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6.13.26 - Part 1 · Children's Hour

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  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to radioi's Children's Story Hour. As a reminder,
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  RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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  blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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  read printed material. Today, we're going to read about the
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  summer Solstice. Your reader today is Patty. We will start
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  with the book called The Longest Day, Celebrating the Summer Solstice.
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  The author of the book is Wendy Feffer. The illustrator
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  is Linda Black. It was published by Dutton Children's Book,
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  an imprint of Penguin Group in twenty ten. From the
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  inside front cover, summer begins on the longest day of
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  the year, on or about June twenty first. In the
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  warm summer sun, families fill playgrounds parks, and children play
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  in the daylight hours, even long after dinner time is over.
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  People around the world have long revered the life giving sun,
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  and different cultures have celebrated the return of the summer
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  season with singing and dancing and bonfires and flowers, from
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  the Midnight Sun Festival in Alaska to the Midsummer celebrations
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  in Sweden, from giggling under the sprinkler to growing sunflowers
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  in the Earth, Readers will recognize the universal summer joy
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  in each unique tradition an accessible language in vibrant illustrations.
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  This fourth book in the series about the Seasons takes
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  readers on a journey through the science and history behind
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  the summer solstice. Summer Solstice activities at the back of
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  the book will let new generations of readers in on
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  the festivities, and now we'll begin the book. As summer
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  approaches in the northern part of the world, bison shed
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  their heavy coats, mountain goats climb to sunny pastures, and
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  with a splash of color, butterflies emerge from silky cocoons.
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  At this time of year, the sun appears early each morning,
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  rises higher higher into the sky each day, and lingers
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  long into the evening. Days become longer and warmer, and
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  crops grow and ripen. Families fill playgrounds and parks. They
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  picnic under an umbrella of green leaves, play baseball, volleyball,
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  or just nap in the warm sunshine. Children can ride
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  bikes and play outdoor games for hours in the evening
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  with the sun still in the sky. The illustration here
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  shows three young people up on top of a hill
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  and they have a blanket spread on the ground and
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  a picnic basket that they're opening along with them for
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  the picnic is a white dog. Down below at the
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  bottom of the hill, we can see other people. Some
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  are in a park, some are riding bikes, some are
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  playing baseball games. And way in the distance there's a
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  river and there's a boat out on the river. Continuing
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  around June twenty first, the first day of summer. As
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  the Earth moves in its orbit, the northern half of
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  the Earth tilts toward the Sun and so it gets
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  more sunshine than the southern half. The first day of
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  summer of summer, called the summer solstice, has more daylight
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  hours than any other day of the year, making it
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  the longest day. Now Here, there's a diagram on one
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  page that shows four representations of the Earth and how
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  they are tilted toward the Sun in different ways as
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  the Earth makes its way around the Sun. So the
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  first one says summer solstice, the longest day with the
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  most sunshine. Then it moves to summer days longer than nights,
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  days getting shorter and crops grow. Then the next one
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  says fall or autumnal equinox day and night equal during
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  the fall nights are longer than days, days are getting shorter,
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  and it's time to harvest. Then we come to winter solstice,
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  the shortest day with the least sunshine. Then we come
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  to winter, nights longer than days, days getting longer. Spring
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  is coming. Then we so have the spring or vernal equinox,
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  day and night equal. Then spring when days are longer
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  than nights, days getting longer, and seedlings begin to sprout.
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  The sun spreading warmth and light has always been important
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  to people. Warm sunshine and more daylight hours make for
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  a good growing season to supply life giving food. The
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  sun was so valuable to people who lived in ancient
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  times that sun some people considered it one of their gods.
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  Egyptians believed their sun god raw sailed in a golden
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  boat across the sky. In Mesopotamia, the people imagined their
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  sun god, Shanash, had a chauffeur driven him across the sky.
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  Each morning, Shannash would come out the door of the East,
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  travel across the sky to the door of the West.
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  Then Shannash would travel underground all night to arrive at
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  the door of the East again in the morning. The
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  Greeks thought their sun god Apollo drove a chariot through
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  the heavens, and the sun was one of its blazing wheels.
