Constellation

Have you ever looked up at the night sky. It is full of sparkly lights. Did you ever play connect-the-dots with them. I am a secret picture waiting for you to find me. Sometimes I look like a big, strong lion. Roar. Sometimes I am a fuzzy bear. Sometimes I am a big dipper you can pretend to scoop soup with. I am a Constellation. I have been twinkling up in the sky for a very, very long time. I love to shine for you.

Long, long, long ago, there were no storybooks like yours. People in faraway places like Mesopotamia and Greece would look up at me. This was thousands of years ago, way back around a time called 3000 BCE. They didn't just see dots. They saw pictures. They told amazing stories about heroes and magical animals they saw in my stars. I helped them too. I was like a big calendar in the sky. When they saw my friend Orion the Hunter, they knew it was getting cold outside. It was time to be warm and cozy. When other star pictures appeared, the farmers knew it was the right time to plant tiny seeds in the ground to grow yummy food.

I am also a map. Isn't that neat. Long ago, sailors on big boats were on the big, dark ocean. They looked up at me to find their way home safely. They would find me and know which way to steer their boat. Even today, you can look for me. You can find the bright North Star. It is part of a little bear I make in the sky. It always shows you which way is north. So next time it is dark, go outside and look up high. I will be there, twinkling just for you. You can connect my stars and make a brand new story. I am your picture in the sky.