Do You Sparkle?

I recently read of a review of Sparkle Stories on another blog and decided I had to check it out.  When I would visit my grandparents as a child, I always looked forward to using the local storyline.  I would dial a phone number that would allow me to listen to the story of the day.  I absolutely loved it!  I'm already passionate about books and I used to do storytimes when I worked at the public library. I feel that we are losing the fine art of storytelling in this digital age. Stories are such an important part of culture and tradition.  Not only that but sitting and listening to a story helps encourage imagination, listening skills, patience and learning how to sit still and quietly.

Sparkle Stories is an online subscription service that allows to you subscribe to one more audio stories.  Each week, you download a new chapter in the story.  I load them into my iPhone so we can listen to them wherever we go.  It doesn't matter where you begin in the story. If you stay a subscriber for an entire year, you will eventually cycle through all of the chapters. The stories are seasonally appropriate and often reference current holidays like Father's Day.

We started with "At Home with Martin and Sylvia."  I sat Noodlebug down at his work table while I made dinner.  He colored a picture while he listened to the latest episode.  The story inspired the picture that he eventually made.  The story was about 18 minutes. He was completely captivated and immediately asked for another story.  I found a few free downloads on the Sparkle Stories blog including a very apropos Father's Day story.  He loved it!  Since then, we have been using Sparkle Stories for quiet times, during dinner preparation and on car rides.  It became very apparent that one story wasn't going to be enough.  (you only download a new chapter once a week)  So, we subscribed to "Martin and Sylvia" and "Junkyard Tales" as well.  Now we have plenty of stories for any occasion.

The stories are all very sweet and wholesome. Storyteller David Sewell McCann is a former Waldorf teacher and his wife, Lisabeth Sewell McCann, is a playwright and director.  The stories are entertaining enough for the entire family to enjoy!

The subscriptions run from $7 per month for a single story subscription and $15 per month for any three stories.  After 3 subscriptions, you can get additional stories for $3.50 each.

I have already decided that this is what I will be giving all the children we know for birthday gifts this year!!!   Come Sparkle with us!

(This review is not compensated or solicited in any form.  All opinions are my own.)