17x05 - Work Song

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Good morning.

This is my local breakfast spot.

I like to grab a bite here
before going off to work.

So does everybody else.

Everyone knows that we need
to work in order to make money

To support ourselves.

But there are
other reasons, too.

Work allows us
to share our talents,

Gives us an opportunity
to contribute something
to the world.

Here's a book that
celebrates the talents of
the hard-working people

Who dedicate themselves
to their jobs every day.

It's called work song.

[Factory whistle blows]

[Machinery clatters]

It is keening noise

And jolting sights...

[Hammering]

And hammers flashing
in the light.

And houses up...

And trees in sun...

And trucks
on one more nighttime run.

It is fresh new food
to fill the plates

And flat, clean sidewalks
to try to skate.

And towering buildings
that were not there

Hanging suddenly in the air.

It is offices filled
with glowing screens...

And workers making
steel beams.

And ice cream cones
to lick and wear...

[Children giggle]

And all the pins
that hold your hair.

[Baby cries]

It's gentle arms
that lift and hold

And all the soldiers,
brave and bold.

And help to fit
the brand-new shoes.

Ooh!

And hands to show you
books to use.

It is people here

And people there

Making things
for all to share...

All the things
there are to be

And nearly all
there is to see.

And when the day
is paid and done

And all the errands
have been run...

It's mother, father
in a chair,

With tired eyes

And loosened hair...

Resting short

But loving long.

Resting...

For the next day's song.

No matter what kind
of work we do,

Our jobs are like
pieces of a puzzle

That fit together
to make up our world.

We need each other to keep
the wheels of the world turning




In fact, some people
are working hard at jobs

We can't live without.

[Siren]

Firefighters face danger
every day to keep
your neighborhood safe.

Burning cars are
extremely dangerous.

Tires, glass, and engine parts
can explode with the heat

And cause serious injury.

Never get near one.
That's a fireman's job.

Firefighters call
each other "brothers."

Their lives are
in each other's hands,

And that makes them
pretty close friends
with one another.

It's more than a sense
of being on a team.

It's like being
in a family.

While some work
to put out fires,

Others work to keep
the heat on.

Woman: I'm sheila hanes.
I'm a heating plant technician.

I work in the boiler room
for the housing project.

My job is to make sure
that the boilers are
in good working order

And that all the tenants
get the heat that they
are supposed to have,

And also hot water.

I love it.

I love it when I take
my little tweezers and I
take a little plug out

And I put it back together,
because I know if I don't
put this back exactly right,

It's going to mess up
the whole thing.

It will not run right.

I got the plug out.

Ok. You should
get heat now.

I like fixing things.
I like working on
pumps and motors.

I like taking the burner apart.
I like putting it back together.

This is what I like.

Come on, you guys.
It's time to go
to the doctor.

Girl: come on.

Come on.

Levar: after months
of waiting, kay estes is
ready to have her baby.

Dr. Luciani specializes
in delivering babies.

He will make sure
everything goes right

And be there
if anything goes wrong.

Since kay is
in her eighth month,

Dr. Luciani will
examine her one last time
before jessica is born.

Right now we have
the top of the uterus,

Which is the home
of the baby,

At 38 1/2 centimeters,
so that is perfect growth.

Levar: even though
jessica is still inside,

The family can actually hear
her heart b*ating.

We're going to
listen to the baby's
heartbeat this morning.

I'm going to
put a little jelly
on mom's belly.

This doesn't hurt mom,
and it doesn't hurt the baby.

It just makes listening
to the heartbeat a lot easier.

So we'll do that.

Let me get the machine

That we listen
to the heartbeat with.

[Heartbeat echoing
through machine]

The baby's heartbeat
is around 141, 143,

And that's a nice,
normal, average heartbeat.

So now we're going
to do the ultrasound
that we talked about.

Once again, we'll put
some jelly on mom's belly.

