Once Upon A Time...

December 06, 2010

While tucking my granddaughter into bed for the night, she asked me to tell her the story of The Three Little Pigs for the tenth time that day. The day before, the only story she wanted to hear was Rapunzel. My granddaughter, who loves to read, is even more transfixed when listening to a good story.

Some stories are best when told aloud, rather than just read. John Conolly writes in The Book of Lost Things that stories "come alive in the telling". They are like "the notes of a song laid out on a sheet, yearning for an instrument to bring their music into being".

Fairy tales and folktales are perfect to read aloud and listen to; the cadence of words engages the listener while the themes unshackle the imagination. It takes us back to the oral tradition of storytelling.

Listed below are some fairy tale and folktale audiobooks that are available through Parkville and the various branches of the Mid-Continent Public Library system. They are engaging not only for children but adults as well. Regardless of age, we all want to live happily ever after!

• Aladdin and the Magic Lamp by James Kunstler 
• The Fabrics of Fairytale by Tanya Robyn Batt
• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
• Native American Heroines Rabbit Ears Production
• Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
• Princess Stories by Caitlin Matthews
• Rabbit Ears Brer Rabbit
• The World of Hans Christian Andersen by H.C. Andersen

Sandi V.
Parkville Branch