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Kathryn Lopez Luker

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Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 16 and 17Send us a textWelcome 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 She can’t afford any new ball gowns, and the ones she saved after the family lost their fortune all seem old, outdated, and shabby.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’t the only one who needs P...2025-02-151h 03Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 14 and 15Send us a textWelcome 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 most. Now sit back, relax, and listen...2025-02-071h 08Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 12 and 13Send us a textWelcome 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 young women who are working hard to achieve something in their lives, it...2025-01-311h 02Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 10 and 11Send us a textWelcome 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, and Jane to have a chance at a new life. And of course she does it in her...2025-01-141h 18Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 8 and 9Send us a textWelcome 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 little bit of joy and peace to those she meets...2025-01-081h 10Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Staves Four and FiveSend us a textWelcome 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 to become better people, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year.2024-12-1246 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Stave ThreeSend us a textWelcome 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 father, Kenneth Luker, reading Stave Three of A Christmas Carol, when the second o...2024-12-0652 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Stave TwoSend us a textWelcome 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 better way to relax than to hear Stories Come to Life...2024-12-0340 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Stave OneSend us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today we have a special treat! My father, Kenneth Luker, has agreed to be a guest host on our podcast for the next five episodes. We have a tradition in our family of reading A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, on the Sunday nights in December. Somehow, it just wouldn’t be the same without that familiar and heartwarming tale. And I can’t think of a better reader than my dad. I am so grateful that he agree...2024-11-2844 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 6 and 7Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Soon it will be time for Polly to go back home to her loving family. But before then, she introduces the Shaw family to the joy that comes from listening to Grandma’s stories. There is so much that everyone can learn from that wise old woman! And then there is one last party to attend before Polly leaves: dancing and feasting and just enjoying one another’s company!Now sit back, relax, and listen to this...2024-11-191h 20Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapter5Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. After Tom’s bicycle accident, the young people of the Shaw household are so good and kind to each other that Grandma becomes worried that something bad is going to happen. But, things never run in a smooth course, and this chapter is full of scrapes and mistakes and hurt feelings. It’s only natural, after all. Can Tom, Fanny, Maud, and Polly ever be friends again? To find out, just sit back, relax, and listen to thi...2024-11-0634 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 3 and 4Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Polly is still visiting the Shaw family, and sometimes she feels homesick for her own family. You see, her own home is filled with love, and to her surprise, the Shaw home is not. Polly can’t understand why, but she sets to work to do the small and simple things that bring peace and affection to a household. Even incorrigible Tom is touched by her kindly ways! Now sit back, relax, and listen to this stor...2024-11-011h 00Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeAn Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott, chapters 1 and 2Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the first episode of Louisa May Alcott’s delightful book, An Old-Fashioned Girl. Here we meet Polly Milton as she leaves her home in the country to go visit Fanny Shaw, who lives in town and is already quite a young lady. Polly, who is nearly the same age as Fanny, still considers herself a young girl. She doesn’t have the fancy clothes and big city sensibilities Fanny does, but somehow her kind and friendly manne...2024-10-291h 02Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff, chapters 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When we last left Frank and Joe and their father, they had been tied up by the smugglers and were awaiting being forced into Li Chang’s boat, bound for China! Things look very grim for our heroes. How can they possibly escape and see the smugglers come to justice? Here is the thrilling conclusion of The Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff.Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to lif...2024-09-2047 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff, chapters 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Brave Frank and Joe Hardy start exploring the hidden cove under the cliff at Barmet Bay. Not only do they find a secret channel where boats can come in and out of the area unseen, but they find the smugglers’ lair, and a weak and frail prisoner who has been held captive until he will sign a certain document. Can the boys rescue this prisoner from the clutches of the smugglers?Now sit back, relax, and lis...2024-09-1353 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff, chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Where could Fenton Hardy, Frank and Joe’s father, have gone? He was last seen in the vicinity of the deserted old Polucca place. So Frank and Joe and several of their chums decide to go explore the whole house, just in case he may be there. What a surprise they have when they find the old house tidied up and seemingly inhabited by some renters. And not only that, but they find a clue that makes them sus...2024-09-0355 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff, chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. After rescuing the young man from the water after his almost fatal encounter in the bay, Frank and Joe Hardy are understandably concerned about him. Their father thinks the young man, who seems to be using an assumed name, may be in the secret service, trying to discover secrets about Ganny Snackley and his smuggler’s ring. But the Hardy boys aren’t so sure. They want to try to solve the mystery themselves. When their father disappears unexp...2024-08-211h 00Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the second exciting volume of The Hardy Boys Mysteries. In The House on the Cliff, Frank and Joe Hardy stumble on a mystery as they and their friends Biff, Chet, and Jerry, are riding their motorcycles around Barmet Bay one Saturday in early June. When they decide to explore an old deserted house, none of the boys is frightened or concerned until a bloodcurdling scream emanates from the empty dwelling. Could the house be haunted, or i...2024-08-0558 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 22 and 23Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Poor Peter has been so lonely and disgruntled and, most of all, jealous this whole summer. Instead of having Heidi to himself up on the mountain pasture, she has been spending all her time with Clara. And even when she decides to come up to the high meadows with him, she will be bringing her friend! When Peter sees an opportunity to force Clara to go home immediately, he takes it. But the action brings unexpected consequences for e...2024-07-091h 32Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 20 and 21Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When I was a little girl, I remember begging and pleading with my parents to let my dear cousin, Susan, spend the night. Almost always my parents were happy to let her stay and we would stay up late and tell stories and talk about how we hoped our lives would go. Something similar happens to Heidi when Clara and Grandmama finally come to the mountain meadow to visit.Now sit back, relax, and listen to t...2024-06-261h 03Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 18 and 19Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Winter has come to the mountain once again. But instead of being snowed in on the mountain pasture and unable to go anywhere, Heidi and Grandfather have moved to the Hamlet. In the little town of Dörfli, Heidi goes to school, teaches the reluctant Peter how to read, and enjoys the snow-filled winter. Every day continues to bring something new and wonderful to her life. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to...2024-06-1148 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 16 and 17Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Who is Heidi waiting for? Goat Peter wants Heidi to come with him to the high pastures, but she is waiting for some special, long-awaited visitors. She is so happy when the doctor arrives to stay for a while. He is sad and despondent, but just being around Heidi helps him regain some joy in living. Heidi seems to have that effect on everyone! All too soon, the doctor’s visit must come to an end, but...2024-06-0147 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 14 and 15Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Finally back in her mountain home so dear, Heidi has to visit Grandmother, and go out to the pasture with the goats, and listen to the music of the wind in the fir trees. But most of all, she enjoys spending time with Grandfather, who has also been deeply affected by all that Heidi has learned in Frankfort. The lessons Heidi teaches him will change their lives for the better.Meanwhile, back in Frankfort, the Sesemann h...2024-05-2148 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapter 13Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The mystery of the Sesemann ghost has been solved, and without delay, in order to save her life, Heidi is allowed to go back up to her beloved mountain meadow with Grandfather and the goats, and Grandmother, and Goat Peter! When has a homecoming ever been so joyful, and the sounds of home so welcome? Rejoice with Heidi in her return to the place she has so longed to be!Now sit back, relax, and listen t...2024-05-0342 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 11 and 12Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. After a wonderful, long visit, Grandmama Sesemann has to go back to her own house. Heidi and Clara miss her, but soon there is something to distract everyone from her departure. The Sesemann house is haunted! Every morning the front door is found to stand open, even though it has been double-locked every night! It takes Mr. Sesemann hurrying home from his business trip to solve the mystery.Now sit back, relax, and listen to this s...2024-04-2442 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 9 and 10Send us a textWelcome 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 grandfather and...2024-04-1738 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 7 and 8Send us a textWelcome 