Read Me a Story, Ink
88 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 days ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsFamily stories perfect for classroom, bedtime, or anytime.
Based on my 26 year hobby of reading in public elementary schools, the stories offered here are some of my favorite, kid-tested read-alouds. All stories appear with the permission of the author.
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Episodes
"When Swamp Lily Met Swamp Thing" by J. G. Formato
May 10, 2021 21:52 - 22 minutes - 19.9 MBWhen Swamp Thing appears in 12-year-old Lily’s closet, with sorrowful eyes, begging for help in cleaning up his trash-strewn home, Lily elicits the help of her classmates in forming the North Florida Nature Preservers to clean up the swamp. But she keeps her friendship to Swamp Thing her special secret.
"Dr. Peterson's Electric Pumpkin Field" by Jack Stillman
April 26, 2021 23:23 - 27 minutes - 23.4 MBAfter his wife and son die in the epidemic of 1918, Jonathan Ford must find a way to keep his farm alive and instill the will to live in his young, influenza stricken daughter, which he does with love, ingenuity and some electric pumpkin seeds.
"The San Jacinto Corn" by Diane Bailey
April 11, 2021 15:19 - 12 minutes - 10.9 MBAfter Daniel's and Joseph's pa died at the Alamo, the boys joined Sam Houston's brigade to fight for Texas independence. After Santa Anna's surrender, Sam Houston passed around an ear of corn from their meager supplies and encouraged each soldier to take a kernel home so that they could cultivate the arts of peace as nobly as they had mastered the arts of war.
"Boom Town" by Sonia Levitin
March 19, 2021 15:11 - 11 minutes - 11.8 MBAmanda and her family have come to California to join her father in the mining camp but they find nothing but a few broken down log cabins. Soon Amanda is baking pies that her Pa sells to the miners and she is suggesting to traveling peddlers and wandering artisans that they settle down and open shops. Soon enough their cabin is smack dab in the middle of a Boom Town.
"Messenger's Plight: A Dragon Tale" by Robyn Jordan
February 28, 2021 20:04 - 31 minutes - 26.9 MBWhen Hsing Li's brother is injured, Li must deliver a critical military message to the emperor, but is nearly forced to turn back by a severe winter storm...that is until she outwits the Snow Dragon and gains his respect and support.
"Little Mary and the Big Bear" by Gretchen Woelfle
February 11, 2021 00:39 - 7 minutes - 7.49 MBWhen Mary's papa announces he can't go to the mill because Buttercup is about to have her calf, nine-year-old Mary begs to go alone. Her mother calls her dauntless, her father gives in and Mary sets off on Old Major. But neither Mary nor Old Major are prepared to meet the biggest bear even seen in the Maine woods.
"The Wrong Spoon" by Sophie Masson
January 21, 2021 21:17 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBDr. Bee is the greatest saucerer in the land. Why his sauces are almost magical. Or so that is what his young apprentice, Clara, discovers when she stirs the super-duper, extra special Christmas honeycomb caramel sauce with an old spoon she finds hidden away behind a cupboard.
"Two-Thirty Crossing" by Leslie Wyatt
January 01, 2021 22:02 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBYoung John Maxwell and his dad live in a Nebraska soddy, two and one-half miles from the railroad crossing. But with a freezing rain storm and only a half hour to intercept the afternoon train, that two and one-half mile ride on their little black mare, Ozark, seems like an eternity to John who has to get help for his dying father.
“A Miracle for Marci: A Story for Hanukkah” by Miriam Rinn
December 07, 2020 22:50 - 14 minutes - 13.8 MBYoung Marci needs the help of her neighbor, Mrs. Gold to plan a surprise Hanukkah party for her recently emigrated family. Since religious practices were banned in her native Soviet Union, Marci and her family never learned the true history of Hanukkah or how to celebrate it.
