Story Tree CD
HARD COPY CD’s
‘Reaching for the Moon’ double album (111 mins) ($20). All my other CDs have sold out.
Why Story Tree CDs?
Story Tree CD’s are award-winning, original, environmental and ancestral tales to inspire your child’s imagination from Australian storytellers Jenni Cargill-Strong. They retain a child’s interest for years and shorten road trips. Our customers are very loyal and come back year after year. To read what they say, scroll down to ‘Applause’ on this page. Entertain the kids in the car, at bedtime, on school holidays or anytime! Each CD features musical accompaniment by up to eight acoustic instruments including lyre, tabla, harp, flute, bells, and cavaquinho. You can hear Jenni explain some of her recorded tracks in 2 min videos on YouTube and FB, also collated on her blog.
The advantage of a CD is that you know what your child is listening to and CD players are very easy to operate. If your child listens online, they can roam to other content without you knowing.
An environmentally friendly gift
These albums are as environmentally friendly as we can make them. All Story Tree album covers are printed in Australia, on recycled cardboard and printed with soy-based ink in a cover which uses no plastic or wrapping. The disc is the only plastic involved. This means the CD’s are very thin and extremely cheap to post if you are looking for a quality present to send. If you buy digital downloads there will be no plastic involved and your download will last a lifetime also.
Buy idevice audiobook subscription Does your family love stories and also use Apple devices- ie iPod, iPad, iPhone? Here is an idea to boost literacy and enjoyment for the whole family with a free trial to test it out first. StoryTree tales are on there. Search catalogue for Jenni Cargill-Strong here.
Would you rather pay by direct deposit? Just email me at jenni@storytree.com.au with your name, order and address and we’ll send an invoice with our bank details.
Applause: customer feedback
We have also have had many trips made much easier with Jenni’s storytelling CD’s. And we have found that they appeal to a broad range of kids (our 4 children are 8 years apart and all 4 love the CDs!) Skye, Brisbane
Our family, youngest to eldest, smallest to tallest, love Jenni’s stories, we listen to them in the car- favorites are Lily and the Fig Tree and Froko and Lettuce. Merci. Namaste. Cate
We listen to the CD over and over again, and sing it along over and over again. It was a wonderful educational CD for them, and it was brilliant tool for a person like me who speak English as second language. Plus, the Mermaid shoes’ was especially good for us since our kids are mixture of Irish dad and Japanese mom!! ThankYOU for creating such wonderful story CD’s for all of us. Akiko, Victoria
I couldn’t wait until Christmas to give these to my son and he has embraced them with great enthusiasm! I really can’t tell you how much your stories mean to my children and to me. I am loathed to put on a video for my son, but often have times when I can’t give him my full attention. I feel safe leaving him in your world, knowing that you are expanding in him the same sense of wonderment, beauty, simplicity and awareness of our place in the natural world that I seek to. Thank you. It is remarkable to watch him laying on a pile of blankets and pillows listening intently to each story and song. I’ve lent the CD’s to several of my friends and all of their children have had the same response…I’ve also spoken with them about buying copies of their own to support such a wonderful expression of creativity. Sarah, Maleney, QLD
My son Ewan has been very inspired by his time at Salty Pete’s Pirate School. We are living daily with reminders of Pirate School…either via a joke or pirate trivia or dress-ups. It is a 5 hour round trip to our local town….we have listened to The Troo Adventures of Salty Pete the Pirate….many many times. Thanks for being at Woodford the whole family greatly enjoyed Pirate School and we have had a huge amount of pleasure listening to the CD. Sarah Betts, Mount Moffatt National Park, Queensland.
As a side note that I am sure you are asked all the time, any plans to record new stories? We have all your CDs and they are the only ones that don’t drive me mental day in and day out when anyone child gets obsessed with a particular song or story. The current favourite is The Monkeys Heart with my 2.5 yr old. He has adored Long Long Long since he was about one and would just frantically slap his hands on his knees to ask for it when we got in the car. Thank you for bringing the gift of real stories and beautiful songs told with dignity and fun into our lives. It has enriched us all.’ Deborah
‘Your storytelling has been an inspiration in our home since Griffin received The Mermaids Shoes at 4 years of age. He is now almost 10 and our copy of the CD so well loved it no longer plays all the way through. Molly Whuppie has disappeared completely. So here I am buying those CDs again, this time for Quill who is 6 and adding to our collection with two of your other CD’s, new to us. I can’t wait to listen to them again and discover your new stories and I am sure both Quill and Griffin will be delighted.’
Gabrielle Joyce
It was after my kids heard Jenni Cargill-Strong tell the story of ‘Shelly and Rustle’ that we found a beached turtle at Lennox Heads and the kids quickly told the people on the beach to stop trying to return it to the sea and that it needed help from the Australian Sea Bird Rescue team. They told us: “That it must have swallowed plastic by mistake and not been able to dive down to eat food and that was why it had barnacles on its back” they remembered about keeping it covered and wet till the ASB Rescue team came with their purpose built turtle stretcher and whisked our ‘Shelly’ off to be treated- I love the power of this story and am grateful for the volunteer who gave up his weekend to save a turtle that didn’t have to be there had someone tied a not in their plastic shopping bag. Tamlin Heathwood, The Channon.
