Episode 57 - Pogona Vitticeps, Part 1

Click here to listen to: Pogona Vitticeps, Part 1 (16:00)

Strange images seemingly appear out of nowhere when Vivien 

spends time with a special animal. 

Hi All,

Here we are at the end of April. That old adage has proven true. There have been a lot of showers (granted some were snow showers) but that precipitation has brought us May flowers. We are starting to see some buds blooming around our yard. Take a look!

VORACIOUS VOCABULARY

What did you say? A word of the day! In our story

there are many juicy words that are fun to use and say.

deliberation: careful consideration before decision.

devour: to swallow or eat up hungrily.

indigenous: originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country.

inquisitive: eager for knowledge.

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing

after hearing the story.

1. Go outside and hunt for crickets or other insects. When you find one, study it and make a sketch labeling all of its parts. Be careful to include as many details as possible. You can use the following website for help looking up the names of different insect parts: http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/insects

2. Illustrate what you think the main character, Vivien, looks like in the story. 

3. In the story Vivien has done research on bearded dragons. Conduct your own research on bearded dragons or pick an animal you're interested in! Keep a journal of interesting facts you discover!

4. Send us picture of all your hard work at nightlightstories@gmail.com or post them on our Facebook Page. 

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the

details to answer these questions?

1. Who asked the store clerk what happened to the bearded dragon?

2. What recent event caused Vivien to be sad?

3. Where did Vivien find a strange, sooty black mark?

4. Why did Vivien give Pogo fruit?
5. How did Vivien convince her father to buy the bearded dragon?

We want to send out bright birthday wishes to:

Olivia of Ohio
Kaileigh of New Hampshire
Mason G of Kentucky
Alessandra of New York
Ethan of Massachusetts
Annabeth of Illinois
Lilly of New Jersey
Riley of South Dakota
Alex P of Colorado
Riley of Colorado
Madelyne
Oliver B
Morgan B

We hope your days SPARKLED!

TADPOLE TALES: The Tadpole Days

Welcome to Tadpole Tales! 

Every Spring at the Night Light Stories Household, we have a pond full of budding tadpole eggs. We usually collect a few of them each year so that we can watch them grow into frogs. This year, we wanted to share that experience with YOU!  

For the next twelve weeks, follow along with us as we watch this tadpole's transformation.

WAIT! 

One more thing before you go. This tadpole needs a name. Leave your classroom's, child's, student's, grandmother's or your own suggestion for a name in the comments below. We'll randomly choose one and announce in our next installment of Tadpole Tales. 

For now, we'll leave you with the first picture of our new little friend, along with some facts about his development. 

TADPOLE TIDBITS: 

• Hatch from eggs.
• Have no legs.
• Swim with a tail.
• Live in the water.
• Breathe with gills.
• Feed on the egg yolk they still have in their gut.

LIGHTING THE WAY WITH WORDS

Pedal Power (14:21)

While learning to ride a bike, a boy learns perseverance 
breeds confidence.

Free audio download: Pedal Power

Blog with activities: Pedal Power 

While the kids and I were in Boston visiting our family over Spring Break, we took a ride to the beach with my parents. On our way, my dad noticed a hawk in a tree. Since the road we were driving is a popular bird watching site, we pulled to the side so that I could capture a picture. The hawk watched the ocean from his perch, scanning for any possible meals to surface.  

LIVE LITERACY

This Wednesday, April 10th at 6:30pm, Mr. Chris and I are going to be doing a LIVE reading of our fully illustrated e-book, 

Dragonfly, Dragonfly Show Us the Way.  

Where, you ask?

We'll be in Purcellville, Virginia at a local event to help support the Loudoun Literacy Council.

To learn more about this event, buy tickets to attend or donate to the Loudoun Literacy Council, visit the website for the event at http://bit.ly/llcevent.

We hope to see you there! 

Dragonfly, Dragonfly Show Us the Way is available for an in-app purchase on the Flying Books app. The app is free to download on your iPhone or iPad.

 Get your copy of the book for just $1.99 until April 20th! 

LIGHTING THE WAY WITH WORDS

The Farm Girl and the Feather (22:59)

A fairy tale that proves warriors and their weapons come 
in different shapes and sizes.

Free audio download: The Farm Girl and the Feather

Blog with activities: The Farm Girl and the Feather

My mom had a dear friend who was visiting from Japan. She taught my mom how to follow a series of steps to fold decorative paper to create a simple bird. This art form is called origami. Before her friend left to go back to Japan, she made the following figures as a memento. They still hang in the hall of my parents' house twenty-five years later. Have you ever tried origami? Send us a visual definition of origami to nightlightstories@gmail.com or post a picture on our Facebook Page.