A girl who's always ready for emergencies that never come faces a hurricane – and winds up helping her little brother feel safe as they evacuate, and when their home is damaged. Inspired by kind people working hard to help after two catastrophic 2024 hurricanes in Tampa Bay.

written and produced by Sheila Cowley

performed by Vickie Daignault and Jim Sorenson

directed by James Rayfield

Feature image by Kirk Ke Wang from his "Foul Play" series of doodles based on hurricane forecast maps – kirkkewang.com

with many thanks to

The City of St Petersburg FL

The City of Tampa FL

Creative Clay

Daystar Life Center

The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art

Kirk Ke Wang

Margo Hammond

Reach St Pete

St Pete Free Clinic

Tampa Parks and Recreation

The Woodson African American Museum of Florida

You can find this audio story and illustrated video in Spanish on our Sparks Creative Stories YouTube channel – ¡Un Día de Desastre y Fatalidad! Cómo Sentirse Seguro Cuando Da Miedo.

#kidsandstorms

#resilience

#kidpower

When you're feeling bad, call Chickens to the Rescue! A fun rhyming story to cheer you up, when you're feeling bad-mad-sad :)

written by Sheila Cowley

performed by Eugenie Bondurant, Vickie Daignault, Fanni Green, Jan Neuberger, Mary Rachel Quinn and Mimi Rice

directed by James Rayfield

inspired by Cynthia and Wayne, who keep chickens more for jolly company than eggs – and the real Dottie, Pilot, Cocoa, Marshmellow, Gloria and Phyllis

Featured artwork by Teddy

#storyforkids

#feelbetterstory

#feelhappier

A bilingual English + Spanish celebration of reading, imagination and libraries! Imagine reading on a spaceship, with a friendly dinosaur and in your very favorite place – as you listen to each line of this lively story in both languages.

written by Sheila Cowley

performed by Dora Arreola and Fanni Green

Spanish translation by Dora Arreola

sound design by Matt Cowley

#welovereading

#bilingualkids

#inclusiveworld

Wanda's huge imagination is driving her big sister crazy – until Wanda and Wombat figure out what Billie really cares about, and use their imagination to make her feel better. A story of empathy, caring and discovering joy, humor and adventure in your every day. With vivid sound effects – and a plucky Wombat!a Sparks Creative Stories projectwritten by Sheila Cowleyperformed by Fanni Green and Jim Wickerdirected by James Rayfield

feature image - "This is Mexico, This is England, This is France, They're Making a Heart for the Earth" (detail) by Oscar, with thanks to the City of Gulfport Florida's free Tot-Time Pre-K program#kindnessforkids #artseducation #prekkids

Zo's frustrated that she's too young to go with her big sister to the Oceanography Camp Especially For Girls. So she tries her own experiments at home, and uses library books, kitchen foil, a cardboard box, recycled plastic bottles, her sister's math skills, family teamwork - and she just keeps trying! Until Zo builds a boat she and her dog, Captain Pelican, can float in, and gets invited to test it out at the OCG camp with the big girls. Inspired by the amazing Oceanography Camp Especially For Girls at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg College of Marine Science - giving 8th grade girls free hands-on experience with marine science for 30+years. With years many thanks to the campers and instructors at OCG 2024! written and produced by Sheila Cowleyperformed by Eugenie Bondurant and Fanni Greendirected by James Rayfield
#girlpower

#marineeducation

#womeninscience

You can imagine anything, even what your socks are getting up to anytime that you can't find one. A fun bilingual adventure with a vivid soundscape that invites you to imagine your socks sailing with whales, flying with birds, throwing a wild sock party and singing silly sock songs. In English + Spanish together.

written by Sheila Cowley

performed by Dora Arreola and Fanni Green

translated by Dora Arreola

sock songs by Dave Waterman with Bass and Matt Cowley of Offramp Improv Absurdities

You can find illustrated audiobooks and many more stories in English, Spanish and ASL on our Sparks Creative Stories YouTube channel.

– Feature image by Nora Daughtry

When things get you down, sometimes it helps to imagine you can just take off and fly. The story of a law-abiding citizen – except when it's the law of gravity.

written by Sheila Cowley

performed by Lisa Tricomi

directed by Jim Rayfield

recorded by Chris Cathcart at Opera in the Ozarks

Feature image – "Seeing Is Believing" by Ivy J. at creativeclay.org

Ana hates to admit that she still doesn't know which way is Left and which is Right - but she finds a fun way to remember when she takes a boat ride to see dolphins.

https://www.tbwdiscoverycenter.org

You can find this story in Spanish on our Sparks En Español podcast – and a gorgeous illustrated version on our Sparks Creative Stories YouTube channel.

written and produced by Sheila Cowley performed by Beth Gelman and Jan Neuberger directed by Vickie Daignault

#sensoryfriendlychildren

#audiostoriesforkids

#bilingualstories