Testimonials

Firstly may I say how very much my six year old little girl loves your “So Many Fairies” Stories that we subscribe to.

We are living in Sweden, and we speak both English and Swedish in our home.  My mother tongue is English and my husbands is Swedish.  Our little girl has grown up with both since birth and is naturally grown to be bilingual.  Seeing her look forward to the new story each week continues to be a joy for both her and ourselves.

We wish you much success with your audio story business and for sharing your storytelling talent for it is a true gift.

I’m a new subscriber and I just love Sparkle Stories so much! I haven’t been this enthusiastic about a “product” in a long time.

Thanks for all your wonderful inspiration! We can’t wait until Friday to get our new stories!!!

(Read more about Amy’s experience with Sparkle here.)

We LOVE Sparkle Stories and tell all our friends about this amazing resource.  You guys are really providing a unique service for families who like to keep media input simple.

Our children relate so much to Martin and Sylvia, and my husband and I appreciate the examples of good parenting strategies.  :)

So thank you!

“Let’s listen to a Parkle Tory!” 

Other than “I’m hungry,” Finn’s linguistically idiosyncratic way of asking for a Sparkle Story is one of the most common requests from his mouth.

Our family loves the three story lines that we’ve been subscribing to for the past four months: Martin and Sylvia, Martin and Sylvia At Home, and Junkyard Tales. The stories are so down-to-earth, yet so rich in content, and always wholesome and entertaining...

We listen to the stories in the car and at home – often while preparing a meal or doing an art project. Sometimes, Finn will request to listen to a story while curled up in a window seat, watching the birds at the feeder. Perfect for a bit of quiet time.

:: read the whole post on Sew Liberated

I just wanted to let you know how thoroughly we have enjoyed listening! . . .

We are hooked on all three stories.  They are soothing to listen to and have simple yet engaging plots.

I love that they have a subtle seasonal element, and that they are “teaching” without a hint of the over-moralistic element found in many stories for kids.  You guys are genius!

This will be my gift of choice from now on for others!

I LOVE those stories, and what can I say about the kids.  When they hear the intro tune start, they usually dance until the story begins.

Friday has quickly become the story day, the magical day. I love the rich vocabulary they use, I love how the stories are told, I love the themes of the stories, and how it paints a simple and yet fantastic childhood picture for the children to listen to.

(Read her entire post here: thefreechild.blogspot.ca.)

We listen every day, love all that you do and are so excited about this new adventure!!

Thanks again for bringing a little sparkle into our lives every day. . . we just adore all that you are doing.

(Jessica wrote all about Sparkle here.)

I was surfing the Sparkle Stories website one morning, early, as D played quietly beside me. I clicked the button that said ‘listen to a sample story‘.

A pajama clad girl made her way closer and then quickly crawled into my lap, without a word.

Game over, folks.

She just fell into it.  Not a question or a comment, just enthusiastic nods. . .

This sort of thing thrills me.

www.durangomom.com

We love Sparkle Stories!!

My two year old knows what’s coming when the “Sparkle Music” starts, and David’s voice instantly calms this mama.

My older daughter is at the age where what she sees and hears inspires her imaginative play, so I am very thankful that we found something that is positive and fits in so well with our values.

PS-  My daughter wanted me tell you that her favorite one is “Martin and Sylvia” (and of course “Martin and Sylvia at Home”).

Thank you, David and Lisabeth, you both do such fantastic work. We cannot thank you enough.

Your love of weaving stories is outstanding!  It is a challenge to find quality stories with topics and language which bring mindfulness and respect.  Thank you for filling that gap.

And thank you for bringing joy to our previously-struggled nap time, car time.

I caught my 17-year-old enraptured by a Martin and Sylvia story the other night as he came in from track practice and plopped down next to his five-year-old brother who was listening to the recent download.

I actually went to pause the story because the kitchen was getting kind of noisy, and when I did my eldest looked at me with dismay and shouted, “Hey!” Never too old for good story-telling.

