11.15.25 - Part 1

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, and welcome to Radialized Story Hour. As a reminder,
reize a reading service intended for people who are blind
or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
printed material. Today we will be reading from various books
on national parks. Your reader today is Diane. Our first

(00:23):
book is titled Acadia National Park and it was published
by Children's Press, an imprint of Scholastic Incorporated. It has
a copyright year of twenty eighteen and the author is
Odra Wallace. Welcome to Acadia National Park. Acadia is in

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Maine and was made a National park in nineteen sixteen.
People visit National Park six four nature. The Rockefellers, one
of America's richest families, helped to create Acadia. For more
than one hundred years, the family has continued to give
money and land to the park. There are many fun
things to do in Acadia. You can climb high cliffs

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and visit a lighthouse. You can even ride a horse
drong carriage through the forest. Be sure to bring your
flip flops because Acadia has beaches too. Akadie was the
first National park on the East coast of the United States.
The lighthouse Bass Harbor Head lighthouse was built in eighteen

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fifty eight. Chapter one and Icy Past. For millions of year,
much of Earth was freezing cold. During this ice age,
huge sheets of ice moved over parts of the planet.
These glaciers moved out Acadia's rocky mountaintops. One of those

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mountains is Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain
in the park. It is one thousand and five hundred
and thirty feet tall, which makes it taller than most skyscrapers.
A glacier also cut through Mount Desert Island. It left
behind a firearms palm sound. The glaciers carried big rocks

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with them. Bubble Rock is a giant stone that ended
up on the edge of a cliff. It has been
there for thousands of years. Bubble Rock weighs one hundred tons,
which is fourteen times as heavy as an elephant. Chapter
two Seaside Sights. Ice is not the only thing that

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shaped Acadia. Powerful waves from the Atlantic Ocean did too.
The waves made hoes called sea caves in the cliffs
along the shore. The most famous sea cave is thunder Hoe.
It sounds like thunder when a big wave smashes into it.
And the air trapped inside is forced out a Kadi

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is home to many beaches. Most are covered by gravel
and small stones, Some are covered with cobblestones, and a
few have sand. The park is also home to Otter Cliff.
At one hundred and ten feet tall, it is one
of the highest cliffs on the Atlantic Coast. Climbing Otter
Cliff is not easy. Crashing waves can make the cliff

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very slippery. Some cobblestones are as big as basketballs Chapter three,
That's Wild. Not all of Kadia's sites are by the sea.
Visitors hike, bike, and ride horses through the forest. They
travel on stone trails called carriage roads. Stone bridges are

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also found in the park. Some go over roads, other
crossover streams. John D. Rockefeller Junior built the park's first
carriage roads near his home. He wanted to ride his
horse and carriage on them. Akadia's forests are filled with

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different kinds of trees. One of the most common is
paper birch. Other types of trees includes spruce, fur, sugar maple,
red oak, and poplar. In spring, wildflowers bloom in the metals.
Plants like water lilies and cattails grow in marshes and ponds.
In summer, you can pick blueberries along the park's trail.

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Native Americans once use birchs to make baskets and canoes.
Paper birch canoes are light but strong. Chapter four Akkadia's animals.
You may see white tailed deer nibbling on the grass
in Acadia. Black beerries and moose live in the park too,
but they are rarely seen. More than three hundred types

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of birds live in Acadia. One of them is the
pearregrine falcon. It builds its nest high in the cliffs.
The moose is main state animal. Many animals live in
the U Ocean near Acadia. People go on boat trips
to get a closer look. Seals and dolphins play in
the waves, hump back wells leap into the air. Some

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visitors are lucky enough to see Atlantic puffins. These birds
hang out on small islands in the sea. The Atlantic
puffin can hold more than ten fish in its mouth
at one time. More than two million people visit Acadia
each year. This beautiful park is often called the crown
Jewel of Maine. Is the only place on the East

