Hi everyone, my name is Jill Twiss.
And today I'm gonna read my book, Everyone Gets A Say,
written by Jill Twiss and illustrated by Eg Keller.
Pudding was a quiet snail and did not like shouting.
So when he woke up to the sounds of bellows and honks,
he poked his head outside of his house.
Which was inside his other house.
Lately, it seemed like Pudding's friends couldn't agree on anything.
Today they were trying to decide what to plant in a sunny patch of land, and
it was not going well.
Whatever Toast the butterfly wanted, Jitterbug the chipmunk did not.
Did you know that butterflies drink nectar from flowers using their tongues like
straws, asked Toast.
We should plant flowers.
But but but, said Jitterbug, acorns grow into trees and
trees will give us even more acorns.
And whatever Duffles and Nudge the otters wanted,
Geezer the goose was absolutely against.
No plants, shouted Duffles.
Just mud, continued Nudge.
So we can slide big tummy-slides into the lake, they finished together.
Honk, honk, honk, bellowed Geezer.
I insist on vegetables and I do not care what anyone else has to say.
The yells got louder, and the shouts got shoutier.
Pudding had just begun to squish back into his shell when,
did you know that bees have queens?
Everyone got quiet.
What, what, what?
Asked Jitterbug.
A Queen Bee is someone who leads the bees, said Toast.
Whoa, said Jitterbug.
Do we need a someone to bring us together?
Yes, said Nudge.
A someone to be our voice.
When we all have different voices, finished Duffles.
Even Geezer gave a honk of approval.
The friends had finally found something they all agreed on until,
but but but, said Jitterbug.
How do we choose that someone?
Maybe the someone who is in charge, interrupted Nudge.
Should be that someone who is the tallest, finished Duffles.
What if we, started Pudding, but no one listened.
Wait, wait, wait, exclaimed Jitterbug.
Maybe the someone who is in charge should be the someone who is the fastest.
Huff, Puff, if you would just listen.
Honk honk honk, interrupted Geezer.
The someone who is in charge should be the someone who is the loudest.
HONK!
No, the twinsiest.
Floatiest.
Oldest.
Fluffiest.
No matter how hard he tried, Pudding couldn't get anyone to listen to him.
The flittiest.
The busiest.
The squishiest.
The slipperiest.
The grouchiest.
Wait, wait, wait, spluttered Jitterbug.
Where is Pudding?
The friends looked everywhere they could think of.
[MUSIC]
No Pudding.
Then they heard a tiny squish.
Look, look, look, shouted Jitterbug.
What does that mean?
Everyone gets a say.
That means that you say who you want to be in charge, said Pudding.
And then I say who I want to be in charge.
And Duffels, and Nudge, and Geezer, and Toast say who they want to be in charge.
Woah, said Jitterbug.
That is a lot, lot, lot of saying.
And if after everyone gets their say we count, and
whichever someone most of us wants to be in charge, added Pudding, is in charge.
Honk honk honk!
What about the loudest someone, squawked Geezer.
Even louder than usual, but Pudding wasn't finished.
When everyone gets a say,
the very quietest someone gets the same say as the very loudest someone.
The very tiniest someone gets the same say as the very biggest someone.
Pudding stretched up a little taller as
he realized that everyone was listening to him now.
It's called voting, said Pudding.
Voting is how you have a say even when no one will listen to you.
We think it's, said Duffles.
A great idea, finished Nudge.
Honk honk honk, said Geezer.
Let's all have our say.
And they did.
[MUSIC]
We believe having our say, began Nudge.
Is of utter most important, finished Duffles.
Honk honk, vote, said Geezer.
Hello, hello, hello, I have a very important announcement to make,
said Jitterbug.
The friends of the forest have had their say, and
the someone who shall be in charge is Pudding the Snail!
Pudding was very surprised.
He squished forward and spoke quietly.
This time everyone was listening.
Fellow someones, I promise to listen to every single one of your voices.
Because it doesn't matter if you're the tallest or
the shortest or the squishiest or the fluffiest or
even the quietest, in our forest, every someone has a say.
[MUSIC]
Thank you so much for reading with me.
Again, this was Everyone Gets A Say and my name is Jill Twiss.
Goodbye.
[MUSIC]