Hello, friends! I hope you are having a fun time at home. Do you miss school? I bet you do! Have you been reading lots of books and playing outside in the sunshine? That sounds amazing!
Today, we have a fun story called “The Case of the Red Bottom Robber” by Richard Byrne. Let’s find out what happens in this story!
Once upon a time, some little chalks were having a great time drawing on a chalkboard. But then, Mrs. Red called them in for lunch. When they came back, they were surprised! All the flowers they drew were gone!
They decided to draw again, and this time Mrs. Red drew a big red fence to keep the flowers safe. But when they went in for a story, the flowers and the fence disappeared again!
Someone was taking their drawings! Sergeant Blue came to help solve the mystery. He found out that the thief was tall and very dusty. He looked at some suspects: too thin, too small, too pointy, too tall, too hairy. “Can you turn around, please?” he asked. “Aha! A dusty red bottom!” The case was solved!
Before Sergeant Blue could catch the thief, the robber ran away in a cloud of dust. The chalks tried to catch him, but he was too fast. What could they do?
Sergeant Blue had a clever plan. The robber thought he was safe, but then he saw a new drawing. “Rainbow rubbing, here I come!” he said. The chalks jumped out and shouted, “Robber, caught you!”
But wait! The robber was not a robber at all. It was a chalkboard duster! “I’m not a robber,” said the duster. “I just clean the board so you can draw more!”
The chalks felt sorry and realized they made a mistake. Sergeant Blue said they should chase the duster again, but this time just for fun!
Yay! That was “The Case of the Red Bottom Robber.” Did you like it? If you did, make sure to read lots of books and have fun with your family. Take care, and see you next time!
Draw and Protect: Let’s create our own chalk drawings! Use colored chalk to draw flowers, animals, or anything you like on a chalkboard or sidewalk. After drawing, think of creative ways to “protect” your drawings, just like Mrs. Red did with the fence. You could draw a pretend fence, a moat, or even a friendly guard animal. Discuss with your friends or family how you would keep your drawings safe from disappearing.
Detective Game: Play a fun detective game! Hide a small object in the room and give clues to your friends or family to find it. Use descriptive words like “tall,” “small,” “dusty,” or “shiny” to help them guess where it is. This game will help you practice using clues to solve mysteries, just like Sergeant Blue did in the story.
Chalkboard Duster Experiment: If you have a chalkboard and duster at home, try this experiment. Draw a picture on the board and then use the duster to erase it. Watch closely to see how the duster works. Discuss why the duster is not a robber but a helper. How does it help you create new drawings? Share your thoughts with your family or friends.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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[Music]
Hi everyone! Welcome back to the Storytime Family. I hope you’ve been keeping well and staying safe at home. I bet you miss school—we all do! Have you been reading lots of books? That sounds awesome! Have you also been able to play outside in the sunshine? That’s great!
Let’s have a look at what we have here today. We have “The Case of the Red Bottom Robber” by Richard Byrne. Let’s see what this book is about.
The young chalks were having a fabulous time at a chalkboard when Mrs. Red called them in for lunch. When the chalks came back from lunch, they got a real shock—all the flowers had gone! The chalk started a new drawing, but this time Mrs. Red also drew a big red fence. “That should keep the flowers safe while we go in for a story,” she said. But it didn’t—the flowers had disappeared again, and this time the fence had gone too!
Someone is stealing our drawings! Sergeant Blue arrived to investigate and quickly noted some crucial evidence. The culprit is tall and very dusty. He rounded up some suspicious-looking characters: too thin, too small, too pointy, too tall, too hairy. “Oh, can you turn around please?” he asked. “He’s got a dusty red bottom!” Ah, case closed!
But before Sergeant Blue could put the culprit in prison, the robber fled in a cloud of dust. Although the chalks gave chase, the robber was too fast for them. The chalks had no idea how they were going to catch the elusive robber. Fortunately, Sergeant Blue had a plan.
The robber thought he had given the chalks the slip, but he stumbled across a very tempting new drawing. “Rainbow rubbing, here I come!” The chalk suddenly leapt out from their hiding places. “Robber, caught you!” The chalkboard duster felt wrongly accused. “I’m innocent! I’m not a robber; I’m a duster. You draw stuff, and I rub it out, then you can draw more stuff.”
The chalks felt very guilty and made a terrible mistake. But Sergeant Blue knew how to put things right—they should all chase the duster again, but this time just for fun!
[Applause]
Yay! Someone’s got a trophy! And that was “The Case of the Red Bottom Robber.” Did you like the story? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think! If you’d like to hear more stories like this, click on the bell, give us a like, and subscribe. Meanwhile, make sure you read lots of books on your own. Take good care of yourself and your family, and we’ll see you back here soon. Take care, bye!
[Music]
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