On a Summer Night

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Lisa Bueno** (0:31)
Okay, our friends.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:34)
So today, we are experiencing what time of year?
Summer, right? Yeah.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:42)
So today, we're going to read a book about that. Today's story is called On a Summer Night.
The text is by Deborah Hopkinson and the art is by Kenard Pack.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:53)
It's just striking art and it's a beautiful story. So friends, go get a copy of it if you don't already have. If you do have, then this is the story for you.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:01)
We're going to read it out loud. You follow along, enjoy the pictures, and the way that this artist uses shadows is really pretty.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:12)
So today's story, On a Summer Night, is read by Mommy and...

**Lisa Bueno** (1:18)
Who are you? Baby Fluffy from Fluffberg.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:22)
Baby Fluffy from Fluffberg?

**SPEAKER_4** (1:25)
No, Baby Fluffy of Fluffberg.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:27)
Oh, excuse me. Baby Fluffy of Fluffberg.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:32)
Love it. I'm so happy you're here being Fluffy with me. Are you ready for your story, Fluffy? Here we go. On a summer night, the world is still.
Even the crickets think it's too hot to sing.
All at once, you sit up straight and rub your eyes. We see a little girl doing just that in her room.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:02)
What has woken you?

**Lisa Bueno** (2:08)
You pad softly to the kitchen, past the buzz of whirring fans and the restless sighs of other sleepers. With no one to scold her, the nimble cat has claimed a spot on the cool wooden surface of the table. She's stretched out like a snake, her belly exposed to the air.
Do you let cats sit on your table? Probably not. But this one is. And we can see the little girl has gone down and spotted her.
Suddenly, she springs to her feet with a rasping meow.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:56)
And we see her jumping right up. The little girl goes right past her to the door.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:00)
Who has woken her? Was it you?

**SPEAKER_4** (3:06)
Who do you think woke the cat?

**Lisa Bueno** (3:09)
You and the cat press your faces against the screen of the back door. Then, you step out into the yard where the dew tips blades of grass and silvers your toes.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:31)
Ooh, which grass in the early morning? That'll feel good, won't it?

**Lisa Bueno** (3:37)
Across the alleyway, your neighbor's small white dog breaks into a storm of surprised barking. Yip, yip, yip, yip, yip, yip!
It is a fluffy dog, isn't it?

**SPEAKER_4** (3:55)
Who has woken him? Was it the cat?

**Lisa Bueno** (4:01)
Was it you? The cat slinks into the shadows, but you stand in the garden patch, arms wide as a scarecrow's, and bury your feet in the warm dirt.

**SPEAKER_3** (4:22)
Mm, with dirty feet, what's gonna have to happen next, huh? Before you can go back to bed, you're gonna have to wash your feet.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:29)
A large brown rabbit peeks out at you from under the hedge. Her whiskers quiver.
Her eyes glow like jewels. Who has woken her?

**SPEAKER_3** (4:44)
Was it the dog?

**Lisa Bueno** (4:47)
Was it the cat?

**SPEAKER_4** (4:50)
Was it you?

**Lisa Bueno** (4:53)
You stretch your head back until you can see the top of the cherry tree.
A moment later, its leaves start to sway, rustling like a silken gown. We have a cherry tree, don't we?

**SPEAKER_4** (5:16)
Who has woken the tree?

**SPEAKER_3** (5:20)
Was it the rabbit? Was it the dog?

**Lisa Bueno** (5:23)
Was it the cat?
Was it you? And now a sweet ribbon of breath curls around you too. It whispers against your cheek and lifts strands of your hair, still damp from sleep. Who has woken the air?

**SPEAKER_3** (5:52)
Was it the tree?

**Lisa Bueno** (5:54)
Was it the rabbit?

**SPEAKER_3** (5:56)
Was it the dog?

**Lisa Bueno** (5:57)
Was it the cat?

**SPEAKER_4** (5:59)
Was it you?

**Lisa Bueno** (6:03)
Far above the treetop, a lone cloud meanders in the star-sprinkled sky, swaying this way, rolling that way.

**SPEAKER_4** (6:17)
Who has woken the cloud?