Are Children Philosophers?

The Philosophers’ Magazine has an interesting article about teaching philosophy to children.  There is research that suggests teaching philosophy extends benefits across the primary school curriculum.

Philosophical intelligence is the capacity of the mind to solve the recurrent problems of human existence. Some of those problems stem from the activity of the mind contemplating its own existence, others stem from the challenges humans face living in the world. Philosophical intelligence is our ability to organise our ideas and concepts into mental maps and models of the world. It involves processing information and trying to find meaning at a conceptual level, for example, by asking questions such as What is love? What is truth? What is beauty? But can children engage in this kind of questioning?

I think it’s a natural fit for kids to think philosophically.  They love asking big important questions that seemingly have no answer.  It’s the best of all games to play with a kid.  Big questions and even bigger answers!

Read the article: Can Children Philosophize: The Case For

Audio Podcast Novel: Pinocchio (Chapter 6)

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Per l’Italia!  More of our story!

This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy. His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy. This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa.

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Reading and illustration by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Podcast Novel: Pinocchio (Chapter 5)

DOWNLOAD PINOCCHIO – CHAPTER 5

Per l’Italia!  More of our story!

This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy. His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy. This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa.

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Reading and illustration by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Podcast Novel: Pinocchio (Chapter 4)


DOWNLOAD PINOCCHIO – CHAPTER 4

Per l’Italia! For playing in the living room!

This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy. His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy. This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa. The first seventeen chapters of this wonderful novel were recorded intermittently between 1999 and 2006, specifically for children to enjoy on the web. But I was unable to finish it. It is a very long story indeed and the demands of this particular recording were very great. I have decided that it would be a good thing for Italy and its most beautiful living rooms if I were to finally finish the book. I am cleaning up the sound a little bit and will start recording the eighteenth chapter soon. So here we begin the long story and in a few months we will reach the finish!

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Reading and illustration by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Podcast Novel: Pinocchio (Chapter 3)


DOWNLOAD PINOCCHIO – CHAPTER 3

Per l’Italia! For playing in the living room!

This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy. His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy. This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa. The first seventeen chapters of this wonderful novel were recorded intermittently between 1999 and 2006, specifically for children to enjoy on the web. But I was unable to finish it. It is a very long story indeed and the demands of this particular recording were very great. I have decided that it would be a good thing for Italy and its most beautiful living rooms if I were to finally finish the book. I am cleaning up the sound a little bit and will start recording the eighteenth chapter soon. So here we begin the long story and in a few months we will reach the finish!

Subscribe to audio podcast

Subscribe to audio with iTunes

Reading and illustration by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Podcast Novel: Pinocchio (Chapter 2)

DOWNLOAD PINOCCHIO – CHAPTER 2

Per l’Italia! For playing in the living room!

This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy. His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy. This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa. The first seventeen chapters of this wonderful novel were recorded intermittently between 1999 and 2006, specifically for children to enjoy on the web. But I was unable to finish it. It is a very long story indeed and the demands of this particular recording were very great. I have decided that it would be a good thing for Italy and its most beautiful living rooms if I were to finally finish the book. I am cleaning up the sound a little bit and will start recording the eighteenth chapter soon. So here we begin the long story and in a few months we will reach the finish!

Subscribe to audio podcast

Subscribe to audio with iTunes

Reading and illustration by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Podcast Novel: Pinocchio (Chapter 1)

DOWNLOAD PINOCCHIO – CHAPTER 1

Per l’Italia!  For playing in the living room!

This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world.  Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy.  His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy.  This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa.  The first seventeen chapters of this wonderful novel were recorded intermittently between 1999 and 2006, specifically for children to enjoy on the web.  But I was unable to finish it.  It is a very long story indeed and the demands of this particular recording were very great.  I have decided that it would be a good thing for Italy and its most beautiful living rooms if I were to finally finish the book.  I am cleaning up the sound a little bit and will start recording the eighteenth chapter soon.  So here we begin the long story and in a few months we will reach the finish!

Subscribe to audio podcast

Subscribe to audio with iTunes

Reading and illustration by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Story: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is possibly the greatest fairy tale of them all from the Brothers Grimm. In this full 30-minute production you will hear a cast of characters, completely original orchestral music, songs, and fantastic sound effects. We tell the story in a way that is unlike any you have heard before. When we made this audio story we worked very hard for months to get it right. We made it as carefully as we would make a film. The entire production is cinematic in its scope and we think it is the most exciting story we have ever done. So turn off every distraction, dim the lights, and enjoy thirty minutes of incredible adventure.

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Audio Story: Tom Thumb

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Tom Thumb is a traditional English folktale hero.  This version is by the Brothers Grimm from Germany who, in the 1800s, collected tales that were popular in Europe as part of their study of the German language. Their collection became world-famous and has influenced children’s literature ever since. Little Tom is one of the most famous characters in fairy tales. Enjoy his adventures. We’ll post another story about this clever little person soon.

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Read by Alessandro Cima
Duration: 00:12:06

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.

