Audio Review: The Eeny Weeny Beeny Ghost

At SixSeeds, we believe in the power of a good story.  The stories our children are hearing and reading will move, inspire, and sometimes even shape their lives... even young lives. This week, we take a popular kids' audio recording and examine it.

Bill Harley is a story teller, which comes in handy when it’s October.

We’ve all heard frightening stories, and later laid awake at night thinking we heard someone – or something – outside our door.  How many young kids have feared the guy with the hook on top of the car, the killer who pretended to be a dog (humans can lick too), or whether their phone lines were going to be cut too!  (Yes, phones that required lines – scary!)

This Halloween, take a break from the truly horrible and listen to “The Eeny Weeny Beeny Ghost,” Bill’s new – and FREE – download here.

In this ghost story, an older brother dismisses his younger brothers’ warnings about the ghost he learned about from a friend.  But that night, the older brother discovers the ghost actually exists when he comes to visit!  It’s a classic “jump tale,” silly and short.

Bill is a two-time Grammy award-winning artist who uses song and story to paint a vibrant and hilarious picture of being an older brother. His work spans the generation gap, reminds us of our common humanity and challenges us to be our very best selves. A prolific author and recording artist, Bill is also a regular commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered" and featured on PBS. He suggests that these “jump stories” provide a fun chance for parents to talk to their kids about stories and how they affect the listener.  Here are some questions he suggests to use with your kids after listening to the recording:

1) Were you surprised? Why were you surprised?  What did the storyteller do to prepare you?

2) What about the story seemed real?  How did this help the story?

3) If you were to tell this story as if it happened to you, what changes would you make to make it seem real?

4) What about the rhythm of the language?  How does repetition help a story?

5) What other jump tales do you know?  What tricks do movies use that they have learned from storytellers?

So download “The Eeny Weeny Beeny Ghost” now – for free during the month of October – and snuggle up with your kids to listen to a good story for the season. It will not have your kid laying awake at night…  unless they’re giggling.