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Transcript: The Kissing Hand read by Barbara Bain

Hello. Welcome to Storyline. I'm Barbara Bain. and we are brought to you by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation I am going to read a story to you. And the story is called The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and the illustrations are by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak The Kissing Hand Chester Raccoon stood at the edge of the forest and cried. “I don’t want to go to school,” he told his mother. “I want to stay home with you. I want to play with my friends. And play with my toys. And read my books. And swing on my swing. Please may I stay home with you?” Mrs. Raccoon took Chester by the hand and nuzzled him on the ear. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do,” she told him gently. “Even if they seem strange and scary at first. But you will love school once you start.” “You’ll make new friends. And play with new toys.” “and read new books. And swing on new swings. Besides,” she added, “I know a wonderful secret that will make your nights at school seem as warm and cozy as your days at home.” Chester wiped away his tears. He looked interested. “A secret? What kind of secret?” “A very old secret,” said Mrs. Raccoon. “I learned it from my mother, and she learned it from hers. It’s called the Kissing Hand.” “The Kissing Hand?” asked Chester. “What’s that?” “I’ll show you.” Mrs. Raccoon took Chester’s left hand and spread his tiny fingers into a fan. Leaning forward, she kissed Chester right in the middle of his palm. Chester felt his mother’s kiss rush from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart. Even his silky, black mask tingled with a special warmth. Mrs. Raccoon smiled. “Now,” she told Chester, “Now whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your cheek and think, ‘Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.’ And that very kiss will jump to your face and fill you with toasty warm thoughts.” She took Chester’s hand and carefully wrapped his fingers around the kiss. “Now, do be careful not to lose it,” she teased him. “But, don’t worry. When you open your hand and wash your food, I promise you the kiss will stick.” Chester loved his Kissing Hand. Now he knew his mother’s love would go with him wherever he went. Even to school. And that night, Chester stood in front of his school and looked thoughtful. Suddenly, he turned to his mother and grinned. “Give me your hand,” he told her. Chester took his mother’s hand in his own and unfolded her large, familiar fingers into a fan. Next, he leaned forward and kissed the center of her hand. “Now you have a Kissing Hand, too,” he told her. And with a gentle “Good-bye” and “I love you,” Chester turned and danced away. Mrs. Raccoon watched Chester scamper across a tree limb and enter school. And as the hoot owl rang in the new school year, she pressed her left hand to her cheek and smiled. The warmth of Chester’s kiss filled her heart with special words. “Chester loves you,” it sang. “Chester loves you.” I LOVE YOU The Kissing Hand . . .

