"Piet comes to a pond. He sees a big green frog.
"How do you cool down?" he asks the frog.
"Easy! Just jump into the water," croaks the frog.
"Ribbit!"
But Piet doesn't know how to swim. He watches
the frog splashing around for a bit. Then Piet
continues into the woods."
The day is 'sweltering' and Piet's long tail does nothing to help keep the sun's rays off his back. He takes notice of a his friend Peter who's eating ice cream. Piet is not a fan. As he travels deeper into the forest, he sees other animals who are also doing their best to escape the heat.
Wasps drink water and then spit in onto their nest; beetles hide under flowers; a frog cools off in a nearby pond; wild pigs use mud to keep them cool; rabbits burrow underground; a millipede and slugs find relief by hiding under leaves; and a salamander is sound asleep under a log. All of sudden, Piet notices that he is feeling much cooler. Looking up, he sees that he is shaded by a lovely old beech tree. It's a perfect place to spend the rest of his day.
While the storytelling text tells readers about Piet's search, accompanying facts are shared in a much smaller font that adds further learning.
"Did you know rabbits' ears help them keep cool when they
are not in their burrows! The fur on their ears is very thin,
so heat can escape."
As well as being interested in these additional facts, kids will be keen on the "Can you spot?' feature. It encourages them to look more closely at some of the complementary images Ms. Qiuqi has added to her lush and colorful forest setting.
A note from the authors (daughter and father) explains how other animals stay cool in intense heat. They finish be asking their readers to discuss the different ways they find to stay cool on a hot day.
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