Sam and

Bloop
Plant a Tree

N
IO
IT
ED

on page 11
EW
N
What a beautiful spring morning!
Today is a very special day at school. Sam, Bloop, and all the other
students in their class are going to help plant a tree.
Bloop can’t stay still. While his friends wait for the bus, he goes to the
school yard to play and fills his pockets with hundreds of samaras.*
“Come back here, Bloop!” yells Sam. “You’ll miss the bus.”

* Samara: Wing-shaped fruit that contains the seed of a maple or elm. 1

 Bloop runs to the line of kids waiting for the bus. He is going so fast that
he stumbles and goes flying, falling face down a few metres from the bus.
“Careful, Bloop! That was very careless. You could have really hurt yourself
or a classmate,” Sam points out.

Bloop broke an important safety rule.

Do you know which one?
Turn to page 12 for the answer.

2
Everybody is sitting calmly in their seats. But Bloop is really careless!
While the bus is moving, he opens a window, puts his head out, and
throws out a handful of samaras. The wind blows dozens of little green
helicopters back into the bus, where they twirl all around.

Bloop disobeyed two key safety rules.

Do you know which ones?
Turn to page 12 for the answer.

3
 Bloop runs down the aisle to catch them, jumps on the seats and
climbs on his friends.
“That’s enough, Bloop! Get back to your seat,” orders Mr. Belhumeur,
the driver. “I’m responsible for your safety, so don’t distract me.
Do what the others are doing. For your own safety and your friends’
safety, follow the rules and stay in your seat.”

Scatterbrained Bloop! Your bus driver has a great responsibility

He forgot two safety rules. Which ones? to get you where you need to go safely.
Be respectful and help out by avoiding
Turn to page 12 for the answer. distractions.

4
The bus has arrived.
Mr. Belhumeur opens the door,
and the students slowly get off.
Wow! Bloop is politely waiting his
turn! Has he learned a lesson?
Bloop is the last passenger off
the bus, but at the bottom of the
steps his cap brushes against
the door and falls near the front
wheel of the bus.

5
 Mr. Belhumeur, who was watching Bloop in his mirror, saw the cap
land near the wheel.
Bloop is about to pick it up but stops short. He gives Mr. Belhumeur
a questioning look, unsure of how to get his cap back.
“Good for you, Bloop! You’ve followed an important safety rule,” says
the driver.

Do you know which important safety rule

Bloop followed?
Turn to page 12 for the answer.

6
Bloop quickly thanks the driver. Excited about having finally
followed a rule, Bloop dashes in front of the bus with his head
down and crosses the road in one fell swoop as Mr. Belhumeur
watches, dumbfounded. Sam, who is waiting on the other side
of the street, is completely stunned.
“Hey! What did you do now? You could have had an accident.
You know the rules. Why do you always need to be reminded?”
asks Sam angrily.

Which safety rules is Sam

talking about?
Turn to page 12 for the answer.

7
 The students gather around a guide, who welcomes them.
“OK everyone, we will be planting a yellow birch. It is the official Quebec tree.
To help it grow up healthy, we must follow a few planting rules. We place the
roots carefully in the soil. The trunk and branches should point straight toward
the sky,” explains the guide.
Bloop isn’t listening. He has wandered off and is happily chasing squirrels.

8
“Who wants to plant the birch?” the guide asks the students.
Bloop hears the question. He runs toward the group, grabs the tree from
the leader, and plants it in the hole… upside-down!
“Come on, Bloop! What are you doing? If you had listened to the guide,
you would have known what to do. You have no respect for anything,”
scolds Sam.

9
 It’s time to leave. The leader has given Bloop and each of the other
students a small tree.
“Oh Bloop, what a beautiful little tree you have!” exclaims Mr. Belhumeur.
“Plant it according to the rules and respect it. Respect is important.
Just as important as obeying safety rules on the bus. You’re big enough
to understand that now,” the bus driver tells him with a friendly,
encouraging smile.

10
Games Do not write anything in this book! If you need to, write your answers on a separate sheet.

Coded message
Each number corresponds to a letter on the phone keypad. There’s just one
problem… there are three letters for each number. For example, “4” could be
G, H, or I. Can you find the right letters to decode the message?

T h e b d r i v e r c o u n t s
8 4 3 2 8 7 3 7 4 8 3 7 2 6 8 6 8 7

o n y o u r c o l l a b o r a t i o n
6 6 9 6 8 7 2 6 5 5 2 2 6 7 2 8 4 6 6

t o d r i v e y o u s a f e l y
8 6 3 7 4 8 3 9 6 8 7 2 3 3 5 9

Ready… set… dig! Sam’s brain teaser

Bloop and his friends each have one tree to plant.
Sam is stumped! Can you help him figure
Who will plant the fir?
out how many trees he needs to plant in the
blank spaces? The 4 numbers in each line
Bloop Meg must add up to 24. See if you can find the
Zoé Sam missing numbers.

4 4

10 3

10 4

8
11
Read the following safety rules
I go to the bus stop early to avoid running. (Answer to page 2)
I stay in line to wait for the bus without shoving others.
I wait until the bus has come to a full stop before approaching it.
I get on the bus in single file and hold onto the handrail.
I go straight to my seat and sit down.
I leave nothing in the aisle.
I avoid distracting the driver. (Answer to page 4)
I keep my things in my bag.
I keep my head and my arms inside the bus at all times. (Answer to page 3)
I do not throw food or other things out the window or onto the floor of the bus.
(Answer to page 3)

I remain seated at all times until the bus has come to a full stop.
(Answer to page 4)

I move away from the bus as soon as I get off and I stay away from the wheels.
I count ten steps after getting off the bus before crossing in front.
(Answer to page 7)

I make sure the driver has seen me before I cross in front of the bus.
(Answer to page 7) Answers to the games on page 11.
1 Coded message:
I walk in front of the bus, then I check for traffic to the left, to the right The bus driver counts on your collaboration
and to the left again before crossing the street. (Answer to page 7) to drive you safely.

I wait for the driver’s okay before trying to recover something I dropped that 2 Sam
has rolled under the bus. If I cannot speak to the driver, I wait until the bus
has left before picking up the object. (Answer to page 6) 3
4 4
5
I never go behind a school bus. 5 12
10 3

5 4
Discuss with the teacher the importance
of obeying the rules. 10 1 9 4

12
Legal deposit, 2015
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
ISBN 978-2-922323-34-4
ISBN 978-2-924517-11-6 (PDF, 2015)

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Suite 250
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Made with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber. www.federationautobus.com

Illustrations: Jean Morin

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