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 Sebastian, and a...2024-04-0859 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 5 and 6Send us a textWelcome 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 lea...2024-04-0242 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 3 and 4Send us a textWelcome 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 w...2024-03-221h 00Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHeidi, by Johanna Spyri, chapters 1 and 2Send us a textWelcome 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...2024-03-0847 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Maid of Astolat, and The Passing of King ArthurSend us a textWelcome 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...2024-02-2736 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Vision of Sir Bors; King Arthur in the Castle Perilous; Sir Perceval and the Silent Maid; and GalahadSend us a textWelcome 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 o...2024-02-0845 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Maid Who Mocked; and The Witchery of NimueSend us a textWelcome 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 valiant qu...2024-01-2942 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: Geraint and Enid; Lancelot of the Lake; and The Knighting of LancelotSend us a textWelcome 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 d...2024-01-1340 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Hidden Fountain; Sir Tristram's Tragedy; and The Foundling PrinceSend us a textWelcome 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 to the...2024-01-0349 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Seat Perilous; A Hunt in Fairyland; and The Rescue of NimueSend us a textWelcome 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...2023-12-2837 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Table Round; The Sword Excalibur; and GuinevereSend us a textWelcome 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 St...2023-12-1443 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeKing Arthur and His Knights: The Two Dragons; The Holy Grail; The Dragon in the Sky; and The Sword of the KingSend us a textWelcome 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 norm...2023-12-0156 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 29, 30, 31, and 32Send us a textWelcome 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, and there's no...2023-11-2921 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 25, 26, 27, and 28Send us a textWelcome 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 B...2023-11-2855 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 21, 22, 23, and 24Send us a textWelcome 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 come to life....2023-11-2253 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 17, 18, 19, and 20Send us a textWelcome 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 find gladness in the wo...2023-11-1041 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16Send us a textWelcome 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 people in town, only Aunt Polly doesn’t see...2023-10-3157 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12Send us a textWelcome 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 listen t...2023-10-1951 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8Send us a textWelcome 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 tries to find something about ev...2023-10-1158 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifePollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4Send us a textWelcome 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 young orphan, and is determined to be a friend and a rock...2023-09-2749 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The Tower Treasure, Chapters 21, 22, 23, and 24Send us a textWelcome 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 com...2023-09-1640 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The Tower Treasure, Chapters 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20Send us a textWelcome 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 goods. S...2023-09-1356 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The Tower Treasure, Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15Send us a textWelcome 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 ha...2023-09-071h 06Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The Tower Treasure, Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The Hardy boys, Joe and Frank, are very busy in today’s episode. They are determined to learn the skills of detective work that their father uses every day, so they begin by trying to observe the things around them very carefully, including some peculiar tire tracks Joe notices in the woods. His determined observation helps Chet find his missing roadster! But when the boys get back to town to share the good news, they find that everyone’s attention has...2023-08-2454 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Hardy Boys in The Tower Treasure, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the first of the many adventures of the Hardy boys, a series of books that is, in many ways, a companion series to the Nancy Drew books! For one thing, both series of books were produced by the same book packaging company, the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Here we meet Frank and Joe Hardy, the sons of the famous detective, Fenton Hardy. The boys want very much to become well-known and accomplished detectives just like their father. Surprisingly, a mystery s...2023-08-1857 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeDandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin, Chapters 19, 20, and 21Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the thrilling final episode of Dandelion Cottage, written way back in 1904 by Carroll Watson Rankin. Even though this book is more than a hundred years old, so many of the experiences seem to be right up to date: the anxiety that comes in preparation for a dinner party, for example, or the happiness we feel when everything turns out just right. These feelings are universal, and I think that is what makes Dandelion Cottage a book to love...2023-08-0954 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeDandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin, Chapters 13, 14, and 15Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. In the last episode, Mr. Downing, the church warden, told his wife he intended to listen with the strictest impartiality to the girls’ side of the story concerning those terrible Milligans. But does he listen? Not at all! He is more concerned with noticing all the little homey details the girls have added to the cottage and how the housekeeping is done than in truly hearing what the girls have to say. And then . . . ! But I won’t give anything else...2023-07-2539 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeDandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin, Chapters 10, 11, and 12Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When dear Grandma Pike moved away, the girls wondered and wondered who their new neighbors would be. Finally, they arrived: a man and his wife, a boy, a girl (about the age of the four cottagers), a baby, and a dog! How wonderful it would be to have a new friend, and a new baby to play with! But oh, those Milligans! They are certainly not the kindly neighbors the girls hoped to have. Now sit back, relax, a...2023-07-221h 02Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeDandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin, Chapters 7, 8, and 9Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. This is an episode of departures. First there is lovely Miss Blossom, the three-week lodger in Dandelion Cottage. But alas, three weeks passes so quickly and before the girls know it, Miss Blossom has to leave. Then Grandma Pike, who lives next door, moves away to live with her married daughter. Then Mr. Brown is called away to Washington for business for at least a month. So, his dinner must be postponed until he returns. At least kindly Mrs. Crane...2023-07-1045 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeDandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin, Chapters 4, 5, and 6Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Can you imagine furnishing a whole house, well, a cottage, with old, cast-off furniture and cracked dishes and a couch that is really just burlap spread over boxes? That is what Bettie, Mabel, Jean, and Marjory are doing, and they are having the time of their lives! If only they had a little bit of money so they could buy the ingredients for M.B.D (Mister Brown’s Dinner). Here is the next episode of Dandelion Cottage.No...2023-06-3041 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeDandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin, Chapters 1, 2, and 3Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When I was a little girl, my dad built a playhouse under a big blue spruce tree for my sisters and me. I spent hours and hours playing in it. I swept the floor and decorated it with pictures I drew and flowers I picked in the alley. What wonderful memories I have of that little playhouse! In this book, four girls set their hearts on using an old vacant and very rundown cottage as their special place to play...2023-06-2744 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Winning Basket, by Duane Yarnell, chapters 18, 19, and 20Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Ben Mason has faced so many obstacles as he has tried to make his place at Clearview Academy. He was assigned extra work so he would appear to be out of condition, he was able to save the life of a teammate and fainted from the loss of blood as a result, and now he is enduring a punishment after being falsely suspected of stealing money. How can he ever rise above this cloud of suspicion and unfair treatment to...2023-05-0859 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Winning Basket, by Duane Yarnell, chapters 15, 16, and 17Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When I was visiting my parents a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was reading The Winning Basket on this podcast. Pleased, Dad shared with me this poem that seems very fitting for Ben’s tale. It is one of the poems in a book called Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle, which is an anthology of poetry edited by Stephen Dunning, Edward Lueders, and Hugh Smith. The poem, Foul Shot, was written by Edwin A. Hoey an...2023-05-041h 06Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Winning Basket, by Duane Yarnell, chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is some amazing basketball! With Ben on the team, the Clearview Academy cadets have the opportunity to win and win and win. But tensions inside of the team seem to be pulling the squad apart. What in the world can Ben do to make the team start to click again? As always, Ben seems to be at the right place at the right time to make a big difference, and perhaps even save a life.Now, sit...2023-04-271h 09Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Winning Basket, by Duane Yarnell, chapters 8, 9, and 10Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Now as a member of the Clearview Academy basketball squad, Ben Mason knows this gives him a chance to prove to the rest of the school that he is worthy to be one of them. He plays with all his heart and tries to motivate