Hello, friends! How are you today? Are you feeling warm or cool? It’s a sunny day here, and I’m feeling cool! I hope you had fun playing with your friends or learned something new at school. Now, let’s get cozy and read a story together!
Today, we’re reading a book called “A Very Wide River” by Asa Childress. Let’s dive into the story!
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Amelia. She lived in a cute house with a lovely green garden by a very wide river. Every day, Amelia would go to the end of her garden to give her big, strong apple tree a drink from the river. But what made her happiest was seeing the children across the river playing and singing.
Amelia noticed that the children across the river didn’t have much to eat. She wanted to help them. One day, she had a great idea! She decided to share her apples with the children. But the river was too wide to throw the apples across.
Just then, a friendly crocodile named Liam and his son Rey swam by. Amelia asked them to help carry her apples across the river. Liam was excited to help, and they worked all night to deliver the apples to the children.
The next morning, Amelia saw that all her apples were gone. She was sad because Rey had eaten her last apple. But then, something amazing happened! Amelia saw new baby apple trees growing in her garden!
Rey had a clever plan all along. He ate the apples to collect the seeds inside. With the seeds, he planted many more trees for everyone to enjoy. Amelia was so happy to see the children playing in her garden and picking apples from the new trees.
Amelia and the children sold apples and made fresh apple juice at the market. They raised enough money to help the families across the river. Thanks to Rey’s thoughtful plan, they all lived happily ever after!
That was “A Very Wide River.” We hope you enjoyed the story! Remember to read lots of books and have fun with your family. See you next time! Bye!
Apple Seed Planting: Just like Rey helped Amelia by planting apple seeds, you can try planting seeds too! Ask an adult to help you find some apple seeds. Plant them in a small pot with soil and water them regularly. Watch how they grow over time. What do you think will happen to the seeds? How long do you think it will take for them to sprout?
River Crossing Experiment: Amelia needed help to get her apples across the river. Can you think of ways to move things across water? Use a small tub of water and try floating different objects like leaves, small sticks, or toy boats. Which objects float best? Can you make a little boat to carry something across your “river”?
Sharing and Caring Discussion: Amelia shared her apples with the children across the river. Think about a time when you shared something with a friend or family member. How did it make you feel? Why is sharing important? Draw a picture of something you would like to share with someone special.
Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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Welcome back to Story Time! How’s everyone doing today? Are you keeping warm or cool? I’m certainly keeping cool today; it’s bright and sunny outside! I hope you got to play in the playground with your friends or learn lots of new things at school. It looks like you’re ready to sit down and read a book with us.
Today, we have a book called “A Very Wide River” by Asa Childress. Let’s check it out!
**A Very Wide River**
A young girl named Amelia lived in a lovely little house with a beautiful green garden by a very wide river. Every day, Amelia would skip down to the end of her garden to give her big strong apple tree a drink from the river. But that’s not what made her so happy. A friendly crocodile named Liam would often swim by to say hello. But that’s still not what made her happiest.
What made her happiest was always seeing the children across the river playing and singing. She was so happy that they were so happy, even though the children were from poorer families and didn’t have much to eat. As time went by, Amelia began to think about how hungry the children must be. She would often look over the river in silence and wonder how she could help. What could she do?
One day, she had an idea. She looked at her big strong apple tree and thought she could share her apples with the children. Little Amelia picked the biggest red apple from the tree and threw it as far as she could, but the river was far too wide to throw any apples across. Just then, Liam the friendly crocodile swam by with his son, Rey. Rey munched Amelia’s apple in one quick bite!
At that moment, Amelia had a wonderful idea. She decided she would ask the crocodiles to help her carry her apples across the river on their backs. Liam couldn’t wait to help, and Amelia ran to collect her best apples. The friendly crocodiles worked all through the night delivering as many apples as they could to the children.
The next morning, Amelia returned to find that all her apples were gone. She noticed Liam swimming across the river with three apples on his back, but Rey wasn’t in the water at all. Suddenly, she heard a crunch and saw a seed fly across the garden. It was Rey eating her final apple! Little Amelia was so sad; the apples were for the children. She cried, “How could you eat them?” and ran back home.
“What have you done now?” Liam shouted from the river, but Rey was too busy to hear anything. Instead, he took a huge bite out of Amelia’s tree, and snap! Crack! Bang! Her tree fell flat.
Many days went by, and Amelia was nowhere to be seen. Yet, after what seemed like a very long time, Amelia returned to the river. Liam and Rey were so happy to see her! As she walked toward the water, she looked up at the tree—her big strong apple tree was gone. But that’s not what surprised her the most. Instead, there were new baby apple trees beginning to grow!
What surprised her the most of all was that the children from across the river were now in Amelia’s garden, playing happily and picking fruits from all the trees. Amelia smiled the biggest smile she had ever smiled. But how could this be, she wondered. Her eyes turned to Rey. “Where did all of these trees come from?” she asked.
Rey picked a bright red apple, took a great big bite, and pulled out a tiny shiny seed. Amelia laughed with amazement! All along, Rey had only eaten her apples in order to collect the seeds inside them. With the seeds, he was able to plant many more trees for all the children to enjoy.
Amelia had one final question on her mind: “But where’s my tree?” she asked. Rey pointed toward the very wide river and chuckled, “It’s a big strong bridge!” Because Rey had been so thoughtful, it wasn’t long before there were new trees everywhere, and soon they would grow big and strong like Amelia’s tree.
Amelia eventually helped the children sell the apples at a local market. The real success came from selling their very own freshly squeezed apple juice—that was Rey’s idea! They were able to raise enough money to support the families across the river, all from one big strong apple tree… I mean bridge!
So that was “A Very Wide River.” If you’d like to own a copy of this book, the links to purchase it are in the description below. We appreciate a like and do subscribe if you haven’t already, and click on the bell for more stories. Thank you so much for dropping by! We look forward to seeing you back here soon. Take care of yourself and your family, and read lots of books on your own. Bye!
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This version removes any unnecessary filler words and maintains the essence of the story while ensuring clarity and coherence.