"The Christmas Elf" by Elizabeth Yates
November 29, 2020 22:44 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MBAfter Jennie and her mother mixed the batter for the Christmas cake, Jennie took it into her sick father's room so that he could stir in his wish. Then Jennie and her mom both stirred in their wishes. Now, it was up to the Christmas Elf to grant one of the three wishes.
"The Wild Dog of Caucomgomoc" by Charles Boardman Hawes
November 09, 2020 21:01 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MBWhen an old trapper dies, his faithful bloodhound turns wild and fearsome tales grow around his mournful howl. But when the Wild Dog of Caucomgomac saves a young boy lost in the swamps, the townsfolk reassess their fears and give him a loving home for the rest of his days.
"The Wild Dog of Caucomgomoc" by Charles Boardman Hawes
November 09, 2020 21:01 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MBWhen an old trapper dies, his faithful bloodhound turns wild and fearsome tales grow around his mournful howl. But when the Wild Dog of Caucomgomac saves a young boy lost in the swamps, the townsfolk reassess their fears and give him a loving home for the rest of his days.
"The Fisherman and the Bird" by Sonia Levitin
October 20, 2020 01:53 - 16 minutes - 16.9 MBRico has lived and fished alone since being jilted in his youth. But one day, Rico discovers that a pair of beautiful birds have built a nest at the top of his mast. He is ready to destroy the nest so that he can sail, but the local school-teacher convinces Rico of the rarity of the birds and the importance of letting them nest. Begrudgingly, Rico leaves the nest undisturbed and is transformed by the their beauty and the friendship of the villagers.
"The Powder Horn: An Historical Tale" by Elizabeth Coatsworth
October 05, 2020 16:08 - 11 minutes - 9.75 MBA gently told story of how small things can bring joy. Alice finds and old, engraved powder horn in Mr. Hall's antique shop. When she brings it home, she and her father decide to build a "rainy-day" room in the attic decorated in the same designs as the powder horn.
“Calling Papa Home: A Tale of the Great Peshtigo Fire, 1871” by Julia Pferdehirt.
September 16, 2020 01:43 - 25 minutes - 22.1 MBDuring the Great Peshtigo Forest Fire of 1871, Susanna's papa sets off to help his sister-in-law and her baby back to the river and safety. But before he can make it home the smoke becomes so thick he loses all sense of direction. Luckily, Susanna has the presence of mind to climb the bell tower of the old schoolhouse and ring the school bell giving her papa a beacon of sound to follow.
"The Old Gray Chair" by Douglas Evans
August 31, 2020 23:21 - 15 minutes - 13.5 MBZachary just can't seem to stay in his seat. But as it turns out, it isn’t entirely his fault. Mr. Leeks, the old janitor, lets on that Zack’s seat is the orneriest bucking chair at W. T. Mellon Elementary School. Well, yahoo! Looks like there’s going to be a chair bustin’ rodeo in the classroom at the end of the hall.
"The Pied Piper of Hamelin, A Tale From Germany" by Amy Friedman
August 16, 2020 17:43 - 7 minutes - 7.52 MBA fresh and lively retelling of a traditional German folk tale in which a piper is not paid his due for ridding the town of Hamelin of its rats. But he forewarned the town that his pipe could play many tunes and they paid the price.
"The Entrance Exam, A Young Witch's Tale" by Mary Carey
July 29, 2020 02:00 - 18 minutes - 15.8 MBKate is refused entrance to Miss Perkle's School for Young Witches, that is until one of her spells saves the school from destruction and causes Miss Perkle to reconsider.
"The Soap Bandit" by Dennis Haseley
July 07, 2020 01:20 - 9 minutes - 10 MBJesse just can't help but get dirty, which is a problem when he goes to visit his aunt who lives in a town where EVERYONE is clean and tidy, that is until the soap bandit steals all of the soap. As everything and everyone gets dirtier and dirtier, attitudes begin to change, until the whole town understands how much fun it is to do things that might just get them a little dirty.
