One Story A Day for Beginners (Book 12 for December) DC Canada Education PublishingWritten by: Leonard Judge, Scott Paterson, Jennifer Burrows, Gail Marshall Mlustrators: Meredith Luce, Jasmine Vincente, Junpo Cao, Cory Tibbits, Steve Hutchison Producer: Meizhen Dang Editors: Leonard Judge, Nanma Bar-David, Susanne Wilkins Copy Editor: Kara Cybanski Copyright © 2018 DC Canada Education Publishing Published by: DC Canada Education Publishing www.de-canada.ca_ All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission of the copyright owner. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada for our publishing activities. "eines | Canadit One Story A Day For Beginners - Book 12 ISBN: 978-1-77205-270-1 Printed in China 10987654321 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Judge, Leonard, 1954-, author One story a day for beginners / written by Leonard Judge, Scott Paterson, Jennifer Burrows, Gail Marshall ; illustrators, Meredith Luce, Meiling Liu, Junpo Cao, Jasmine Vincente, Steve Hutchison. Each book accompanied by audio. Contents: Book 12 for December. Interest age level: 5-7, ISBN 978-1-77205-270-1 (book 12 : softcover) 1, Readers (Elementary). I. Paterson, Scott, 1959-, author I. Burrows, Jennifer §., author III. Marshall, Gail, 1958-, author IV. Luce, Meredith, 1988-, illustrator V. Liu, Meiling, 1988-, illustrator VI. Cao, Junpo, illustrator VIL Vincente, Jasmine, 1988-, illustrator VIII, Hutchison, Steve, illustrator IX. Title. PE1121.378 2018 428.6 €2018-902027-XPreface This is the twelfth book of One Story A Day For Beginners, a series of twelve books designed to develop a love of reading in children ages 5-7. 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. One Story A Day fosters children’s total development 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 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 will bring the joy of words and reading to the ears and minds of children at a crucial stage in their development. wete Table of Contents eC anan aa fF WN a ee ee What Is Old? 2 An Open Door A New Friend .. 6 A Singing LeSSON ......::seeeseteee reteset eeeeeeeeeneees 8 Birgit II css cacens semen enn ene rnc snes ams ems 10 The Wrong Direction ....c.scccccerereeeeseeeceesees 12 Hurly Burly! ....cccsccesseec sees eessesseesesesesesssseeneeeneceneens 14 Which Omer Rirst? cto ccc. cce cece eres ree 16 A Bit About Gold oo... esesesssseeeeseeenenreneetesseenes 18 Visit to Bibi ...ssssscsssssssssetsssssseessetssssssseeeeeennsse 20 Climb a Mountain The Boys and the Old Man-1. The Boys and the Old Man-2 Our Hair cee eeeeeeceeeeeeseeeseeeneneneeteerssseeseeesseseeeenes 28 Water in Three Way .......sccsececeteteteeteeeneneitiees 30 Click! .ececscccesssssccsessesssecestsseseseseseenesssersaeenseeneamenis 3017 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 ol Canada Gets a Flag “When | Was Young”.. 36 Chinese Animal Years-1 38 Chinese Animal Years-2 40 The Little Lion .. 42 Uncle's Phone-1 44 Uncle’s Phone-2 46 Christmas Tree . 48 A Green Christmas . 50 There Is No Place Like Home . A Proverb oo. cesesestetestessseseessseessseesesieseseseriesetieee 54 AiManlancihe Chickents | ("eee 56 AiMananeithe @hickents 20666 oe 8 58 Too Many Pockets .....c.cceccectsesteestssesieseeeseeneies 60 A New Year's PromiseWhat Is Old? One time, | said to my grandfather, “Grandpa, you are so old!” He laughed. Then he said, “To a fly, a dog is =) old. To a dog, a person is old. To a = , whale, a rock is old. To a rock, the ‘ world is old.” "That's interesting!” | said. My grandpa laughed. Then he said, “So as you can see, compared to many things, | am just a baby!”Respect the Earth!a ae An Open Door Once, a man travelled all the way to the North Pole. He wanted to visit the people there. He asked them many things about living in the North. One question was, “What is the worst thing a person could do here?” They answered, “To lock your doors.” “Why?” he asked. “That would show that you don’t trust your neighbours!”