Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Poor Sara Ray wants so badly to go to the magic lantern show, but her mother, of course, has forbidden it. But because her mother will be out of town, she succumbs to the temptation the Story Girl proposes to sneak out and go anyway! But that leads to the Story Girl imposing a strict penance on herself. Was the price of urging someone to disobedience worth it? You’ll have to decide. Now sit back, relax, and list...
Jul 16, 2025•51 min•Season 9Ep. 9
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. It seems that the Story Girl’s voice makes any story more interesting and exciting. When she tells the eighty-year-old chestnut about a girl who won herself a husband, everyone hangs on the Story Girl’s every word. This is a summer of ups and downs for the cousins, as they try to figure out, among other things, what God looks like, how to make sure Uncle Roger won’t tease them, and whether the magic seed they al...
Jun 25, 2025•57 min•Season 9Ep. 8
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The summer I turned twelve years old, I was so sad when I finished all of the Anne of Green Gables books that were readily available at that time. This was in the 1970s, well before the resurgence of Anne’s popularity. But I LOVED L. M. Montgomery’s writing, and I longed to read other things she had written. So, I looked in the tall card catalog of the Salt Lake City Public Library and found one more book writte...
Jun 09, 2025•56 min•Season 9Ep. 7
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote Anne of Green Gables, also wrote a delightful book about Sara Stanley, better known as the Story Girl. Told from the perspective of Beverley, one of two brothers who have come to stay on a farm with their aunts and uncles and cousins while their father is away, this book takes place on Prince Edward Island in Canada. In this first episode, we meet Felix and Beverley and get to kno...
Jun 02, 2025•58 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. It’s late at night, and Frank and Joe Hardy have decided to see if their suspicions are correct and the counterfeiters’ lair is in the abandoned old Turner mill. Can they sneak across the moonlit grass to reach the mill before the suspicious Markel finds them? And how can they ever catch the gang of crooks? Here is the thrilling conclusion of The Hardy Boys in The Secret of the Old Mill! Now sit back, relax, and...
May 01, 2025•52 min•Season 9Ep. 5
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The passing of counterfeit money is continuing to affect people all around Bayport. Fenton Hardy believes the crooks’ headquarters must be somewhere nearby. When the counterfeiters’ actions affect the Hardy boys’ own mother, they decide to go sleuthing to see if they can find out something that will help bring the criminals to light. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to audiob...
Apr 16, 2025•57 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When Frank and Joe allow a man to get on their new motorboat, Sleuth , they are in for an adventure. Not only does a storm come up, hiding their destination in a big bank of fog, but their passenger pulls out a revolver and insists that they go with all speed to Bayport to catch a non-existent train! Having a new boat is great, but their first voyage is turning into a dangerous encounter. Now sit back, relax, an...
Apr 04, 2025•56 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The Hardy boys and their friends are so tired of studying for their exams that they decide to go on a hike through the countryside on Saturday. When they come across the deserted old Turner Mill, they are surprised to see people working there. The mill race is flowing swiftly, and Joe and Frank soon become involved in a rescue mission! Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to audi...
Mar 25, 2025•48 min•Season 9Ep. 2
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the first episode of the exciting adventure that comes to Frank and Joe Hardy in their third book, The Secret of the Old Mill . Almost from the very first minute, the boys seem to be plunged into the thick of a surprising situation. While they are waiting for their father to return to Bayport on the train, they are preyed upon by a dishonest man who trades their good money for a counterfeit five-dollar b...
Mar 10, 2025•45 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. How much Polly has experienced with the Shaw family! From her early visit to the big city where she came to realize that her simple ways could calm and entertain and bring peace to her friends, to the chance she has had to live on her own, teaching music and earning her living, Polly has been an influence of good in people’s lives. But will things ever work out for her and bring her the happiness she so desires?...
Mar 03, 2025•51 min•Season 8Ep. 31
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Poor Fanny feels as if she doesn’t have a thing to wear! She can’t afford any new ball gowns, and the ones she saved after the family lost their fortune all seem old, outdated, and shabby. But Polly has the knack of making even an old dress look new and fresh, so Fanny feels a bit of hope that she might be able to look all right after all. Fanny isn’t the only one who needs Polly’s help, and even Tom wants a bit...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 30
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Polly is a young woman of integrity. As such, she knows she can’t follow the modern trend of stringing young men along to flirt and make them fall in love with her, especially when she knows she can’t return the sentiment. So she does a very hard thing, and is then more ready to offer comfort and love to the entire Shaw family when they need it the most. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 29
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Polly is still just a young woman who wants to have fun and enjoy life. She seems so grown up and responsible! But one night she just wants to enjoy herself. Not surprisingly, she has a wonderful time. But poor Fanny, who has grown up all too quickly, is tired of everything. When Polly takes her to meet some young women who are working hard to achieve something in their lives...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 28
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Will Milton, who is Polly’s younger brother, visits his sister every Sunday. They sing, eat, and have serious discussions together. They also include little Maud, who is rather lonely and appreciates the chance to visit with Polly and Will. Then there is little Jane, who just wants a way to make an honest living. Polly helps Maud feel less lonely, and Jane to have a chance at a new life. And of course she does i...
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Season 8Ep. 27
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Six years have passed since we last joined Polly on her visit to the Shaw household. Now she is older, wiser, and ready to embark on a new adventure. This time, she is planning to “go around the city, making music all the time.” At least, that is how one young woman puts it. Polly may need to earn her living, but she is always able to spread a little bit of joy and peace to those she meets. I think you’ll like s...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 26
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here are the two final chapters, or staves, of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, as read by my father, Kenneth Luker. This time as I was listening to this old favorite, I was struck by how Scrooge is already prepared to learn and change from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. That reminded me of how we all need to remain teachable and willing to become better people, not just at Christmas, but throughout t...