"Ethan Unbound" by Gary L. Blackwood
June 14, 2020 20:47 - 26 minutes - 23.1 MBA young book lover thinks the librarian is a witch, only to find out how true that is when he is locked in the library after closing on a stormy night.
"Kite Flier" by Dennis Haseley
May 26, 2020 15:29 - 6 minutes - 6.68 MBWhen the Kite Flier's wife dies in childbirth, the Kite Flier stops making kites until he realizes the joy they bring his infant son. From that day forth kites are what father and son share. Even when the son is grown and moved away, the first windy day of each year they both put a kite up and let is fly away as a symbol of their love for each other.
"Run, Kate Shelley, Run" by Julia Pferdehirt
May 06, 2020 13:59 - 10 minutes - 10.2 MBA thrilling account based on a true event which took place in Iowa, in 1881. A young Kate Shelley witnessed the collapse of a train bridge during a raging storm and risked her life crossing another trestle bridge in the pitch dark to warn the station master to stop the Midnight Express, which was already barreling toward disaster.
“Nothing at All, A Dragon Tale” by Julia Pferdehirt.
April 16, 2020 00:06 - 19 minutes - 18.6 MBOna doesn't have any particular talent, not like her brother, the swiftest runner, or her sister, the storyteller. In fact, Ona means "nothing at all." But when the dragon from the distant mountains threatens to burn their village, it is Ona that is clever enough and brave enough to riddle the dragon, sending him back to the high mountains and earning herself the name Kima Reetana-"Brave One, Who Riddles with Dragons."
“The Enchanted Hare: A Norse Legend” by Shirley Climo
March 29, 2020 19:00 - 10 minutes - 10.8 MBIn this lovely retelling of a traditional Norse legend, a young girl finds a frozen bird during a long cold winter and calls upon Eostre, the Bringer of Spring, to help save the bird. What Eostre does explains how a rabbit and brightly colored eggs came to be associated with Easter.
“Liam McLafferty’s Choice: An Irish Tale” by Alexis O’Neill.
March 11, 2020 03:17 - 7 minutes - 7.43 MBNo young lad in Ireland made worse choices than Liam McLafferty, or so it would seem. It took the Fairy Queen to help Liam understand that his choices were really the best because they came from his heart.
"Darlene and the Ice Storm: A Winter's Tale" by Robert D. Culp
February 28, 2020 05:43 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBWhen Darlene, Rooster's pregnant heifer, wanders off during an ice storm, Rooster and his best friend, Cotton, must find her before she gives birth. Unfortunately, they are too late and they have to figure out how to get the newborn to safety. Rooster comes up with a cunning plan, but when Darlene decides she doesn't like it, Rooster's plan falls apart and all hilarity breaks loose.
"The Invisible Moose: A Canadian Love Story" by Dennis Haseley
February 10, 2020 20:36 - 14 minutes - 13.9 MB"She was a beautiful moose, the most beautiful moose in the forest. He was a shy young moose and he was in love with her." But when she is captured and taken to New York, he must summon all of his courage to rescue her. With the help of Professor Owl Mcfowl's invisibility potion, he makes the trek to New York in search of his love. "On the fresh white ground, their tracks appeared, two by two, as they headed north, and home."
“Gammelyn, The Dressmaker” by Laurence Housman
January 30, 2020 04:19 - 12 minutes - 12.4 MBGammelyn the dressmaker must make two impossible dresses for the wedding of a spoiled princess. But when she asks for a third dress made from butterfly wings, Gammelyn thinks that cruel and finds a way to avoid making the dress and deliver the princess her comeuppance at the same time.
"Alexander and the Magic Mouse" by Martha Sanders
January 08, 2020 02:15 - 21 minutes - 20.6 MBWhen the old lady was young she had brought home a cat from London, a Yak from Tibet and an Alligator from China. The magic mouse came with the house. They all lived quite contentedly together until the magic mouse proclaimed that it would rain for 30 days and 30 nights. The Old Lady decided that the nearby town needed to be warned, but which of them could brave the torrents and the quickly rising river?
