Random Kids Podcasts

Leonard Leslie Brooke was a talented nineteenth/early twentieth century illustrator who also wrote some delightful children’s books. He was well-known for his caricatures, portrait and landscape painting and sketches. He illustrated many children’s books, especially those written by Andrew Lang. Some of his famous works are The Nursery Rhyme Book, The Golden Goose Book, Johnny Crow’s Party and Ring O’ Roses. The Story of the Three Little Pigs was published in 1904. Most readers would be familiar with this children’s tale. The Big Bad Wolf was immortalized in Disney animated pictures, but here he is simply a Wolf. The illustrations by Leslie Brooke himself are realistic and the characters are not at all modified to look like cartoons. The Wolf looks quite terrifying and the little pigs look exactly like what they are. The end is quite gory and very small, sensitive children may find the whole story quite scary! However, as a children’s classic, The Story of the Three Little Pigs has entertained generations of children and parents too. The current volume contains just this one story and children may find the illustrations quite interesting and stimulating to the imagination. The Wolf’s constant refrain, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!” is something that remains entrenched in the memory long after one has grown up. The Story of the Three Little Pigs could also serve as a great platform for initiating discussions about safety, being smart enough to outwit your enemies, bonding with your siblings and how to take care of yourself when you leave home. Some of the lessons that can be instilled in young minds by reading this famous cautionary tale are about diligence, hard work, self discipline and respect for manual labor. Planning ahead, thinking ahead of your opponent and good and regular habits are some of the other topics that parents can discuss after reading this story. Using the right material for the right purpose is something that parents can advise can talk to heir children about. The first two pigs who used straw and sticks to build their houses found that these materials were totally unsuited. Only the brick house was able to withstand the Wolf’s attack. Brooke’s work remains a charming and memorable children’s story that is sure not to disappoint.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, Kids, L. Leslie Brooke, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Story of the Three Little Pigs

HOME & CLASSROOM and HOME & CLASSROOM SHORTIES! is a podcast by Brightside Up covering the world of children’s development.

Visit our Instagram for pictures and images mentioned on the show at @homeandclassroom.

Be a guest or share a story by emailing homeandclassroom@brightsideup.org

Home & Classroom is an interview-style podcast featuring child development experts. Shorties! is a news-style podcast on what’s happening at Brightside Up.

Our vision is to create a world where all children are understood.

We have a disclaimer, read it on our website

Categories: Kids & Family

Tags: child care, Children, development, Education, family, Funny, health, Kids, nutrition, play, playful

First published in 1863, The Water Babies by Rev Charles Kingsley became a Victorian children’s classic along with J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Lewis Caroll’s Alice books. It is an endearing and entertaining novel that can equally be enjoyed by adult readers as well. However, it fell out of favor in later years since it contained many ideas that are considered politically incorrect and offensive today from a humanitarian perspective. The Water Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby to give the book its complete title tells the story of Tom, a young orphan chimney-sweep in Victorian London. Tom is apprenticed to the mean Mr Grimes, who employs such children to work in inhuman and often dangerous conditions, sweeping out the chimneys of large houses. When Tom is assigned to work at Harthover House, a stately mansion, he is dazzled by the luxury and elegance of the place. He stumbles into the bedroom of the daughter of the house and his appearance startles her so much that she “screams like a peacock!” Tom is equally frightened and he rushes out of the house, falls into a river and drowns! But this is only the beginning of a great underwater adventure. Scholars have described The Water Babies as a didactic fable. Kingsley expresses many of the prevailing attitudes and prejudices against different races, countries and customs. He also expected the book to be read as a satire against the cruel and inhuman child labor laws of the time. Kingsley was himself a contradiction. He was a devout churchman who was one of Charles Darwin’s greatest supporters. He was also profoundly influenced by the scientific thinkers of the day like Thomas Huxley and Sir Roderick Murchison. The Water Babies was first published as a serial in Macmillan’s Magazine. It reflects some of the issues that concerned Victorians of the time. Problems like sanitation, health reforms, Christian Socialism, child abuse and primary education are discussed at various points in the book. After his studies at Cambridge, he chose to go into the Church and was ordained as a minister, from whence he rose to become the chaplain of Queen Victoria. He also wrote several other popular books like Westward Ho! Hypatia and Two Years Ago. A prolific writer and speaker, Kingsley’s works were received with great admiration during his lifetime. In fact, a town in England was named Westward Ho! It is the only town with an exclamation mark in the country and perhaps the world! The Water Babies is indeed an interesting slice of an era long past and a great addition to your collection. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, Charles Kingsley, ebooks, Fairy tales, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Water-Babies

History made interesting for young readers—This Country of Ours by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall provides a simple and easy to comprehend way of looking at the history of the United States. Arranged chronologically in seven long chapters, it presents events in a story form, making them memorable and very different from other formats. One of the challenges that writers of history face is about fleshing out the characters and making the bland repetition of dates and dynasties seem relevant to modern day readers. Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall was a British writer who wrote several children’s books. Her most famous work is Our Island Story, a book of British history, which was considered to be the definitive children’s history of Britain for more than half a century. However, some of Marshall’s books may be found to be historically inaccurate, racially biased and often rely on mythology, legend and even Shakespeare as the source of material. This Country of Ours was published in the UK in 1917 and later was also reissued as The Story of the United States in 1919. It begins with a brief account of the Vikings and how they were the people who really discovered America, before the advent of Columbus. The story of Columbus and his famous expedition are thrillingly recounted along with stories of the English and French explorers who also sailed to the New World. New England, the Middle and Southern Colonies, the American War of Independence, the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, the abolition of Slavery and finally the coming of World War I where the book ends make up the rest of the story. Apart from children, adults will also find it interesting to skim through as many of us have forgotten the details of our history lessons learned in school. Another important aspect is that This Country of Ours was written at a time when it was still fashionable to be patriotic! Today, we are so accustomed to having our great leaders’ lives ripped open to public scrutiny and very few of them have survived the onslaught of scandal and the loss of personal reputation. This Country of Ours takes us back to a more innocent era when the great figures of history were still role models for children to be emulated. As a general overview of American History, This Country of Ours is indeed a good book to read.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, History, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Politics, Short stories, Teen/Young adult, This Country of Ours

Nate and Jen are a young married couple with the cutest babies ever, bringing you a fresh take on love, relationships and parenting. Using their 5+ years of marriage experience to offer insight in a relatable way, they spend in each episode addressing matters of the heart with plenty of candor, humor, and nuggets of wisdom. Through transparency and honesty, Nate and Jen let couples know that they aren’t alone in their trials, but that together they can make it through them all! Hosts Instagram: @natelovesjen @jenlovesnate

Categories: Comedy, Kids & Family, Religion & Spirituality

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