his teammates to play their best as well. When they face their first contest, with Corona School, Ben has the opportunity to show what he can do!Now, sit back, relax, and listen...2023-04-191h 00Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Winning Basket, by Duane Yarnell, chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Now Ben has to work for his living, in order to have enough money to live until Clearview Academy returns his tuition and he can decide what else he can do to make his start in life. Because he is a good mechanic with a level head, he thinks of some ways to speed up the production in the valve assembly part of the automobile plant. His clever innovations bring him to the attention of the owner, John Harrigan, and...2023-04-051h 05Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Winning Basket, by Duane Yarnell, chapters 1, 2, and 3Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When I was growing up, I would often go down the basement where my dad had set up bookshelves that he made into a library. I would scan the shelves, searching for something interesting to read. Over the years, I read many, many of those books, some of them several times. Two books I remember that were always shelved right next to each other came from my dad’s childhood collection. One of them was about hockey, and the second wa...2023-03-3155 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 26, 27, and 28Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the thrilling conclusion of The Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill. Somehow that old stone barn must actually have some magical enchantment to it because none of the Hollisters or the Grahams will ever be the same again after falling under its influence. But is it actually the barn that caused the life-changing circumstances or the benevolent effect of trusting in something beyond themselves and being willing to step out bravely into the unknown, trusting in that benevolence...2023-03-1549 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 22, 23, 24, and 25Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What is happening to Shirley? In this episode, brave Shirley Hollister shows the ingenuity of Nancy Drew and the courage of a valiant knight as she does her best to protect her top-secret shorthand notes from being taken by a gang of ruthless criminals. Her quick-witted strategies soon involve Sidney Graham as well as her little sister, Carol. In the middle of this very trying situation, Shirley relies on her one sure source of comfort to help her through.2023-03-081h 19Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 19, 20, and 21Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. It’s time for Shirley Hollister’s two-week vacation, and what an amazing opportunity is coming to their family! Mr. and Mrs. Graham have invited the Hollisters to take their daughter, Elizabeth, to their shore-house for the month of September while Mr. and Mrs. Graham visit out West. It will be the first time Shirley and the rest have seen the ocean, and wouldn’t it be lovely for Doris to play in the sand? Now if only Mr. Barnard could...2023-02-271h 12Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 16, 17, and 18Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. At the ending of the last episode, Sidney Graham has gone out West to conduct some business for his father. He went to investigate some mines. The Hollisters weren’t neglected, though, and each member of the family living in the barn received some token that he had been thinking of them. Surprisingly, this is where the story takes an interesting turn when upon Sidney Graham’s return, the already resourceful and clever Shirley is thrust into the role of a da...2023-02-211h 02Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 13, 14, and 15Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What a wonderful life it is for the Hollister family! They wake up to the birds’ vibrant dawn chorus, enjoy the fresh country air, and can watch the sunset at night, all from the comfortable, homey stone barn! Sidney Graham and his sister are frequent guests at the barn, and even the fashionable Mrs. Graham is charmed by the intrepid little family. Shirley gives herself a good talking to in order to make sure she doesn’t read anything but kind...2023-02-101h 09Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 10, 11, and 12Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The furniture is in place, an old denim cloth that used to be a floor covering has been patched and cleaned and hung up as a curtain, the piano is in the corner of the new living room in the barn, and everything is ready for the Hollisters to move in. Kind Elizabeth Graham has one more welcoming surprise for the family and she works behind the scenes to prepare the barn to be as beautiful and comfortable as she...2023-01-311h 14Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 7, 8, and 9Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Not only are Shirley, Carol, and George Hollister charmed by the big old barn, but Sidney and Elizabeth Graham can see the possibilities too. The elegant Graham siblings are also charmed by the humble and steadfast Hollisters, too, and they are determined to make the barn as welcoming and comfortable as possible, while trying at the same time to respect Shirley and her family’s pride and their determination not to take advantage of their new landlord. What fun it is...2023-01-241h 01Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 4, 5, and 6Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What about that big, beautiful barn? First Shirley, and then Sidney Graham have explored it and found it to be a charming, peaceful place. Shirley would really like her brother