My daughter is more into Sparkle Stories than ever these days.

She will listen for just a few minutes while she is getting ready for school in the morning, and come home and go straight to her room, close the door for quiet time and listen to stories until her sister wakes up from her nap… 

It is fascinating to watch the effect these stories have on her mind/imagination.  She is so into every character.   She can tell you about every single animal in the Junkyard and where they live etc.

Keep up the amazing efforts. We are more in love than ever with Sparkle Stories. They’re so perfect and it makes me burst with excitement whenever I am telling anyone to get on board!

Your story library on my ipod is a little treasure trove that we take with us, and invariably, my daughter will ask for a story over music, if given the choice.  This did not used to be the case.

I think the stories make her feel good, calm, strong, and happy; I know they make me feel good, too.

Bless you for what you are doing.  You are my Story Fairies, and I do so appreciate you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the Martin and Sylvia stories!

It’s almost impossible to find any quality media that includes home based learning for children and it’s been such a delight to see my almost-5 year old incorporate Martin and Sylvia’s ideas into her play and learning time.

It’s been encouraging for me, too, as the stay at home parent/educator.

Your stories are amazing — we subscribe and wait with excitement for the latest installments every week.

One of our favorite calm parts of the day is having a “listening party” (as E calls it).  Can’t thank you enough for the joy, peace, and encouragement.

When anyone asks what I do in a day (as a home-schooler), I have them listen to one of the M&S stories.

I just wanted to let you know how much I LOVE your stories.

Fridays are always good mornings!  I have 4 year old twins ….  I wish you could have seen my boys shouting out “Harriet!!  Oh Harriet!” with the Junkyard Tales story of the hawk–it was hilarious.  They ask to listen to it again and again.

I am a speech-language pathologist and a language/book lover in general and your stories provide something for children (and families in general) that is just not readily available out there.

I’ve been searching for great audio stories for some time now. I learned about your site through Amanda Blake Soule’s “Soulemama” blog and I absolutely love your stories!

My five and half year old daughter thoroughly enjoys listening to them and now we have subscribed to your once a week “Martin and Sylvia” series.

I am telling everyone who I know that would appreciate your craft.

You are doing a great job and we look forward to our Sparkle story every Friday. It has made supper making time so much easier! Thank you so much.

I had to share a little love and thanks for you all….

I downloaded one of the free stories I found on your blog (Daddycation) and tried it out with my son (5) and daughter (2).  We spread out some crayons and paper, a small snack and listened.  I had planned to use this time to get some chores done around the house but instead ended up taking a much needed break coloring and listening to this beautiful story.  My son and I are hooked!  …

Sparkle Stories will be a part of our family for years to come so keep them coming.

We’ve been subscribers for nearly 6 months, now, and this is the thing:  the stories are good for ALL of us.  Mama included.

They bring us peace.  They soothe us.  They help us prepare for things–a trip to the doctor, a holiday, a plane ride.  They give us jumping off points for discussions about things we need to do or want to do.  They are nourishing me and my children, daily.  I am so thankful I found you.

In your stories, I find ways to handle situations with my children, without losing my cool.  I find ways to be more playful.  I find in these stories special ways to connect with my oldest; and my youngest, who just is not a great sleeper, often falls asleep (finally) to your stories as I drive around quiet neighborhoods in the dark.   And I get to listen to yet another wonderful story.

You enrich our lives.

I held off signing up for Sparkle Stories for a long time because I thought the amount of new content might be overwhelming and, as a committed Waldorf home-school parent, I wanted them to have only LIVE stories.

Finally, out of desperation, when I found myself contemplating movies for personal and professional time, I signed-up.

After hearing Caster’s Daughter, my daughter ran into the room where I was working exclaiming, “I looove that story mama!” She was elated and I could feel the magic in the air.

It was such a wonderful feeling to have her loving something so positive and worthy of imitation. We can choose how much new content to introduce at a time and we repeat favorites over and over. It has even enhanced and inspired our live family storytelling.