Just wanted to let you know that we LOVE the new Story Tree CD…. We all sat, quietly, totally taken on the journey of each story! My personal favourite is ‘Shelley and Rustle’…. Ocean’s favorite is Lili and the Fig tree. I love how you have woven the educational aspects of the environment into fun and enjoyable stories! Well done… I look forward to hearing many more. Rosie, Byron Bay
I thought that buying two sets of the CDs would be adequate to distribute between the 7 grandkids, but after listening to some of your stories, I don’t want to break up the sets, so I have just ordered another 4 CDs. The 7 grandkids are distributed between 3 of our daughters and I just couldn’t choose which kids would get which CDs! Regards, Jen Dachs, W.A.
‘You’ll need to create some more CD’s, I think just about everyone up here has most of your current ones now. WE WANT MORE OF YOUR STORIES JENNI !!! Sherree, Blue Mtns, NSW.
‘I have to tell you, my girls have learned every story from ‘The Story Tree’ and ‘Reaching for the Moon’ CDs. They recite the stories every day. Their own story telling and expressive voices are developing beautifully. Thank you for the amazing gift you are sharing and inspiring. They tell your stories in unison and take turns doing certain parts and other times they do solo.’
It’s hard to believe how stirring for adults Jenni Cargill-Strong’s performance is, for the stories themselves are so perfectly directed to young children. Her vocal range is compelling and expressive, and the personal way she sets the stage for each tale illustrates exactly how stories should enter our lives: by lending their wisdom to relationships in the world around us. Make a gift to yourself and your favourite child! Storyteller Mary Grace Ketner, Texas, USA
We treasure all of your CD’s. I have three boys aged 11, 4 and 18 months, all of whom adore the music and stories you have shared. All CDs have been downloaded to the car and we never tire of them. You have a magical and engaging voice that captures the spirit and essence of the characters in your stories. We will most definitely be pre-ordering…. LOVE THEM too! Ken Watanabe
‘…totally inspiring imagination and creative play! Big thankyou, keep it up! Love and smiles Rah, Josh & Jade, Gold Coast
I bought two of your (fantastic) CDs back at Christmas time for my children (back then I bought the Mermaids Shoes and Salty Pete). We loved them so much I am buying more for friends/ nieces & nephews. Thank you for such lovely stories that are kind on all our ears and minds!” Sue, South Australia
I recently visited the Lismore Gallery and purchased your CD, Molly Whuppie. We have enjoyed your stories so much that when I got home I ordered your stories for adults CD online. Keep up the great storytelling. Sharon, Boston, USA.
“We are about to replace this disc (Mermaid’s Shoes) for the third time! It’s a much-loved CD in our house that is all too often brought to me with excited, not so gentle fingers.” Shae
We are loving the mp3 stories that we downloaded from your website. It was so easy and very affordable. Thank you. Kids very excited to hear the story of Shelly and Russell again. They loved it so much when we saw you at the Gecko Green Day at he Gold Coast. Sandi, Melbourne
Review by Mandy Nolan, The Echo
‘Taking Children to the Moon… and back’ I do a lot of driving. I do a lot of driving with my four-year-old in the car seat – the hostage to my daily routine. She doesn’t want to be in the car. These days she does. In fact, she enjoys the ride because we have a growing collection of storyteller Jenni Cargill Strong’s fabulous CDs thus allowing Ivy to enjoy the wonder of story while I concentrate on the road. I also have that lovely warm feeling that my daughter isn’t in the back on a DVD; she’s ensconced in the creative and wondrous process of listening to story. It’s funny because I listen too, I am kind of forced to. And even though they are children’s stories, there’s a deeper narrative in what Jenni creates herself or the folk stories she chooses and adapts for a new, young and contemporary listener.
I was driving the other day and I had this small but slightly profound realisation about story and its importance. I watch my daughter in the car listen to the same story over and over, like a mantra, and I wonder what it is that has her transfixed? It occurred to me that story isn’t just amusement; it serves a much more valuable role. Stories tell children about their world, it tells them about human behaviour, about sadness, joy, disappointment, anger. It tells them about consequence. It creates a pathway of understanding, a kind of emotional and intellectual anchor in the overwhelming sea of existence. Story is the way we pass on mythology. It’s why it was so important to indigenous peoples. Story teaches us things that can’t be told in a scientific factual linear nature. It tells us about spirit, or place, or feeling, and about connectedness. Alongside heroes who triumph in the face of danger, story also shows us the landscape of loss, fear, and despair.
I wait anxiously for Jenni’s next story albums, and I’m thrilled that she seems to be keeping up with my Ivy’s passion for story consumption. This Christmas Jenni has released for the Moon, a double CD of wisdom tales that get kids to think about their connection to the environment and to inspire them to believe that they can make a difference. Environmental issues are one of Jenni’s passions and something that she manages to weave effectively into her stories, helping nurture the compassion and consciousness of our younger generations. Filled with song, music, and a lively sense of humour, Jenni’s lovely new CD will play for 111 minutes. That’s a trip to Brisbane. That’s a decent afternoon nap. Compared to popping a DVD in the recorded, Jenni’s Story Tree CDs are the food equivalent to choosing a McDonald’s thickshake or a delicious organic mango smoothie. Now what kind of brain food do you want to feed your kids? Read the above Mandy Nolan’s Review online.