Dave Edgren reads Adria Meserve's picture book about anteater brothers Conker and Nudge. The older brother teaches Nudge to juggle ants and swing on vines, but gets annoyed when he copies everything. When a jaguar threatens them, Nudge's quick thinking saves Conker, and the brothers finally understand each other.
Chapters
Hi, my name is Dave Edgren, and I'm going to read you Conker and Nudge by Adria Meserve. There once were two anteaters called Conker and Nudge. Conker was the big one with the long nose and the bushy tail. Nudge was his little brother. Nudge adored his big brother. He wanted to do everything Conker did. "I wanna juggle ants, build the tallest towers, and swing on vines," he told Conker. "Just like you." Sometimes Conker liked being a big brother and would help Nudge. "Look and learn," he he told him, "and one day you could be clever, strong, and brave like me." Sometimes Conker found his little brother very annoying. "Don't be such a silly snout," he said when he was showing Nudge how to swing through the trees, and Nudge still got things wrong. One day Conker was practicing his balancing act. Nudge wanted to balance too, but he kept getting in the way. "Watch out, clumsy claws!" Conker said. "You'll make me fall!" They ended up in a tangled heap on the ground. "Stop copying me!" shouted Conker. "Go away! I'm going to play with my friends!" "Let's go somewhere Nudge would be too scared to follow," said Conker to Capybara and Armadillo. "I know," he said. "Let's go on a giant ant hunt." "Can I come?" Nudge asked. "No, you're too small," Conker said. Conker and his friends skipped and hopped across a slippery log. They hacked their way through thick puckerbrush. They rafted down a raging river. And they jumped across a deep ravine. "We are clever, we are strong, and we are very brave!" Conker sang. They had just reached the most delicious-looking giant anthill when they heard a rustling sound. "Shh!" whispered Conker. "What's that?" "Look out!" cried Nudge. "Oh, it's only my annoying little brother," said Conker. "Go away!" But suddenly, "Roar!" A jaguar jumped out at them. Capybara fled down a hole in the ground. Armadillo curled up in a ball and hid in his armored shell. But Conker couldn't find anywhere to hide. "Oh no! My nose is too long and my tail is too big! I don't know what to do! Help!" At that moment, someone came swinging fast through the trees. It was Nudge! "Quick, Conker, jump on!" he shouted, and they swung to safety. "You are the bravest brother in the whole world!" said Conker, and gave Nudge a big hug. "How did you learn to swing on a vine like that?" "By copying you, like I always do," said Nudge. On the way home, Conker helped Nudge jump across the ravine and showed him how to hack through the puckerbrush with his tail. When Nudge was too tired to walk, Conker carried him home. Conker was proud to have such a clever, strong, and very brave little brother. And after that, Conker let Nudge join in when he played with his friends. Well, sometimes.