And now I have something quick and easy in my basket of tools and tricks for self-care, which is so necessary for mothers to be what they want to be for their children.

Thank You Sparkle Stories!

www.mamamuse.com

We are having SUCH a blast listening to the stories each week…

I can’t really overstate how much my son loves these.  After he gets the latest stories on Saturday, he will go back through and repeatedly listen to the new ones with me in the car or at home on the stereo, interspersing some of his favorites from previous weeks…

Last night he was in the bathtub lining up small people and telling me they were mama, daddy, martin, and sylvia!

He also goes around quoting bits of the story even when he is playing other games or running around outside – it is inspiring creativity, for sure.

I feel so fortunate that we are getting a chance to get to know these characters, and I know we will continue with it, as long as he wants to.

Thank you for starting such an inspiring, family-friendly, substantial, worthwhile venture.

I just love how my six and a half year old AND three year old can listen to these together and love them, and I can listen in from the kitchen and enjoy them too.

Your stories have been an absolute treasure for us to discover.

As a yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner, much of my work focuses on helping children and families slow down and tune in to themselves, each other and the natural world.

I believe your stories are a very practical and accessible tool to assist in all of these things.

We are enjoying our sparkle stories so much over here, and my boys just love them.

I am hearing bits of the stories in their play, which is a joy.

My kids have been listening to story cds at quiet time for some time, but it was always a lot of work to find stories that we found appropriate for them.

We are thrilled to have Sparkle Stories to offer them for their quiet alone time. Thank you!

We sure enjoy your stories. My son (4 years old) asks almost everyday “Is there a new one?” and several times each day “Can I have Martin and Sylvia?”

My daughter (almost 2) starts dancing as soon as she hears the theme music.

Signs of great appreciation I think.

Thank you so very much for providing wonderful stories that are also gentle but never boring.

The stories offer so many opportunities for later conversations with my children about what it means to care for others, to share, to be generous, how to handle new situations, our relationship to the natural world, etc.

Your stories have been a real help in my parenting journey.

If you are looking for inspiring, parent-approved stories for your children look no further than Sparkle Stories!

David’s masterful storytelling is mesmerizing. I finally feel good letting them listen to an audio while riding in the car. My girls beg for the next edition of Saturday Sparkle and honestly, I enjoy his stories too!

My six-year-old daughter especially loves the Junkyard Tales… I like that the animal personalities and the relationships between the different characters develop over time, creating a meaningful storyline. My daughter listens to the stories almost every afternoon, up in her room, and after six months, the characters have become like old friends.

We have been loving Sparkle Stories since our first listen. My kids’ hands-down favorite series is Martin and Sylvia, a brother and sister (who happen to be homeschoolers) who the kids think are really themselves by different names. Gentle, magical, humorous, beautiful stories. Sparkle Stories are the only audio stories we listen to.

My daughter just turned nine, and she has fortunately retained the heart and imagination of a young child. She is firmly in the world of third grade, but is eagerly transported to the worlds of Martin, Sylvia, junkyard friends, gnomes and fairies. Sparkle helps us preserve that magic and wonder in a household with an older sister’s influence.

It’s so nice to know that Sparkle is there to fill my children up with the positive messages, wonder and joy… Thank you, Sparkle!

I’ve been subscribing to Sparkle Stories for a couple of months now, and I have to tell you, I love what you’re doing! I originally subscribed just to see what the stories were like, and I enjoyed them, so the next step was to try them out on my 4 ½ year old. . . Well, I hoped she would like them, but I couldn’t have predicted how much. There was absolute silence from the back seat as we listened to a Martin and Sylvia story on the way to her half-day of preschool. After school, she asked if we could hear it again. (yes!) I was stoked—resounding success!

Thank you very much for the wonderful job that you do!…I wanted to let you know how much I love your stories, especially Martin and Sylvia’s ones.

We are a French family of three girls who are 5, 3 year old and 9 months.
We have been living in New York for three years and since June we are back to France.
We have discovered your stories… they help a lot our older daughter to maintain her English….Thank you very much!