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coast of the United States where the mountains are so
close to the sea. Imagine you could visit Acadia, what
would you do there? There are just some incredible animals
that make their home in or near Acadia. They are

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snapping turtle, Atlantic puffin, bullfrog, white tailed deer, Eastern smooth
green snake, black moose, Atlantic salmon, river otter, peregrine, falcon,
humbackwell spotted salamander. The park is home to about three
hundred and sixty four types of birds, fifty five types

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of mammals, twenty six types of reptiles and amphibians, thirty
three types of fish. Our next book is titled Zion
National Park. It was published by Children's Press and Imprint
of Scholastic Incorporated as a copyright year of twenty eighteen

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and the author is Jody Shepherd's Welcome to Zion National Park.
Zion is in southern Utah. It was made a National
park in nineteen nineteen. People visit National Park sixth floor nature.
The word Zion means safe, peaceful place. The park is
filled with beautiful canyons, is home to incredible animals and plants.

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American Indians called this place moukin chew up that means
straight up canyon visitors to Zion stand at the bottom
of the canyon. They look up at the steep, orange
and red colored cliffs. The view is amazing. Chapter one,
Rock the Park. Zion did not always look this way.

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About two hundred and fifty million years ago, the area
was covered by a shallow sea. Over millions of years,
the sea became lakes. Then the area turned into desert.
Forces under the earth pushed up huge sandstone cliffs. The
land is still changing. Year after year, wind and water

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reshape the cliffs. If you take your car to the park,
you can drive right through the cliffs. Zion Mount Carmel
Tunnel opened in nineteen thirty. The tunnel was famous. It
was hard to dig a road through the rock. The
tunnel is about a mile long. It took three years
to build. There are six windows carved into the tunnel.

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They let in light and fresh air. They also lit
in amazing views. Just outside the tunnel, visitors pass checkerboard Mesa.
Many visitors stop their cars to get a good look
at this unique rock formation. Chapter two. Let it grow.
Some parts of Zion are high and others low, so

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there are many habitats. There are desert areas and woodlands
wetlands lining the river banks. Each habitat is home to
different types of trees and plants. These range from desert
cacti to the pine trees that grow in the park's
highest spots. The prickly pear cactus grows in the lower

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parts of the park. In Zion's famous hanging gardens, plants
seem to grow straight out of the rocks. The gardens
are home to many unique plants. They are also home
to the world's smallest snail. The Zion snail looks like
a tiny black spot on the rocky cliffs. This tiny

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creature can be found only in this park. Chapter three,
Watch Out for Water. Much of Zion is desert, but
water is still an important part of the park. Animals
need water to live. The Virgin River and smaller streams
that empty into it wind through the park. A trail
called the Narrows leads hikers along the river at the

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bottom of the canyon. Flash floods are a danger. They
happen when heavy rainfall causes the river's water level to
rise suddenly. The part of the park known as Collob
Canyons gets more rain than the rest of Zion. Spring
rains bring beautiful waterfalls to this quiet area. The skies

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over Zion are very dark at night. That makes the
stargazing out of this world. Chapter four Wonderful Wildlife. Sioning
is home to all kinds of animals. Some are in danger.
That means few are left. Desert bighorn sheep had disappeared
from Zion completely, then scientists brought some back to the park.

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Now there are more than four hundreds. Mule deer are
easy to spot in the park. They get their name
from their large mule like ears. Their sense of smell
is about one thousand times as good as a person's.
A mule baby deer or fawn has spotted coach for
the first few months of its life. Visitor is explore

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Zion National Park in lots of ways. They may ride
horses or bicycles. They may go rock climbing or hiking.
Anyway you choose. This park is always a wild adventure.
Here are just a few of the incredible animals that
make up their home in Zion. Red fox, Western rattlesnake,

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giant desert harry scorpion, mule deer, paragrine falcon, California condor,
Mexican spotted owl, horned leopard lizard, desert bighorned sheep, cane
and tree frog, mountain lion. The park is home to
about two hundred and ninety one types of birds, seventy

