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Johann Sebastian Bach: The Story of the Boy who Sang in the Streets by Thomas Tapper

Read this book and view the illustrations online, OR Follow along on your Kindle

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Story of the Boy who Sang in the Streets (left click to listen or Right Click “save as” to download)

This story is from the book “Stories of Great Composers for Children” by Thomas Tapper. Subscribe to the whole book in iTunes or Download the entire book as a zipped file.

Listen to Bach’s music:

The following several selections are recorded by Jon Sayles on classical guitar.? For more of his beautiful recordings of both classical and early/renaissance music, including several more Bach selections, visit his website.

Sheep May Safely Graze

Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (from the Christmas Oratorio)

Now Let us to the Bagpipe’s Sound from the Peasant’s Cantata

Gavotte in A

Goldberg Variations, Number 2,? Number 10, Number 18

Listen to the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 on Classics for Kids

More resources for studying Bach:

For more stories about Bach, including the podcasts “About Johann Sebastian Bach”, “The Sons of Johann Sebastian Bach”, “What’s a Concerto” and “More about the Brandenburg Concertos”, visit Classics for Kids.

Classics for Kids activity sheet about Bach and the Brandenburg Concertos

CurrClick has many resources for the study of Bach and classical music.

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Our Old Nursery Rhymes by Alfred Moffat


Summary: Our Old Nursery Rhymes (1911) is a book of 30 of folkloric songs arranged by Alfred Moffat and beautifully illustrated by H. Willebeck Le Mair. You and your child can listen and sing along as you read the facsimile edition online from the Children?s Digital Library.

These nursery rhymes were performed by 17 talented university student musicians who are sisters in the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women at California State University-Stanislaus. The project was conceived as an opportunity to offer service to the music-loving community around the world and to children everywhere. [Summary written by Dennis Sayers for Librivox].

View the lovely illustrations and music in the Children’s Library e-text.

Our Old Nursery Rhymes (left click to listen online, right click “save as” to download)

Subscribe in iTunes

Internet Archive page

OR Click play in the box below to listen

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The Orange Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Read this book and see the pictures online or on your Kindle or e-reader.

Download as a zipped file

Subscribe in iTunes

Internet archive page

Total running time: 9 hours, 41 minutes

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

00 – Preface

01 – The Story of the Hero Makoma

02 – The Magic Mirror

03 – Story of the King Who Would See Paradise

04 – How Isuro the Rabbit Tricked Gudu

05 – Ian, the Soldier’s Son

06 – The Fox and the Wolf

07 – How Ian Direach Got the Blue Falcon

08 – The Ugly Duckling

09 – The Two Caskets

10 – The Goldsmith’s Fortune

11 – The Enchanted Wreath

12 – The Foolish Weaver

13 – The Clever Cat

14 – Story of Manus, The

15 – Pinkel the Theif

16 – The Adventures of a Jackal

17 – The Adventures of the Jackal’s Eldest Son

18 – The Adventures of the Younger Son of the Jackal

19 – The Three Treasures of the Giants

20 – The Rover of the Plain

21 – The White Doe

22 – The Girl-Fish

23 – The Owl and the Eagle

24 – The Frog and the Lion Fairy

25 – The Adventures of Covan the Brown-Haired

26 – The Princess Bella-Flor

27 – The Bird of Truth

28 – The Mink and the Wolf

29 – Adventures of an Indian Brave

30 – How the Stalos Were Tricked

31 – Andras Baive

32 – The White Slipper

33 – The Magic Book

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The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley

Summary: The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley, first published in its entirety in 1863. Though some of the author’s opinions are very dated now, the journey of a little chimney-sweep water-baby through rivers and storms, under sea and over iceberg, is still a classic, wonderful children’s adventure.

Summary by Cori Samuel for Librivox. Music from Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture at musopen.com.

Read this book online or on your Kindle or other e-reader.

