Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  When Mr. Sesemann returned from his trip to Paris, he discovered how much his little daughter, Clara, was devoted to her young companion. Heidi may have caused a bit of upheaval in the household, but she is full of kindness and consideration as well. And she found another loving grandma in Clara’s grandmama! What is more, Heidi learned from her that reading is a joy and delight. But oh, how much she still longs for her...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Poor Miss Rottenmeier! She thought her idea of bringing a companion for Clara Sesemann would give her some relief from the hard work of caring for the girl. But now that Heidi has arrived, life is more surprising and disorganized that she ever would have believed. Heidi, on the other hand, is trying to find something in this new life that will bring her some happiness. She has already made a great friend and ally in...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  When the village schoolmaster sends word that he expects Meadow Nuncle to send Heidi down to school, Nuncle has other ideas. Even the pastor comes to reason with him, but Nuncle is obstinate. Heidi will stay as free and happy as the little birds and the goats. But then Aunt Dete comes back to the high meadow and takes Heidi away with her to live as the companion to Clara Sesemann in Frankfurt. Heidi doesn’t want to leave,...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Let’s go with Heidi as she accompanies Goat Peter to the high mountain pastures with the herd of jumping, bleating, engaging animals. Heidi soon learns each goat’s name and little characteristics. She has never been so happy in her life, and when the sun begins to go down and colors the mountains in a rosy glow, Heidi feels that she is in the most beautiful spot in the world. All summer long she enjoys the mountains, and...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Here are the first two chapters of the enchanting story of Heidi, the little Swiss girl who is taken to live with her grandfather in a tiny cottage in the Alps. In these chapters you will hear how Heidi is taken up to Meadow Nuncle’s house by her Auntie Dete—and left there with him! She meets Goat Peter, makes a bed of sweet-smelling hay, and becomes acquainted with the two goats that will soon become such a big part of...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Now we are reaching the end of the tales of King Arthur and his Knights. But even though today’s selections end with the passing of King Arthur, you can find many more tales of chivalry and bravery and even other legends of King Arthur in the public library. Today we will hear about the beautiful and loving maiden of Astolat, and what she does for Sir Lancelot. Then, in the final tale, King Arthur is getting very old and...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Finally, the time has arrived for the Seat Perilous to be filled! Sir Bors, who is a very valiant and virtuous knight, is granted a special vision in which he sees the knight who will fill the seat, although when Sir Bors sees him, he is still a tiny baby. King Arthur also has some wonderful adventures when he is taken to a hidden and dangerous castle. And do you remember King Pellinore? His youngest son, Perceval, has one...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Lynette, a beautiful but very proud and haughty maiden, begs for King Arthur to send his very best knight to rescue her sister from the clutches of four evil knights.  She insists that Sir Lancelot be the one to help. King Arthur, however, has another idea as a different, but still fine and worthy knight, is available. Maybe enduring the mocking maiden is one of the things Sir Gareth needs to face as he goes on this...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  When another white stag appears, the court of King Arthur again sets off in pursuit of high adventure. This time, the quest comes to Sir Geraint, who defends the honor of the queen. Then we learn about Sir Lancelot of the Lake, who lived an idyllic childhood in Fairyland before becoming a Knight of the Round Table. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to audiobooks really does count as...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  Here are the adventures of two noble knights and one of King Arthur’s young cousins: a foundling prince. Sir Gawain and Sir Tristram both find the lady of their dreams, and oh, the amazing, magical, and astounding adventures that King Arthur and his knights undertake in order to help the Foundling Prince find and win the hand of the lovely Princess Olwen! King Arthur really will do whatever he needs to do to keep his word...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are radiantly happy at their castle in Camelot. Almost every seat is filled at the Round Table, and very soon after the knights have made their solemn vows, their words are put to the test when a lovely maiden in distress appears in the great hall. Helping her may be the first quest for the knights of the Round Table, but it certainly isn’t the last. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  In these selections of King Arthur and His Knights, you will learn about how Merlin built the Round Table, where King Arthur received the amazing sword, Excalibur, and how he met and fell in love with the beautiful and charming Guinevere.  Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to audiobooks really does count as reading, and there's no better way to relax than to hear Stories Come to Life!...