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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Here is the thrilling conclusion of The Enchanted Barn, by Grace Livingston Hill. Somehow that old stone barn must actually have some magical enchantment to it because none of the Hollisters or the Grahams will ever be the same again after falling under its influence. But is it actually the barn that caused the life-changing circumstances or the benevolent effect of trusting in something beyond themselves and being willing to step out bravely into the unknown, trusting in that benevolence? Shirley and her mother would certainly advocate for the latter!  

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What is happening to Shirley? In this episode, brave Shirley Hollister shows the ingenuity of Nancy Drew and the courage of a valiant knight as she does her best to protect her top-secret shorthand notes from being taken by a gang of ruthless criminals. Her quick-witted strategies soon involve Sidney Graham as well as her little sister, Carol. In the middle of this very trying situation, Shirley relies on her one sure source of comfort to help her through.

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. It’s time for Shirley Hollister’s two-week vacation, and what an amazing opportunity is coming to their family! Mr. and Mrs. Graham have invited the Hollisters to take their daughter, Elizabeth, to their shore-house for the month of September while Mr. and Mrs. Graham visit out West. It will be the first time Shirley and the rest have seen the ocean, and wouldn’t it be lovely for Doris to play in the sand? Now if only Mr. Barnard could let Shirley vacation in peace! But, of course, his assignment will only take a few hours. Shirley can’t pass up the opportunity to help her boss. 

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. At the ending of the last episode, Sidney Graham has gone out West to conduct some business for his father. He went to investigate some mines. The Hollisters weren’t neglected, though, and each member of the family living in the barn received some token that he had been thinking of them. Surprisingly, this is where the story takes an interesting turn when upon Sidney Graham’s return, the already resourceful and clever Shirley is thrust into the role of a daring detective! 

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What a wonderful life it is for the Hollister family! They wake up to the birds’ vibrant dawn chorus, enjoy the fresh country air, and can watch the sunset at night, all from the comfortable, homey stone barn! Sidney Graham and his sister are frequent guests at the barn, and even the fashionable Mrs. Graham is charmed by the intrepid little family. Shirley gives herself a good talking to in order to make sure she doesn’t read anything but kindliness in her growing friendship with her handsome landlord. This is a beautiful and peaceful time for the Hollisters. 

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. The furniture is in place, an old denim cloth that used to be a floor covering has been patched and cleaned and hung up as a curtain, the piano is in the corner of the new living room in the barn, and everything is ready for the Hollisters to move in. Kind Elizabeth Graham has one more welcoming surprise for the family and she works behind the scenes to prepare the barn to be as beautiful and comfortable as she can make it. Yes, everyone is ready . . . but Shirley is still worried. What will Mother think of their audacious plan to live in a barn? 

To find out, 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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. Not only are Shirley, Carol, and George Hollister charmed by the big old barn, but Sidney and Elizabeth Graham can see the possibilities too. The elegant Graham siblings are also charmed by the humble and steadfast Hollisters, too, and they are determined to make the barn as welcoming and comfortable as possible, while trying at the same time to respect Shirley and her family’s pride and their determination not to take advantage of their new landlord. What fun it is to find ways to stealthily improve the place! It is an exciting time for everyone!

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. What about that big, beautiful barn? First Shirley, and then Sidney Graham have explored it and found it to be a charming, peaceful place. Shirley would really like her brother George and sister Carol to see the place before she makes any firm decisions about whether to move their little family there to live. Can such an opportunity be arranged? Isn’t it wonderful that there are such kind and open-hearted people in the world like the Grahams! It almost seems like there is some good providence working behind the scenes on behalf of the little Hollister family!

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!
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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. In 1918, as World War I was raging in Europe and the tragedy of the Spanish Flu epidemic was beginning to sweep across the world, the writer Grace Livingston Hill published her thirty-third book. The Enchanted Barn is a story about a charming, courageous, and forthright girl named Shirley Hollister. Brave and resourceful Shirley reminds me a little bit of Nancy Drew, even though Nancy wouldn’t appear on the literary scene for another twelve years. When we meet Shirley, she is dreadfully worried about where her family will live. The small, dark, rented rooms they now occupy will shortly be torn down to make room for a large apartment building, and it is absolutely necessary that they find somewhere else to rent. Shirley is the oldest of five children, and with her father recently deceased and her mother too sick to get out of bed, the burden of finding a new place to live has fallen squarely on her shoulders. But they are so poor that even with all her efforts, they can’t afford more than fifteen dollars a month for rent. Then an unexpected half-holiday gives Shirley a chance to gather her thoughts together and think about a possible solution to their dilemma.

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 what you think! Please send an email to me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you!

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Welcome to Stories Come to Life. I am your host, Kathryn Lopez Luker. “The Celestial Omnibus,” by E. M. Forster is one story in a larger collection published in 1911, and therefore happily in the public domain. Oh, how I love this short story! I think some of the things I like about it is that it reassures me that we don’t have to know all the details and obscure meanings of a poem or a book to find pleasure in reading it, and also that it lets me know that it’s not silly to look for secret paths and hidden byways into a new and wonderous place. I think I’ve been looking for another bus stop for the celestial omnibus all my life! But before I give away too much, I’ll let you decide for yourself.

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 what you think! Please send an email to me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you!