Animated Read Aloud Kids Book: Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt | Vooks Narrated Storybooks

Up in the garden and down in the dirt. Up in the garden I stand and plan. My hands full of seeds and my head full of dreams. Spring sun shines down to melt the sleepy snow. Wind whistles through last year's plants. And mud sucks at my rain boots. It's not quite time, Nana says. Down in the dirt, things need to dry out and warm up. What's down there? I ask. Down in the dirt is a whole busy world of earthworms and insects digging and building and stirring up soil. They're already working down in the dirt. In the garden, we snap brittle stalks, scoop rusty arm folds, and wheel away weeds for the chickens. While they squabble and scratch, we spread compost over the soil. Down in the dirt, pill bugs chew through last year's leaves. I give a gentle poke. They roll up tight and hide in plated suits of armor, roly-poly round. Up in the garden, it's time to plant. I trail a furrow with my finger and sprinkle seeds in a careful row. Give them a drink, Nana says. We pat them down to snuggle in the dark. Down in the dirt, a tomato hornworm rests, waiting for wings and the leaves where she'll lay her eggs. Up in the garden, carrot plants sprout. Pea blossoms bloom, wasps are on the prowl, and honeybees visit, legs loaded with pollen. In wilting sun so strong, even Nana looks for shade. Down in the dirt, earthworms tunnel deep. I'm jealous of their cool, damp, dark. Up in the garden, rain shower! Nana turns the hose on me. I hide behind the cucumber vines, but their leaves can't save me. I shiver and laugh, drenched in Nana's rain. Down in the dirt, water soaks deep. Roots drink it in, and a long-legged spider stilt walks over the streams. Up in the garden, there's so much to eat. Ladybugs feast on aphids. Nana crunches green beans. I bite a ripe tomato, warm from the sun. Juice dribbles down my chin. Down in the dirt, a robin's beak finds a cricket, a beetle, a grub. Slugs are scrumptious, too. Up in the garden, we pick cukes and zucchini, harvesting into the dark. Bats swoop through the sunflowers, and I pluck June bugs from the basil until it's time for bed. Down in the dirt, skunks work the night shift. They snuffle and dig and gobble cutworms while I sleep. Up in the garden, a praying mantis wakes to hunt mosquitoes. Nana sprays away the aphids, and I'm after grasshoppers. Ready to swoosh, but... Snap! Someone else is faster. Down in the dirt, a smooth, shining garter snake crunches on supper. Up in the garden, the wind grows cool. Pumpkins blush orange, and sunflowers bow to September. Nana ties them together to build a house for reading. Down in the dirt, an orb weaver spins her web, strand by silken strand. She'll munch on moths tonight. Up in the garden, colored leaves litter the squash vines, and we know the cold is coming. Hurry, hurry, and harvest! There's enough for the neighbors, too. Down in the dirt, frantic ants gather what we leave behind. They're storing food for cooler days ahead. Up in the garden, frost draws lace on leftover leaves where secret egg sacks hang, waiting for the warm to return. We say goodbye and spread the winter blankets. Down in the dirt, beetles burrow. Ants scurry home. Earthworms curl tight in the dark. When Grandpa calls us in for soup, an autumn moon is rising. Up in the garden, dry cornstalks tremble, and the wind smells like winter. But the long, ripe days of summer still rest in the garden beds. The ladybugs and bumblebees, earthworms and ants are hunkered down, hiding, biding their time. Dreaming of sunshine and blossoms and sprouts. Under the bare arms of trees and the blanketing snow, a whole new garden sleeps. Down in the dirt. If you don't have books, what are you waiting for? It's a kid-safe, ad-free library full of storybooks that are brought to life. Ask your grown-up and start exploring more fun stories like these. Seriously, you have to check it out. Thanks for watching. For more stories, try the Books app for free today.