Readastorus - Classic Children's Stories

Christmas Every Day by William Dean Howells - A Family Christmas Story Dec 22, 2022

Children around the world grow more excited by the day in December as Christmas approaches. Are you looking forward to Christmas morning? How would you feel if it was always Christmas? Well, that’s just what one little girl wondered over 100 years ago in this special holiday tale, "Christmas Every Day."

Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman - A Family Christmas Story Dec 19, 2022

Being a scarecrow is a hard enough job in the best of times, but when winter comes, it can be miserable. Yet, for one scarecrow, a cold Christmas brought a wonderful opportunity.

The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett Aug 02, 2022

This tale flips the traditional "boy meets girl" fairy-tale narrative by introducing a strong-willed nature loving girl who puts her own desires and beliefs ahead of those of a young man she meets in the woods.

The child of a rural family doctor in Maine, Sarah Orne Jewett was writing short stories professionally from age 18. Most of her work was purchased by The Atlantic magazine, with the glaring exception of "The White Heron." The story went of the become the title piece of her first book and her most popular story.

Little Brier Rose (Sleeping Beauty) by The Brothers Grimm Sep 18, 2021

The story of sleeping beauty has been told many ways and was made into an animated movie by Walt Disney. The original story by the brothers Grimm was actually titled "Little Brier Rose" which is also the name of the princess who fell asleep.

Monosyllabics by Laura E. Richards Aug 29, 2021

This story isn't really a story. It's a poem. What makes it's both unique and fun is that every word has just one syllable.
Why don't you read along:
The black cat sat
In the fat man’s hat;
“Oh, dear!” the fat man said.
“May the great gray bat
Catch the bad black cat
Who has left me no hat
For my head!”
The big brown bear
Tried to curl his hair
To go to the Fair so gay.
But he looked such a fright
That his aunt took flight,
And he cried till night, they say.
A pale pink pig,
In a large blond wig,
Danced a wild, wild jig
On the lea;
But a rude old goat,
In a sky-blue coat,
Said, “You’re nought but a shoat, tee hee!”
A poor old King
Sold his gay gold ring
For to buy his old wife some cream;
But the cat lapped it up
With a sip and a sup,
And his tears ran down in a stream.
A large red cow
Tried to make a bow,
But did not know how,
They say.
For her legs got mixed,
And her horns got fixed,
And her tail would get
In her way.
A boy named Sam
Had a fat pet ram,
And gave him some jam
For his tea;
But the fat pet ram
Tried to butt poor Sam,
Till he had to turn
And flee.
A girl named Jane
Had a sad, bad pain
In the place where she wore
Her belt;
She mopped and she mowed,
And she screamed aloud,
Just to show the crowd
How she felt.
A sad, thin ape
Bought some wide white tape
To trim a new cape
For his niece;
But a bold buff calf,
With a loud, rude laugh,
Bit off one whole half
For his geese.
A pert, proud hen
Laid an egg, and then
Said “Cluck!” and “cluck!” and
“cluck!”
Said the cock, “Had I known
You would take that tone,
I would have wooed none
But a duck!”

The Night Moth With a Crooked Feeler by Clara Dillingham Pearson Aug 15, 2021

Sometimes when we look at others, we see our own imperfection magnified and think less of ourselves. However, while we we all have flaws and problems, its is how we treat others that really matters.

A Noble Dog by Edith Nesbit Aug 08, 2021

Everyone and everything has a purpose. In this story a Newfoundland shows his talent when it's needed most

Dolly’s Voyage by L.L. Weedon Jul 23, 2021

Sometimes kids can be a little too rough with their toys, but have you ever wondered how the toys feel about being tossed around. This is a story about how one doll felt about the abuse she received from her little girl's brother.

Jack and the Beanstalk Jun 19, 2021

One of the most famous stories of all time is about a boy who disobeys his mother and trades the family cow for a few beans.

The Chicken Who Wouldn't Eat Gravel by Clara Dillingham Pierson Jun 01, 2021

Sometimes it seems like parents tell us to do things that make no sense or to eat things that taste bad. Most of the time those things that we hate doing turn out to be really good fo us. That's just what a young chicken discovers in this wonderful story of life in the barnyard.

When We Were Very Young - Part Two by A.A. Milne May 20, 2021

One of the world's favorite books of children's poetry was written by Winnie the Pooh creator, A. A. Milne in 1924. Generations have enjoyed these memorable verses and now the are available for anyone to publish or read without paying.
Over three episodes, we will feature a selection of poems from this book. In this episode we hope you'll enjoy:
Market Square
Disobedience
Spring Morning
The Island
Three Three Foxes
Jonathan Joe
At the Zoo

When We Were Very Young - Part One by A. A. Milne May 16, 2021

One of the world's favorite books of children's poetry was written by Winnie the Pooh creator, A. A. Milne in 1924. Generations have enjoyed these memorable verses and now the are available for anyone to publish or read with paying.
Over the next few episodes, we will feature five of six poems from this book.
In this episode we hope you'll enjoy:
Buckingham Palace
Puppy and I
The Four Friends
Lines and Squares
and Nursery Chairs

Tiny Little Things by Unknown May 10, 2021

Even though the Readastorus is a huge mythical story telling dinosaur, he still cares about all the creatures in the world just as this little girl learned to do in this wonderful story by an unknown author.

Bremen Town Musicians by The Brothers Grimm May 03, 2021

As we get older we want to do new things and that's just what happened with the donkey, dog, cat, and Rooster in this wonderful old story from the Brothers Grimm.

When We Were Very Young - Part Three by A. A. Milne Apr 24, 2021

Here is the final episode of our reading of one of the most famous books of children's verse by the author of "Winnie the Pooh."

