When I was a kid, I had a large and awesome collection of storybook records. You know – those short illustrated stories that came with a 45-RPM record and the charming sound effect of a chime that let you know when to turn the pages in your book. (Yes, I realize I’m dating myself.) Surprisingly, however, read-along stories are hard to come by now that I’m looking for them for my own child. There are a few titles here and there, but nothing that would make up a sizable collection of favorite stories like the one I cherished years ago.
Fortunately, it’s easy to do one’s own rendition of read-along stories today. Recording is easy again (as in the days of cassette tapes) now that mp3s have overtaken CDs. For my own venture this weekend, I used an iPod Touch (which has already been largely co-opted by my daughter), a Mini Microphone ($2.51 at Amazon), the iTalk app from Griffin, a Disney collection of short stories, and a doorbell sound effect from the free Big Button Soundboard app I downloaded on my Android phone. Each story has taken about six or seven minutes to record, and my daughter is happy to listen to her favorite fairy tales over and over again. Sure, I could just set her up with some of the awesome interactive, multimedia story apps available on the iPad. But my DIY solution is a lot cheaper. Not to mention quaintly nostalgic.