I just have to say… the pace of the storytelling is just PERFECT….You both have captured a beautiful story rhythm and gorgeous stories.

“I just wanted to let you know how much my children and I look forward to receiving our new Sparkle Stories each week.  I have two boys, ages 5 & 7, and they are avid fans of Martin & Sylvia and Junkyard Tales.

I download the stories each week and then burn them onto a CD so we can listen to them as we go to and from school or soccer practice. If the story isn’t done when we reach home, we sit in the car and listen until it’s finished because we can’t possibly be left hanging not knowing how things turn out.“

“At my son’s age (4), I’m very conscious about what stories go into his heart.  I have seen how he internalizes stories and characters, both good and bad.  With most media, I find that there is always at least one character I don’t want him imitating – or I find that the media itself is simply an advertisement for toys at the big box store.  With Sparkle, I don’t have any of those concerns.  The characters are worthy of imitation, and the underlying lessons in the stories fit well with our family’s values and dreams for our kids.”

“My daughters and I really love your stories. The Sparkle Stories concept is wonderful: I love that I can trust the content to be nourishing for my children as well as engaging. You have also re-inspired me to keep telling stories of my own to my daughters.”

Just wanted to let you know that I LOVE your stories!  I have 3 kids, ages 7 (almost 8), 5, and 2.  We all sat and listened this afternoon after purchasing the subscription, as well as to the samples.  My oldest son was rolling his eyes when I told him what it was but as soon as the stories started he was curled up at my side listening and asking for more!  We home school and he was thrilled that the two children in the story are home schooled as well, and in a manner that sounds similar to ours (we use a Waldorf framework with some unschooling tendencies)!  Anyway, just wanted you to know how much we like it and we’re telling all our friends and posting on Facebook!”

“David’s voice is sooo soothing! I find myself listening along with my 7 yo son …. Thank you for all that you do for our (almost) media free family!”

“I’ve been playing your Courage stories all week for my very water-afraid kiddo before swim lessons. Today, he hopped in neck deep, and happily exclaimed, “Momma I am like the guy in my Sparkle Story!!” …I’m sorry I wasn’t rolling film on it, it would have been a great advertisement!”

“You are doing wonderful work for so many families…  Our 8 year old son can listen to fairy tales told by David.  He is afraid of many illustrations in even the simplest most authentic Grimm’s (et al) books… Thank you for your fine work and all the care, thought, knowledge and ingenuity that so obviously goes into it.”

“You guys are awesome. Were it not for Sparkle Stories, an 8 hour train trip with my 3 year old boy would have felt more like 18 hours! Sparkle Stories to the rescue…”

“As a Waldorf teacher and mother of three, I’m very cautious about media.  Most of what’s out there is so full of messages I don’t want for my kids.  Sparkle Stories, though—well, it’s not just a trove of beautifully told adventures, full of memorable characters and perfect for grade-school age children.  It’s a weekly event we all look forward to!  

I subscribed to Sparkle Stories because we needed a healthy alternative to television, to fill in a half-hour here and there while we adults tended to other things.  What I didn’t expect is that Sparkle would become something everyone enjoys, and that we would be re-inspired in our family story telling life.  Thank you!”

“last week, my son (almost 4 years old) spent every afternoon after his nap painting and listening to your stories.   one day in particular, he had missed his nap and was all out of sorts at a time when we had a trip to make – i put your story in the car, and it was like calming the storm.  your voice is so soothing for him and the stories invite his imagination right in.  thank you!”

“Your stories are filled with real magic.  Thank you so much for creating Sparkle Stories for our family.  We love them & look forward to the new ones every week!!!!”

“I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how much our family loves your product.  My children (ages 3, 6, and 8)  look forward to Fridays all week because that is when we get new Sparkle Stories!  I’m so glad we got the “Trio” package.  My kids each have their own favorite story lines and everyone likes “Saturday Sparkle.”  Thanks again!”