Transcript: Clark The Shark read by Chris Pine

Hey everybody. Welcome to Storyline Online brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. My name is Chris Pine and today we are reading the wonderful book Clark the Shark written by Bruce Hale and illustrated by Guy Francis. Let us begin. In all the wide blue seas, in all the wide blue world, the top school for fish was the Theodore Roosterfish Elementary. And of all the fish at Theodore Roosterfish, the biggest and the strongest was Clark the Shark. Clark loved school, and he loved his teacher, Mrs. Inkydink. He loved to play upsy-downsy and spinna-ma-jig with his friends. Clark loved his life. “SCHOOL IS AWESOME!” shouted Clark the Shark. “Less shouting, more reading,” said Mrs. Inkydink. "LUNCHTIME IS SWEEEEET!" yelled Clark the Shark. "Munch your own lunch," said his best friend, Joey Mackerel. "RECESS ROCKS!" bellowed Clark the Shark. "You are playing too rough, Clark!" cried the other kids. Yes, Clark loved his life with all of his sharky heart. But he loved everything way too much. He was too loud. He was too wild. He was just too much shark for the other fish to handle. After a while, no one would play with Clark. No one ate lunch with Clark. No one sat with him at circle time. Even his best friend, Joey Mackerel, said, “Cool your jets, Clark! You’re making me crazy!” One day, Clark asked Mrs. Inkydink, “What’s wrong with everyone?” Mrs. Inkydink patted his fin. “Clark, sometimes you play too hard, you munch too hard, and —gosh— you even help too hard.” “But life is SO exciting!” said Clark. “There’s a time and a place for everything,” said Mrs. Inkydink. “And sometimes the rule is stay cool.” At recess, Clark tried to stay cool, but he pushed the swing with too much zing! “Sorry,” said Clark. “I forgot.” “Yikes!” cried Joey Mackerel. At lunch, Clark tried to stay cool, but everything smelled so good that he munched a bunch of lunches. “Sorry,” said Clark. “I forgot.” “We’re STARVING!” said his friends. In class, Clark tried to stay cool, but a good book got him all shook up. “Now, Clark!” said Mrs. Inkydink. “This isn’t the time or the place. Tell me, what’s the rule?” “Stay cool,” said Clark. “Hey, that rhymes!” he cried. Then Clark got a big idea in his sharky head. Maybe if I make a rhyme, I’ll remember every time! he thought. The next day, he put his plan to work. In class, when lessons got exciting, Clark wanted to bounce up out of his seat. Instead, he told himself: “When teacher’s talking, don’t go walking.” And what do you know? It worked! “Attaboy, Clark!” said Mrs. Inkydink. Clark smiled. “Lessons are fun!” At lunch, everything smelled sooo yummy. When Clark wanted to eat and eat and never stop, he told himself: “Only munch your own lunch.” And it worked again! “Way to go, Clark!” said his friends. Clark grinned. “Lunch is fun.” At playtime, Clark told himself: “Easy does it, that’s the way. “Then my friends will let me play.” And playtime was fun. Once more, Clark loved his life. But then a shadow fell across the playground— a gi-normous shadow with tentacles galore. “It’s a new kid, and he looks scary!” cried Joey Mackerel. “Swim for your lives!” The squid squashed the slide, and it snapped off the swings. “Oops. My bad,” said the new kid. “Wait,” said Clark. “He just wants to play. Let’s find a way!” And he swam at the new kid with all his might. Clark played harder than he ever had before— upsy-downsy and spinna-ma-jig. Why, he even made up a new game: tail-whump-a-lumpus! “Wow, that was fun,” said the new kid breathlessly, and he settled down. “If you want to come to school, you’ve got to stay cool,” said Clark. “That’s right, Clark,” said Mrs. Inkydink. “And thanks for taking care of our new classmate, Sid the Squid.” “Hooray for Clark the Shark!” everyone cheered. That night Clark’s mother asked, “What did you learn at school, dear?” “There’s a time and a place for everything,” Clark said. “Sometimes you stay cool.” “But sometimes a shark’s gotta do what a shark’s gotta do.” The end. That was Clark the Shark everybody. I think it speaks to all of us. It talks about how we all want to do what we want to do , right? We want to be ourselves. and we want to yell when we want to yell and play and laugh and have a good time. But as Mrs. Inkydink said, there's a time and a place for everything. And there is a time and a place to be considerate of other people's feelings. I think the lesson is: Be considerate. Thank you so much for watching Storyline Online. Make sure to check out all of the other stories. Keep watching and keep reading.

