01x08 - Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Hi.

Oh, hi, there.

This is


It's just the place--

Excuse me.

It's just the place
I was--

Watch your step.

Just the place
I was looking for.

Boy, it's hard to move.

It's hard to watch
all your favorite things

Disappear into a moving van.

But they'll show up again soon,
safe and sound,

In your new room.

Everybody who's ever moved

Knows that jittery feeling
you get right here,

The feeling that you can't wait
to get started

And that you're not
quite ready to leave.

You've probably had
the same feeling

When moving on
to a new classroom and teacher

Or saying good-bye
to an old friend.

This book, gila monsters
meet you at the airport,

Tells the story
of a little boy

Who lived in this building
and then moved.

So whether you're moving

Or just waiting to meet
the new kid on the block,

There's something here for you.

I live at 165 east 95th street
in new york city,

And I'm going to
stay here forever.

My mother and father
are moving out west.

They say I have to go, too.

They say I can't
stay here forever.

Out west,
nobody plays baseball

Because they're too busy
chasing buffalos.

[Children yelling]

There's cactus
everywhere you look,

But if you don't look,

You'll have to stand up
as soon as you sit down.

Out west, it takes 15 minutes
just to say hello, like this,

H - 0 - w - d - y,

P - a - r - t - n - e - r.

[Snore]

Out west, I'll look silly
all the time.

I'll have to wear chaps,
spurs, a bandanna,

And a hat so big that nobody
can find me underneath it.

[Laughter]

I'll have to ride a horse
to school every day.

I don't know how.

Out west, everybody grows up
to be a sheriff.

I want to be a subway driver.

[Neigh]

My best friend is seymour.

We like to eat
salami sandwiches together.

Out west, I probably
won't have any friends,

But if I do, they'll be named
"tex" or "slim."

We'll eat chili and beans

For breakfast
and lunch and dinner.

Will I miss
seymour and salami!

[Vroom]

I'm on my way out west.

It's cool in the airplane.

The desert is so hot,
you could collapse.

Then the buzzards
circle overhead.

No one rescues you

Because it's real life,
not the movies.

There are clouds
out the window.

No buzzards yet.

I'm looking at a map.

Before, whenever
I looked at a map,

My house was always
on the right.

Now I'm in the middle
of that map,

And I'm going left, left,
out west.

Seymour says
there are gila monsters

And horned toads out west.

I read it in a book,
so I know it's so,

But seymour says
they meet you at the airport.

We're here, out west.

I don't think I see any
gila monsters or horned toads

At the airport.

Cactus airlines flight 9
departing for back east.

I see a boy in a cowboy hat.
He looks like seymour.

His name is tex.

"I'm moving east," he says.

"Great," I say.

He says,
"what's great about it?

"The streets
are full of gangsters.

"They wear flowers
in their lapels.

"They zoom around in big cars
with screeching brakes.

"You have to jump
out of their way.

"In the east,
it snows all the time,

"Except for five minutes
when it's spring and summer.

"You have to live
on the 50th floor.

"Airplanes fly
through your bedroom.

"You've got to duck fast.

"They ran out of extra space
in the east.

"It's so crowded,

"People sit on top of each other
when they ride to work.

"Alligators live in the sewers.

I read it in a book,
so I know it's so."

Then the parents of the boy
who looks like seymour

Grabbed his hand
and he goes off.

"Sometimes, the alligators
get out!" He yells.

"They wait for you
at the airport!"

It's warm,
but there's a breeze.

We're in a taxi,
riding to our new house.

No horses yet.

I don't see
any buffalo stampedes, either.

I see a restaurant

Like the one
in my old neighborhood.

[cr*ck]

It's a home run!

I see some kids
playing baseball.

I see a horse.

That's a great-looking horse.

I'm going to ask
my mother and father

For one like it.

Here's our house.

Some kids are riding their bikes
in front of it.

Tomorrow, I'm writing
a long letter to seymour.

I'll tell him I'm sending it
by pony express.

Seymour will believe me.

Back east, they don't know much
about us westerners.

Back east, they don't know much
about us westerners.

I wouldn't be too sure
about that.

No alligators in these sewers.

No airplane's ever flown
through my bedroom window.

You can't believe
everything you read,

Even if it's in a good book.

Earlier, I talked about

That funny feeling
we sometimes get.

It's happened to me lots.

I remember
the first day of school

In the second grade.

To help us find our seats,

The teacher put name tags
on our desks.

I couldn't find my desk.

Everybody in the classroom
had a seat but me.

The teacher took me
to another classroom.

There was my desk
with my name on it.

I felt better knowing
I was where I belonged.

Let's walk in the park.