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  Early people observed and recorded how the sun appeared to
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  move through the sky. They used many methods to chart
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  the sun's path. Ancient Greeks measured the shadows of a
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  tall pillar. The shortest shadow occurred on the longest day
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  in summer, when the midday sun was high in the sky.
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  The longest shadow appeared on the shortest day in winter,
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  when the midday sun was low in the sky. The
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  illustration here shows a man sitting under a tree, and
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  he is wearing a toga and sandals, and there is
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  a pillar behind him where it's casting a shadow. The
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  Chumesh Indians of California painted a sunburst around an opening
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  in the ceiling of a cave. They called it the
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  House of the Sun. During mid afternoon on the longest day,
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  the sun's rays streamed through the opening when sunlight beamed
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  on a quartz crystal wedged in the ground. The Chumesh
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  Indians welcomed the summer solstice five thousand years ago. In England,
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  people began building structures to mark these special times of
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  the year. One prehistoric monument Stonehenge consists of a circle
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  of stones. Some line up with the summer solstice sunrise
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  and others line up with the winter solstice sunset. Over
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  a period of fifteen hundred years, workers hauled and rafted
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  heavy bluestones and sandstones over one hundred miles to Stonehenge.
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  Some stones were as long as a school bus and
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  weighed fifty tons that's heavier than eight large elephants. Using rollers,
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  ramps and ropes, they set each massive stone in place.
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  No one knows who these amazing builders were or how
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  they moved gigantic stones such long distances, but we do
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  know they did it to celebrate the sun. The illustration
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  here shows a drawing of the Stone Hinge stones all
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  lined up in a different format, and it shows some
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  possible people here trying to pull a massive stone with
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  rollers of logs and a rope around the stone, and
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  the author and illustrator are imagining how these stones might
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  have been put into place. Continuing, similar yet puzzling stone
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  structures cover Mystery Hill in New Hampshire. Some call it
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  America's Stone Hinge. While Stone Hinge is neatly arranged, Mystery
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  Hill is a jumble of stones, many etched with ancient inscriptions.
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  Some scholars think it was built by an unknown civilization
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  between two thousand and five thousand years ago. Early on
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  June twenty first, visitors flock to Mystery Hill. They watch
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  the sun come up over Sunrise Stone, marking the beginning
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  of the longest Day in Wyoming. During mid June, thousands
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  of people hike up Madison Medicine Mountain to see the
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  Big Horn Medicine Wheel. Scientists and archaeologists believe the Plains
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  Indians constructed this eighty foot wide circle of rocks between
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  two hundred and eight hundred years ago. Twenty eight spokes
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  radiate out from a central hub. One spoke points to
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  the summer solstice summer, another to the summer solstice sunset.
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  The illustration here shows a drawing of these rocks that
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  have been placed into a circle in long straight lines
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  like the spokes of a wheel, and many people are
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  standing around them looking at it. Continuing Over seven hundred
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  years ago in Lithuania, villagers celebrated the Longest Day by
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  washing their faces with morning dew, then singing, dancing, and feasting.
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  They coated a wheel with tar, covered it with straw,
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  and set it ablaze on top of a hill to
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  symbolize the sun at its highest point in the sky.
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  Then they rolled it down the hill toward a river
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  to set simblies the Sun moving through the sky. If
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  the wheel was still burning as it hit the water,
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  they believed the summer sun would produce a bountiful harvest. Today,
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  Lithuanians and people in many other countries celebrate Saint John's
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  Day on June twenty fourth, with festivities from sun up
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  to sundown. The days around the summer solstice have been
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  called Midsummer since long ago times. Since June twenty first
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  is mid midway between May and August, it is called Midsummer.
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  On Midsummer Eve, ancient Germanic tribes built fires. They thought
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  fire would help the sun warm the earth and drive
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  away unwonted spirits. They believed the bigger the fires, the
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  farther away those spirits would move. Couples jumped over the fires,
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  hoping that summer crops would grow as high as they jumped.
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  The illustration here shows a large group of people building
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  multiple fires on a grassy lawn, throwing sticks into the fire.
