Stories Come to Life
Listen to classic and modern stories come to life as librarian Kathryn Lopez Luker takes you on adventures in books.
Episodes
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
It’s almost time for the adults to come home from their long trip. But there are still adventures for all the cousins before their aunts, uncles, and parents arrive. A dark orchard can still be a bit frightening after everyone’s imagination is stimulated by the Story Girl. And will the Story Girl’s cooking skills ever come close to Felicity’s? Certa...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
When Uncle Alec, Aunt Janet, and Aunt Olivia leave for a wedding, Uncle Roger is left nominally in charge of the cousins. But it is really Felicity, the wonderful cook, who takes charge. Everything seems just fine, until she becomes too bossy. Dan rebels, and the consequences seem dire. What will happen when Dan decides to defy his sister and eat th...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Poor Sara Ray wants so badly to go to the magic lantern show, but her mother, of course, has forbidden it. But because her mother will be out of town, she succumbs to the temptation the Story Girl proposes to sneak out and go anyway! But that leads to the Story Girl imposing a strict penance on herself. Was the price of urging someone to disobedienc...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
It seems that the Story Girl’s voice makes any story more interesting and exciting. When she tells the eighty-year-old chestnut about a girl who won herself a husband, everyone hangs on the Story Girl’s every word. This is a summer of ups and downs for the cousins, as they try to figure out, among other things, what God looks like, how to make sure ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
The summer I turned twelve years old, I was so sad when I finished all of the Anne of Green Gables books that were readily available at that time. This was in the 1970s, well before the resurgence of Anne’s popularity. But I LOVED L. M. Montgomery’s writing, and I longed to read other things she had written. So, I looked in the tall card catalog of ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote Anne of Green Gables, also wrote a delightful book about Sara Stanley, better known as the Story Girl. Told from the perspective of Beverley, one of two brothers who have come to stay on a farm with their aunts and uncles and cousins while their father is away, this book takes place on Prince Edward Island in Canada. ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
It’s late at night, and Frank and Joe Hardy have decided to see if their suspicions are correct and the counterfeiters’ lair is in the abandoned old Turner mill. Can they sneak across the moonlit grass to reach the mill before the suspicious Markel finds them? And how can they ever catch the gang of crooks? Here is the thrilling conclusion of The Ha...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
The passing of counterfeit money is continuing to affect people all around Bayport. Fenton Hardy believes the crooks’ headquarters must be somewhere nearby. When the counterfeiters’ actions affect the Hardy boys’ own mother, they decide to go sleuthing to see if they can find out something that will help bring the criminals to light.
Now sit back, r...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
When Frank and Joe allow a man to get on their new motorboat, Sleuth, they are in for an adventure. Not only does a storm come up, hiding their destination in a big bank of fog, but their passenger pulls out a revolver and insists that they go with all speed to Bayport to catch a non-existent train! Having a new boat is great, but their first voyage...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
The Hardy boys and their friends are so tired of studying for their exams that they decide to go on a hike through the countryside on Saturday. When they come across the deserted old Turner Mill, they are surprised to see people working there. The mill race is flowing swiftly, and Joe and Frank soon become involved in a rescue mission!
Now sit back,...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Here is the first episode of the exciting adventure that comes to Frank and Joe Hardy in their third book, The Secret of the Old Mill. Almost from the very first minute, the boys seem to be plunged into the thick of a surprising situation. While they are waiting for their father to return to Bayport on the train, they are preyed upon by a dishonest ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
How much Polly has experienced with the Shaw family! From her early visit to the big city where she came to realize that her simple ways could calm and entertain and bring peace to her friends, to the chance she has had to live on her own, teaching music and earning her living, Polly has been an influence of good in people’s lives. But will things e...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Poor Fanny feels as if she doesn’t have a thing to wear! She can’t afford any new ball gowns, and the ones she saved after the family lost their fortune all seem old, outdated, and shabby. But Polly has the knack of making even an old dress look new and fresh, so Fanny feels a bit of hope that she might be able to look all right after all. Fanny isn...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Polly is a young woman of integrity. As such, she knows she can’t follow the modern trend of stringing young men along to flirt and make them fall in love with her, especially when she knows she can’t return the sentiment. So she does a very hard thing, and is then more ready to offer comfort and love to the entire Shaw family when they need it the ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Polly is still just a young woman who wants to have fun and enjoy life. She seems so grown up and responsible! But one night she just wants to enjoy herself. Not surprisingly, she has a wonderful time. But poor Fanny, who has grown up all too quickly, is tired of everything. When Polly takes her to meet some youn...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Will Milton, who is Polly’s younger brother, visits his sister every Sunday. They sing, eat, and have serious discussions together. They also include little Maud, who is rather lonely and appreciates the chance to visit with Polly and Will. Then there is little Jane, who just wants a way to make an honest living. Polly helps Maud feel less lonely, a...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Six years have passed since we last joined Polly on her visit to the Shaw household. Now she is older, wiser, and ready to embark on a new adventure. This time, she is planning to “go around the city, making music all the time.” At least, that is how one young woman puts it. Polly may need to earn her living, but she is always able to spread a littl...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Here are the two final chapters, or staves, of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, as read by my father, Kenneth Luker. This time as I was listening to this old favorite, I was struck by how Scrooge is already prepared to learn and change from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. That reminded me of how we all need to remain teachable and willing ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
In A Christmas Carol, the different chapters are referred to as staves because when a piece of music is written, such as a Christmas carol, the paper it is written on is marked with five-lined staves, or staffs (same thing). So, when we refer to the different chapters, I like to think of them as different verses in a beautiful carol. Now here is my ...
Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker.
Here is Stave Two of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, as read by my father, Kenneth Luker. In this episode, Scrooge meets the first of the three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, specifically, Scrooge’s past.
Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life.
Listening to audiobooks really does count as reading, and there's no...
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