Storynory - Stories For Kids

Have you ever walked into a place and thought, "I've seen this before" - even when you know you've never been there. This episode of our spooky series The Dutch Hotel explains why you might get that feeling sometimes. This story is dedicated to Adam, Yarden & Neta who asked us to do something just a bit spooky.

Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with some lines by the English poet and artist, William Blake. It's a sweet, simple poem, with a deep meaning. Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Gave thee life & bid thee feed. By the stream & o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice! Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Little Lamb I'll tell thee, Little Lamb I'll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb: He is meek & he is mild, He became a little child: I a child & thou a lamb, We are called by his name. Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee. And that was The Lamb, by William Blake, published in 1789 in his book, Songs of Experience. Blake not only wrote and illustrated his poems, but he made the books himself. He engraved words and pictures into metal so that they could be printed. As you heard in this poem, he believed that all living things are united, because God made all of us. For now, from me Jana

Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) is a born from a stone egg on Flower Fruit Mountain. He seeks immortality and invincible strength in battle. Soon the Jade Emperor in Heaven hears about all the trouble is creating on Earth and decides to give him a job to keep him an eye on him . The Monkey King is the hero (perhaps anti-hero) of China's epic Journey to the West written in the 16th Century. Read byWe are partly publishing this to fill a gap in our Chinse Years of the Animals Cycle (hence the mention to people born in the Year of the Monkey). Jana and adapted for Storynory by Bertie. Do check out how you can support us on Storynory.

Where are your shoes when you can't find them? A small story about a pair of trainers (sneakers) that go for a run on their own.

What is more important in life, handbags or cake? One of our Small Stories, aimed at our "smallest" audience members, but we hope the older ones among you will find this funny too! This is about a Crocodile who loves to go shopping. The song at the end is sung by Jana! Jana of course narrates the story, written by Bertie. And if you would like to support us regularly or one off, please visit our website at https://www.storynory.com.

The Monkey boasts that there is no animal in the Jungle that he can't trick. The Bear challenges him - he knows one animal the monkey can't trick. The monkey takes up the challenge. The prize is a whole hive of honey.

A Bird of Paradise isn't actually a bird. It's a plant that looks like an exotic bird. Or is it?

A lush, sleepy story about a star who leaves the nest and falls to Earth. Read and sung by Jana for Storynory - and written by Bertie.

We'd be very happy if you support us! https://www.storynory.com/support-us/ The Fox Princess Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with one of our Small Stories. It's about a fox who can change shape. And although it's very much set in London, stories of shape-shifting foxes originally come from Korea and the Far East A fox went to watch the Changing of the Guard. She poked her nose through the railings of the palace. A boy pointed and called out, "Fox!" The fox did not want a guard to spot her. So she turned into a princess. The guard opened the gate and bowed. Inside the palace, the red-headed princess gazed around. Everything was shiny and grand. Then she smelt something nice. She followed her nose to the kitchen. The cook looked up. "What would you like, Your Highness?" he asked. She replied, "Chicken wings… And a saucer of warm milk." She went upstairs to a bedroom. A footman brought a plate of chicken wings and a saucer of warm milk. She ate every last bite and lapped up the milk. After that, she went downstairs again. A young princeling smiled at her. "Let's play hide and seek," he said. She closed her eyes and counted to twenty. She opened them. She sniffed. And she found him hiding under the grand piano. They went out into the garden. The princeling closed his eyes and counted to 20. The princess turned back into a fox and hid under the shed. The princeling searched. He looked behind the trees and inside the summer house. But he could not find her. Then the King's dogs came into the garden. The fox felt scared. She ran. Across the grass, through the palace, and out of the front gates. A guard shouted, "Fox!" But she was gone. Back to the park. And that was the Small Story of the Fox Princess, written by Bertie, and read by me, Jana. And please don't forget, if you support us financially, via PaPal, Patreon or any other way, you can ask us for a first name shout out. And you can take part in our monthly writing competitions. See Storynory for details. For now, from me, Jana, goodbye. Song The Fox Princess Count to twenty. Don't look around. Listen out - for the slightest sound. Feel a shimmer, or a spark — A rusty streak, through the dark . Shape shifts, flame flicks, Moonlight shines, on your skin Is this a game Or the world we are living in You're so magical… Wild at heart. Princess of nowhere — Master of art. You're so magical… Seen, then gone. Only a pawmark Lingering on. You're so magical… Changing your face. Fairytale figure, Leaving no trace. You're so magical… Fleet and free. Princess of maybe — Who could you be?

A bear was walking down the road. He passed by a house and smelt a nice smell. He stopped. He sniffed. He looked through the window. A little girl was eating her breakfast. This is a "small Story" for our younger listeners, but we hope if you are a little bit older you will also find it amusing. We will be doing a few more of these. Support us! https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The results are in! Jana reads the winning entries from our Writing Competition. We asked you to write about Birthdays, good birthdays, disastrous birthdays, any type of birthday. And here are the amazing winning entries. Of course kids who grow up listening to Storynory are wizards with words! Support Storynory to enter our next competition - the next competition is on the subject of SNOW - send your snowy stories to us by February 14. https://www.storynory.com/support-us/ Open to supporters.

It's New Year in the Jungle and the animals are playing party games including Charades. The Bear has to pretend to be a flamingo. Do you think the animals will guess his secret? Support Storynory for a name shout out and for entry into our next writing competition: https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The Cafe by the Sea is closed for Christmas. The humans are happy opening presents and eating food. But who can spare a crumb for the mice who live in the cafe? Thanks to our sponsor. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA

We revisit London's Luxurious - and haunted - Dutch Hotel. A famous actress is staying at the hotel. She asks Yogi and Nafsi to time-travel back to 1972 to meet her younger self and put right a wrong. If you have younger kids, you'll enjoy our Sponsor's calming bedtime podcast. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA.

It's Halloween on the pond, and Tim the Tadpole is feeling scared. A Story from our archive to celebrate 20 years of Storynory! - Read by Natasha and written by Bertie. Cover art by Sophie Green.Look out for our new website coming up soon.

This is Jana and I’m here with one of fairy tale land’s most famous characters: Puss in Boots. He’s the hero of many a holiday pantomime here in Britain. He’s appeared as a character in the film Shrek and he’s even starred in his own movie. But this version is a bit older than the movie. It was written in 1891 by JL Marks. Our hero is a very clever cat who likes to dress up as a human and walk around in a pair of boots. He performs all sorts of tricks to make his master rich. I would like a cat like that - and I’m sure you would too.

birdy-treasure-16

The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson     Read by Richard Scott THE MOON has a face like the clock in the hall;   She shines on thieves on the garden wall,   On streets and fields and harbour quays,   And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.      The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,     The howling dog by the door of the house,   The bat that lies in bed at noon,   All love to be out by the light of the moon.      But all of the things that belong to the day   Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;   And flowers and children close their eyes   Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.       And that was the moon, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I hoped you enjoyed that poem which conjures up the night time in some very visual verses.  

A pair of city mice visit the seaside cafe and invite Jimmy and Judith to the Big City! They make the journey and meet automatic vacuum cleaners and cats with fancy titles.

The Cafe by the Sea needs a new Cake Baker. The owner runs a competition to chose the right baker for the job. All the customers can vote for their favourite cake. Natrually the mice who live in the cafe want to vote for their favourite cake-maker.