Tell Me a Story is an audio CD presenting a collection of eight fables from around the world, each retold in a clear, dramatic style. Listeners are treated to some thoroughly enjoyable voices of stage, screen, and song, each sharing a story in vivid detail.

In our home, we have not found many audio productions we would care to own. But this selection is among the few we enjoy often, and we are glad to have it in our collection. The stories are animated and entertaining. Some of them were immediately familiar to us, such as the African tale "Anansi and Turtle" and the American folktale "The Howling Boatman's Daughter." Others have become new favorites, such as "Two Frogs from Japan" and the Jataka tale "Rabbit on the Moon."

Tell Me a Story includes instrumental accompaniment. The music is so well matched to each piece that it does not overpower the readers' voices nor distract from the stories themselves. With four children listening when we play Tell Me a Story, I appreciate that each element on the CD adds to, rather than detracts from, the stories presented.

The playing time of the entire CD is just over 70 minutes, with the average story time at approximately ten minutes. These stories can be enjoyed individually, as the focal point of a lesson, or together, as background during a project or crafting period. Our children, ranging in age from two to nine, all enjoy listening to Tell Me a Story.

This CD sells for $15. But customers receive a great deal more than just an audio CD of folktales. The Myths and Tales website (www.mythsandtales.com) provides lesson guides for all of the stories. These guides, coupled with the biographical and historical information included in the CD insert, make it simple and enjoyable to use this CD in lesson planning. The materials lend themselves easily to literature appreciation, social studies, history, creative writing, or a number of other studies for both early and late elementary grades. The website also includes an array of teacher's links, folklore links, and other information for integrating Tell Me a Story into your lessons. Whether your homeschool follows classical or Charlotte Mason style, whether you unschool or are eclectic in nature, there is plenty to enjoy and learn from a great story. Tell Me a Story is a great addition to any homeschool library.

Product review by Dy Edington, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2008