Even if gila monsters

Didn't meet our friend
at the airport,

I wonder
if he's seen any yet.

I've never met
a gila monster before.

Do you know what
a gila monster is?

A gila monster?

It sounds pretty
weird to me.

Brown and furry.

Yellow teeth.

Big sharp claws.

If you get near him,
he'll go, "queek!"

It's got cat's ears

With a nose
with whiskers

And scales
down the back.

He's friendly.
He lives in the water.

Uh-huh, the water.

A gila monster
is a dragon.

He's big and ugly...
Stinks.

And fat, too.

One of the best ways

To find out
what a gila monster is

Is to go out west
and see one.

This map should help
get us going.

Gila monsters
really aren't as big

As people think they are.

They're only about


Hi. I'm lauren ketner.

I'm a biologist with the arizona
game and fish department.

The gila monster
really isn't a monster at all,

Although it is larger than most
of the lizards in the desert.

It's well adapted
for the desert.

Its skin is hard, beady,
and really tough.

If he would
stick out his tongue,

You'd see that
his tongue is forked.

That helps him taste the air.

The scales on his belly
are a lot different.

They're real smooth.

They're square-shaped.

You can see his claws here.

He's got fingernails.

They look like
a cat's fingernails.

He uses these for digging,

Either digging up eggs
in nests

Or digging the dirt
out of a burrow.

His tail is long, blunted,
and thick.

When he eats,
he stores fat in here.

He can use up this energy
in his tail.

Let's see
what this guy looks like

Walking along the ground.

We must be careful.

If he finds an animal burrow,

He can disappear
down the hole.

He's a protected animal
in the state of arizona.

Not many people
know much about them.

You don't see them often.

He got his name,
gila monster,

Because early explorers
found him

While they traveled
along the gila river.

There are many myths
about this animal.

People thought
it had poisonous breath

And that you'd die
when it breathed on you.

When he walks, he holds his body
above ground.

The ground gets too hot
during the summer months.

He must keep his body
above it.

Here's a burrow entrance
the gila monster might use.

He'll use his claws
to dig out the dirt

So he can fit under there.

He'll escape the heat
that way.

Usually they're found under
creosote bushes like this.

The creosote bush

Has a thick resin coating
on its leaves

So it doesn't
lose much water.

This cactus behind me
is a saguaro cactus.

It's been in
many movies and books.

How big do you
really think it is?

Watch this.

Wow! Can you believe
how tall this is?

It must be
over 20 feet high.

The saguaro cactus

Is one of the tallest,
oldest cacti

In the arizona desert.

This one is about


Its skin is tough.

Thick skin protects the cactus
from the heat of the day.

It has spines, which are
actually modified leaves.

These are sharp and pointed.

Many people
have the misconception

That the desert is dry
with no water.

Actually, rivers bring water
down from the mountains.

There are
two rivers nearby.

Let's see
where they meet.

Here we are
at the river.

There's more water here
than in the desert.

The salt river
comes from the mountains

And flows west
through the desert.

The verde river
comes down from the north

And meets the salt
right here.

You can see
the mesquite trees.

There's mesquite
and salt cedar.

This is actually
from africa.

It's got
a feathery appearance.

These are totally different
from the desert plants.

These plants need
a lot of water.

That's why they're
so close to the water.

These rocks
that we're walking on,

Some times of the year
they are under water.

After the winter rains,
the water can be

Up to those arrow-weeds
across the bank.

There's a great blue heron.

Early in the morning,

You can hear
different shore birds

And wading birds here.

Also, a lot of animals
come down to drink.

You might see coyote,
deer, raccoon, or skunk.

Let's see if we can find
some of their tracks.

Here are the tracks.

They show up good
in the mud.

That's the great blue heron
we saw earlier.

There's also coyote paw prints,
like dog prints.

Oh, wow, look
at the skunk tracks!

Picture a skunk
coming out of the bushes,

Pawing at the water
to get a drink,

Then running back in
under cover.

There's also
raccoon tracks.

He would come out
at night,

When it's quiet.

It's been fun
showing you

The desert
and the river.

I hope you've
enjoyed yourselves.

When I came here
from back east

A few years ago,

The desert seemed strange.

But I've
adapted to it,

Just like
the wildlife has.

It's great out here.

Maybe if
you ever come out,

You can get
a look for yourself.

