- Hi, friend.

How are you today?

I hope you're having a wonderful day.

My name is Catherine Rodriguez, and I'm so excited to be reading a story with you today.

And then we're going to be doing an activity following right after the reading.

I wanna introduce you to my little helper today.

- Hi, my name is Genevieve.

- Genevieve is here to also read this wonderful story along with us and to then take part in an activity.

Let's get started.

The book that we're reading today is called "One Summer Night."

The author is Tammi Salzano.

Illustrator is Rob Sayegh Jr. You ready, Genevieve?

- Yeah!

[soft piano music] - [Both] "Crack, crack, crack crack, scratch, scratch, scratch.

The sand is stirring; the time has come.

The eggs begin to hatch."

Wow.

"A tiny head pokes through the sand, then two, then all the rest.

They climb and pull with all their might, out of their cozy nest."

- [Catherine] "Lightning flashes in the sky while rain falls all around.

Thunder rumbles overhead and shakes the sandy ground.

Baby turtles gather clues upon the gritty sand, each about two inches long, no bigger than a hand."

- They're about hand size.

- Yeah, they're so small.

"The turtles need the Moon to find their way into the sea.

The bright light guides them to their home, to where they need to be.

But on this night, the Moon is dark, hidden in the clouds.

The turtles know they need to move away from seagull crowds!"

- They look, ah!

- Ah!

How do you think they feel?

- Scared.

- They look a bit scared and worried.

- One is hiding behind the book.

- Mm-hmm.

"One turtle thinks she sees the Moon, her flipper in the air.

This must be right!

she thinks, then turns to lead the others there.

So all the turtles follow her, heading towards the light.

They trudge through the sand, a massive group this dark and stormy night.

Farther and farther down the beach the tiny babies scurry.

All around them danger lurks, the turtles need to hurry.

At last, the babies stop their trek in the humid August air.

Tired, hungry, they look around, no water anywhere!"

[Catherine gasping] Oh, my goodness.

They must be so worried.

[suspenseful music] "They realize now with growing fear that this way isn't right.

The turtle babies need some help to find their way tonight.

The hatchlings huddle near a porch, unsure of what to do.

Slowly, slowly, time ticks by, it is now well after two.

[Catherine gasping] Then through the heavy summer air, the turtles hear 'Bark!

Bark!'

Suddenly the lights went off and everything is dark.

The turtles watch as shadows move across the cool wet sand.

One of them stops near the gate, an object in her hands.

[upbeat music] She points the flashlight towards the ground and switches on the light.

A steady beam cuts through the fog, lighting up the night.

People line up side by side and form a line 20 strong to guide the turtles towards the beach back home where they belong."

[Catherine gasping] So what are they doing, Genevieve?

- They're leading the turtles back to their home.

- They're leading the turtles.

They're helping them.

"'This way, turtles!"

says the girl, walking towards the sea.

'We're here to help you find your home.

Come and follow me.'

The baby turtles see the light, that's where they need to go!

They push each other through the sand, the smallest ones in tow.

Turtle flippers slap the ground, picking up the pace.

Everyone watches as they move, a smile on each face."

- Why are they wearing coats?

- Why are they wearing coats?

Well, the people could be wearing coats because it could be a cold day.

So it looks like it's a dark, so it might be nighttime.

So for this reason, they're probably trying to stay warm themselves.

"Ocean waves break on the shore and line the stand with foam.

The restless water reaches out to take the turtles home."

- It's like come here, turtles.

I'll bring you back to your mom.

- Yeah.

Come here, turtles.

Let's go back.

"The storm has passed.

The rain has stopped.

All is quiet and still.

The only sound is seagulls' cries beyond the sandy hill."

- Why are the seagulls crying?

- Oh, maybe that's what they're hearing at the moment.

So why are the seagulls crying?

Could be the noise that they're making, right?

It sounds kind of like a cry.

- Like wah!

Wah!

[Catherine laughing] - Yeah, what you hear seagulls say at the beach.

So let's see.

"The full moon shines upon the night, it's marbled, hazy glow no longer hidden by the clouds.

A spotlight for the show."

Look at those happy turtle faces.

They're big, wide smiles.

They're so happy.

Why do you think they're so happy?

- They're at home.

- They're at the home by the water.

- And this is [indistinct].

- Yeah, they're giving big white smiles.

"All at once, the helpers gasp as flippers flip the air.

The turtles wave with heartfelt thanks to those who brought them there.

Then they dive into the wave and disappear from sight into their vast and watery home.

This magical summer night."

- Night.

- That's so beautiful.

So now we're gonna take this time to show you how you can make your own turtle at home.

So me and Genevie have some pre-done crafts that we did earlier.

Yes.

We have a piece of paper.

So you have a piece of paper at home.

It could be a a big paper or a small paper.

- Any kind of paper.

- Yes.

And you're gonna take some crayon, some markers, maybe a pencil too.

And you're gonna draw your own turtle.

So take a look at this one that we made.

So we made a turtle.

We did some ovals over here and we colored them in with marker.

We also did another one over here with crayon.

So these are some examples of our turtles.

If you have some paper plates or bowls that you might have had left over from a party or from an event- - Or a cupcake filter.

- Or a cupcake filter.

That's another really good one, Genevie.

Thank you for that idea.

- Or a cardboard box.

- Or even a cardboard box.

Absolutely.

If you have a cardboard box, you can make your own.

And so we wanna show you over here.

You can make your own little turtle out of this paper plate.

Or you can make your own from a piece of paper.

- Or you might make your own from a stencil.

- Or you can even have, if you have stencils around that have turtles.

Feel free to make your very own.

We actually have some pluses over here that look like turtles so we're gonna copy them a little bit.

We have a circle.

And then another circle.

And I'm gonna make the eye over here in the shell.

You can take a look at how mine looks like.

Thank you so much for joining us today, friend.

We look forward to seeing your turtle.

Say bye, sweetie.

- Bye!

- Bye, friends.

[upbeat music]