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  One couple is running around the fire that they built
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  in Bohemia now known as the Czech Republic. Girls made
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  wreaths with flowers. Boys collected sticks and branches and built
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  a bonfire. Girls stood on one side of the blaze
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  and boys on the other. Each girl held her wreath
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  up and looked through its center to decide whom she
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  might marry. Then she threw her wreath across the fire
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  to that boy. They believed the singed wreaths would protect
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  them against sickness the next year. On land that lies
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  above the Arctic Circle, the sun shines for twenty four
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  hours on June twenty first. In Sweden, it is called
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  the day that Never ends. During the Middle Ages, on
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  Midsummer Day, Swedish families decorated houses and barns with greens
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  to bring good fortune and health. They stripped branches off
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  a tall spruce tree and decorated it with garlands of flowers. Today,
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  in Sweden, every town sets up a Midsummer pole strewn
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  with streamers, flowers, flags, and greens. Villagers wear folk costumes,
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  play traditional music and dance around the pole. Young people
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  each pick eight different flowers. They put them under their
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  pillows at night, hoping to dream about their future spouse.
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  The illustration here shows a group of people ends their
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  traditional folk costumes, holding hands and dancing around a pole,
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  and the pole has been decorated with flags and greenery.
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  Continuing each year, the people of Nome, Alaska celebrate the
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  summer solstice with a mid night sun festival on June
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  twenty first, the sun shines for more than twenty two hours. There,
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  people parade, barbecue chicken, and dance in the streets. If
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  the frozen ice broken up in the Bearing Sea, the
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  annual Polar Bear Swim is held. Brave people dip their
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  entire bodies in almost freezing water to celebrate the longest day.
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  The illustration here shows a group of people gathered on
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  a pier and several of them are jumping into the
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  icy cold water while other people stand beside and watch.
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  There's a small dog standing on the pier and a
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  seagull is watching as well. Many people enjoy the heat
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  of summer and outdoor summertime activities and sports. On hot
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  summer days, children can wiggle wet toes in squishy sand,
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  giggle with friends under a sprinkler, and grow sunflowers that
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  turn slowly all day to keep facing the sun. At
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  twilight that time, when daylight and darkness after the sun
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  below the horizon, children can gaze at a few bright
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  stars twinkling above and plan another day of fun in
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  the sun. The illustration here on one page shows a
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  group of children digging in the sand with their sand
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  pails and shovels. The mom in the family is carrying
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  a picnic basket. The other illustration on the other page
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  shows a nighttime scene where children are catching fireflies and
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  putting them in a jar. During the hot weather, the
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  days shorten and summer soon ends, leaves fall, cool winds blow,
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  bison start growing heavier coats, mountain goats wander down to
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  windless pastures, and monarch butterflies migrate south to the warm
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  skies of Mexico. The Earth continues its orbit around the
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  Sun until the next June, when people in the northern
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  part of the Earth will once again enjoy the summer
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  solstice and the longest day of the year. Now we
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  have some solstice facts. As the Earth travels around the Sun,
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  seasons change because the Earth tilts towards the Sun or
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  away from the Sun. As the Earth moves in its orbit,
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  the Sun appears to move higher and lower in the sky.
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  The world word solstice comes from Latin, where soul means
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  sun and sisterie means stop. A solstice occurs when the
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  sun seems to stop moving away from the equator and
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  starts traveling back toward it. Toward it. Around June twenty first,
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  the North Pole leans toward the sun. The Sun's raised
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  aimed at the northern hemisphere are strong and direct. The
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  sun appears to be high in the sky. It takes
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  it a long time to move from the place where
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  it rises to the place where it sets. Many hours
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  of sunshine make it the longest day of the year
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  on that day, the summer solstice. Summer begins. On December
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  twenty first, the winter solstice, the Sun's rays do not
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  shine directly on the northern hemisphere. There, the sun appears
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  to be low in the sky. It takes the sun
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  only a short time to move across the sky from
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  the place where it rises to the place where it sets.
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  Few hours of sunshine make it the shortest day of
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  the year on that day, the Winter solstice. Winter begins.
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  Now we have some activities. One is create your own
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  rock art. The Chumish Indians created some of the finest
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  rock art in North America. Much of it depicted people, animals,
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  and the sun, showing the importance of the solstices in
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  their lives. Using these samples from various Chumish rock art painting,
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  design your own rock art. What you will need a
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  smooth flat stone, newspaper, chalk, acrylic paints. The Chumish used red, black, white,
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  and yellow paint brushes of different sizes. Optional, matt acrylic sealer.