Thumbelina by Hans Christian Anderson Apr 23, 2021

The story is about a tiny little girl and the struggles she faced along the path to her destiny.

Winnie-the-Pooh: The Wrong Sort of Bees by A.A. Milne Apr 20, 2021

One of the greatest children’s stories of all time was written way back in 1925. Today, I’d like to introduce you the world's most famous bear, Winnie-the Pooh.
This was the very first story ever written about Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin. Now, 95 years later, it is in the public domain. Next year, we will begin bringing you more of the classic tales of Pooh and his friends. In the meantime, you might want to check out some earlier Readatorus episodes from A.A. Milne’s “When We Were Very Young.”

The Deliverers Of Their Country by Edith Nesbit Apr 14, 2021

We really like stories written by Edith Nesbit. They are lots of fun and usually the kids save the day as they do in this story, set many years ago in Great Britain, when a little girl has a big surprise land in her eye while her brother has his turn up in a tea cup.

The Golden Windows by Laura E. Richards Apr 08, 2021

Here’s a story about a little boy who sees one thing from far away and something quite different on closer inspection.
What we see with our eyes can change depending on where we are when we see it, just like what we think is true can be different depending on our personal beliefs and perspective.

Mother Earth's Children by Elizabeth Gordon Apr 03, 2021

Do you love fruits and vegetables?
Hmmm. Some of you seem to making icky faces.
You might like them better if you could see,
just how much much fun these plants can be.
So, I believe that it is time,
to tell their stories in a rhyme.

The Aged, Aged Man by Lewis Carroll Mar 26, 2021

Today we have a silly story, actually it’s a nonsense poem that was written by the author of Alice in Wonderland and included in his second Alice book “Through the Looking Glass.” In the book it is introduced to Alice by the Knight, so we allowed the him to introduce it to you.
It’s called The Aged Aged Man or is that it’s name or is it A’ Sitting on a Gate…

How the Moon Became Beautiful Mar 24, 2021

Long ago, people did not much of what that you learn in school today. Even the sun and the moon were mysterious objects that were impossible to understand, so ancient people created stories to help explain the natural objects as is the case with this ancient Chinese folk tale.

Little Boy Blue by L. Frank Baum Mar 23, 2021

Mother Goose wrote lots of great rhymes like:
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn.
The sheep 's in the meadow, the cow 's in the corn;
Where 's the little boy that minds the sheep?
He 's under the haystack, fast asleep!
But we didn’t know much more than that about little boy blue until L. Frank Baum shared the rest of the story in his version of Little Boy Blue.

Nursery Alice by Lewis Carroll Mar 18, 2021

One of the most popular stories of all time is about a little girl named Alice and her adventures in Wonderland. While wonderful, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a very long and sometimes complicated story. That’s why Lewis Carroll decided to write a version of his book just for younger children.

The Lonely Little Pig by Clara Dillingham Pierson Mar 12, 2021

Have you ever been ignored by others? Did you get angry or did it make you sad? Well, that’s just what happens to the little pig in our story. Find out what she does when the other pigs refuse to play with her after she arrives at a new farm.

The Book of Beasts by Edith Nesbit Mar 06, 2021

While being a kid can be fun, adults are in charge. Have you ever imagined being the boss? What would you do? In "The Book of Beasts" a young boy discovers that he has the power to change the lives of others. This story is one of Readasturus' new favorites.

The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Graham Feb 27, 2021

What would you do if you ran onto a dragon? Would you be scared? What is the dragon was a literary beast who only wanted to write poetry? And would you protect him from those who don’t understand him and think he’s a dangerous monster? Let’s find out.

The Girl Who Owned a Bear by L. Brank Baum Feb 24, 2021

Have you ever watched “The Wizard of Oz. Some parts can be pretty scary. But children’s stories from long ago often had scary parts. Sometimes a little scare can be kinda fun.
Well, the man who wroteThe Wizard of Oz also wrote a bunch of other children’s stories including this one.

Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter Feb 22, 2021

Find out what happens when one mischevious young bunny defies his mother's orders.

The Little Red Hen Feb 19, 2021

Do you think it’s better to sit around and let someone do all the work making dinner or should everyone work together to help make the meal? Listen as the Little Red Hen deals with that very situation.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Feb 15, 2021

A little girl learns a lesson about going places she shouldn't and using other's things without their permission.

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson Feb 12, 2021

Being different doesn't make you bad. In fact, our differences make each of us unique. Often the "ugly duckling" turns out to be a "beautiful swan."

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen Feb 10, 2021

The original story of a young mermaid who wished to become a human, marry a young prince and gain an immortal soul is far different from the popular Disney movie. It is far more dark – although we have edited out the most violent portion.
This tragic story – with a happy ending – was writtten by legendary Danish author Hand Christian Andersen and was published in 1837.

The Three Little Pigs Feb 07, 2021

When three little pigs are sent off into the world by their mother they take very paths building their new lives. When a big bad wolf comes after the pigs, the choices they made determine their future safety.

The Little Pink Rose by Sara Cohn Bryant Jan 21, 2021

All living things need a little help growing up. Just like children need their parents, a little rosebud needed help from the wind and the rain.

A Tale of Halloween by Loretta Ellen Brady Oct 28, 2019

While Halloween may sometimes seem scary, children have enjoyed this celebration of the fall season for centuries. Here’s a story about how two poor children celebrated a special Halloween many years ago.

Meet the Readastorus Mar 09, 2019

Get ready to meet the King of prehiSTORIES, the Readastorus, as he presents some of the greatest children's stories of all times. Look for a new story every week.

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