The Reading Bug Podcast: Original Stories, Music & Adventures for Kids

The Reading Bug Podcast: Original Stories, Music & Adventures for Kids

Let’s fly! ✨ The Reading Bug Podcast is a collection of original audio stories for kids — featuring immersive adventures, cozy bedtime stories, bite-sized story snacks, and curious science questions — all brought to life with original music, original characters and vivid storytelling. Listeners can: Travel anywhere imagination can take them in Reading Bug Adventures — cinematic, two-part story journeys filled with characters, music, and audience participation Wind down with Lauren’s Little Bedtime Stories, calming tales and gentle songs perfect for bedtime and quiet moments Enjoy Story Snacks, short, immersive stories designed for quick listening and big imagination Explore the world through Fact Fly’s One Big Question, where curious “why?” questions lead to fun, kid-friendly science discoveries Every episode is created, written, and produced by The Reading Bug, an award-winning, family-owned, independent children’s bookstore, with the goal of helping kids fall in love with stories, music, and learning. Perfect for car rides, quiet time, and bedtime. Learn more at readingbugadventures.com.

Episodes

Fact Fly: Why Are Ants So Strong?

December 18, 2025 • 17 mins
The Fact Fly's One Big Question Ants are tiny… so how are they SO strong? Join Lauren and the Fact Fly and shrink down into the ant world to explore the science of exoskeletons, muscles, physics, and teamwork that let ants lift 20–50 times their body weight. A fun, fact-packed STEM adventure perfect for curious kids and budding biologists!
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Story Snack: Wiggles in the Worm Tunnel

December 17, 2025 • 16 mins
Book Worm’s Story Snacks | An Underground Adventure Join the Book Worm and wiggle into the secret world beneath the garden! In this action-packed underground adventure, we discover how worms keep soil healthy, why compost and tunnels matter, and how tiny creatures help an entire garden ecosystem thrive. When a patch of soil becomes too packed for plants to grow, we'll need to wiggle, squirm, and teamwork our way through the dirt t...
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Bedtime Stories: The Little River That Learned to Slow

December 16, 2025 • 15 mins
In this soothing and gently funny bedtime adventure, kids meet Rill, a tiny river who loves to rush, splash, and zoom faster than anyone else in the valley — until one day he gets himself hilariously stuck between two boulders. With help from wise Grandmother Willow and a few forest friends (including a frog in a lily-pad hat!), Rill discovers the magic of slowing down, noticing the world around him, and finding calm inside himself...
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Adventure Encore: A Garden Adventure

December 15, 2025 • 52 mins
An Adventure Encore episode. Parts 1 & 2 combined into a full story. We're revisiting our first-ever adventure! Hop into the Reading Bug's book bag and shrink down to bug size to visit the insects of the garden and solve the mystery of the missing flowers! Travel through the garden with Helga and Fleur and help find Elizabuzz's friends. Explore the books in the Reading Bug's magic book bag at ⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/garde...
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Fact Fly: Why is the Sky Blue?

December 11, 2025 • 16 mins
Why is the sky bright blue during the day — and orange, pink, or purple at sunset? Join Lauren and the always-curious Fact Fly as they explore the science of sunlight, color, and Rayleigh scattering in this fun, kid-friendly STEM adventure. With humor, vivid imagery, and easy explanations, listeners discover how light interacts with Earth’s atmosphere, why blue gets scattered most, and what makes sunsets so colorful. Perfect for cu...
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Story Snack: The Loch Ness Mess

December 10, 2025 • 19 mins
Dive into a splashy adventure in Scotland’s legendary Loch Ness! In this Story Snack, travel along with the Book Worm all the way to Scotland's famous Loch Ness. Discover the wildlife that makes its home there, the, darting minnows, shimmering kelp forests, and maybe even… a shadow that looks suspiciously like a certain famous monster. When an otter gets tangled in human fishing line, the adventure becomes a rescue mission. With l...
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Bedtime Stories: The Garden of Midnight Sprouts

December 9, 2025 • 15 mins
Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories In this soothing and magical bedtime adventure, Lauren takes listeners into the wondrous Garden of Midnight Sprouts, a hidden patch of earth that only comes alive after dark. When a young farmer discovers glowing plants that bloom at midnight—and tiny creatures who depend on them—she must find the courage, patience, and heart to protect the garden’s magic. Filled with gentle humor, whimsical surpris...
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Adventure Encore: A Garden Adventure, Part 2

December 8, 2025 • 30 mins
A Reading Bug Adventure An Adventure Encore episode. Part 2 of 2. We're revisiting our first-ever adventure! Hop into the Reading Bug's book bag and shrink down to bug size to visit the insects of the garden and solve the mystery of the missing flowers! Travel through the garden with Helga and Fleur and help find Elizabuzz's friends. Explore the books in the Reading Bug's magic book bag at ⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/garden⁠...
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Fact Fly: Why Is the Ocean Salty?