\Y We're always ready to help our ve i - IL SSThere was a poor man who was very happy every day. One day, a rich man came to him and said, ie take some money and tell me what makes you happy.” The man said, “No, thank you. But | can give you something.” The rich man was surpriseds) He said, “What can you give me? | everything.” f € = A New Friend 4 The man smiled and said, “I give you my friendship.” For the first time in a long while, the rich man smiled.nN v A Singing Lesson | wrote a song for my mother's birthday. | sang the song for her at our family party. | could hear my brothers laugh as | was singing. | am not a good singer. But my mother said it was the best song she'd ever heard. yo Then my mom asked my brothers to sing. They did. Their singing was worse than mine! We all laughed. My mother said, “That should teach you a lesson9997, 5 ae Busy City Life Shubi lives in Johannesburg. It’s a big city in South Africa. She lives with her mother and father in a very big apartment building. Sometimes, the city is very noisy. There are many cars and buses honking their horns on the street. Shubi looks out of her window and tries to count all the cars she sees. 1, 2, 3,4, 5; Gvus There_are | too many cars to_count!9997 Ke! The Wrong Direction One evening, a young man was driving his car to the city. He made a turn down a one-way street. There were no other cars on the road. He didn’t see any red lights. He kept driving. A moment later, he saw many cars coming toward him! Suddenly, he realized that he was on a one- way street, going in the wrong direction! That was why he didn’t see a red light. All the traffic lights were facing the other direction!Where are the traffic lights?Hurly Burly! Grandma uses all kinds of funny words. One day, my two brothers and | were running around in the house. She said, “Enough of all this hurly-burly!” We stopped and asked, “What's that, Grandma?” on a “It means stop running around and making so much noise,” said Grandma.Enough of all this hurly-burly!0. Which One First? “If | drop an apple and a watermelon from the same height, which one will hit the ground first?” asks Tom. "That's so easy!” says Mary. “The watermelon is big and heavy. It will hit the ground first.” Tom smiles. He knows what will happen. He says, “No, they will hit the ground at the same time.” “What? No way!” Mary doesn't believe it. “It's true. That's science,” Tom says. Try it yourself!I saw the two balls falling from here.a A Bit About Gold Gold jewellery is beautiful, but it’s not just a pretty thing to look at. Gold is very strong and useful. It can be worth a lot. Did you know that one kilo of gold costs as much as a car? Gold is used to make many things and sometimes even teeth! Gold is very valuable. That’s why they say good friends are worth their weight in gold.2997 ia Q, Visit to Bibi Today is a special day for Malia. She is going to visit her grandmother. Malia calls her Bibi. Bibi is Swahili for grandma. Malia and her mother are taking a train. Soon, the train will arrive at Bibi’s village. Malia will step off the train and see her Bibi. “Hello Bibi!” Malia will say. Then she will give Bibi a nice surprise—cookies that Malia baked all by herself.Bibi, I made these cookies for you.22 ir Climb a Mountain Chuma's father is a guide. He helps people climb the highest mountain in Africa. Chuma really wants to go with his father. “Papa, can | climb the mountain with you?” “You must be big and strong. The mountain is 4,900 metres tall," said Papa. Chuma smiled, “I will eat all my food and get strong. Then | can climb the mountain.” Papa laughed and said, “Yes, my son, one day we will climb the mountain together!”ee at ee Yay! We'll climb the mountain together!ae (2 The Boys and the Old Man-1 — based on Korean folk tale Two boys went out to find happiness. On their path, they met an old man. When the old man learned what the two boys were looking for, he said, “I will help you.” He took out a big gold coin. “Who wants this?” he asked. Quickly, the big boy said, “I will have it.” Then, the old man took out a little jewel. “Who wants this?” he asked again. The big boy quickly said, “| want that too.” fv - And the old man gave it to him. = : j RS lsWho wants this gold coin?s & The Boys and the Old Man-2 — based on Korean folk tale Now, the old man put down his bag. “| am very tired,” he said. “Who will help me carry my bag?” The