The Cobweb Christmas by Shirley Climo
December 21, 2019 04:06 - 10 minutes - 11 MBEvery Christmas old Tante cuts a tree and decorates it with presents for the village children and farm creatures. Then one Christmas as Christkindel is passing by, the spiders ask him to open Tante's door so that they can see Christmas. Creeping quietly past a snoring Tante, they soon have the tree spun with magnificent webs which Christkindel turns to tinsel of gold and silver giving old Tante a special gift in return for her generosity.
Eight Special Gifts: A Hanukkah Story by Sonia Levitin
December 12, 2019 04:42 - 9 minutes - 8.92 MBThese are hard times and there are no Hanukkah presents this year for Morry and his family. Morry, however, is determined to have a Hanukkah to remember and does an act of kindness for a different neighbor each day for eight days bringing warmth, sharing and the real meaning of Hanukkah to everyone.
"Banat er Rih: Daughter of the Wind" by Kimberley Griffiths Little
November 23, 2019 04:23 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBSahloul, Sheik Najjar's youngest son, hopes the mare he helped raise can win the honor of Banat er Rih, Daughter of the Wind. But even if she wins, he stands little chance of being named her master. That honor is likely to go to one of his older brothers. Luckily his father sees his love for the mare and both of his dreams come true.
"The Cave of Snores" by Dennis Haseley
November 06, 2019 04:44 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBA Shepard’s snores have been so amplified since his visit to the Cave of Snores that they keep the other Shepherds awake, drown out the sound of the sheep bandit and alert the wolves to where the sheep are - that is until the Shepherds hire a magician to take away his snores. But the solution proves more harmful than the problem leaving the Shepard’s son to seek the Cave of Snores where he finds his own voice - er, snores.
"A Place of Haunts." A Halloween Tale by Robert D. Culp
October 21, 2019 13:27 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MBCome Halloween Cotton and his best friend Rooster decide to scare old man Garvey thinking he had stolen honey from a tree that was rightfully theirs. Despite a well-planned ghostly ambush, it is Cotton and Rooster that get the real fright, bested once again by old man Garvey.
"The Neptune Clock" by Sophie Mason.
October 07, 2019 22:15 - 8 minutes - 8.34 MBA lovely modernization of the classic selkie myth. Jessie always thought the face of Neptune on her grandfather's clock looked just like her grandfather, with kindly spiderweb creases. But when her grandfather disappeared and the same kindly creases showed up on one of two dolphins playing in the waves, Jessie knew that her grandfather had returned to the sea to be with her departed grandmother.
"The Ghosts of Cracke Road" by Joyce Hansen
September 23, 2019 23:19 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBCracke Road in Charleston, South Carolina was on land that used to be a plantation and it was rumored that when you sang "Sweet Hour of Prayer" you could see the ghosts of slaves that tried to run away. No one believed it until a young girl said a ghost was going to help her reunite with her mother in New York, and sure enough, two weeks after disappearing a letter arrived from New York saying that she was safe and with her mother.
"There Are Witches on This Planet" by J. G. Formato
September 11, 2019 02:43 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBVas and her father are helping to terraform a distant planet from earth but the seedlings brought from earth are failing. While her father is away seeking council, Vas gets a little advice of her own from an old woman...in a hut...sprouting chicken legs?...in a haunted forest!..Baba Yaga? Oh, there are witches on this planet.
"The Hero and the Weaver" by Camille Laguire
August 26, 2019 19:41 - 10 minutes - 10.4 MBA son disowned by his father years before, asks a weaver of magic cloth to make him and invisible cloak so that he may see his ailing father one more time. To the son's surprise, his father recognizes him and expresses his sorrow at their estranged years leading to a final and happy reunion.