Levar:
during the ultrasound,

A special machine forms
a picture of the baby
growing inside.

Now we're going to see
the body of the baby.

This is the baby's body,
and if you look real carefully,

We can see the baby's
heart b*ating right here.

There it is!

Isn't that nice?
It should work out
very nicely.

We'll have a nice
healthy and happy baby.

Thanks, ken.

You're welcome.

When I was a kid, I wanted
to do lots of different
things when I grew up.

At first, I wanted to
join the army, like my father.

And then after a while,
I decided that I would
become a minister

Because I really
wanted to help people.

How about you?
Is there something
that you love to do now

That might become
a career later?

I want to be a scientist,
a violinist, a composer,

And that's basically it.

I want to be
an astronaut.

A lawyer.

I want to be
a policeman

When I grow up.

An artist.

I want to be an author
who writes funny stories.

I'm very organized,
so I could be
an office manager.

I want to act and sing.

♪ I believe I could fly ♪

I like babies, and I like
to play with my baby cousins,

And I want to be
a mother when I grow up.

I want to be in the circus
and to be on the trapeze.

I really care about people,
so when I grow up,

I might like to run
a homeless shelter.

We all dream about
the kinds of jobs
we think we'll do,

And sometimes,
that's where we end up.

But there are so many
to choose from.

Here's an ad
for engineers.

Here's one
for athletes.

And another
for stockbrokers.

Some of these jobs
are very familiar--

We see people do them
all the time--

But others are
a definite surprise.

People sometimes do
the most unusual things
for a living...

Like raising tiger cubs.

Woman: hi.
My name is mary fleming,

And these are my babies.

My job is to care for
these babies from the day
that they're born.

This is madras,
who's a two-month-old
white bengal tiger cub.

Right now, he weighs
about 15 pounds,

And when he's full-grown,
he'll weigh about 500 pounds.

Even though these cubs
are small and I treat
them like babies,

I always have to remember
that they are tigers.

[Cub growling]

The first thing the babies learn
is the word "no."

No. No!

No.

Good boy.
Good boy, good boy.

See? You have to
learn that, too.

When they put
their claws out,

We just kind of
pick up their paws
and tell them "no,"

And they automatically
retract their claws,

And eventually they learn
what we're talking about.

As soon as we say "no,"
they'll retract their claws.

Good girl.

Levar: for some people,
it's not what they do for work,

But where they do it.

Man: I'm bill riley.
I'm a structural specialist

On the george washington bridge.

My job here is to check
for cracks and heavy rust.

I inspect
from top to bottom,

Over, under, in-between.

Every place imaginable

Where people don't realize
that you have to look and
check, that's where we go.

To check the bolts and the
rivets, we use a lot of
sophisticated equipment,

Like this electronic
sound machine I'm using

To check for any cracks
in the bolts.

George is getting old,
and the older george gets,

The more we have to
watch george.

Levar: there is tremendous joy
in playing a musical instrument

And honor in making them.

Man: I'm kobla mesadente,
and I'm an african drum maker.

When I make a drum,
I feel very connected
to an ancient tradition,

A tradition that goes back
many, many centuries,

And when I carve a drum,
I feel I've become a part
of that tradition.

When I make a drum, I put
a lot of my own energy,
spirit, and soul into it,

So it's important to me
that the person who plays
the instrument understands

That this drum is something
that we both share.

I feel if you can
take something out
of a raw piece of wood

And create
an instrument out of it,
then you're making magic.

Levar: adele is the cook
here at the diner.

Do you see
how happy she is?

You can tell
she loves her job.

Cooking for people
makes her feel good,

And she enjoys
the creativity

Of inventing
new recipes every day.

Ahh!

[Sniffs]

Mmm! And we enjoy it, too.
Great work, adele!

You see,
when you love your work

And you put your heart into it,
an amazing thing happens:

You find that the more
you put into your work,

The more satisfying
it can be.

