About
Great lives begin with great stories. That’s why PlainTales creates high-quality audio stories for children and their families.
We believe that masterful tellings 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.
Overview
PlainTales Inc. is a leading independent publisher of children’s audiobooks. Founded in 2007 PlainTales publishes classic and original stories on audio CD or in digital download formats. PlainTales’ titles are focused on being accessible to children ranging in age from 4 to 10 while still appealing to older children and adults. Our award winning titles include classic works by authors such as Hans Christian Andersen, Beatrix Potter and Kenneth Grahame, acclaimed retellings of classic stories such as Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed and innovative original titles such as Animal Tales: Raccoon, Bear and Coyote.
PlainTales Manifesto – We Believe:
1. Listening to classic stories enhances a child’s language and cultural development.
2. Kids from ages 3 to 10 are the perfect age to be introduced to classic stories.
3. Listening and reading compliment each other.
4. Classic stories have depth and quality that make them more interesting for parents.
5. The fact that classics can be retold, performed and illustrated makes them a dynamic, living part of our culture.
Our Team
Brian Keairns – Series Editor
Des Moines resident Brian Keairns recently sold his interest in a software publishing company and was looking for his next adventure. Over the last few years he’d become interested in children’s audiobooks because he’d been listening to them with his then eight-year-old Audrey, who had specific ideas about what she liked and didn’t like about the stories. Brian then started PlainTales 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.
Father and daughter listened to over 200 auditions for the narration job before they agreed that Tavia Gilbert and Stephen McLaughlin were perfect for the job. Sporting a fresh, contemporary new look, PlainTales launched the PlainTales Classics line in 2007 with unabridged versions of famous children’s stories by Beatrix Potter, Kenneth Grahame, Edith Nesbit, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling and Nathaniel Hawthorne. In early 2009, PlainTales launched the Explorers and First Tales lines with original stories and thoughtful retellings of classic tales.
Audrey Keairns - Assistant Editor
In addition to her role in bringing a kids perspective to the PlainTales creative process, one of the PlainTales titles in the Explorers line, “Animal Tales,” is a direct result of Audrey’s love of animals and the environment. She is Vice President of a local environmental group for kids and hopes these stories will educate young people and their families about all living creatures leading to more involvement with animal care and in conservation.
About Melody Warnick – Writer
Melody Warnick, also of Des Moines, is a mother of two and an avid reader who sits on the board of her local library. She is a nationally recognized freelance writer, who strives to tackle subjects that are important to women and families everywhere such as, parenting, relationships, pregnancy, personal finance, home organization and self-help. Melody has been featured in national and regional magazines like Parenting, Better Home & Gardens and Ladies Home Journal as well as websites like epregnancy, and she has won many awards for personal essays and magazine features.
The idea of rewriting classic tales with a modern flair intrigued her. The motto on her website, www.melodywarnick.com, “Fresh Ideas. Crisp Prose” made her a perfect choice for PlainTales. She calls it her “most interesting project to date.”
About Tavia Gilbert – Narrator
Tavia loves to read. She reads all kinds of books – novels and non-fiction and children’s books – and magazines, too. Nearly every day she listens to The Archers radio drama on the BBC and writes in her journal. She gardens and pets her cats and frequently argues and laughs with Stephen McLaughlin. In addition to being an Audie Award nominated audiobook narrator, Tavia acts in plays and sings Renaissance music. She studied acting at Cornish College of the Arts and radio at the Salt Institute. She doesn’t have many pair of shoes and she loves to ride bicycles with her husband, Percy. Tavia was born in Idaho, moved to Seattle, and now lives in Portland, Maine (which is not in Oregon). Find out more about Tavia on her website at: taviagilbert.com.
Stephen McLaughlin - Narrator
Stephen learned to love books from his English mother, who read wonderfully to him, and his father, who was unusual in that though a lawyer, he could still speak English, grammatically. Stephen has studied philosophy and English and performed in and directed plays and audiobooks. He is a musician and an artist and loves to swim in salt water, do crossword puzzles, and argue and laugh with Tavia Gilbert. The only thing he likes better than swimming and reading is eating. Stephen was born in Washington, D.C., rode his 1960 Triumph Thunderbird for a while in England, and now lives in Maine, where he divides his time between Portland and Brooklin (which is not in New York).
Plaintales
3521 Jefferson Ave
Des Moines, IA 50310
Office Hours
Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm CST
Phone
(515)255-8211
Email
info[at]plaintales.com