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. There are many, many versions of the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Some of these legends were written down more than 500 years ago in about the year 1470 by Sir Thomas Malory, who put them into a book he called Le Morte D’Arthur, or The Death of Arthur. His words were not the actual legends, though, but his retelling of even more ancient stories. Many of the words he used aren’t in our normal...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When Jimmy Bean plucks the first spring weeds from the flower bed under an open window at John Pendleton’s house, he overhears some information that may make all the difference for Pollyanna and her future. But can other people overcome their pride and stubbornness to allow the possibility to happen? To find out, sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to audiobooks really does count as reading,...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. It is easy to play the Just Be Glad Game when everything is going well. It’s a little harder, but, according to Pollyanna, even more fun when it’s hard to think of something to be glad about. But what happens when the most terrible thing of all comes to pass and an exuberant and active girl is confronted with the news that she may never walk again? When Pollyanna reaches the depths of her despair, the loving townsfolk of...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Could Aunt Polly really be softening toward her loving niece, Pollyanna? Nancy thinks so, because Aunt Polly sent her out with an umbrella because she was afraid Pollyanna would be caught by a thunderstorm. And now Pollyanna is beginning to see the tenderness with her own eyes! Somehow, Pollyanna’s exuberant and loving spirit seems to be rubbing off on all the people around her! Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Do you remember that old Tom the gardener once mentioned to Nancy that long years ago Aunt Polly had quarreled with a lover? From watching the way Mr. Pendleton has softened under Pollyanna’s sweet friendship, Nancy has decided that the old lover was Mr. Pendleton! She tells Pollyanna, and of course the tenderhearted girl wants to do whatever she can to reconcile the lovers so they will both be less lonely and more able to...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.  When Pollyanna walks back home after her unsuccessful meeting with the Beldingsville Ladies Aid, she takes a path through Pendleton Woods. Here she finds Mr. Pendleton who has fallen and broken his leg! Her resourcefulness brings him relief, and soon Pollyanna becomes acquainted with kindly Dr. Chilton, who claims that Pollyanna herself is a tonic of good health he wishes he could prescribe to all his patients! Of all the...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Pollyanna has a big heart. She finds something about just about everything in her world to love, from a scraggly kitten to a stray dog, and even to a little homeless boy. And she is already winning the hearts of those around her, including Mrs. Snow and, of course, dear Nancy. The only problem is that not everyone appreciates her open heart, not always Aunt Polly, and certainly not the Ladies Aid!   Now sit back, relax, and...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What an extraordinary child! That is the reaction Aunt Polly, and in fact, many of the residents of Beldingsville seem to exclaim when they make Pollyanna’s acquaintance. Not only does Pollyanna not realize when she is being punished, for example, but she takes the punishment as a special reward, planned to make her happy. You see, Pollyanna has been playing a game ever since she was a very little, little girl, in which she...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. In 1913, American author Eleanor H. Porter’s most famous book, Pollyanna, was published. Here is the delightful story of eleven-year-old Pollyanna (named after her mother’s two sisters). When Pollyanna’s beloved father dies, Pollyanna is sent to the town of Beldingsville, Vermont, to live with her austere and coldly dutiful Aunt Polly. Nancy, the young hired girl, is appalled at the less than warm welcome shown to the sweet...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. How discouraging it is for the Hardy boys. They really want to locate the stolen loot and clear the good name of Mr. Robinson, but where could it be? Like the active boys they are, they decide to take a ride along the railway on their motorcycles, just to take a break from the whole situation. It’s a good thing for everyone involved that they took that ride!   Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. It seems the Tower Mansion theft will soon be wrapped up! The boys’ clever strategy to foil the incompetent Chief Collig and Inspector Smuff’s plan to question Jackley gave Mr. Hardy the chance he needed to hear Jackley’s dying confession. The criminal’s last whispered words directed Mr. Hardy to look in the old tower for the loot. Now the only thing the Hardy boys need to do is to go to the Tower Mansion and retrieve the...

Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Having found the red wig hidden in the bushes, Frank and Joe are sure the identity of the car thief will soon be discovered. They have a hunch that perhaps that criminal is the same one who perpetrated the Tower Mansion robbery, and if it is, then Slim Robinson will be able to come back to school instead of leaving to help support his family by working as a grocery deliveryman. But even with Mr. Hardy’s help, it is harder...