♪ I used to think
that way out west ♪

♪ Everyone
was strangely dressed ♪

♪ And chili beans
for breakfast ♪

♪ Was what they liked
the best ♪

♪ Now I've got it
straightened out ♪

♪ I know what things
are all about ♪

♪ I've been out west
and now I see ♪

♪ The people there
are just like me ♪

♪ I thought the desert
was a place ♪

♪ Full of sand
and empty space ♪

♪ Where nothing grows ♪

♪ And if you go ♪

♪ You're lost
without a trace ♪

♪ Now I've got it
straightened out ♪

♪ I know what things
are all about ♪

♪ I've seen the desert ♪

♪ And I can say ♪

♪ I recommend
you go someday ♪

♪ I thought that there
could never be ♪

♪ A better place
to live for me ♪

♪ 'Cause everything
was just the way ♪

♪ I wanted it to be ♪

♪ Now I've got it
straightened out ♪

♪ I know what things
are all about ♪

♪ Moving isn't
such a crime ♪

♪ Some folks do it
all the time ♪♪

♪ Don't need a suitcase ♪

♪ Don't have to pack ♪

♪ I've got my house ♪

♪ Right here on my back ♪

♪ It doesn't matter ♪

♪ How far I roam ♪

♪ Wherever I go ♪

♪ I'm always home ♪

♪ Moving on ♪

♪ Moving slow ♪

♪ Turtles go ♪

♪ Just where
they want to go ♪

♪ Whenever I get
tired of the view ♪

♪ I pick up my house ♪

♪ And go some place new ♪

♪ It doesn't matter ♪

♪ How far I roam ♪

♪ Wherever I go ♪

♪ I'm aays home ♪

♪ I'm always home ♪♪

"Tomorrow, I'm writing
a letter to seymour."

Sound familiar?
Come on.

"Seymour
will believe me.

"Back east, they
don't know much

About
us westerners."

Hi, levar!

Hi, everybody.

Let's talk
about the book.

Did you like it?

Yes.
Yes.

Did you ever move?

Yes.
Yes.

Where
did you move?

Well, to schools.

I was in this school
a long time,

Three years.

I had to move
to another school,

And it was hard.

What was hard
about it?

I had
a nice teacher
and good friends.

It was hard
leaving them.

How do you
feel now?

Better.

Alison, you told me
you've moved.

What was it like?

Boring.

Was it also
exciting?

Wasn't there
new stuff to do?

It's not fun.

You have to pack
and unpack.

You leave
your friends behind.

Who's gone
on a vacation?

Have you had
a special feeling

Right before
you leave the house?

Before my mother
even told me,

I thought I wouldn't go
with any friends.

And then
what happened?

Well, I asked her

If any of my friends
were coming,

And then she said yes,
so I kind of felt better.

Do you remember
the first time

You went to, maybe,
a different school

For a lesson?

How did you feel?

You walked
into the room,

And everybody
was new to you.

What did you do?

The teacher asks you

To sit
with the other kids
and make something.

They show you
how to do stuff

And smile at you.

That's the way
you can make friends.

We have
some paper, crayons,

And magic markers
over here.

How would you like
to draw dreams you've had

Or anything
you want to draw?

Would you like that?

Yeah!

If you liked gila monsters
meet you at the airport,

You might enjoy these.

Hello.
My name is stephanie.

I read the book named
mitchell is moving.

It's about two dinosaurs
named mitchell and margo.

Mitchell decides to move,

But margo doesn't
want mitchell to move

Because
they're best friends.

I thought the pictures
and drawings were very funny.

My favorite part
of the book

Was when margo said
she'd tie him

With a rubber band
around his house.

Kids out there,
I'm not trying to con you.

It's really and truly
a good book.

You'll enjoy it.

Hi.
I'm percy jones.

I read the book
called peter's chair.

Peter is losing
his baby things

To his new sister.

He couldn't stand
seeing his highchair
being painted pink,

So he took his chair
and ran.

My favorite thing
was the illustrations

Because it captured
peter's feelings and emotions

For this blue chair.

This book
helps you understand

That you
have to make way

For newcomers
into your families.

Hello. I'm africa.

I just read
a terrific book.

It's called
the big hello.

It's about a girl

Moving across country
to california.

She don't want to move.

She's afraid she won't
have any friends.

She only has her mother,
father, and a doll.

Most kids like happy books
with happy endings.

This book has
a real happy ending.

That's why
you'll like it.

Here's one of my favorite
new york places.

New york isn't
all crowded streets.

There are lots of places
just like this.

Moving and changing
can be a little frightening,

But taking new steps

Can also be full
of wonderful surprises.

It's hard to leave
what you know,

But it's exciting
to head for something new.

You're moving on
all the time,

Growing up, learning more,
trying something new.

For some people, moving on
means really moving,

North, south,
east, out west,

Or to the west side.

For other people, moving on
means climbing a mountain,

Changing schools,
making friends,

Picking up a book.

Brought my own today!

See you next time!