Transcript: 'Chester's Way' read by Vanessa Marano & Katie Leclerc

Welcome to Storyline Online, brought to you by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. -I'm Katie Leclerc. -And I'm Vanessa Marano. Today I am using American Sign Language for the deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, and we will be reading Chester's Way written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. Chester had his own way of doing things. "Hello, my name is Chester. I like croquet and peanut butter and making my bed." He always cut his sandwiches diagonally. He always got out of bed on the same side. And he never left the house without double-knotting his shoes. Chester always had the same thing for breakfast toast with jam and peanut butter. And he always carried a miniature first-aid kit in his back pocket. Just in case. "You definitely have a mind of your own," said Chester's mother. "That's one way to put it," said Chester's father. Chester's best friend Wilson was exactly the same way. That's why they were best friends. Chester wouldn't play baseball unless Wilson played, and they never swung at the first pitch or slid headfirst. Wilson wouldn't ride his bike unless Chester wanted to and they always used hand signals. If Chester was hungry, Wilson was too, but they rarely ate between meals. "Some days I can't tell those two apart," said Wilson's mother. "Me either," said Wilson's father. Chester and Wilson, Wilson and Chester. That's the way it was. They loved to go on picnics. Once, when Wilson accidently swallowed a watermelon seed and cried because he was afraid that a watermelon plant would grow inside him, Chester swallowed one, too. "Don't worry," said Chester. "Now, if you grow a watermelon plant, I'll grow one, too." Chester duplicated his Christmas list every year and gave a copy to Wilson because they always wanted the same things anyway. For Halloween, they always dressed as things that went together salt and pepper shakers, two mittens on a string, ham and eggs. "They really are two peas in a pod," said Chester's mother. "Looks like it," said Chester's father. In spring, Chester and Wilson shared the same umbrella. In winter, they never threw snowballs at each other. In fall, they raked leaves together. And in summer, they reminded each other to wear sunscreen, so they wouldn't burn. Chester and Wilson, Wilson and Chester. That's the way it was. And then Lilly moved into the neighborhood. I'm Lilly! I am the Queen! I like EVERYTHING! Lilly had her own way of doing things... She wore band-aids all over her arms and legs, to look brave. She talked backwards to herself sometimes, so no one would know what she was saying. I ma Yllil And she never left the house without one of her nifty disguises. Lilly waved at all the cars that passed by, even if she didn't know who was in them. And she always carried a loaded squirt gun in her back pocket. Just in case. "She definitely has a mind of her own," said Chester. "That's one way to put it," said Wilson. When Lilly asked Chester and Wilson to play, they said they were busy. When she called them up on the phone, they disguised their voices and said they weren't home. If Lilly was walking on one side of the street, Chester and Wilson crossed to the other and hid. "She's something else," said Chester. "Looks like it," said Wilson. One day, while Chester and Wilson were practicing their hand signals, some older boys rode by, popping wheelies. They circled Chester and Wilson and yelled personal remarks. Chester and Wilson didn't know what to do. Just when they were about to give up hope, a fierce-looking cat with horrible fangs jumped out of the bushes and frightened the older boys away. "Are you who I think you are?" Chester asked the cat. "Of course," the cat replied. "Thank you, Lilly," said Chester. "You're welcome, Chester," said Lilly. "Thank you, Lilly," said Wilson. "You're welcome, Wilson," said Lilly. "I'm glad you were wearing a disguise," said Chester. "And I'm glad you had your squirt gun," said Wilson. "I always do," said Lilly. "Just in case." Afterward, Chester invited Lilly over for lunch. "You have a Muscle Mouse cup?!" said Lilly. "Of course," said Chester. "I do, too!" said Lilly. "Same here," said Wilson. Chester and Wilson cut their sandwiches diagonally. Lilly asked Chester's mother if she had cookie cutters and she made stars and flowers and bells. "That's neat!" said Chester. "Wow!" said Wilson. That night, Lilly invited Chester and Wilson to sleep over. "You have a night light?!" said Chester. "Of course," said Lilly. "I do, too!" said Chester. "Same here," said Wilson. Chester and Wilson wanted toast with jam and peanut butter for breakfast the next morning. "Boring," said Lilly. "Try this instead." "This is good!" said Chester. "Wow!" said Wilson. After that, when Lilly asked Chester and Wilson to play, they said yes. When she called them up on the phone, they had pleasant conversations. And if Lilly was walking on one side of the street, Chester and Wilson waved and ran to catch up with her. Chester and Wilson taught Lilly hand signals. And she taught them how to pop wheelies. Lilly taught Chester and Wilson how to talk backwards "I Ma Nosliw" Olleh And they taught her how to double-knot her shoes. "Some days I can't tell those three apart," said Lilly's mother. "Me either," said Lilly's father. Chester and Wilson and Lilly, Lilly and Wilson and Chester. That's the way it was. For Halloween, they dressed as The Three Blind Mice. For Christmas, Lilly gave Chester and Wilson nifty disguises. And they gave her a box full of multi-colored shoelaces-- extra long for double-knotting. They loved to go on picnics. When Chester and Wilson told Lilly about how they had each swallowed a watermelon seed once, Lilly swallowed three of them. "I'll grow a watermelon plant for each of us," she said. In spring, Chester and Wilson and Lilly shared the same umbrella. In winter, they never threw snowballs at each other. In fall, they raked leaves together. And in summer, they reminded each other to wear sunscreen so they wouldn't burn. Chester and Wilson and Lilly, Lilly and Wilson and Chester. That's the way it was. And then Victor moved into the neighborhood... So Vanessa, what did you think? I think that Victor, Lilly, Chester and Wilson are going to have a great time growing watermelons inside of themselves. I agree. I think the four of them will be good friends.