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eight types of mammals, forty four types of reptiles and amphibians,
and eight types of fish. Our next book is titled
Rocky Mountain National Park. It was published by Children's Press,
an imprint of Scholastic Incorporated. It's a copyright of twenty
eighteen and the author is Lisa M. Harrington. Welcome to

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Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky was made in National Park
in nineteen fifteen. People visit parks like this one to
explore nature. Rocky Mountain National Park is named for the
mountain range that runs through it. It is located in Colorado.
This park has it all. You may see, rugged cliffs

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and snow capped mountains that are evergreen, forest and clear lakes.
Many plants and animals live here too. Rocky spans four
hundred and fifteen square miles that is about six times
as large as Washington d c. Chapter one miighty mountains.
The park is part of the Rocky Mountains. This western

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mountain range runs all the way to Canada. Long ago
glaciers helped shape the park. As these huge pieces of
ice flowly melted, they left behind massive mountains. They also
carved out valleys between the mountains. Some of the highest
mountains in the United States are found in the park.
It has seventy eight peaks that are more than two

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miles high. Many are covered with snow year round. At
fourteen and fifty nine feet long, Peaks is the park's
tallest mountain. Chapter two, A Land of Extremes burr. The
top of the park is very cold and windy. You

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will find mountain tundra here, that is land where it
is too cold for trees to grow. Only small plants
and grasses grow. As you move down the mountain, the
landscape changes. Trees grow on the slopes below the tundra.
They include pine, aspen and blue spruce trees. Streams flow
over some mountain cliffs into wild waterfalls. There are also

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many lakes and rivers. Meadows fill the valleys at the
bottom of the slopes. Meatals are grassy fields, and spring
and summer they burst with colorful wild flowers. Hundreds of
types of flowering plants grow in the park. Chapter three
Amazing animals. When you visit the park, bring your binoculars.

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Is famous for its large animals, bighorn sheep cling to
Rocky ledges, elk, mule, deer, and moose grays in the valley.
About three hundred and fifty big horn sheep live in
the park. Many small animals are found here too. They
include chipmunks and furry squirrel like marmots. Beavers live near rivers.

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Eagles and falcons sore high above. More than one hundred
and forty kinds of beautiful butterflies flutter through the meadow.
Chapter four A park for all seasons. There are lots
of ways to see the park. One way is by car.
Trail Ridge Road rises into the tundra. No other continuous

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paved road in the US will take you as high.
You can explore on foot too. Some people climb the
tiring mountains, They hike through trails. Others fish, ride horses
and camp. In winter, the snowy slopes are busy. People ski,
sled and snowshoot. No matter the season, Rocky's majestic mountains

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have something for everyone. Here are just some of the
incredible animals that make their home in Rocky. Painted Lady butterfly, beaver,
burrell toad, big horn sheep, yellow bellied marmot, mountain lion, elk, pika, body, eagle, mule, deer, moose.

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The park is home to about two hundred and seventy
types of birds, sixty seven types of mammals, six types
of reptiles and amphibians, and eleven types of fish. The
next book I will read is on Spring and it's
titled Springs Sprung. It was published by Simon and Schuster

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Books for Young Readers, has a copyright year of two
thousand and two and the author is Lynn Plored. Mother
Earth rouses her daughter's March, April, and may you must
wake the world to start a new day. The spring
sister's grown don't even budge till Mother Earth ask, do

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you each need a nudge? No, no, no, they say,
so quick, we'll all be dressed in a flickity flick.
March stumbles and tumbles out of her bed, grabs any
old thing, pulls it over her head. April's more practical,
finds a one piece suit as long as it's warm,
Who cares if it's cute? Mace fussy yet fast, tries

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to match and mix. After a dozen tries. It's the violets.
She picks first, first first. Each sayest with pride, Mother,
I'm the fastest. The others lied, Mother, Mother, look I'm dressed.
Was I faster than all the rest? Mother Earth smiles