George and sister Carol to see the place before she makes any firm decisions about whether to move their little family there to live. Can such an opportunity be arranged? Isn’t it wonderful that there are such kind and open-hearted people in the world like the Grahams! It almost se...2023-01-1954 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill, Chapters 1, 2, and 3Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. In 1918, as World War I was raging in Europe and the tragedy of the Spanish Flu epidemic was beginning to sweep across the world, the writer Grace Livingston Hill published her thirty-third book. The Enchanted Barn is a story about a charming, courageous, and forthright girl named Shirley Hollister. Brave and resourceful Shirley reminds me a little bit of Nancy Drew, even though Nancy wouldn’t appear on the literary scene for another twelve years. When we meet Shirley, she is...2023-01-111h 12Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Celestial Omnibus, by E.M. ForsterSend us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. “The Celestial Omnibus,” by E. M. Forster is one story in a larger collection published in 1911, and therefore happily in the public domain. Oh, how I love this short story! I think some of the things I like about it is that it reassures me that we don’t have to know all the details and obscure meanings of a poem or a book to find pleasure in reading it, and also that it lets me know that it’s not sill...2023-01-0644 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeUnderstood Betsy, Chapter 11Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When Betsy’s kitten, Eleanor, starts avoiding the house and spending most all of her time in the barn, Betsy follows her one day and finds Eleanor’s wonderful surprise, nestled into the hay up in the loft! At this same time a letter arrives from Aunt Frances that seems it will change, once again, the course of Betsy’s life. October in Vermont has never seemed so beautiful and precious before, and Betsy finds that her heart is inextricably woven...2022-12-2148 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeUnderstood Betsy, Chapters 9 and 10Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. If Aunt Frances could see Betsy now, she probably wouldn’t recognize her! Betsy is becoming a compassionate, kind, and very clever young girl. She is developing a real friendship with Ralph, whom she used to be frightened even to be near, and she is like a little mother to sweet young Molly. She is also very brave and resourceful, as her adventure on her birthday at the county fair demonstrates!Now sit back, relax, and listen to th...2022-12-1556 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeUnderstood Betsy, Chapters 7 and 8Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Betsy is learning so much at the Putney farm! In addition to helping out around the kitchen and learning to sew, Betsy is also learning compassion and how to care for others. She even has to figure out how to save little Molly when she falls into the Wolf Pit! How can she still be the same timid little girl who was so fearful of going to stay with the Putney cousins! Now sit back, relax, an...2022-12-1056 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeUnderstood Betsy, Chapters 5 and 6Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. One thing I enjoy about Understood Betsy is how the author makes comments to us as Betsy’s story unfolds. For example, in today’s episode, Betsy is so confused about which grade she is supposed to be in in school. She is a wonderful reader, but not so good at arithmetic. She has had a long practice of guessing the answer to a multiplication problem instead of actually learning the tables. After explaining Betsy’s technique, the author...2022-12-0855 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeUnderstood Betsy, Chapters 3 and 4Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What a strange new life it is for young Elizabeth Ann when she wakes up in the first morning of her time in Vermont. She does so many things for the very first time today: she gets herself up and dressed, fixes her own hair, and even learns how butter is made. But how can the Putney people expect her to go to school all by herself on this very first day? It is just too much! Elizabeth Ann, or...2022-12-0142 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeUnderstood Betsy, Chapters 1 and 2Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. One of the reasons I love creating this podcast is that I can revisit some of the books I have loved all my life. Understood Betsy is one of these. Written in 1917 by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, this book is now in the public domain, which means it can stay available on this podcast forever! Here we meet little Elizabeth Ann, a nine-year-old orphan who has lived a very sheltered life with her great aunt Harriet and Aunt Frances. T...2022-11-2259 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Boxcar Children, Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. All summer long the four children have been living at the edge of the woods in their boxcar. Everything is going well. They have plenty to eat, Henry works hard every day for the kind doctor, and Benny is even learning a bit of math. But then Violet becomes gravely ill and they need to turn to others for help. They are very frightened that their grandfather, who was opposed to their parents’ marriage, will find them and treat them ro...2022-06-1445 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Boxcar Children, Chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Picking fruit in the orchard, eating cherry slump and roasted potatoes, running a big race, and not only teaching Benny to read but making him a new stuffed bear: these are just a few of the memorable and charming events in today’s installment of The Boxcar Children. Living in a freight car at the edge of the woods is a wonderful adventure for Henry, Jess, Violet, and Benny! Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story com...2022-06-0837 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Boxcar Children, Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Henry, Jess, Violet, and Benny are now living in the cozy boxcar they found in the woods. Henry has good luck when he goes into town to see if he can find some work. Young Doctor McAllister is impressed with the way Henry works, and invites him to come back every day to do odd jobs around the place. Maybe Jess, Violet, and Benny have the best time, though, searching for old dishes, building a fireplace, and discovering all kinds...2022-05-2850 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Back in 1924, Gertrude Chandler Warner’s book The Boxcar Children was published. Eighteen years later, in 1942, the book was condensed and revised to make it simpler for young readers. But I find the original version to have a lot more detail and charm. So, this is the version I’ll be recording. Plus, because this earlier version is now in the public domain, it will stay available on Stories Come to Life forever, so you can listen to it often.2022-05-2442 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Light Princess, by George MacDonaldSend us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today’s story is one of my childhood favorites, The Light Princess, written by George MacDonald and published in 1864. Everyone knows that sometimes a wicked witch may come uninvited to a royal christening, and the results can be quite frightening. A princess may sleep for a hundred years, or might turn into an apple, or some other such curse. But what would it be like if the bewitched princess simply didn’t weigh anything? Here is the delightful story...2022-05-161h 38Stories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeThe Ransom of Red Chief, by O. HenrySend us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today we will listen to “The Ransom of Red Chief,” a short story written by William Sydney Porter, who used the pseudonym O. Henry. Even though this story was published more than 100 years ago (in 1910), mischievous and imaginative children are still the same! Sam and Bill think they have figured out the perfect plan to come up with an easy two thousand dollars: they will kidnap a little boy and force his parents to pay a lot of money to get...2022-03-0328 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 31, 32, 33, and 34Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today we will hear the exciting last four chapters of Treasure Island. After Jim gives his word to Long John Silver that he won’t run away and go back to the doctor, the squire, and the captain, he and the mutineers set off to find the treasure, as indicated on the chart that Jim first acquired from the old sea chest of Billy Bones. As they trek across the island, they see a fearsome skeleton and hear the last wo...2022-02-2857 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 28, 29, and 30Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here are chapters 28, 29, and 30 of Treasure Island. Poor Jim Hawkins climbed over the stockade only to find himself in the middle of the pirates’ den! The pirates weren’t very happy to see Jim, and what with one thing and another, most of the men were ready to do away with him. But Long John Silver came to the rescue and had an interesting proposal for him: if Long John would save Jim’s life now, Jim would do what he cou...2022-02-2347 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 25, 26, and 27Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Chapters 25, 26, and 27 of Treasure Island are some of the most exciting of the adventure! Jim Hawkins clambers aboard the Hispaniola and finds her empty---except for the dead body of the seaman O’Brien and the living but wounded coxswain, Israel Hands. Jim and Israel Hands reach an uneasy truce as they work together to maneuver the ship into a safe harbor. But then Jim discovers that the deceitful Hands has a plan to do away with him! But the schemes of...2022-02-1648 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 22, 23, and 24Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here are chapters 22, 23, and 24 of Treasure Island. After the doctor patches up the injured captain, and does what he can for the other wounded men, he leaves the stockade to go and meet with Ben Gunn. Jim, left behind in the sweltering heat, decides to leave the safety of the stockade also and search for Ben Gunn’s boat. Soon he is floating in the little hard-to-steer coracle and thinks he will probably die on the breakers pounded by the su...2022-02-0740 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 19, 20, and 21Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Jim is back to narrating the exciting events unfolding on Treasure Island. In chapters 19, 20, and 21, we find Jim, the doctor, the squire, Captain Smollett, and several other good men defending the log-house and stockade against the mutineers. Long John Silver, who has proclaimed himself captain of the pirates, comes to the stockade for a parley. But his terms are ridiculous! He leaves in anger and soon the pirates attack the few brave defenders. Musket shots ring through the island! 