Man: the most important
thing when we're
working with anything

Is to really find
enjoyment in it

And to be able
to express yourself.

Woman:
I love mural painting

Because I really love to paint
with people all around

And all of us
working together.

And there's something
about that feeling
that is like no other.

Woman:
I love dog-walking.

I like running around with them.
I like squeezing them.

I wouldn't trade this job
for anything in the world.

Man: this job is the best.
It's the greatest.

The dealing with people--
really, dealing with people
is the best part of it.

I love it.

[Train whistle blows]

Woman:
I love being an engineer.

It's been a dream of mine
since I was a little kid.

Every time
I come to a crossing,

I blow the whistle,
just in case there might
be something approaching.

I love running
the coast starlight
right along the ocean.

It's a short run, but it's one
that I enjoy the most.

Levar: there are people
who prefer a blank page
to the open road.

Man: this is curtis wilkins.

Curtis is an 11-year-old
african-american youngster

Growing up in the inner city.

Nice kid.
Spunky, mischievous.

Curtis is me
when I was 11 years old.

My name is ray billingsley,

And I'm the creator
of a comic strip called curtis.

When I first started
drawing the strip,

I thought it was important

That curtis' appearance,
his features,

Really represent
the average black american.

He's got the broad nose,
he's got big hands, big feet,

He's got broad lips,
all of which he's
very proud to have.

Curtis is my best friend.

After I pencil in
the characters

And situations
they're involved in,

I like to go
directly to inking.

I like to use
a calligraphy pen.

Look how smooth that comes out.
That's cool.

Coloring--

Giving dimension to your
otherwise flat characters.

There's no greater job
in this world

Than being a cartoonist
and getting a chance

To have people share
your dreams with you.

Levar:
for the grucci family,

Working together
makes their lives brighter.

Man: learning how to
make fireworks doesn't
happen overnight.

It takes years and years
of experience.

I'm phil grucci.
I'm a fifth-generation
member of the grucci family,

And when we do large
fireworks programs,

We don't always
do it on land.

We bring them
out on barges.

The first job that we have to do
when we get onto the barge

Is put our pipes in.

Once we load our pipes
into the boxes,

We have to run a wire
to each one of the pipes.

That wire is going to be
connected to a firework.

This is one of the many
fireworks that we're
using on the barges.

This firework is made with
a cardboard, hand-rolled casing,

And the casing is filled with
small balls that we call stars.

The stars are the magic
of the fireworks.

The stars
are chemically made

To produce different colors
and different patterns.

One of the things that
I love so much about this job

Is being able to work
so closely with my family,

Being that we are
a family company,
a family business.

Donna, my aunt,
is the vice president
of fireworks by grucci.

Donna selects a lot of
the music that you might hear

When you see
our fireworks displays.

Donna: what makes this all
so much fun is the teamwork
that goes into it.

It's just such
a rewarding feeling

To see all of us work together
for so many hours

And to be able to
produce such beauty.

It's a very warm,
rewarding feeling.

All over the world,
right now, people
are hard at work,

Making our lives healthier,
easier, more meaningful.

And here are 3 book critics
who are also working hard

To review books
you might enjoy.

But you don't have to
take my word for it.

Hi, everybody! I'm eve, and if
you've always wanted to know

How people work all over
the world, I've got
the book for you.

It's called work,
by ann morris.

What makes this book
so special

Is that it's filled with
interesting photographs
instead of illustrations.

Each picture is from
a different country.

This student works in china,

And this mother
works in india.

In mexico, this man
washes the window.

People all over
the world work hard
to get the job done.

Here is someone working
with his muscles.

Work can make you
very tired,

But it makes you
feel really good, too!

When you read this book,

You'll find out that
working can be a lot of fun,

And so can reading
this book, work.

Hi. I'm demetris. I just read
a great series of books.

My favorite was I'm going to be
a police officer.

These books tell about
lots of jobs.