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at each of their styles. You are the fastest March
I ever did see, and the fastest April I have
ever did see, And the fastest May I ever did see.
M pooh dree. Each wants to be the fastest of
all the three. Mother Earth warns you're taking too long. Now,

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stop bickering and practice your song. March howls and growls
like a monsoon, then whips and puffs a quieter tune. Next,
April Psalm wets the ground as her tinkly sprinkly drizzles
dripped down. May practice the scales drill after drill, then
serenades all with a soprano trill, La la la. Each

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sings aloud into Mother's ears. Oh so proud, Mother, Mother,
do icing the best? Do I sing better than all
the rest? Mother Earth swoons at each of their tunes.
You are the best March singer I have ever did here,
and the best April singer I ever did here? And
the best May singer I ever did here umph pood dree.

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Each wants to be the best singer of all three.
The sister squabble like siblings. Do Mother loves me more
than she loves you? Does not? Does too loves me?
Not you sob sob boo who? Mother Earth shushes her
daughters March April and may stop this silliness, girls, just

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start the new day. The Spring Sisters burst into tears,
each hoding to hopes but fearing their fears. Me me, me,
tell me, I'm the one your favorite daughter under the sun.
Mother Mother, do you love me the best? Do you
love me better than all the rest? Mother Earth huddles
her girls in a cuddle. Now listen, March April, May,

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and remember what I say. A mother's heart is big
enough to grow and grow and stretch and stretch the truth.
I love you all the best. Hooray, whoopee wee. She
loves you and me. The Spring Sister smile with pride, shouting,
Wake up world, Skipping side by side, Spring sprung a

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new day's begun. After waking the world, Time to wake
one more girl, So March April and may simply say summer, Oh, summer,
Come out and play. Our next story is about light,
and the book is called light Waves. It was published
by Holiday House. It has a copyright year of twenty

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eighteen and the author is David A. Adler. We need
light to see, Plants need like to grow. Animals need
plants to eat. Since plants and animals are the food
we eat, we would have no food without light. Without light,
we just could not survive. We need light. But what
is it? You can see it, but you can't touch it.

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You can't hold it, carry it, taste it, or smell it.
Light is a form of energy. Energy is the ability
to do work. Energy comes from the sun and the
form of sunlight is transferred to the grass, then to
the cattle. From the cattle is transferred to the hot dogs.
From the hot dogs is transferred to us. You can't

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make energy, you can't destroy it. Energy can only be
transferred moved from one thing to another. For example, sunlight
is a form of energy. It helps grass grow. Cows
eat grass in the grass they eat helps them grow. Later,
meat from these cows is used to make hot dogs.
Even later, people get energy from eating those hot dogs.

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Much of our light comes from the sun light, from
the Sun, solar energy can be collected. It can be
used to power our machines and heat our homes. The
Sun is almost ninety three million miles or at one
hundred and fifty million kilometers from Earth. That's a long way.
Would take a car speining at sixty miles or about

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seventy ninety seven kilometers an hour more than one hundred
and seventy years to travel that far, But it takes
unlight just eight minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth.
Light travels at the tremendous speed of one hundred eighty
six thousand, two hundred eighty two miles per second or

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two hundred and ninety nine thousand, seven hundred ninety two
kilometers per second. That's fast. Nothing travels faster. When we
see light, we're seeing streams of light waves. These streams
are made of photons. Photons are tiny bits of light
that travel together in wavy streams of light. You can

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think of the waves as very long bands with crest
high points and valleys low points. Waves of light, with
their crest and valleys, travel in straight lines. Light waves
travel through air in straight lines, but you can bend light.