2022-02-0439 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 16, 17, and 18Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today’s chapters, 16, 17, and 18, of Treasure Island are narrated by Doctor Livsey because Jim Hawkins, our hero, is having his own adventures on the island. The doctor, the captain, the squire, and the other faithful crew members decide to leave the Hispaniola and find the stockade and log house on Treasure Island. As they leave the ship, one of the mutineers decides to abandon the pirates and fight on the side of good! Now if only Jim Hawkins were safe!...2022-01-2831 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 13, 14, and 15Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here are chapters 13, 14, and 15 of Treasure Island. The Hispaniola has finally reached Treasure Island, and the crew members are so anxious to go find the gold that they are belligerent and refuse to do anything they are ordered. Long John Silver leads a shore party with the intent to convince the men to be patient just a little longer. Jim also goes to the island and once again overhears and witnesses dreadful things! After what he has seen and heard...2022-01-2042 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 10, 11, and 12Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Now we have chapters 10, 11 and 12 of Treasure Island. What an exciting thing it is for Jim to be on board the Hispaniola, immersed in the life of the sea! He watches the men march around the capstan bars, hears the boatswain pipe the hands on board, and enjoys the new experiences. Then one day as he has clambered into the open apple barrel that stands in the waist of the ship, he overhears a conversation that makes his blood run...2022-01-1138 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 7, 8, and 9Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here are chapters 7, 8, and 9 of Treasure Island. The squire, Mr. Trelawney, has purchased a lovely schooner, the Hispaniola, to take Jim and Dr. Livesey to the island on the treasure map. He’s also hired a captain, a cook, and enough men to crew the ship. Jim is so excited to go to sea that he can hardly think of anything else! Already he feels very comfortable and friendly with Long John Silver, the one-legged sailor who is to be th...2022-01-0734 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 4, 5, and 6Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here are chapters 4, 5, and 6 of Treasure Island. The old sea dog, Billy Bones, died of shock, surprise, and an excess of rum in the Admiral Benbow Inn. He left a debt behind that Jim Hawkins and his mother could certainly use. He also left behind a lot of enemies. When no one will help protect Jim and his mother as they look through Billy Bones’s sea chest, they decide to do it by themselves and take only what is du...2022-01-0442 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeTreasure Island, Chapters 1, 2, and 3Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When I was young, I played the game of Authors for hours on end. At some point I formed the goal of reading all the books represented in that old card game. Treasure Island was one of the books highlighted by Robert Louis Stevenson. Here is the first installment of that book, the three chapters that introduce our hero, Jim Hawkins, his dear mother and short-lived father, the Admiral Benbow Inn, and of course the old sea salt, Billy Bones...2021-12-2244 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHoliday Stories 2021: Kwanzaa---Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters and ChinyeSend us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Kindness and beauty are both wonderful qualities to be blessed with. But where beauty is often out of our control, kindness is something people can develop and add to their characters, no matter what their outward appearance may be like. Today’s stories are two traditional African folktales, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, retold by John Steptoe, and Chinye, retold by Obi Onyefulu. In these tales, kindness is discovered to be of far greater worth than just outward beauty. And sometimes, unki...2021-12-1720 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeHoliday Stories 2021: Kwanzaa---The Magic Gourd, and The Hunterman and the CrocodileSend us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today’s stories are two African folk tales retold by Baba Wague Diakite that represent some of the principles celebrated during the holiday of Kwanzaa. In both The Magic Gourd and The Hunterman and the Crocodile, Baba Wague shares the principles of Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Faith, and Creativity. At least I can identify those ideas in these wonderful tales. But you might find other principles as well. Baba Wague came to Pocatello as an honored visiting author se...2021-12-1519 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeA Little Princess, Chapters 18 and 19Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Miss Minchin is surprised to hear that Sara has crept over to the Indian Gentleman’s house with something wrapped up in her coat. That will never do! She storms over to confront Sara and demand that she return to the school at once! Sara, however, is now under the protection of the Indian Gentleman, who has been searching and searching for her for two years. She never has to return to the school again.What a warm an...2021-11-1742 minStories Come to LifeStories Come to LifeA Little Princess, Chapters 16 and 17Send us a textWelcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The Magic has actually come to Sara’s cold little attic room. She and Becky have never been so well fed, so warm in their cold garret, or so happily calm in the face of Miss Minchin’s scoldings. Miss Minchin doesn’t know what to think. It’s almost as if Sara is a little princess after all! One night the little monkey from the Indian Gentleman’s house creeps to the attic window. Sara lets the creature in...2021-11-1551 min