big boy did not say anything. The small boy took up the bag. “You are tired. | will carry it for you,” he said. The old man smiled. “Take the bag. It is yours, and everything inside is yours too.” The small boy opened the bag to find it filled with thousands of jewels. When he turned to thank the old man, he was gone! =Ws Where has he gone?28 9997 14) wy our Vat Tim does not like getting his hair cut. His mom tells him that we all need to cut our hair. “But why?” asks Tim. His mom explains that if he does not cut his hair, it will get too long. “We have more than 100,000 hairs on our head,” she says. "Think of how you will look if you don’t cut your hair and your hair keeps growing!” says his mom. “Hmmm... | would look terrible!” says Tim.“ts my hair too long?30 (299) \\*5) iy Water in Three Ways Water is a strange thing. You can put water in a glass and drink it, or use it to wash your hands. If you put water in a freezer, it will change. It will become ice. Ice is cold and hard, but it is still water. Isn't that amazing? Put water in a pot and heat it up. It changes again. It comes out as wet hot air. It is now called steam. Water can take on many different shapes and forms, but it is always water.29 ~ “7\N Click! | have a camera that is a hundred years old. This old camera is not like a cellphone camera that we use today. It’s very big and heavy. It belonged to my uncle. Sometimes | wonder what this old camera would say if it could talk? It would have so many memories to share. There is an old saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” | think that’s true! How about you?These pictures are taken with that old camera.ne Canada Gets a Flag When my dad was a little boy, Canada did not have its own flag. But in February 1965, Canada got its own flag. It is red and white. The really special thing is the ¥ big red maple leaf in the centre of the flag. The maple leaf is a symbol of Canada. x od, Maple trees grow almost everywhere in a? Canada. They are strong like Canadians. ~*e My dad says it makes him really happy whenever he sees the new flag flying in the wind. 'The maple leaf is a‘ symbol of Canada.“When | Was Young” I'm a grandma. | love to tell stories from my life. | often start with “When | was young...”. My grandson Micah is almost three years old. We often visit the museum on weekends. Last Saturday, we went to the museum to see the dinosaurs. Micah said to me, “Grandma, when | was young, | was scared to see the dinosaurs!” It made me laugh. But it was true. The first time Micah saw the dinosaurs, he was very scared and he cried. Now he is not _ afraid anymore. ot ai qe 2 36 ~ =Good morning, Dinosaur! 37a Chinese Animal Years-1 A boy wanted to learn about the Chinese years, and why they named the years after animals. He asked his uncle, Dr. Tian. Dr. Tian said, “Long ago, there was a race to get across a big river. The years are named for the first 12 animals to get across the river.” “What are the 12 animals?” asked the boy. “Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig!” said his uncle.=> iis KA SS Why did they name the years after animals?9997) (20) @ Chinese Animal Years—2 "What about the cat? Why isn’t the cat one of the twelve animals?” asked the boy. “When crossing the river, both the cat and rat got a ride on the ox. But near the end, the rat pushed the cat into the river,” said Dr. Tian. “When the cat got to the other side of the river, the years were already named. And to this day, the cat and the rat do not like each other.” “How interesting!” said the boy.YO oO S ta Vv x= myyo 2%) & The Little Lion There once was a man who raised a baby lion in the jungle. He was like a father to the little lion. But one day, the man had to return home. So he left the jungle and the lion. A few years later, the man came back to the jungle. Suddenly, a huge lion came running up to him. The lion pushed the man to the ground. The man was very afraid! Then, the lion licked his face! It was his baby lion!22 Uncle’s Phone-1 Uncle Anthony loves his phone. He takes it everywhere he goes. Even at home, he always has his phone nearby. He wants to be able to check his emails often. One day, on a business trip, his