Sponsor Giveaway: Sparkle Stories

I am so happy to have both David and Lisabeth Sewell McCann here with me this weekend. David and Lisabeth produce the amazing Sparkle Stories. In their words…

“Sparkle Stories is a new site with audio stories for children ages 3 to 10. Each week we produce fresh stories from our three unique story series — Junkyard Tales, Martin & Sylvia, and So Many Fairies — plus an extra half hour of stories, songs, games, and verses in Saturday Sparkle. Our stories are designed to entertain and inspire, and they follow the seasons and the weeks of the year.

Welcome David and Lisabeth! It is an honor to have you in this space with me!

Lisabeth, how did you and David first meet?

Lisabeth: We were both living in Austin. I was doing an M.F.A. in playwriting, and he was producing indie films. We met at a party of theater and film folks! Early on, we loved to do creative collaborations together — but then we had kids, and parenting became our collaboration. It’s really really fun to be collaborating creatively again in Sparkle. (Not that raising kids doesn’t require creativity! Goodness knows it does!)

How was the idea of Sparkle Stories born?

Lisabeth: It was born in a flash one night while online reading the blog SouleMama. There was a discussion about where to find good audio material for media-cautious families. And the options out there didn’t seem to be plentiful. It dawned on me that David’s storytelling gift could be a resource, and that we could tap it and turn it into a small business. A business built for families looking for high-quality audio media for their kids! About 7 months later we started the process of making it a reality.

David, when did you first know that story telling was a part of your calling?

David: I’ve been telling stories my whole life. I don’t have many memories of my early years but I can remember a story my first grade teacher told me word for word. I had a number of exciting professions in my twenties that all circled around telling stories – from illustration to film making to mural painting. And then over the years teaching elementary school, it became clear that pedagogical storytelling was a powerful and effective teaching tool for everything from social inclusion to long division. It was a beautiful thing to see the children settle into a story, relax their jaws and let their eyes get dreamy. They trusted me, and I gave them my best stories every day.

Can you share how each sparkle story is created and the process it takes to get there?

David: All the characters in the Junkyard Tales and So Many Fairies story series are born out of the the intuitive stories I tell my children every night. When I tell them stories, I begin with an image – say, an overgrown lilac in front of an abandoned church. I start the story with an image and then pay attention to what calls me moment by moment. The characters simply “arrive” and I follow them along. I find the affection for the character and then let that affection guide my description. Then I let go. In every moment, I am paying attention to the story, finding affection for the character and then letting the story be told without getting in the way. After the story is told and the children are asleep, I write it out and give it to Lisabeth to edit. As a trained playwright, she sees the story objectively and is able to make changes to give it clearer shape and form. She then gives it back to me to record.

Do your boys ever inspire or help to create a new story?

David: Absolutely. The Martin and Sylvia stories are told the same way as I just described, however, the characters resemble our own life at home. They were created long ago with the intention of helping my boys meet the challenges and events of our life. When we knew we were going to move house, Martin and Sylvia moved. When our dog was going to die, Martin and Sylvia’s dog died. It helped them with the big transitions as well as normal everyday things like bossy older brothers and picky eaters.

And often I ask them for inspiration. At bedtime, I’ll say “Name 2 things,” and they’ll know exactly what I’m up to. They’ll say “a golden mountain” and “a band of robbers”, and there’s the beginning of a story. Many of the stories in our series started that way.

Some of your stories are specifically created for helping children with common childhood challenges such as teasing, loss and grief, social inclusion and self confidence. What are your thoughts on how a story can help children through deep thoughts such as these?

David: Pedagogical storytelling is a skill every parent and educator should build. It comes in handy every day and offers a direct line to a child’s emotional life. If they are experiencing anxiety around an impending event, or they have a sick family member or a fear of dogs, you can tell stories to help them find peace, resolution or simply know that you are seeing them and love them. You can create a story about a child that is similar to them in many ways but different enough to keep it separate. Then you can tell them a story about this character every night. In time, your child will begin to suggest ideas – things the character might be ‘dealing with’. Then the storyline offers healing for both of you. One of our goals with Sparkle Stories is to offer models of stories parents can tell their own children. I also regularly teach workshops on intuitive storytelling to parents and educators.

Is one of your characters your favorite? What makes them so special to you?

Lisabeth: We can’t even begin to name just one! We’ve been enjoying these characters for years now, and they’re all incredibly dear to us. I get particularly tickled at the Martin & Sylvia stories, as those stories are inspired by our own family experiences and dynamics. Sometimes the very thing we’re struggling with, or working on, gets exposed or resolved in the magic of the story as it’s spun. And that’s really cool.

:::

David and Lisabeth are generously giving away one year’s Subscription to Sparkle Stories! This consists of 52 weeks of delightful stories for ages 3-10, right in your own unique Sparkle Story Box.

To enter simply leave a comment below!COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

**For an additional entry you can share this post (facebook, twitter, on your blog, email some friends, call your mom, etc.) and leave another comment letting us know how you helped to spread the word.**

In addition to this giveaway opportunity, for the next MONTH, Sparkle Stories is offering Earth Mama 101 readers ONE MONTH of stories for just $1. (For over 5 hours of audio!) To sign up and take advantage of this amazing deal you can hop right over HERE and use the magic code: 9874

If you would like to listen to some free story samples, head on over to the Sparkle Stories website HERE.

This giveaway will close FRIDAY morning 8am EST and the winner will be chosen via random number generator and announced in this post shortly after.

Thank you so much to David and Lisabeth for taking the time to give us a little peek at the behind the scenes of Sparkle Stories. You are both so talented and I deeply appreciate your generous offering and the talent that you shared with us.

Congrats to mb: “ooh, this is so fun, if i don’t win i will definitely be taking advantage of the $1 deal! super generous! i listened to the sample stories recently and they sound just amazing. what a cool company!”

AND for everyone else, don’t forget to take advantage of the $1 deal for the rest of this month!