Download as a zipped file

Subscribe in iTunes

Internet archive page

Total running time:  7 hours, 6 minutes

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

01 Chapter 1, Part 1

02 Chapter 1, Part 2

03 Chapter 2, Part 1

04 Chapter 2, Part 2

05 Chapter 3, Part 1

06 Chapter 3, Part 2

07 Chapter 4, Part 1

08 Chapter 4, Part 2

09 Chapter 5, Part 1

10 Chapter 5, Part 2

11 Chapter 6, Part 1

12 Chapter 6, Part 2

13 Chapter 7, Part 1

14 Chapter 7, Part 2

15 Chapter 8, Part 1

16 Chapter 8, Part 2

17 Moral

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The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales by George MacDonald

Summary: George MacDonald claimed that he did not write for children, but for the child-like. Some of his longer works are clearly intended for adults, and this fantastic fiction influenced later writers such as G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. But you can find some of his best writing in the stories aimed squarely at children, and these are three of the finest.

The Light Princess. A wicked aunt curses her baby niece so that gravity has no effect on her, and she floats through the air as if it were water.The only way to break the curse is to make the princess cry.

The Giant’s Heart. Two children argue and run away to Giantland. There they find out that one of the Giants steals children from the land of men and eats them, but how can they kill the Giant when he has hidden his heart where no one can find it?

The Golden Key. A boy discovers a Golden Key, but cannot find the lock. He meets a girl, and together they search for the land from where the shadows fall, hoping that the key will allow them in.

(Summary by Clive Catterall for Librivox)

Read this book yourself

Download as a zipped file

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Internet archive page

Total running time:? 3 hours, 31 minutes

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

1–The Light Princess, part 1

2–The Light Princess, part 2

3–The Light Princess, part 3

4–The Light Princess, part 4

5–The Giant’s Heart, part 1

6–The Giant’s Heart, part 2

7–The Golden Key

8–The Golden Key


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Raggedy Andy by Johnny Gruelle

Raggedy Andy 1

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Raggedy Andy 2

Total running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

Raggedy Andy 3

Introduction

1–How Raggedy Andy Came

Raggedy Andy 5

2–The Nursery Dance

3–The Spinning Wheel

Raggedy Andy 6

4–The Taffy Pull

5–The Rabbit Chase

Raggedy Andy 7

6–The New Tin Gutter

7–Doctor Raggedy Andy

Raggedy Andy 8

8–Raggedy Andy’s Smile

9–The Wooden Horse

Raggedy Andy 9

10–Making ‘Angels’ in the Snow

11–The Singing Shell

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The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia P. Hale

Coffee Drinker by Ivana Kobilca, public domain image

Summary: The Peterkins were a lovable but comically inept family that possess ingenuity, logic, resourcefulness, and energy — but not common sense. The general formula is that the family tries to solve some problem in an appealingly roundabout way, fails, and is eventually rescued by “the wise old lady from Philadelphia” who always cuts the Gordian knot with some effective but prosaic solution. The charm of the story is not in the plot, but in the telling, with the building up of layers of complication, and the affectionate fun poked at the not-quite-cartoonish characters. The “wise old lady’s” solution is usually obvious to the reader, or even the young listener, from the start. (From Wikipedia)

Read this book yourself

Download as a zipped file

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Internet archive page

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

Total running time:  4 hours, 24 minutes

Piano Lesson by Mihály Munkácsy, published by the Bekescsaba Mihaly Munkacsy Museum under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2 and under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license

Chapter 00-01 – Preface/The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee

Chapter 02-03-04 – About Elizabeth Eliza’s Piano/The Peterkins Try to Become Wise/Mrs.
Peterkin Wishes To Go To Drive

The Blue House in Zandaam by Claude Monet, public domain image

Chapter 05-06 – The Peterkins at Home/Why the Peterkins Had a Late Dinner

Chapter 07-08 – The Peterkin’s Summer Journey/The Peterkins Snowed Up

Chapter 09-10 – The Peterkins Decide to Keep a Cow / The Peterkins’ Christmas-Tree

