Henry's Hand, by Ross MacDonald, is a wonderfully imaginative kid's book read aloud for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school ages (and adults still young at heart), about friendship.
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Parents and teachers, join me here at The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for daily read alouds in the classroom, at bedtime, or anytime!
Follow The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for a classic children's library.
#kidsbooksreadaloud #readaloud #readaloudbooksforchildren
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LearningTranscript
00:00Henry's Hand by Ross Macdonald
00:29Some of us start out whole and stay that way.
00:38Some need a spare part or two.
00:41Henry, he was a bits and pieces kind of guy.
00:48Every once in a while, one of his bits would go astray.
00:52One morning, he left one of his pieces in the bed, which made for a very awkward day.
01:01And once, one of his eyes rolled under the couch and wouldn't come out until bedtime.
01:07Come on, cut it out!
01:09This isn't funny anymore!
01:16So Henry made up a little rhyme to help him take inventory every morning.
01:21One eye and another, one ear and his brother.
01:25One mouth, one big nose, two feet with ten toes.
01:30Two elbows, two knees, skin smooth as cream cheese.
01:38A head with hair and a brain in there, some organs and glands, two very nice hands.
01:49Of all his parts, Henry's right hand was his favorite.
01:53Henry and Hand did everything together and went everywhere together.
02:02They especially loved the springtime, when it started to warm up, leaves began to bloom
02:07and the birds got busy.
02:13But sometimes, when Henry was feeling lazy, he would get Hand to do things he really should
02:19have been doing himself.
02:21It's not that easy for a little Hand to scrabble all the way down the driveway to fetch the
02:25newspaper every morning, or start the car when it's cold outside.
02:34Henry was doing less and less, and Hand more and more.
02:39And before long, Hand started to get more and more annoyed.
02:43Hey, Hand, change the channel!
02:46Yes, your majesty.
02:52So one night at bedtime, when Henry sent Hand to fetch his toothbrush, Hand just took off.
03:03Henry didn't notice until early the next morning.
03:07One very nice, hey!
03:10When Hand didn't come back with the newspaper, Henry knew right away that something was up.
03:16Henry looked everywhere for Hand.
03:18At first, he needed him.
03:21Then he started to miss his friend.
03:23Perhaps he was lost, Henry wondered, or maybe even hurt.
03:32After a while, Henry realized that Hand wasn't coming back, and it was all his fault.
03:40Meanwhile, Hand headed off for the city, leaving Henry to take care of himself.
03:48Hand hitched a ride on the back of a turnip truck.
03:55And by noon, he was right in the heart of downtown.
03:59The lights, the noise, the bustle and hubbub, it was all so new and exciting to Hand.
04:07He'd never felt more alive.
04:13But by dinnertime, he was cold, tired, hungry, lonely, dirty, scared, and ready to go home.
04:25And that's when it happened.
04:33Extra!
04:34Hero!
04:35Homeless Hand Saves Wealthy Socialite!
04:42Hand later said it was one of those right-place-right-time kind of things.
04:47Anyone would have done what he did.
04:49But the papers didn't see it that way.
04:55It didn't take long before Hand landed in the lap of luxury.
04:59No more dirty country shack, Hand now lived in a big house in the best part of town.
05:05He no longer had to wait on Henry hand and foot.
05:08In fact, the house was chock-a-block with butlers and cooks and maids who all waited
05:13on him.
05:18He even had a room full of assistants to answer all the fan mail he had started getting.
05:24And didn't have to lift a finger.
05:30But Hand soon found himself with nothing to do.
05:34Every last thing was already being done by someone else.
05:37Oh, sure, they'd give him little chores to help, but he could tell that they didn't really
05:43need a hand with anything.
05:49So in a busy house filled with busy people in the middle of a busy city, Hand felt all
05:56alone.
06:00One day, Hand spotted a bedraggled little tree on the corner with new buds turning green
06:06on the ends of its branches.
06:08It must be spring, he realized.
06:14A small blue bird was trying to build a nest, but every time a big truck drove by, the wind
06:20would blow the nest apart.
06:22The poor bird kept trying over and over, but she was getting nowhere.
06:28Hand wanted to help, but he just didn't feel like himself somehow.
06:36His secretary was talking to him, but he hardly heard her.
06:40Sir, we've finished answering all of your fan mail except for this one.
06:45There's no return address.
06:48Meanwhile, Henry had his good days and his bad days, and he did his best to keep himself
06:56busy.
06:57It wasn't easy.
06:58Spring was coming and there was a lot of work to do.
07:01He had to tend his garden.
07:08The roof needed patching.
07:10It was time to shake out the rugs and clean the house.
07:13And there was always so much paperwork to do.
07:21One day, Henry was making breakfast when he heard a knock at the door.
07:25At first, he didn't know what that noise was because he never got any visitors.
07:34But he soon figured it out.
07:36I got your letter.
07:39Oh, no!
07:43I came as soon as I could.
07:46Okay.
07:47Is that breakfast I smell?
07:50Oh, no!
07:54Could you use a hand?
07:56I sure could.
07:58And that was that.
08:03That's just how it is with old friends.
08:06You pick up where you left off and don't need to say much.
08:10A word here and there speaks volumes.
08:13More lemonade, Hand?
08:15You bet.
08:16Best I've had in a long time.
08:22Spring arrived.
08:23It started to warm up.
08:25Leaves began to bloom and the birds got busy.
08:28So Henry and Hand took a walk to their favorite tree.
08:31Oh, I almost forgot.
08:34I invited someone to come and stay.
08:40I gave your letter to her for the nest.
08:42I hope you don't mind.
08:47Not at all.
08:51The letter said, I'm sorry.
08:59I hope you enjoyed that story.
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09:09Thank you so much for watching.