PlainTales New Storytelling CDs Win Parents’ Choice Awards

Des Moines, IA (April 22, 2009) – New storytelling CDs from PlainTales have just won Parents’ Choice Awards, it was announced today by Brian Keairns creator of the series.

“Animal Tales: Raccoon, Bear, and Coyote,” “The Gingerbread Boy and Other First Tales,” and “The Reluctant Dragon” have all been awarded the Silver Award from Parents’ Choice, the nation’s oldest nonprofit guide to quality children’s media and toys, which was established in 1978.

PlainTales, created by writer, entrepreneur and father Brian Keairns, was started with the mission of providing great audio stories for children and their parents, believing that hearing the world’s best stories read aloud is a great way for youngsters to develop language and thinking skills, all while being thoroughly entertained. Fables, fairy tales and original stories inspire, educate and encourage creative thinking, and the ones featured in the PlainTales series are chosen for their rich language, cultural significance and pure enjoyment, allowing families to share something special, together.

In “Animal Tales: Raccoon, Bear and Coyote,” stories about Lotor the raccoon, Osa the brown bear, and a coyote named Hazard are rich in detail and filled with action-packed adventures. Little listeners will be enthralled with “The Gingerbread Boy and Other Tales” about the naughty Gingerbread Boy, clever Billy Goats Gruff, enchanted Frog Prince, stalwart Little Red Hen and the courageous Bremen Town Musicians. And from the author of The Wind in the Willows comes “The Reluctant Dragon,” a story of a boy who befriends a lazy, but quite pleasant, dragon.

Previous releases in the PlainTales collection of celebrated storytelling CDS include:

PlainTales Classics:
“Selected Just So Stories” (Rudyard Kipling)
“The Tailor of Gloucester and Other Tales by Beatrix Potter”

PlainTales Fantasy Classics:
“Tales from the Book of Dragons

PlainTales Literary Classics
“The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde”
“Tales from a Wonder Book for Girls & Boys”
“The Ugly Duckling and Other Tales by Hans Christian Andersen”

PlainTales Adventure Classics:
“Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights”
“Rip Van Winkle and the Devil and Tom Walker”

PlainTales storytelling CDs are recommended for ages 4-10 and are available for $12.95 each. To order, visit www.plaintales.com or www.amazon.com.

About Parents’ Choice Foundation
Designed to help parents and caregivers of all achievements and backgrounds make informed decisions about which new products are right for their children, the Parents’ Choice Awards is the nation’s oldest nonprofit program created to recognize quality children’s media. The Parents’ Choice Awards program honors the best material for children: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television and websites. Parents’ Choice Foundation’s panels of educators, scientists, performing artists, librarians, parents and, yes, kids themselves, identify the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels.

About PlainTales
Great lives begin with great stories. That’s why PlainTales creates high-quality audio stories for children and their families. The masterful telling of classic fairy tales, fables and original children’s stories do more than entertain. They inspire, educate, and encourage creative thinking. And yes, sometimes tickle your funny bone. When families listen to PlainTales together, they learn together. That’s a story worth sharing.

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The Power of Stories

One of the reasons I founded PlainTales was because I believe so strongly in the power of stories. It may seem like a strange transition to go from a 20+ year career in software and technology to starting a company that publishes classic children’s stories on audio CD. But in actuality it’s not as strange as it may seem. In fact what’s more surprising to me is the continuity from one to the other. At the root of success for both endeavors lies three things:

1. Observation

2. Imagination

3. Storytelling.

When I was working in the software industry, at Microsoft and in Silicon Valley, I was initially immersed in the technology details just like everyone else. But the longer I worked on solving problems in the software world the more I realized the roots of success for any creative were the same.

To build good software you have to have well developed powers of observation, to see and understand the user’s environment. You need a strong imagination to envision a new environment created by the benefits of the software product. And finally you need to be a great storyteller so you can describe your idea to the people who will build it and use it.

These are the same skills that I believe are nurtured and refined by listening to classic stories. World class writers such as Kipling, Wilde, Hawthorne, Nesbit, and Andersen all write with incredible attention to detail, with vivid imaginations and with magnificent storytelling powers. I believe listening to these incredible stories at a young age, or at any age, is a wonderful way to enhance and refine these vital creative skills. Whether these skills are used to write the world’s next great classic, invent the next great technology or discover the next great scientific breakthrough, any of these endeavors will be enhanced by listening to these masters of the creative imagination.