a parade in it. Are you ready to find out? Here we go. Memorial Day Surprise. I wonder what the surprise is. Memorial Day surprise. Here we go. "Is it a really big surprise, Mama?" asked Marco. "Oh, yes," said Mama. "It's a very big surprise, but we must hurry. The parade will start soon." So, he's heading off to a parade with his mom, and it's
003going to be a surprise. Let's see. Marco held Mama's hand tightly and walked faster. Many people were leaving the porches of their brick row houses. Children skipped down the steps of the big apartment building. Abuelo, Marco's grandfather, lived there on the fifth floor. But, Mama said there was no time to stop. What could the surprise be that made Mama rush so? We always stopped to visit Abuelo. Abuelo means grandfather in Spanish. Marco watched the flags dance in the breeze. "What is Memory Day, Mama?" he asked. Mama smiled. "It's actually called Memorial Day, but Memory Day is a good name, too. It is a time to remember some special people." "Who, Mama?" "You will see," she said. Beep beep beep. Two girls swooped past Marco. Red and blue streamers fluttered from their bicycles and swished in
004the wind. Everyone was in a hurry to get to the parade. I wonder if these girls are in the parade with their bikes and the pretty red and blue streamers. When they reached the avenue, avenue is another word for road. Marco's eyes opened wide. All the stores where Mama liked to shop were closed for the day. The sidewalks were crowded with people sitting on folding chairs or colorful blankets. Two boys were even sitting on top of the big mailbox. Marco heard someone calling his name. "Go, Marco!" "Look, Mama." He pointed across the avenue. "Jenna is here, too." "Is this the surprise?" "No, Marco." Mama answered. "The surprise is even more special than seeing your best friend at the parade." That would be kind of a fun surprise, wouldn't it? To see if your best friend
005at the parade where you are at. But it's not that. Marco sat on the curb with Jenna. The sun was hot on the top of his head. The big avenue seemed different without its zooming cars and rumbling trucks. It was like a rushing river that had run out of water. Marco jumped up. "Did you hear that?" he asked. The faint brump bump bump of a drum brump bump bump Can you make a drumming sounds at home? Sounded in the distance. I wonder where the drums are coming from. Marco held his breath as the marching band got closer and stopped right in front of him. The leader slowly raised his baton and the music burst into the air. Horns and drums and the clash of symbols, Marco stood very still. The music was inside him, alive
006and jumping in his chest. Boom! Boom! He felt a thunder in his stomach. Crash! Crash! went the symbols. It tingled down his arms. Batons flew in the air. Pom-poms swished. Feet stamped to the rhythm, and the band moved on. Marco wished Abuelo could have heard the music. Maybe it would have made his legs tingle again. "Was that the surprise, Mama?" Marco shouted. "Was it? Was it?" "No, Marco." Mama said, "The surprise is even more special than the marching band in the parade." Ooh, it's still Do you have any ideas what the surprise might be? A siren screamed, and Marco jumped. A long red fire engine rolled down the avenue, its lights spinning and spla- and flashing. A firefighter walked beside the big engine. He stopped and shook Marco's hand. He gave Marco a little American
007flag. Marco waved the flag at the noisy fire truck. "Was that the surprise, Mama?" Marco asked. Mama shook her head. "No, Marco. The surprise is even more special than meeting a real firefighter." All these exciting things happening in the parade. "Look!" Jenna shouted. A truck was pulling a big float right down the street. It had a Statue of Liberty, and it had a man with a dark beard, and he stood in the front of the statue. He had a tall hat and a long face. He looked just like Abraham Lincoln. Jenna frowned. "They are throwing things at people." she said. "That's not very nice." "It's candy!" screamed Marco. Marco and Jenna dropped to the ground and scooped up as much candy as they could get. Have you ever been to a parade where they threw
