The Open Storybook

We were off last month, but this month, we continue with an Easter leftovers theme, with a bunny. Well, more accurately a hare, as we uncover the stories based on the well-known Aesop fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.“The Hare and the Tortoise” was taken from The Æsop for Children and The Fables of Æsop, both written by Æsop, the latter translated by Joseph Jacobs.“The True History of the Hare and the Tortoise” was taken from Fifty-One Tales, by Lord Dunsany.“The Persevering Tortoise and the Pretentious Hare” was taken from Fables for the Frivolous, by Guy Wetmore Carryl. The Open Storybook is a Backstage Group production.

A happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all, and welcome to Season 2 of The Open Storybook! This episode, we’re celebrating the traditional Irish holiday with two stories about leprechauns, as well as discussing their history. Thanks for tuning back in for more stories! The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.“The Lepracaun; or, Fairy Shoemaker” was taken from Rhymes for Young Folk, by William Allingham.“The Leperhaun: A Legend of the Emerald Isle” was taken from The Old-Fashioned Fairy Book, by Mrs. Burton Harrison. The Open Storybook is a Backstage Group production.

This month, we’re back to children’s stories, and on to the Christmas season. We’ll be reading the classic The Night Before Christmas (and discussing its controversial authorship) as well as hearing a special holiday treat. This marks our final episode of the first season, but we’ll be back at some point in 2022—be sure and stay tuned! The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek. The Night Before Christmas was taken from The Night Before Christmas and Other Popular Stories for Children.

In this month’s episode, we basically continue down the Halloween trail until we come, in this fall, to the house of Edgar Allan Poe. Of note, the stories contained within this episode may not be appropriate for children, as we deal with murder and its concealment in The Tell-Tale Heart and the psychological toll of lost love in The Raven. Be sure to tune in next month for our Episode Before Christmas! Past episodes and more can be found at our website, storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.The Tell-Tale Heart, taken from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, was written by Edgar Allan Poe.The Raven was written by Edgar Allan Poe.

We’re celebrating spooky season this month as Halloween approaches. Our story is the Washington Irving classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This is a somewhat longer tale than usual, so buckle in for over an hour of storytelling! Past episodes and more can be found at our website, storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was written by Washington Irving.

This month, we’re back to storytelling with two stories featuring frogs, preceded by a brief discussion of frogs in literature. We’ll be delving into the classic tale of a prince turned into a frog, and we’re also including something a bit different from Mark Twain. Past episodes and more can be found at our website, storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.“The Frog-Prince” was taken from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm.“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” was taken from The Best American Humorous Short Stories, edited by Alexander Jessup

In this month’s episode, we bypass the usual story to give you a little more background into this podcast. And to do that, we present an episode of a different podcast—which was never meant to be—entitled Messin’ with The Kid. Dive in with your narrator as he presents a peek into what could have been. Past episodes and more can be found at our website, storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.Music from Messin’ with The Kid includes “There It Is” and “Slow Burn” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

This episode, you can relax and let down your hair, as we climb to the heights of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel. Learn more about the Brothers Grimm and their motivations behind their collections, as well as some of the background of this particular tale. Past episodes and more can be found at our website, storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.“Rapunzel” was taken from The Red Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang.

It’s time to get jacked up for the second part of our literary dive into the sea of Jacks. In the second part of “You Don’t Know Jack,” we’ll be reading Jack the Giant-Killer, and discussing its Arthurian basis and possible influence on Jack and the Beanstalk. Don’t forget to visit our website at storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.“Jack” nursery rhymes were taken from The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, edited by Iona and Peter Opie.“Jack and the Beanstalk” was taken from Favority Fairy Tales, arranged by Logan Marshall.The Open Storybook is a Backstage production.

You may be a Jack of all trades or an every-man Jack. You may even be a crackerjack. But before you can say “Jack Robinson,” we’ll show you that you don’t know Jack. The literary Jack, that is. This week, we’ll be reading several “Jack” nursery rhymes as well as climbing up for “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Don’t forget to visit our website at storybook.backstage.link. The Open Storybook theme was written and recorded by James P. Balcerek.“Jack” nursery rhymes were taken from The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, edited by Iona and Peter Opie.“Jack and the Beanstalk” was taken from Favority Fairy Tales, arranged by Logan Marshall.The Open Storybook is a Backstage production.