Transcript: 'Fresh Juice' read by Da'Vine Joy Randolph

[Storyline Online intro] Welcome to Storyline Online Brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation I’m Da’Vine Joy Randolph And today, I’m going to read Fresh Juice Written and illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo On Saturday morning, Art says, “Daddy, can we go to the park today?” “I’m all stuffed up,” Daddy grumbles. “I’m still not over this cold.” “We should make some sick-fighting juice to help you feel better,” Art tells him. Daddy opens the refrigerator. “We’re all out of fresh food for our juice. Guess we need to see our friends at the farmers’ market.” “Maybe they’ll have ginger,” Art says. “My teacher says the stuff in it kills germs.” “Daddy, do you think we’ll see Mama and Dhillon at the market?” “Maybe. They live close by.” Art and Daddy get off downtown and walk toward the Saturday farmers’ market. It’s filled with people from all over the world selling fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other treasures. At the first booth, Daddy asks, “Hey, Abbas! Do you have any ginger to fight a cold?” Abbas replies, “No, but carrots are full of vitamins and minerals. They should help you feel better.” “Okay, thanks,” Daddy says, passing over some money. “Hi, Mrs. Johnson. Me and my dad need some ginger. Do you have any?” Art asks. “No, but I have collard greens from my family’s farm,” she says. “Do those help fight colds?” Art asks. “Sure, honey! My grandmother used to put greens in her soups, rice, everything. Greens have lots of vitamins.” “All right, we’ll take a bunch,” Daddy says. “Any ginger today, Maribel?” Daddy asks. “I’m afraid not. But I have cayenne pepper from Mexico,” Maribel says. “Does that help with sick stuff?” Art asks. “Kind of! It’s an antioxidant. It’s like a superhero in your body that fights germs.” “Ooh, that sounds good for our juice!” Art says. “Try the co-op for ginger,” Maribel adds. “Hi. We’re looking for ginger for a juice,” Daddy says at the co-op. “I’m sorry, we ran out,” a woman replies. Her name tag says Amy. “But try some apples; they’re good for juicing. Mr. Abiodun at the West African store usually has ginger. Hurry, he closes early on Saturdays.” Art and his dad pay for the apples and head to the West African store. “Sir, do you have any ginger?” asks Art. “A man just bought the last piece I had,” Mr. Abiodun says. Art throws up his hands. “But we’ve been looking for ginger forever!” “I am sorry. Take some oranges. They’ve got vitamin C. If you are fighting a cold, they will help.” Art and his dad walk back to the train station, where they get an unwelcome surprise. Daddy sits down to rest. Art says, “Now how are we gonna get home with no train?” “Hey, y’all!” Art’s stepfather, Dhillon, rolls to a stop. “What are you doing sitting here?” Daddy sneezes into a handkerchief. “What’s up, Dhillon? Good to see you.” “The train station is closed, and we’ve been trying to get some ginger all day to fight Daddy’s cold,” Art says. “We’ve been to the farmer’s market, the co-op, and the corner store.” “Well, you’re in luck,” Dhillon says. “I can give you two a ride home in my car, and I just bought the last of Mr. Abiodun’s ginger.” Art’s face lights up. “Wow! You did? We want to make fresh juice.” “Okay! We can test out my new juicer setup,” says Dhillon. At the house, Mama gives Art a hug. There are some familiar faces from the market. “Did you find your ginger, honey?” asks Mrs. Johnson. Art says, “Yup, and we got some more goodies to make juice!” After the grown-ups clean, peel, and trim the ingredients, Art puts some of the greens, carrots, and oranges into the juicer. His mom adds the ginger and some apples. Dhillon says, “Check this out! When I ride my bike, the generator makes electricity to run the juicer.” Everyone cheers as he pedals and the juicer gets going. When it’s done, Art sprinkles in a pinch of cayenne pepper and shares the juice with everyone. “That cayenne sure adds a kick to it,” Abbas says. “Yeah! The oranges and apples make it sweet, though,” says Daddy. “What do we call this, Art?” Mama asks. “Cold-clobbering juice!” he shouts. The next morning, Art asks his dad, “How do you feel?” “Great! We got our juice! But a little support from our community really made the difference. If we keep helping each other out, we might not ever get sick.” I love reading so much, and I especially love this book. One of the reasons why I love this book so much is because it talks about the importance of community. Together we can do so many things and it’s great to rely on others for help when you need it. Also, fruits and vegetables will keep the body strong. It’s actually healing. And if we eat fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet, we can live longer, run faster, and be a better human being. Thank you for watching Storyline Online. Make sure to check out all of our stories. Keep watching and keep reading. [end credits]

