3 minute read
KNOCK! knock!
“Bonjour! Comment ça va?”
The bedroom door flies open and in run Valentina and Laika! Laika heads straight for André. The Little Astronaut is happy to see his best friend and her dog. He gives them both a big hug.
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“Scarlett, did you hear Valentina?” André asks.
“She said in English “Hello! How are you?”
“Bonjour, hola, hallå, privjet... they all mean ‘Hello!’,” says Valentina.
“Hola Scarlett!”
“I have something fun for you!”
Valentina says, opening up her rucksack.
“TADAAA!”
She takes out a long piece of bunting, with lots of flags for different countries from all over the world.
“Scarlett, shall we see if we know which countries five of the flags belong to?”
Valentina asks, smiling.
“Astronauts are from different countries,” says André. “They learn to speak a different language so they can talk to each other.”
“I’d like to be able to do that, too,” says Scarlett.
“French, Spanish, maybe even Chinese...”
“One of the most important astronaut tasks is doing experiments,” says André. “Everything floats, so you can research different things in space than you can on Earth.”
André slides something big away from the window.
“Look,” he says. “This is a glove box!
It’s the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.”
Scarlett presses her nose against the box glass. There are two gloves sticking into it.
“Astronauts often use this,” Valentina says, laughing.
“Stick your hands in!”
Scarlett giggles. “It feels a bit funny.”
“It takes a little getting used to,” says André.
“But it’s a crucial bit of kit in space.
Imagine accidentally spilling a dangerous substance. This box ensures that it won’t float away into the space station!”
“Come on, let’s do an experiment” Valentina says. She walks over to the door.
“Could you put a towel down on the floor, Scarlett?”
“I’ll be right back!” she says. “You’ll love this...”
André laughs. He should have expected this! Valentina loves experiments.
Valentina sets down a bucket, which contains a layer of water.
“What will happen if I hold this bucket upside down?” she asks Scarlett.
“The water will fall out,” says Scarlett. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, watch what happens if I swing the bucket around.”
The bucket swings around and around, without a single drop falling out. “See that?” Valentina asks. “The water floats along with the bucket.” “This is exactly what happens when a space station orbits the Earth,” says André. “As long as the space station turns at a high enough speed, the astronaut floats along with the space station!”
“Exactly!” Valentina calls out.
“And if you stop swinging the bucket around...” Valentina holds the bucket over her head.
The water drips off her hair and into her face.
Valentina laughs and laughs. André laughs too, and winks at his cousin. “Typical Valentina,” he grins.
“Tonight is a special night,” André says to his cousin.
“As soon as it gets dark, we’ll go outside.”
“But first, we have a surprise for you,” Valentina says to Scarlett, with a mysterious look on her face.
André opens his closet and takes out some space suits. Scarlett jumps up. “Wow! Can I really wear one?”
André laughs. “Of course!” he says.
“Come on, we’ll help you put your space suit on.”
The Little Astronauts climb the hill in the dark. Scarlett takes big steps in her space suit. The helmet takes some getting used to. Where are they going? It’s all so exciting!
André stops. “We’re here,” he says. “Just look up!”
There are countless stars shining bright in the dark night sky.
“Wow, it’s beautiful...” Scarlett whispers. She holds Ham tightly in her arms. André nudges his cousin gently and points. “Look, there’s the moon. And that red dot over there... that’s Mars. And Jupiter is somewhere over there...”
“When you’re standing on this hill, you can see a great distance,” André continues. “It makes the Earth seem very big. But when you’re flying through space, Earth is just a little globe. Just like the planets we’re seeing now.”
Scarlett can’t quite believe her eyes. “So this is what Earth looks like to astronauts from their rocket... like a little globe floating in space?”
André nods. “Earth is kind of like a spaceship floating through space. A spaceship on which all people, animals and plants live together. That’s why we have to work together and make sure we share everything with each other...”
Valentina looks at Scarlett. “Do you know what that means?” she asks.
There’s a moment of silence.
“That we’re all astronauts,” Scarlett says proudly.
“Astronauts from Spaceship Earth!”
This book is printed on special paper that is made of elephant grass. It is better for the environment. Elephant grass can absorb up to four times as much CO2 as a regular forest. This plant grows often on undeveloped land and doesn’t need extra water nor pesticides, keeping our planet healthy and happy.
Vibers bv, Rotterdam- www.vibersinside.com
Ø 20 mm voor bv drukwerk
Ptn. 368
© 2023 A YourSurprise publication in collaboration with André Kuipers and SpacePlays BV
Text: André & Helen Kuipers
Illustrations: Paco Vink / pacovink.nl
Design: Mandy Emmen / mandyemmen.nl
Author’s photo: Nico Kroon
© 20231 SpaceEgg BV www.little-astronauts.com www.andrekuipers.com
Order: www.yoursurprise.com
Print: ARSprintmedia
We would like to inspire as many children as possible with adventurous stories about the universe and our beautiful but fragile planet. If you would like to share parts of this book “How Scarlett becomes an astronaut” with others, we encourage you to do this but please mention the source. The content of this book is of course protected by copyright.