Dec 12, 2024•47 min•Season 8Ep. 25
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. In A Christmas Carol, the different chapters are referred to as staves because when a piece of music is written, such as a Christmas carol, the paper it is written on is marked with five-lined staves, or staffs (same thing). So, when we refer to the different chapters, I like to think of them as different verses in a beautiful carol. Now here is my father, Kenneth Luker, reading Stave Three of A Christmas Carol ...
Dec 06, 2024•53 min•Season 8Ep. 24
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is Stave Two of A Christmas Carol , by Charles Dickens, as read by my father, Kenneth Luker. In this episode, Scrooge meets the first of the three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, specifically, Scrooge’s past. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to audiobooks really does count as reading, and there's no better way to relax than to hear Stories Come to Life! Let me know...
Dec 03, 2024•40 min•Season 8Ep. 23
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Today we have a special treat! My father, Kenneth Luker, has agreed to be a guest host on our podcast for the next five episodes. We have a tradition in our family of reading A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens , on the Sunday nights in December. Somehow, it just wouldn’t be the same without that familiar and heartwarming tale. And I can’t think of a better reader than my dad. I am so grateful that he agreed t...
Nov 28, 2024•44 min•Season 8Ep. 22
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Soon it will be time for Polly to go back home to her loving family. But before then, she introduces the Shaw family to the joy that comes from listening to Grandma’s stories. There is so much that everyone can learn from that wise old woman! And then there is one last party to attend before Polly leaves: dancing and feasting and just enjoying one another’s company! Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story ...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Season 8Ep. 21
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. After Tom’s bicycle accident, the young people of the Shaw household are so good and kind to each other that Grandma becomes worried that something bad is going to happen. But, things never run in a smooth course, and this chapter is full of scrapes and mistakes and hurt feelings. It’s only natural, after all. Can Tom, Fanny, Maud, and Polly ever be friends again? To find out, just sit back, relax, and listen to...
Nov 06, 2024•35 min•Season 8Ep. 20
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Polly is still visiting the Shaw family, and sometimes she feels homesick for her own family. You see, her own home is filled with love, and to her surprise, the Shaw home is not. Polly can’t understand why, but she sets to work to do the small and simple things that bring peace and affection to a household. Even incorrigible Tom is touched by her kindly ways! Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come t...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 19
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the first episode of Louisa May Alcott’s delightful book, An Old-Fashioned Girl. Here we meet Polly Milton as she leaves her home in the country to go visit Fanny Shaw, who lives in town and is already quite a young lady. Polly, who is nearly the same age as Fanny, still considers herself a young girl. She doesn’t have the fancy clothes and big city sensibilities Fanny does, but somehow her kind and frie...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 8Ep. 18
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When we last left Frank and Joe and their father, they had been tied up by the smugglers and were awaiting being forced into Li Chang’s boat, bound for China! Things look very grim for our heroes. How can they possibly escape and see the smugglers come to justice? Here is the thrilling conclusion of The Hardy Boys in The House on the Cliff. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story come to life. Listening to...
Sep 20, 2024•47 min•Season 8Ep. 17
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Brave Frank and Joe Hardy start exploring the hidden cove under the cliff at Barmet Bay. Not only do they find a secret channel where boats can come in and out of the area unseen, but they find the smugglers’ lair, and a weak and frail prisoner who has been held captive until he will sign a certain document. Can the boys rescue this prisoner from the clutches of the smugglers? Now sit back, relax, and listen to ...
Sep 13, 2024•53 min•Season 8Ep. 16
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Where could Fenton Hardy, Frank and Joe’s father, have gone? He was last seen in the vicinity of the deserted old Polucca place. So Frank and Joe and several of their chums decide to go explore the whole house, just in case he may be there. What a surprise they have when they find the old house tidied up and seemingly inhabited by some renters. And not only that, but they find a clue that makes them suspect Fent...
Sep 03, 2024•56 min•Season 8Ep. 15
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. After rescuing the young man from the water after his almost fatal encounter in the bay, Frank and Joe Hardy are understandably concerned about him. Their father thinks the young man, who seems to be using an assumed name, may be in the secret service, trying to discover secrets about Ganny Snackley and his smuggler’s ring. But the Hardy boys aren’t so sure. They want to try to solve the mystery themselves. When...
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 14
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the second exciting volume of The Hardy Boys Mysteries. In The House on the Cliff, Frank and Joe Hardy stumble on a mystery as they and their friends Biff, Chet, and Jerry, are riding their motorcycles around Barmet Bay one Saturday in early June. When they decide to explore an old deserted house, none of the boys is frightened or concerned until a bloodcurdling scream emanates from the empty dwelling. C...
Aug 05, 2024•58 min•Season 8Ep. 13
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Poor Peter has been so lonely and disgruntled and, most of all, jealous this whole summer. Instead of having Heidi to himself up on the mountain pasture, she has been spending all her time with Clara. And even when she decides to come up to the high meadows with him, she will be bringing her friend! When Peter sees an opportunity to force Clara to go home immediately, he takes it. But the action brings unexpecte...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Season 8Ep. 12
Send us a text Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. When I was a little girl, I remember begging and pleading with my parents to let my dear cousin, Susan, spend the night. Almost always my parents were happy to let her stay and we would stay up late and tell stories and talk about how we hoped our lives would go. Something similar happens to Heidi when Clara and Grandmama finally come to the mountain meadow to visit. Now sit back, relax, and listen to this story...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 11