Transcript: 'Guji Guji' read by Robert Guillaume

Hello, I'm Robert Guillaume and welcome to Storyline Online, brought to you by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Today we're going to be reading a story by Chih-Yuan Chen called Guji Guji. An egg was rolling on the ground. It rolled through the trees. It rolled across the meadow. It rolled all the way down the hill. Finally, it rolled right into a duck's nest. Mother Duck didn't notice. (She was reading.) Soon enough, the eggs began to crack. The first duckling to hatch had blue spots. Mother Duck called him Crayon. The second duckling had brown stripes. "Zebra," Mother Duck decided. The third duckling was yellow, and Mother Duck named him Moonlight. A rather odd-looking duckling hatched from the fourth egg. "Guji Guji," he said, and that became his name. Mother Duck taught her four ducklings how to swim, how to dive and how to waddle. Guji Guji always learned more quickly than the others, He was bigger and stronger, too. But no matter how quick they were, or what they looked like, Mother Duck loved all her ducklings the same. Then one terrible day, three crocodiles came out of the lake. They looked a lot like Guji Guji. The crocodiles were smiling, and when they laughed with their mouths wide open, the whole world could see their big, pointed teeth. The three crocodiles saw Guji Guji and smiled some more. "Look at that ridiculous crocodile. He's walking like a duck!" Guji Guji heard them. "I am not walking like a duck, I am a duck!" he explained. The crocodiles laughed. "Look at yourself! No feathers, no beak, no big webbed feet! What you have is blue-gray skin, sharp claws, pointed teeth and the smell of bad crocodile. You're just like us." The first crocodile said, "Your blue-gray body lets you hide under water without being seen so you can get close to fat, delicious ducks." The second crocodile said, "Big, sharp claws help you hold fat, delicious ducks tightly so they don't get away." The third crocodile said, "Pointed teeth are necessary so you can chew fat, delicious ducks. Mmmm. Yum." The three crocodiles grinned. "We know you live with the ducks. Take them to the bridge tomorrow and practice diving. We'll wait underneath with our mouths open wide." "Why would I do that?" Guji Guji asked. "Why should I listen to you?" "Because we are all crocodiles, and crocodiles help each other." The bad crocodiles grinned again and vanished into the grass. Guji Guji felt terrible. He sat by the lake to think. "Is it true? Am I a bad crocodile too?" He looked down into the lake and a made a fierce face. Guji Guji laughed. He looked ridiculous. "I am not a bad crocodile. Of course, I'm not exactly a duck either." "But the three crocodiles are nasty, and they want to eat my family. I must think of a way to stop them." Guji Guji thought and thought until finally he thought up a good idea. He went home happy and content. That night, the three bad crocodiles sharpened their pointed teeth, all the while thinking of fat, delicious ducks. They were ready for their feast. The next day, Guji Guji did as he'd been told-- he took the flock of ducks to the bridge to practice diving. The three bad crocodiles were waiting for the ducks underneath the bridge. It wasn't fat, delicious ducks that dropped from the bridge though; it was three big, hard rocks! The crocodiles bit down. "Crack! Crack! Crack!" went their pointed teeth. The three bad crocodiles ran as fast as they could. In barely a minute, they were nowhere to be seen! Guji Guji had saved the ducks! Guji Guji was the duck hero of the day! That night, all the ducks danced and celebrated. Guji Guji continued to live with Mother Duck, Crayon, Zebra and Moonlight, and every day he became a stronger and happier "crocoduck." The end.