About ChildrenStory

👵Yes, this page reads aloud too. Every page does.

ChildrenStory is a free, ad-light home for the stories every childhood is built on — 270 fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, Andrew Lang’s colored Fairy Books, the Arabian Nights, and Kipling; 284 of Aesop’s fables; and 269 Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Every word is in the public domain, gathered from Project Gutenberg and presented plainly and warmly.

What makes it special is the read-aloud. Tap the button on any story and your own browser reads it to you in a gentle, grandmotherly voice — slowly, with each line lighting up so a new reader can follow along. It works without any account, any plugin, or any cost, and nothing you do is sent to a server. It’s the spirit of the original 1998 audio site, rebuilt with today’s technology.

This is part of the WholeTech network, publishing on the web since 1996. The original site is lovingly preserved at childrenstory.net.

A note for parents and grandparents

These are the classic tales as they were written — some are tender, some are a little wild and old-fashioned, the way real fairy tales are. Browse the Bedtime shelf for the gentlest ones, and read together.