Time Zones

Look. The big, bright sun is playing a game of peek-a-boo with the world. It peeks out from behind the clouds to say, 'Good morning.'. A little girl wakes up and eats her yummy breakfast in the warm sunshine. But wait. Far, far away, across the big blue ocean, another little boy is snuggling into his cozy bed. He sees the sparkly moon and twinkling stars outside his window. How can it be sunny for one friend and starry for another? It's a sleepy, sunny mystery. This is the story of something special called Time Zones.

A long, long time ago, there was a big time tangle. Every little town had its own special clock. One town's clock said it was lunchtime, but the next town's clock said it was still time for morning play. This was very confusing for the big, fast choo-choo trains. 'Toot, toot. Are we late? Toot, toot. Are we early?' the trains would wonder. They didn't know when to leave the station. So, a very smart man named Sir Sandford Fleming had a super idea. He and other smart people drew pretend lines on the big, round globe, just like slices of a yummy orange. These lines made special areas called Time Zones, and they helped all the clocks agree.

Now, Time Zones have a very important job. They are like a big world clock for everyone. They help you know what time it is all over our big, wonderful world. Because of Time Zones, you can wave hello to family on a video call, even if they live where the moon is shining. You can talk about your sunny day while they talk about their starry night. Time Zones help friends who live far apart know when to watch the same special cartoon together. They help the whole big world feel a little bit closer, sharing the sunshine and the stars, all day and all night.