Audio Story: The Three Little Pigs

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Here’s a children’s favorite, The Three Little Pigs. It’s a tale that thrills almost all young children and you can’t go wrong with this one. We’ve created an easy-to-understand version of the story that’s both exciting and amusing.

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Read by Alessandro Cima
Duration: 00:03:39

Here’s the full audio script:

Once upon a time there were three little pigs.

One morning, the mother pig said, “You must go into the world and make your own way.”

So the three little pigs set out into the world.

The first little pig met a man carrying a bundle of straw and said, “Please may I have some of your straw to build a house with?”

The man gave him some straw and the little pig built himself a fine straw house to live in.

Soon, a hungry wolf came along. He knocked at the door and said, “Little pig, little pig, let me come in.”

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Audio Story: The Golden Goose

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This is a story from the collection of the Brothers Grimm. It concerns three brothers, one of whom is a simpleton. When this simpleton finds a golden goose opportunities and complications seem to meet him at every turn.

The illustration is by Leslie Brooke and is from a 1905 book entitled, ‘The Golden Goose Book.’

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Read by Alessandro Cima
Duration: 00:09:58

Here’s the full audio script:

THERE WAS a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called the Simpleton, and was despised, laughed at, and neglected, on every occasion. It happened one day that the eldest son wished to go into the forest to cut wood, and before he went his mother gave him a delicious pancake and a flask of wine, that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst. When he came into the forest a little old gray man met him, who wished him good day, and said, “Give me a bit of cake out of your pocket, and let me have a drink of your wine; I am so hungry and thirsty.”

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Audio Story: Peach Boy

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This is the story of young Momotaro, whose name literally means Peach Boy. The story is one of the most popular from Japanese folklore. Its theme of the unification of a people separated by hostility into an effective force for change resonates throughout history and applies to many different cultures.

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Read by Laral Andrews.
Duration: 00:05:57

Here’s the full audio script:

PEACH BOY

ONCE upon a time in Japan, there lived in the country an old man and his wife. They were very lonely because they had no children.

One day the old man went into the mountains to cut firewood and his wife went to the river to wash clothes.

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Audio Story: A Chinese Fairytale

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A Chinese Fairytale was written in 1904, by Laurence Housman. He was from England and wrote many stories, novels and plays. This story first appeared in a book of stories called The Blue Moon. It tells of the young Tiki-pu who wants desperately to learn how to paint. But he is only a servant and must resort to trickery in order to learn his craft.

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Read by Alessandro Cima
Duration: 00:18:33

Here’s the full audio script:

Tiki-pu was a small grub of a thing; but he had a true love of Art deep down in his soul. There it hung mewing and complaining, struggling to work its way out through the raw exterior that bound it.

Tiki-pu’s master professed to be an artist: he had apprentices and students, who came daily to work under him, and a large studio littered about with the performances of himself and his pupils. On the walls hung also a few real works by the older men, all long since dead.

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Audio Story: Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand

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StutteringStan

Duration: 14:24

Here’s a good one for the kids! Children’s author Artie Knapp strikes again with this charming tale about friendship and the confidence to stand your ground.

Stanley is like most squirrels: he loves nuts, climbing trees and playing with friends. But Stanley feels different from the other animals in his neighborhood, because he has a problem with words. Teased and bullied about his stuttering, Stanley refuses to let on that his feelings are being hurt, until one day he learns an important lesson from a new friend.

If you enjoy this audiobook version of the story, you’ll really love the book itself!  Go ahead and learn more about how to order one right here.  You’ll be supporting a great writer who brings his own unique and gentle sense of humor to every tale he tells.

This audio story is read by Alessandro Cima.

We Make Stories: Oddly Deceptive Membership Site from Penguin Books

Penguin’s Puffin Books has a new membership site called We Make Stories, where kids can use an online tool to create stories.  There are several types of story creation, including a remix tool to use on existing classic tales, a map maker, and a comic book style creator.  It’s all drag and drop type stuff and is intended to teach creativity and encourage literacy.

While this is reasonably fun-looking, I cannot understand why a site would present itself for pay membership and not really give any useful demonstration versions of its tools.  There is a single demo based on remixing old stories, but this is not sufficient to make me want to offer $9.99.  That price, by the way, is very effectively hidden from view and presented in a rather disturbing manner.  Here’s what I mean:

1. First create a user name and password and give us your parent’s email address.

2. Your parent will then get an email asking them to pay for the membership (£5.99/$9.99).

3. Once your parent has paid this, your membership will be activated and you can start to play all the games.

Those are the instruction on the sign-up page.  So kids are expected to blunder forth and sign up without the benefit of an effective demonstration.  Give away a parent’s email address without permission.  Then the parent receives an email demanding money.  No sir.  Absolutely not.  You put the price in big print on the front page and you don’t mislead children into presenting their parents with an unexpected request for money.  Everything should be up-front and visible right at the beginning.  I just can’t believe what I’m seeing online from a major publisher.  Perhaps we have here an example of how the publishing industry intends to get money out of people – by tricking their children.