Being a farmer
looks like hard work.

A vet takes care
of animals.

And what would we do
without firefighters?

When I grow up, I want to be
a police officer,

Just like my aunt
and my grandfather.

This police officer
is writing a ticket.

This one finds a lost dog.

This is a really cool
job to have.

Vet, farmer, firefighter,
police officer.

What do you want to be
when you grow up?

Hi. I'm sean dalal, and I think
it's really important

To know what your job is
before you take it,

And that's
francisco's lesson

In this book called
a day's work.

It's a well-written story
about a boy named francisco

And his abuelo.

That's spanish for grandfather.

They are looking for
a day's work.

They meet ben,
who needs help.

Francisco says, "take us,
mr. Benjamin! Take us!"

Off in the truck they go.

When they get to the fields,
ben explains that they need
to pull all the weeds.

They work very hard,
pulling and cleaning.

When they're done,
they sit by the side
of the road and wait.

Oh, boy. The boss is not
happy when he returns.

Francisco and his grandfather
have pulled out all the flowers

And left the weeds!

Don't worry.
Everything works out in the end.

It won't take you a day
to read a day's work,

But if you do read it,
you'll feel you've learned
something special.

I think you should
go read it now.

Ken, can I get
my check?

Ken:
sure, levar.

One of the things
I love about my job

Is that it's
incredibly rewarding.

On reading rainbow,
I've learned to fly an airplane,

Scuba-dive,
dance the mambo.

I've had
amazing experiences.

But the thing
that I've treasured most

Are the wonderful people
I've worked with over the years.

When you're a fan
in a big-city stadium...

Thank you!
Ha ha ha!

There we go.
Thanks.

...how the ball travels.

This is a leopard shark!

Whoo!
Whoo!

This is my friend
susan dennis,

And she's going to be
my cave guide today.

This is thane maynard,
and some of his best
friends are insects.

This is lisa satchell.
She's a naturalist,

And she knows this seashore
inside and out.

This is najee,
a full-grown
bengal tiger.

Ohh!

I've never seen
anything like this.

This is fun.

So, curtis, being a chef
is really like being
a scientist, isn't it?

Oh, well, thank you!
I think so.

You've got to know how food
reacts to heat or to cold,

So it is like
being a scientist.

This is actually
going to be my body,
right, david?

That's right,
that's right.

From the looks of this,
I'm going to have to make
a couple of adjustments,

Like about
two inches' worth.

How are you
going to do that?

Oh, no!
I can't watch!

All right, all right.
Out of the way.

Just how dangerous
are these guys?

It just all depends
on the situation.
Out in the wild,

They're not as
dangerous as everybody
thinks they are,

But in a c*ptive
situation--say, in a zoo

Or a farm like this
or as a pet,

They can be
very dangerous.

I really need to get
back to work, levar.

You think you can
take care of him
for a minute for me?

Oh! Well,
uh...sure.

Bye-bye!

Uh...bye.

All:
ready, levar?

I'm...

Happy...

Because...

I'm learning...

So much...

Sign language.

Well, I'm off to work,

To do what I do best
and contribute my share
to the world.

And I'm proud to join the ranks
of people everywhere

Who do their jobs
with talent, dignity,

And an extraordinary
amount of dedication.

I'll see you next time.

♪ Butterfly
in the sky ♪

♪ I can go
twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow! ♪

Today's
reading rainbow books

Are work song,
by gary paulsen,

Illustrated
by ruth wright paulsen,

Published by
harcourt brace & company;

Work, by ann morris.

Published by lothrop,
lee & shepard books,

A division of
william morrow & company;

I'm going
to be a firefighter,

I'm going to be
a police officer,

By edith kunhardt,

Published
by cartwheel books,

An imprint
of scholastic press;

A day's work,
by eve bunting,

Illustrated by
ronald himler,

Published by clarion books,

An imprint of
the houghton mifflin company.