Siberia

Imagine a big, sleepy land. When winter comes, I pull up a sparkly white blanket of snow that crunches under your boots. In the summer, my forests turn bright green, and sleepy bears yawn in the warm sunshine. My rivers sparkle like shiny ribbons twisting through the trees. I am a very big, quiet, and wonderful land. I am Siberia!

For a very, very long time, I have been a home for people and amazing animals. A long, long time ago, around the year 1582, a brave man named Yermak came on a big adventure to visit me. He wanted to see my wide-open spaces and learn my secrets. I have special animal friends who live here, too. The big, stripey Siberian tiger pads softly through my trees, and fuzzy reindeer with big antlers love to munch on yummy moss. They are all my friends, and I love having them here.

Today, I am still a place for big adventures. I have a giant lake that is so clear and blue, it looks like a big eye looking up at the sky. It is called Lake Baikal. People who explore my cold places sometimes find amazing secrets from long ago. They find big, fuzzy animals called woolly mammoths, who have been sleeping in the ice for a very long time! I am a quiet, beautiful land full of wonderful stories, always waiting for new friends to learn about me.