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  What to do After you found the perfect flat rock,
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  be sure to wash it with water and detergent to
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  remove all the dirt. Let the rock dry inside the
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  house overnight. Spread the newspaper over your work surface. Draw
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  your design first with chalk. Paint over the chalk lines
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  with different colors. Allow the paint to dry for a
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  few hours. You may paint or spray acrylic sealer over
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  the rock to make your rock art last longer. Here's
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  another activity, be called make a sundial. The ancient Egyptians
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  used sundials to tell time. Other people designed many types
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  of sundials, sometimes called shadow clocks. What you need a
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  sunny day thin cardboard, a six inch square heavy cardboard
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  as a twelve inch square scissors tape, permanent marker and
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  a compass. What to do. Fold the corners of your
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  six inch square together, then cut along the diagonal crease
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  to make two triangles. One of these triangles will be
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  your nonmon, the part of the sundial that casts a shadow.
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  Fold the bottom inch of the gnomon to make a
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  base with your marker. Draw a line down the middle
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  of your twelve inch square, making a dot at the center.
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  Stand your gnomon on the square so that it lines
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  up with the marker line and the point of the
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  triangle touches the center. Tape the bottom of the gnomon,
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  allowing it to stand up. Use your compass to find north.
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  Place the sun dial in the sun with the highest
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  point of the gnomon facing north. Once your sundial is
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  in place, anchor it down with tape or await. Each
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  hour of the day, go outside with a permanent marker
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  and draw a line where the gnomon's shadow falls right
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  the hour next to each line. Go out the next
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  sunny day. If your sundial is in the same place,
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  you can now tell the time by reading the line
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  where the shadow is. And here's another activity. It's called
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  plant sunflowers. Sunflowers are well named because all day long.
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  They slowly turn their big heads to face the sun.
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  The head consists of a circle of seeds surrounded by
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  large yellow petals. They are fun to grow. What you
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  need a sunny spot, rich soil, a packet of seeds
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  tri helianthus a giant sunflower, a watering can or hose,
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  a steak and stringth What to do. Plant the seeds
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  in full summer sun one inch deep and three feet apart.
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  Water the seeds just enough to keep the soil moist.
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  Sunflowers don't need much water or fertilizer. Watch them grow.
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  Measure their height. Often yours could reach three to ten
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  feet tall. Push a steak in the ground next to
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  your seedling of your choice. As your plant grows, tie
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  it loosely to the steak. At the end of the summer,
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  when the petals fall off and the flowers in the
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  center turn black, rub the center with a fork to
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  loosen the black seeds. There may be one thousand black
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  seeds in the center, so spread them out to dry.
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  Crack open the shell, then enjoy what's inside. You may
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  want to save some for the birds in winter. And
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  the last activity is make a bohemian flower wreath. The
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  Bohemians turned a pinch of the wreath during a summer
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  thunderstorm to protect them from fire caused by lightning. They
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  also crumbled some of the wreath into their sick animal's
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  food to help them heal. What you need a pail
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  of water, scissors, a wire, coat hanger, aluminum foil, floral
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  whial wire, tout twine or strong thread, brightly colored ribbons,
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  and wild flowers and tall grasses. Collect the grasses and
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  hang them by the thread to dry for about a week.
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  Pick some flowers. You can also find flowers at the
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  local grocery store. Put the flowers in your water pail
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  as you pick them at home. Tie them in bundles
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  and hang them to dry. Stretch the bottom of your
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  coat hanger into a circle, leaving the hook in place,
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  and layer luminum foil around the wire to add thickness
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  to your wreath. Wrap the dried grasses around the foil
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  until it's covered and fastens the grasses with floral wire.
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  Weave some flours hours around the reef and secure with
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  additional wire. Decorate your wreath with ribbons and hang it
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  by the coat hanger hook on your door or wall.
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  This concludes the Children's Story Hour for today. Please join
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  us next time as we will read more stories, fables
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  and fairy tales. Thank you for listening and please stay
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  tuned for continued programming on RADIOI