When I popped the Travel Time Stories CD in and a sweet woman’s voice called my daughter by name and proceeded to tell her a story, just for her, well, it was like magic. Magic spun by fairies while dancing on rainbows with shiny golden unicorns.

The very nicely produced fairy tales on the three different volumes are classics: The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, The Three Little Pigs…pretty much your standard grade-school fare. What’s really cool however is that each track has a personalized introduction that greets the child then describes what to expect next. It’s a nice way to get a kid focused even before the giant goes racing up that beanstalk.

Some of the ye olde time-y language has been replaced to make the stories more accessible, but thank goodness the independent San Diego company behind the CDs stayed true to the original story lines. (Did you ever hear of a Red Riding Hood ending where the wolf doesn’t die but gets taken to the zoo? Sheesh.) 

One more benefit of giving Story Time CDs for the holidays: They’re lead-free. Bonus. –Liz

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