December 4, 2025 • 16 mins
The Fact Fly’s One Big Question Ever wonder why the ocean is salty—or how all that salt even got there? Join Lauren and the always-curious, always-chaotic Fact Fly as they dive into this big, scientific mystery in a fun, kid-friendly way! In this episode, young explorers learn about Earth’s water cycle, rock erosion, minerals, rivers, and the surprising journey salt takes before it ends up in the sea. We shrink down to molecule-si...
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Story Snack: Inside the Beehive

December 3, 2025 • 23 mins
Book Worm’s Story Snacks | An Immersive Adventure A Book Worm Story Snack Episode. In this super-sensory Story Snack, the Book Worm shrinks you down to explore a real working beehive from the inside. Step through golden honeycomb halls, meet nurse bees and foragers, smell the sweet honey air, and watch a real waggle dance in action. Kids will learn about bee teamwork, pollination, hive roles, communication, and why bees matter — ...
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Bedtime Stories: Tiko and the Sleepy Giant

December 2, 2025 • 27 mins
Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories | Original Music In this laugh-filled prehistoric bedtime adventure, meet Tiko, a brave, dog-sized Psittacosaurus who finds himself face-to-face with Thunderfeet, the grumpiest (and biggest!) T-Rex in the valley. Everyone believes Thunderfeet is a terrifying menace… until Tiko discovers the truth: the giant dinosaur isn’t mean — he’s just exhausted. To save himself (and maybe the whole herd!), Tiko...
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Adventure Encore: A Garden Adventure, Part 1

December 1, 2025 • 33 mins
A Reading Bug Adventure An Adventure Encore episode. Part 1 of 2. We're revisiting our first-ever adventure! Hop into the Reading Bug's book bag and shrink down to bug size to visit the insects of the garden and solve the mystery of the missing flowers! Meet Mr. Scarecrow and cross paths with a colony of enormous ants. Explore the books in the Reading Bug's magic book bag at ⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/garden⁠. 
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Adventure Encore: A Thanksgiving Adventure

November 27, 2025 • 78 mins
Parts 1 & 2 combined into a full story. What are you thankful for? Lauren and the Reading Bug are thankful for a reunion with their good friend Spelling Bee! Join them as they travel back in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with a village of Pilgrims and the native people living nearby. When the magic book bag goes astray, we'll get an adventure we didn't expect - and an opportunity to celebrate our differences! Explore the books in ...
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Adventure Encore: A Thanksgiving Adventure, Part 2

November 26, 2025 • 43 mins
This is an encore episode or a Reading Bug favorite. Part 2 of 2. What are you thankful for? Lauren and the Reading Bug are thankful for a reunion with their good friend Spelling Bee! Join them as they travel back in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with a village of Pilgrims and the native people living nearby. When the magic book bag goes astray, we'll get an adventure we didn't expect - and an opportunity to celebrate our differen...
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Adventure Encore: A Thanksgiving Adventure, Part 1

November 18, 2025 • 43 mins
This is an encore episode or a Reading Bug favorite. Part 1 of 2. What are you thankful for? Lauren and the Reading Bug are thankful for an all-new adventure and for a reunion with their good friend Spelling Bee! Join them as they travel back in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with a village of Pilgrims and the native people living nearby. When the magic book bag goes astray, we'll get an adventure we didn't expect - and an opportun...
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A World's Fair Adventure

November 11, 2025 • 74 mins
Parts 1 & 2 combined into a full story. Join Lauren, the Reading Bug and the Spelling Bee on an electrifying adventure back in time to visit the Chicago World's Fair and learn all about the exciting inventions there. Help them usher in the age of electricity with the help of some important new friends, and explore the books in the Reading Bug's book bag at ⁠⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/worldsfair
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A World's Fair Adventure: Part 2

November 4, 2025 • 45 mins
Part 2 of 2. Join Lauren, the Reading Bug and the Spelling Bee on an electrifying adventure back in time to visit the Chicago World's Fair and learn all about the exciting inventions there. Help them usher in the age of electricity with the help of some important new friends, and explore the books in the Reading Bug's book bag at ⁠⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/worldsfair
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Adventure Encore: Día de los Muertos, A Butterfly Adventure

October 29, 2025 • 64 mins
An encore of one of our favorite episodes in time for Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Join Lauren and the Reading Bug as they follow the path of the great monarch migration into Mexico to learn all about monarch butterflies and to celebrate the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos. Explore the books in the Reading Bug's book bag at ⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/butterfly
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A World's Fair Adventure: Part 1

October 21, 2025 • 40 mins
Part 1 of 2. Join Lauren, the Reading Bug and the Spelling Bee on an electrifying adventure back in time to visit the Chicago World's Fair and learn all about the exciting inventions there. Help them usher in the age of electricity with the help of some important new friends, and explore the books in the Reading Bug's book bag at ⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/worldsfair
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Bonus: A Fairy Tale Adventure: Full Story, Parts 1 & 2

October 14, 2025 • 73 mins
Parts 1 & 2 combined into a full story. Join Lauren, and the Reading Bug in a Fairy Tale adventure! Explore the books in the Reading Bug's book bag at ⁠⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/fairytale
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