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Light won't travel at all through this book. It doesn't
travel through stone or wood. It won't travel through you. Stone, wood,
books and people are opeck. Light won't pass through them.
Opaque objects and light rays form shadows. Light does travel
through somethings. Of course, light travels through air. Light also

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travels through glass and clear plastic grap That's because air,
glass and clear plastic grap are transparent. Light doesn't travel
completely through wax paper, frosted glass, or honey. If you
look through a sheet of wax paper, whatever is on
the other side of the paper seems flurry. That's because
wax paper, frosted glass, and honey are translucent. Light waves

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bounce offt surfaces such as apples, the hoods of cars,
and large bodies of water. When light waves hit a
shiny and completely flat surface, the light waves bounce straight back.
Then you get a reflection of what is facing that shiny,
flat surface. A mirror is shiny and flat, reflects just
about all the light that hits it. The light bounces

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directly off the mirror, so you can get almost perfect
reflection of whatever is facing it. Imagine you're in a
playground and you throw a ball against the wall. The
ball bounces right back. That's what happens when you look
at a mirror, the light waves bounce right back. When
you look at a surface that's not as shiny and
flat as a mirror, the light rays don't bounce right back.

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They become somewhat scattered, so you don't get an exact reflection.
Get a large shiny metal soup spoon. It's shining like
a mirror, but it's not flat. Look at the back
of the spoon. You can see yourself, but it's not
exact reflect Reflection should be somewhat elongated. To understand why

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your reflection is elongated, imagine you are in a playground
with a huge half globe. If you throw the ball
against the top part of the globe, the ball bounces up.
If you throw the ball straight ahead, it bounces straight back.
Throw the ball against the bottom part of the globe,
the ball bounces down. That's what happens when you look
at the back of a spoon. The lightwaves do not

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all bounce straight back. Lightwaves bounce up off the top
of the spoon and down off the bottom. Look at
the inside shining bow of the spoon. The side of
the scoops up soup, your reflection is upside down. To
understand why your reflection is upside down, imagine you walk
behind the huge half globe in the playground and there's

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no back to it. It's a large concave shape. If
you throw the ball down against the bottom part of
the globe, the ball bounces up. When you look at
the front of the spoon, light waves that strike the
bottom of the spoon bounce up, and light waves that
strike the top of the spoon bounce down. Up goes down,
and down goes up. The reflection on a shiny concave

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shape is upside down. Pure light looks clear as if
it has no color. We call that white light. But
white light is not really colorless. It's made of spectrum
of colors. A prism, a triangular column of glass can
be used to split white light into seven colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,

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and violet. Light waves. Think again, of light waves as
wavy bands made up of tiny bits of light. These
bands of light have crest high points and valleys low points.
What makes the colors of the light waves different is
the distance each color has between its crest. With the
red waves, the distance between the crest is greatest. The

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distance is smallest with the violet waves. We see objects
because light waves are reflected off them, but not all
light waves are reflected. Some light waves are absorbed. When
an apple appears red, it's because red light waves are
reflected off the apple. The other colored waves are absorbed.
When a sheet of paper appears white, all the colors

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of the spectrum are reflected off the paper. When the
cover of your notebook appears black, none of the colors
of the spectrum are reflected. They all have been absorbed.
Light does more than illuminate our world. It colors it.
Light waves are just part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the

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visible part of waves of energy that pass through our world,
the visible spectrum. The distance between the crest of the
waves is greyst with red light, but there are light
waves with a slightly greater distance between crest, We just
cannot see them. Those are in frayred light waves sometimes
called hot light, and the visible spectrum. The distance between

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the crest of the waves is smallest with the violet light.
But there are light waves with a slightly shorter distance
between crest. We just cannot see them. Those are ultraviolet
light waves, a form of radiation that gives us sun tans.
In addition to ultraviolet and then fired waves that we

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cannot see, there are other waves of energy beyond the
visible spectrum, including microwaves, radio waves, X rays, and gamma rays.
They're certainly more to the form of energy we know
as light than simply flicking a switch and illuminating a
dark room. Light SNSED sustains our world. This concludes our

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story our for today. Please join us next time as
we will read more stories, fables and fairy tales. Thank
you for listening and please stay tuned for the Lex
and Hair Leader on RADIOI