Junko Tabei Read by Kit DesLauriers

Rebel Girls

Stories For Kids, Education For Kids, Kids & Family

4.5 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2022

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

(This episode originally aired 3/10/20) Once upon a time there was a girl who climbed to the very top of the world. Her name was Junko Tabei. In fourth grade, her teacher Watanabe-Sensei takes her class on a trip to a mountain. It’s bigger than any Junko’s ever seen, and she’s determined to make it to the top. After the trip, Junko becomes a mountaineer in body and spirit. She climbs snowy mountains, rocky mountains, and even faraway mountains outside of her home country of Japan. She joins climbing clubs and befriends fellow climbers as passionate as she is. Then, Junko meets her biggest challenge yet: the tallest mountain in the world. About the Narrator: Kit DesLauriers is the first person to ski the Seven Summits and the first woman to ski Everest. She is a two-time World Freeskiing Women’s Champion, earned a 2015 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award, and was elected into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019. Credits: The episode was a production of Rebel Girls and Boom Integrated, a division of John Marshall Media. It was based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. Executive Producers were Elena Favilli and Joy Fowlkes. This episode was produced by John Marshall Cheary, Sarah Storm, and Robin Lai. This episode was written by Joy Fowlkes and edited by Pam Gruber. Maithy Vu proofread. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi who also sound designed this episode. Mattia Marcelli was the sound mixer. A big thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team who make this show possible. Stay Rebel!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Once upon a time there was a girl who climbed to the very top of the world.
0:07.4	Her name was Junko Tabei.
0:12.4	Junko was born in 1939, the youngest of seven siblings.
0:18.0	Junko was small, and many believed her to be weak.
0:22.9	But she had a mighty strength within.
0:26.7	As a girl, Junko played on Castle Mountain, which wasn't much of a mountain at all.
0:33.2	It was a decaying castle on top of a hill in the town center of Miharu, Japan.
0:41.0	In the spring she could see the vista of the entire town, laced with pink, as the plumb,
0:47.7	peach, and cherry trees bloomed together.
0:55.8	If the weather was nice, Junko's teacher, Watanabe Sensei, would invite the class to
1:02.4	eat lunch at Castle Mountain.
1:05.5	On one such day, he casually asked Junko's class, who wants to go to the mountains this
1:11.2	summer.
1:12.2	Hands shot high in the air, and so an excursion to Nasu-Dake Peak, one of the 100 famous
1:18.6	mountains in Japan, was planned.
1:25.7	Not summer, Junko, Watanabe Sensei, and a few classmates, traveled by train, bus, and
1:32.7	foot, carrying backpacks, stuffed with blankets and food.
1:40.3	When the hiking began at Yumoto Hot Springs, they crisscrossed their way along the trail,
1:45.8	chattering excitedly.
1:48.4	The ground is somehow warm, someone exclaimed.
1:51.8	Junko bent down to touch the soil.
1:54.2	Yes, this is a volcanic area, so hot water is running underneath the ground, said Watanabe
	...

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