008candy at you? Isn't that exciting? Do you think that's a surprise? That he was able to get a special treat of candy? Look at all the candy. "Mama, look!" Marco opened his fist and showed her all the sweets he had collected. "That was the surprise, wasn't it?" Marco asked. "No, Marco." Mama said. "The surprise is even more special than catching candy at the parade." Marco put a butterscotch in his pocket. He would give it to Abuelo, his grandfather, when he told him all about this parade. What was happening? All the people stood up and began clapping. Marco could not see. There were no sirens, no band, and no falling candy. Still, the clapping became louder. What do you think they see? You ready to paint out? Men and women in uniforms with shiny metals came
009marching down the avenue. And right up front was Marco's grandfather. Do you think this is the surprise? That his grandfather is in the parade. "Abuelo! Abuelo!" Marco shouted and waved his hands. "Why is your grandfather in the parade?" Jenna asked. Marco stood tall. "My grandfather is a hero." So, it looks like his grandfather, Abuelo, was a soldier. And this is a Memorial Day where we're thanking them. Abuelo put out his hands and Marco ran and climbed into his lap. "Happy Memorial Day, Marco." Abuelo said. Marco threw his arms around Abuelo's neck. "Happy Memory Day, Abuelo." Does he look happy to see his grandfather? This is the special This is my favorite picture in the book. Marco took the butterscotch candy out of his pocket and pressed it into his grandfather's warm hand. Marco did not
010need to ask his mama. He knew this was the best Memory Day surprise of all. Seeing his Abuelo in the Memorial Day parade. Isn't that a special story? Memorial Day surprise. Hope you enjoyed that. And I hope you will do something special on Memorial Day and remember to think about the soldiers that we lost that were protecting our country. Thank you. Maybe you can ask your family if you have any family members that were soldiers or are currently soldiers. Great. I hope you enjoyed that story. Now, I have just a fun story today about a funny character named Penelope Rex. Now, she's actually This is Penelope Rex right here. She's actually a dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but they call her Penelope Rex. And this is a fun story about her getting a pet, and she
011has lots of problems with her new pet. Do you have a pet at home? Like a cat, a dog, a guinea pig? Uh maybe a fish? Do your pets sometimes cause problems, and you have to try and help out? Well, let's find out what happens with Penelope Rex and the problem with pets. And this is written by author and illustrator Ryan T. Higgins, and he's written lots of fun books with Penelope in them. Do you think this is Penelope's pet? What kind of animal's that look like to you? We'll have to read and find out. It looks like he's doing something mischievous. I think it's like a shoe in his mouth. Do your pets ever take your shoes and eat them? Oh my. Let's find out what happens in Penelope Rex and the problem with
012pets. There we go. So, here's Penelope, and it looks like she's holding the leash of this pet. Lots of parents give their kids dogs or cats or guinea pigs or goldfish. Penelope Rex's parents gave her Mittens. This is Mittens. And Mittens is a saber-tooth cat. Look at the big teeth, long fangs that are hanging down the front. Doesn't look like a typical house cat, does she? Let's find out what happens. Penelope was surprised. She didn't even know she wanted a pet. Penelope had talked a lot about ponies, but there but that was because they were delicious. Do you think T-Rexes eat ponies? Is that why maybe she's thinking ponies are delicious? She wasn't too sure about owning a Mittens, but she was willing to give it a try. Oh, look. He already likes you. Why
013don't you take Mittens up to your room and get ready for bed. Look at Mittens sitting on top of Penelope. She's not quite sure what to make of Mittens. In Penelope's room, Mittens made himself very comfortable. Mittens, you can sleep down here on the floor. But where did he go? He's sleeping right in the middle of her bed. Is she going to have to sleep on the floor now? It was a crowded night in the room, up the stairs and down the hall, in Penelope's room. Can you see Mittens there sleeping with Penelope in the bed? They just barely fit. Does your pet sleep in bed with you? The next morning, Mittens woke Penelope with a surprise from the garden. Oh, no. Looks like he found some wild animal. Then, he wouldn't eat his breakfast.