Under the Chestnut Tree by Carl Larsson, public domain image

Chapter 11-12 – The Peterkins’ Tea Party / The Peterkins Too Late For the Exhibition

Chapter 13-14 13 The Peterkins Celebrate the “Fourth” / The Peterkins’ Picnic

Chapter 15-16 The Peterkins’ Charades / The Peterkins are Obliged to Move

Chapter 17-18 The Peterkins Decide to Learn the Languages / Modern

Improvements at the Peterkins

Children's Breakfast by Albert Anker, public domain image

Chapter 19-20 Agamemnon’s Career / The Educational Breakfast

Chapter 21 – The Peterkins at the Carnival of Authors in Boston

Chapter 22 – The Peterkins at the Farm

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Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott

Portrait of a pair of children with cherries and a toy, by Felix Mayer-Felice, public domain image

Summary:  Jack and Jill went up a hill
To coast with fun and laughter.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after. – Louisa May Alcott

When Jack and Jill tumble off of their sled on the first good snow of the season, their injuries cause them to be bedridden for many months putting an end to their fun and frolics. Their parents and friends fill their long days with the joys of a theatrical production, their own personal mail system and many other imaginative events to make their convalescence time fly by. Both Jack and Jill learn how to become better friend’s to each other and their other school mates through their many trials. This is sure to become a family favorite! Summary by Mary Anderson for Librivox

Read this book yourself

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To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

Total running time: 9 hours, 40 minutes

Sleeping Angel by John George Brown, public domain image

Chapter 01-The Catastrophe

Chapter 02-Two Penitents

Chapter 03-Ward Number One

Chapter 04-Ward Number Two

detail of The Patient by Felix Vallotton, public domain image

Chapter 05-Secrets

Chapter 06-Surprises

Chapter 07-Jill’s Mission

Chapter 08-Merry and Molly

Chapter 09-The Debating Club

Christmas Morning by Carl Larsson, public domain image

Chapter 10-The Dramatic Club

Chapter 11-Down Brakes

Chapter 12-The Twenty-second of February

Chapter 13-Jack Has a Mystery

Chapter 14-And Jill Finds It Out

Chapter 15-Saint Lucy

Chapter 16-Up at Merry’s

Chapter 17-Down at Molly’s

Flower Still Life by Ambrosius Bosschaert, the Elder, public domain image

Chapter 18-May Baskets

Chapter 19-Good Templars

Chapter 20-A Sweet Memory

Chapter 21-Pebbly Beach

Chapter 22-A Happy Day

Anton Braith, Frühlingsweide, public domain image

Chapter 23-Cattle

Chapter 24-Down the River

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Grimms’ Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm

Little Red Riding Hood by Albert Anker, public domain image

Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick which could be used to study Fairy Tales. This link will take you away from My Audio School.

The following stories are selected from among Grimms’ most popular fairy tales.  To listen to or to read the unabridged book of Grimms’ Fairy Tales (10 1/2 hours in length), use the following links:

Download the unabridged book as a zipped file

Read this book yourself

Subscribe in iTunes

Internet archive page

Summary: A classic collection of oral German folklore, brought together for posterity by the scholarly brothers Grimm in the 1800s, this epitome of fairy tales includes many of the world’s best known stories. In these dark foreboding woods, you will find: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Lily and the Lion (better known as Beauty and the Beast), and Snow White and Rose Red, among other timeless works. These tales were later heavily revised and sanitised, but here are presented closer to their grim and beloved originals. (Summary by Marlo Dianne for Librivox)

Hans in Luck by Anne Anderson, public domain image

The Golden Bird

Hans in Luck

The Travelling Musicians

The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean

Briar Rose

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

The Fisherman and his Wife

The Frog Prince

Frog Prince by Anne Anderson, public domain image

The Cat and Mouse in Partnership

The Goose Girl

The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet

Rapunzel

The Valiant Little Tailor

The Valiant Little Tailor by Offterdinger, public domain image

Hansel and Gretel

Little Red-Cap (or Little Red Riding Hood)

