Caroline in the City: Tell Me a Story!

My husband and I read to our two daughters on a daily basis. We love sitting down with a big pile of books and sharing the stories. But in our increasingly busy lives the art of actual storytelling seems to be slipping away.

PlainTails recently launched several CD collections that focus on classic storytelling. PlainTails First Tales is geared towards toddlers and preschoolers. “The Gingerbread Boy and Other First Tales” had my daughters’ attention from the minute I put it in our car CD player. They usually spend our commute arguing and tattling on who stuck their tongue out last. For 48 blissful minutes they were lost in the world of The Gingerbread Boy and The Frog Prince.

The stories start out with a few bars of music and then begin. While I had planned on enjoying some quiet time in the front seat, I actually found myself listening to the stories. There are a total of four stories on the disc. I assumed my daughters would be done with it once we heard all four, but they surprised me by asking to listen to them again.

PlainTales Explorers has several CDs with themed stories on each. “Animal Tales: Raccoon, Bear, and Coyte” are fictional tales about these three animals, but include a lot of educational material within the story. “Johnny Appleseed and Other American Legends” is a great way to introduce your child to some classic American stories about famous figures like John Muir and Lewis and Clark.

The CDs are $12.95 each and will really encourage your child to starting spinning their own yarns. It helps them look at the world through different eyes and forces their imaginations to expand as they think about each story.