In this narrated reading, Dave Edgren tells the children’s picture book Cuckoo Kookaburra by Greg Dreis. The story follows Kuku, a kookaburra who lives in the Dreamtime bush and is beloved for his kind, funny storytelling. When Kuku runs out of amusing antics from other animals, he begins to tease their differences, causing sadness among his friends. Uncle Guga Guga, Kuku’s elder, reminds him that “kindness is like a boomerang” and teaches him to listen twice as much as he speaks. After a period of loneliness and reflection, Kuku embraces the lesson, returns to kind storytelling, and his laughter once again fills the bush, illustrating the moral that kindness, when given freely, returns to the giver.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Dave Edgren, and I'm going to read you Cuckoo Kookaburra, written and illustrated by Greg Dreis. To my beautiful mother and my wonderful dad, this book is all about kindness, and you are the kindest people I know. Way back before once-upon-a-time time, there was the Dreamtime, and during this period there lived a kookaburra called Kuku. Kuku was a kind and happy fellow who loved to tell stories. He would sit in his favorite gum tree and wait for one of the animals to do something silly. When they did, Kuku would laugh and think of a good story to tell about what they had done. The bush creatures loved to gather for a song or a dance, but they enjoyed listening to Cuckoo's stories the most. He had a special way of turning someone's silliness into a funny story without being unkind. Sometimes Kuku searched for food to eat, but most of the time he was just on the lookout for his next big story. One day, Kuku could not find any of the bush creatures doing something silly. So he decided to make fun of their differences instead. Sadly, the kookaburra's teasing made the hearts of his friends sink lower than the belly of Mr. Naguri, the black snake. Before long, there were many sad creatures. Belay, the red-winged parrot, reminded Kuku that everyone liked him because he could tell a funny story in a kind way. His elder Uncle Guga Guga told him that kindness is like a boomerang. If you throw it often, it comes back often. But Cuckoo did not listen. He thought his stories were just as funny when he teased his friends. In his quest for laughter, Kuku hurt the feelings of the bush animals, and they stopped listening to him. The creatures who had once gathered like twinkling stars now looked as if the clouds had dragged their sorrows over the sky. Cuckoo's stories were no longer funny, but he still believed that he was the best storyteller in the bush. Uncle Guga Guga decided to teach Cuckoo the wise words that had been taught to him when he was young. You have two eyes. You have two ears. You only have one mouth. Look and listen twice as much as you speak. When Cuckoo flew off without taking the time to think about what he had been taught, Uncle Goo-Goo Gaga and Balay were sad. Cuckoo had become a show-off and had forgotten the difference between laughing with people and laughing at people. His friends hoped that one day his kindness would return like a boomerang. Cuckoo flew from tree to tree trying to gather an audience, but everyone ignored him. And he became very lonely. One day he listened to his own laughter echoing around the bush, and it was not a happy sound. Cuckoo stopped laughing, and then he heard the voice of Guga Guga. His uncle's wise words were floating on the breeze, and they were much louder than his own unhappy laughter had been. Everywhere Cuckoo flew, he could now hear the voice of Uncle Guga Guga saying, "Kindness is like a boomerang. If you throw it often, it comes back often." At last, Cuckoo knew what he had to do. From that day on, his laughter and funny stories once again filled the bush, and because Kuku was always kind, the other creatures returned his kindness by listening. Kuku's laughter is still heard today. Kuku kakakakaka! Kuku kakakakaka!
