The Read Aloud Lady

Ever wonder where bluetooth technolgy got its name? Wonder no longer, and enjoy todays episode about a Viking King, Harold Bluetooth!

When a society makes quick steps forward in technology and inventions, safety concerns will sometimes arise. Once the need is known, there are always sharp minds who can come up with clever solutions. The story today is about a tragedy and the invention that it sparked!

New inventions are often met with skepticism and are tested against the things they were made to replace. The story today is about that exact situation-- the Tom Thumb, the newly invented steam locomotive, is challenged to a race with a horse. Will it be able to prove itself or be declared a failure? Listen and find out :)

Have you ever been so busy and wished that one of the things on your "to do" list could just magically be completed on its own? Well, that's pretty much what happens every time we turn on an appliance and walk away! It is really thanks to inventions that we can be "in two places at the same time." The story today tells about a young man who created a machine to get him out...

Dreams can be funny or scary or just plain confusing. But in today's story, a dream ending up being quite useful! Listen to find out all about it :) Music used for the episode: https://freetouse.com/music/pufino/enlivening

No one wants to think that they are too old to still be useful, and the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster in this story certainly have that in common. To avoid their respective fates, they band together to become the musicians that they were meant to be. And they find more adventure than they originally bargained for!

Do you ever wish that you could just talk to a pot and have it fill up with your favorite food? Unlimited soup or pasta sounds pretty good to me. The Brothers Grimm play with that idea in this delightful story about a magic pot that goes a little wrong. Enjoy!

Today's episode is a charming story, although perhaps lesser known, from the great Hans Christian Anderson. If they had hashtags in the mid 1800s, I think this one would be labeled #CoupleGoals Music credit for the episode https://freetouse.com/music/pufino/enlivening

A mother dragon tells a story of her husband's heroics for her children's bedtime story. Mentioned in the episode: "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" ISBN # 9780140544510 Music used: https://freetouse.com/music/pufino/enlivening

Traitors are discovered within the ranks of Mighty Kamehameha's circle of Chieftains, which threatens to upend the unity of the entire Kingdom of Hawaii. Will the King simply put the men to death or give them a more fitting either-or? Listen and find out! Mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9l7qrUYpMw Music used for the episode: https://freetouse.com/music/pufino/enlivening

The year is 1840. Scientist and explorer Louis Agassiz is the first human even to go inside a glacier well. This story is about that journey! Listen to find out about the surprise he got at the bottom... Episode music credit: https://freetouse.com/music/pufino/enlivening

A young Frenchman, enthusiastic for the cause of the American Revolution, is in England and desperately making his way to a ship bound for America. The trouble? Soldiers, hot on his heels. Will he make it to his ships? Or will his failure be the only mention of him in history? Listen to find out!

A Cherokee man works diligently, studying each sound of his language and creating a mark to correspond with it-- the first written alphabet for his people. Will they accept such a foreign concept? Or will he be misunderstood? Listen to find out!

Today's episode is the story of an exciting sea battle, with what seems like a clear underdog. A small American ship is guarding a slow unwieldy ammunition ship when a larger warship suddenly comes towards them. Should they fight what is surely a losing battle? Or abandon their post, leaving the ammunition ship to surrender or be sunk? Or perhaps the Captain has another plan in mind? Listen an...

A young man sneaks past a royal guard, climbs a vine covered fence and trespasses into a private chapel, all to hear some organ music up close. Is he a hooligan or a criminal? Well, it turns out that he actually became one of the most famous and prolific musician and composer of his time. Listen to the full story and at the end, you'll enjoy a short clip of one of his particularly well known c...

Listen to a "grim" fairytale and stick around to hear what sets fairytales apart from other types of literature-- hopefully it will inspire you to check out these old tales.

The sacred music from the Sistine chapel is found in a private home of a 13 year old Austrian boy. Can he prove that he did not steal the music, but rather remembered it? Listen and find out! Enjoy the rest of the concerto here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whTEVQ2OizI&list=RDwhTEVQ2OizI&start_radio=1&t=351s Many thanks to "free to use" music used in the intro and extro: h...

A man rides through a New England town, to warn his fellow countryman of an imminent battle. 86 years later, a poet recounts the events. The details are hazy, and change a bit depending on who you ask, but the story is a good one and an important bit to understand the spirit of early America. Enjoy! https://freetouse.com/music/pufino/enlivening

The charming, if perhaps slightly embellished, story of how one early frontiersman met his future wife.

Today's story goes to show that school boys never change, whether they live in the mid 1700s or 2025. This is a special episode that contains some clips from the main character as well as the boys choir that he used to sing in! Full song from the boys choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IthY9Mim36o&list=RDIthY9Mim36o&start_radio=1 More from Joseph Haydn: https://www.youtube.com/watc...

There's a Fete in town and it happens to fall on a bank holiday, which means that the whole village has come to watch! There's games of all sorts, and we know that Milly Molly Mandy, Little Friend Susan, and Billy Blunt will want to participate. Does their practices pay off? Listen and see!

Sometimes the Founding Fathers-- or maybe, just people who lived long ago-- can conjure in your mind a statue of them or a dusty portrait of them wearing a wig. But the truth of the matter is that they were also teenagers, who had their own struggles and victories. The story today is anything but dull-- family difficulties and perhaps one of the first documented practical jokes in American History...

An artist pours his heart and soul into an important painting of the civic guard in Amsterdam, Holland, in the mid 1600's. His fame had waned and this was going to be his big come back. His ailing wife and son were relying on him. But would the people understand this new style of painting? Listen to hear more about this fascinating story!

The Scottish army has been fighting the English, when the Scottish King fell ill. While he lays in bed with a fever, rumors swirl that he is dying or already dead. Will he be able to rally his troops? Listen and find out!

It is a surprise when Milly Molly Mandy's teacher needs a place to stay, and that place ends up being the spare room of the nice white cottage with the thatched room. In the course of the few days of hosting Ms. Edwards, Milly Molly Mandy does end up learning somethings... but perhaps not what she expected.