014It's called Mammoth Munch. He didn't like that too much. But, he would eat everything else, like the trash and Penelope's toys and Penelope's supper. "You never really liked baked beans anyway." said mother. And no one was quite sure what had happened to the nice lady from down the street. "Has anyone seen Mrs. Phillips today? I was supposed to take her to the airport." said father. Oh, no. I hope Mittens didn't do anything that he wasn't supposed to. After all that Mittens got an upset tummy. Luckily, he knew how to use the litter box. Oh, my. And he preferred the bathtub. You understand that? He went to the bathroom in the bathtub instead of his litter box. The truth was Mittens made everything harder. Sleeping Look what's going on in the bed. He's taking up all
015the room. Getting dressed "Mom, Mittens has buried all my underwear in the backyard again." Oh, he is a mischief maker, isn't he? Getting ready for school He didn't want Penelope to leave, so he was playing tug-of-war with her backpack. "Mittens, let go. I have to get to school. You have to stay here." Being at school "Attention students, recess will be inside today due to a saber-toothed cat on the playground." Who was causing trouble on the playground? Mittens again. And even coming home from school "I'm home. Woof. Look who is happy to see Penelope. See him giving her a big hug. In fact, coming home from anywhere was harder. Look at all the things that Mittens was doing. He really loved Penelope, it looks like. After days of maths and mayhem, Penelope was at the end
016of her rope. That means she's had enough. Mittens, no. No, Mittens. Rip. Look at that. Ruined her, ripped her backpack all up. Yeah. I wonder what Penelope's going to do. What would you do to help make your pet be better behaved? Maybe do some training, you think? Bad, Mittens. Bad, said Penelope. It looks like she's really screaming at him. I'm sorry, Penelope Pie. Maybe Mittens is too much for one little T-Rex to handle on her own. And so, carrying a patched backpack and lots of feelings, Penelope left for school. Look at Penelope's face. Does she look a little sad? Wondering, oh maybe I shouldn't have yelled at my friend, Mittens. But that whole day, everything made her think of Mittens. Was he too much for her? Do you think Mittens is needs to go to
017a different home? When Penelope got home that afternoon, she braced herself. I'm home. Did come? Mittens? But Mittens wasn't there. Where do you think he is? He was in the backyard. "I thought Mittens could use some fresh air," said Papa. "Okay," said Penelope. Does it look like they're missing each other? Look at their faces. Mittens wants to be in there with Penelope, doesn't he? That evening, Mittens was not at supper. Oh, no. Look at that. Do you think they're trying to teach him what he needs to do and how to behave? That night, Mittens wasn't in Penelope's bed. Penelope couldn't sleep. Her bed was too big. Cuz she was used to, right, Mittens being in there with her? Keeping her company. I know our dog likes to sleep in bed with us. So, Penelope crept
018downstairs. "Hi, Mittens. I'm sorry I yelled. Would you like to move?" And look who came running out of his cage. Does Mittens look happy now to see his friend? Wonder if she'll start behaving now. It was a cozy night in the Rex family house. So, his cage is empty. Where do you think Mittens is? Especially in the room, up the stairs and down the hall. Whose room are we going to see? See if it's it's Penelope's room. Where it was crowded. They both look happy now, don't they? But just right. It was crowded, but just right. It made both of them feel better to be together. Mittens was a lot of work, but he was worth it. And so, with plenty of exercise, loads of training, Mittens sit. Good boy. Look, she's been reading books
019about how to take care of her pet and how to train him. So, you were right. You said earlier that you should get some training for Mittens. And lots of family outings. Hi there, Mrs. Phillips. The Rex family learned how to be great pet owner or pet owners from Mittens. And in return, Mittens learned how to be not quite as much trouble. He still get a little excited. Yes. But he was learning. He would never be an easy pet. But Penelope Rex did not love an easy pet. She loved Mittens. Here's is Penelope laying down and Mittens on top of her. I'm glad you're you, Mittens, and not a pony. Mhm, ponies. Here are some pictures. What did you think of Penelope Rex and the problem with cats? Kind of fun, isn't it? And you
020can get some other stories about Penelope and different adventures she has at your library. So, if you enjoyed reading about Penelope the Tyrannosaurus Rex, ask your mom or dad to take you to the library and get another book about her. And it's written by Ryan T. Higgins. I hope you enjoyed our stories today and remember Memorial Day is coming up and maybe you can do something. You could always write a thank you card to um some of the veterans or you could put out flags or go to a parade. So, I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to keep reading and I hope to see you again on Calling All Kids. Bye-bye for now.