The Robber Bridegroom

Tom Thumb

Rumpelstiltskin

Hansel and Gretel by Offterdinger, public domain image

Clever Gretel

Ashputtel  (or Cinderella)

The Elves and the Shoemaker

Clever Hans

The Four Clever Brothers

The Lily and the Lion (or Beauty and the Beast)

The Golden Goose

The King of The Golden Mountain

Snow White and Rose Red

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The Counterpane Fairy

Land of Counterpane by Jessie Willcox Smith

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To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.

01 The Princess of the Golden Castle – 00:20:36

02 The Owls and the Gamblesome Elf – 00:18:09

03 Starlein and Silverling – 00:15:06

04 The Magic Circus – 00:17:08

Fairy Land by Edward Reginald Frampton, 1872-1923, public domain image

05 At the Edge of the Polar Sea – 00:23:39

06 The Ruby Ring – 00:17:51

07 The Rainbow Children – 00:13:43

08 Harriett’s Dream – 00:13:36

09 Down the Rat-Hole – 00:18:18

10 The Counterpane Fairy Says Good-Bye – 00:05:55

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The Cinnamon Bear

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 1: Paddy O’Cinnamon

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 2: Weary Willy

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 3: Crazy Quilt Dragon

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 4: The Ikaboos

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 5: Weasley Wailing Whale

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 6: Samuel Seal

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 7: Presto The Magician

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 8: Candy Pirates

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 9 Rolly Polly Policeman

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 10: Professor Whiz

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 11: Fee Foo the Gentle Giant

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 12: Rhyming Rabbit

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 13: The Wintergreen Witch

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 14: Queen Melissa

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 15: Snaper Stick Crocodile

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 16: Oliver Ostrich

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 17: Muddlers

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 18: Cocklebur Cowboys

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 19: Wooden Indian

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 20: Flying Hat

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 21: Snowman

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 22: Santa Claus

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 23: The Bad Dolls

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 24: The Parade

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 25: Captain Tintop

The Cinnamon Bear Episode 26: North Pole

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Spanish Fairy Tales

Snow White and Rose Red

Have you seen Cody’s Cuentos yet?  This site offers free classic fairy tales (such as Grimm’s tales, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, and others) and other childrens stories in Spanish. All stories are presented in audio format, read by a professional story teller who is also a native speaker from either Mexico, Argentina or Spain.  Stories are presented along with a written transcript.

They have stories for beginners, intermediate and advanced.  If you are looking for Spanish audio stories, you need to check out this site. You can stream audio right from Cody’s Cuentos, or subscribe through iTunes or to their RSS feed.

Note: clicking these links will take you away from My Audio School.

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The Great Gildersleeve on Kiddie Records Weekly

The-Great-Gildersleeve

To hear The Great Gildersleeve tell the story of Snow White and Rose Red and the story of Cinderella, click here to go to Kiddie Records Weekly 2009. Page down to April week 18 and click on the link for The Great Gildersleeve.

Kiddie Records Weekly also has Hansel and Gretel and The Brave Little Tailor told by The Great Gildersleeve. Click here to go to Kiddie Records Weekly 2005. Page down to August Week 31.

To listen to stories on Kiddie Records Weekly, click on the link in the left sidebar. Then page below the album cover and click the links to either download or stream the audio.

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Uncle Wiggily stories on Kiddie Records Weekly

Uncle Wiggily

Click here to go to Kiddie Records Weekly, 2005. Page down the left sidebar to October week 44, and click the link for Uncle Wiggily. Look below the album cover to see the link to launch the audio stream.

This book comes with a storybook, as well.   Children are instructed to turn the pages whenever they hear a puppy bark. To hear the story while looking at the book, click the link to launch the audio stream, and then click the link provided for the storybook.

We love Uncle Wiggily stories!   Enjoy!