phone was stolen! Uncle Anthony was very upset. He felt lost without his phone. He didn’t know how he was going to keep up with his work. “It's the worst day of my life,” said my uncle. —-a 449993, 2 o> y Uncle’s Phone-2 Uncle Anthony used his phone for many things. He used it to take pictures. Then, all of his pictures were gone. He used the phone as a watch. Without the phone, he could not see what time it was. That was not all. He used his phone to send and receive emails. But on that day, he had no way to check his email. Of course, he could not talk to his family on the phone either. “Suddenly, | am thrown back to 30 said my poor Uncle. years ago What time is it?j24 te Christmas Tree At Christmas time, my family puts up a Christmas tree. We get our tree from a tree farm. Every December, Mom and Dad tell me to dress really warm. | put on my hat and my mittens. | wear warm boots and my winter coat. We walk in the snow to find our tree. Then, Dad cuts it down and we take it home. It will be our Christmas tree. We do this every year!@ AGreen Christmas Christmas Day is always on December 25th. It’s usually very cold at that time of the year. There is usually a lot of snow on the ground. When it snows on Christmas Day, people call it a white Christmas. But this Christmas day is unusual. It’s not cold at all. The weather is warm, and there is no snow because it's 18 °C outside. | guess people could call this a green Christmas!ae “Ho ho ho! istmas! d \ Lf. \ XY A~ & There is No Place Like Home There once was a man who travelled all over the world. He saw many things. He learned about different places, met many people and ate many different kinds of food. He climbed mountains and swam in beautiful oceans. After a year of travel, he came home to his wife and children. He sat by the fire and said, “I have everything | want right here. This is home. ‘ There really is no place like home!”There is no place like home.poo 22) tS A Proverb “What is a proverb?” the little girl asks her father. “It is an old saying that has a special meaning,” her father answers. There are many proverbs being used all over the world. A proverb can help us understand things in an easy and simple way. Here is an example: Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. Can you guess what it really means?% 28) ae A Man and His Chickens-1 A man had a chicken and it laid six eggs in its nest. The man looked at the eggs and counted. One, two, three, four, five, six! = “Soon, | will have six new chickens. Imagine what | can buy when | sell these chickens!” he thought. "Yes, | will sell those six chickens. Then, | will go to the shoe maker and ask him to make new shoes for me.” The man was very excited.From the six eggs, \ I will have six chickens.58 9997 A Man and His Chickens-2 The man went to see the shoe maker. “Make me a new pair of shoes,” he said, “and | will give you six chickens.” The shoemaker agreed. A few days later, when the man went to check his eggs, he saw only broken egg shells. “Oh no!” he exclaimed. A fox had come in and eaten all his chicken eggs. The man began to cry. He had counted eggs, not chickens.9997, \(39\ = Too Many Pockets My mom has a new bag. It's a Christmas gift from my dad. The new bag has many pockets. There are three big pockets and two small pockets inside the bag. There are also pockets on the outside, and one on each side of the bag. P When Mom puts her keys in the bag, it’s hard for her to find the keys later. She can’t remem which pocket she put them in! She says, “I lost my keys inside my bag!” 4Why are there so many pockets?399%, 3 1\ A New Year's Promise It is New Year's Eve. Quinn is excited. In just two hours, it is going to be a new year! The year will be 2018 at midnight. Quinn is going to make a New Year's resolution. A resolution is a promise to do something to make yourself better. Quinn promises to practise speaking clearly and loudly because he would like to give a speech in front of many people. It is hard to keep a resolution, but Quinn is going to try very hard to keep it till the end of the year!E = Ladies and gentlemen... 63Scan the code to download the audio. http://de-canada.ca/qr/onestory/december.html