30 New Books

We added 30 new storybooks this december. Have you checked them out already? If not, read on to get a glimpse of what you can see. View all newly added books here.

As is true for all the stories from our entire library, each story has something new to explore and ponder over for your little ones. From stories like ‘A Brilliant Negotiator’, to ‘The Rooster’sPloy’, ‘A Price to Pay’, and a multitude of other books, these books come in a bilingual package of English-Hindi, English-Kannada and English-Tamil.

Lingering over the synopsis of ‘The Rooster’s Ploy’, it reads: “Imagine the world without a sun! It would be cold and dark all year through! Truth is, it did happen once, a long time ago! If it weren’t for the clever rooster, we wouldn't have the warm morning rays of the sun to wake us up! Want know what the rooster did? Read on and you’ll learn of the Rooster's ploy! You won't tell the sun about it though, will you?”

“Ever got caught in a situation where there are no right answers? Well, Bharat did and that too with two powerful goddesses! He got out of it through simple and brilliant negotiation! How do I know? Well, he lived to tell me the story. I’ll tell you all about it, if you read on!” That’s the synopsis of the story – ‘A Brilliant Negotiator’.

With 30 such stories, that silently teach your kids important moral lessons, and at the same time enhance their creativity with tales that make them question circumstances, having them is a must for all parents.

What’s more is that it’s bilingual. So if your kid, or you do not know English, read it in either of the languages – Hindi, Kannada or Tamil, and read it again in English. Not only will this be extremely enjoyable for the kids, but also helps them improve their grasp on the language.

Benefits of reading to your child

Getting your children interested in books is undoubtedly your biggest wish as a parent. Perhaps, one of the prime benefits of reading storybooks to preschoolers and toddlers is to get them prepared for Kindergarten. Another prime benefit is that it triggers the visualization and imagination regions of their brain. Researches argue that reading storybooks to children will enable them to cultivate a reading habit and make them a lifelong reader.    

Reading storybooks to children is a great social experience too. In fact it is one of the most compelling reasons to read stories to your children. It makes them familiar with the books and enhances their creative abilities. The U.S Education Foundation is of the view that children love voices of their parents and listen carefully to whatever is read to them.

One can help the child learn at a very early stage by reading books not only at bedtime but whenever there is an opportunity – while traveling, while waiting at the airport or sitting in a garden. Stories not only help in developing a language but also in building a context of various things around them.

It is equally important to not stop reading stories to your child even if they start reading on their own. It is also important to keep in mind the age of your child while trying to pick a story for them as complex stories can confuse them.

It all sounds a bit utopian and idealistic but it is an undeniable fact that most parents have busy schedules. Try reading to your child during bedtime and cultivate a habit. Even reading ten minutes a day will help your child develop critical skills for their life, have a lasting impact on your child’s mind and you will enjoy a great and friendly relationship with them.

 “To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today." ~ Barbara Johnson

We can help you answer the "Are we there yet?" question

Holidays are just round the corner and most of you are probably planning a trip somewhere. If you are traveling with kids then we know how agonizing it is to meet your deadlines at work, chauffeur your kids to their classes and still plan a perfect vacation by booking your tickets and accommodations in advance. While we can't help you with any of those because we are not a travel company, we can help you make your journey a little more pleasant by addressing one thing that you may have missed - how do I answer the "are we there yet?" question from your kids.

StoryTruck is offering a One Month Free Subscription this Thanksgiving holiday season to keep your kids happy and make your vacation a memorable one. There are no gimmicks. We don't need your credit card to try out the free subscription. We simply hope that you'll like our product and tell ten other friends about it.

Tips to get the most out of this offer:

1. Sign up today! Signing up is quick and easy. Visit Free Subscription and provide your email and we'll send you an activation link.
2. Activate your subscription and download the app on your iPad.
3. Sign into the app with the account you created.
4. Add 30 books to your library. In doing so, you are downloading all the 30 books onto your iPad. You can now carry your iPad anywhere and listen to the stories - no internet connection required.

New to StoryTruck? Don't know how StoryTruck works? Check this sample video.

Recommended Stories:

There are over a hundred stories to choose from and this list may help you shortlist 30 stories quickly.

Note: You can use the "search" field to find a specific title or narrow down the selection by choosing a language fro the drop down.

1. Akbar and Birbal : These are clever, witty stories that will open up your children's mind. Birbal's clever answers will encourage them to think out of the box solutions.

2. Tenali Raman : If you like the Akbar and Birbal series, you'll love Tenali Raman too. The stories are different but follow the same theme.

3. Mythology: These are well written and illustrated stories on Krishna, Ganesha, Parvati, Sai Baba etc. There are 10 such books in this series. try adding a few of these and see how your kid likes them.

4. Moral Stories: There are plenty of moral stories from Jataka Tales and others that teach a moral via every story. You may want to download a few of these as well.

Want to see the entire list, check them out our here.

Thank you for making us a part of your holiday.

Have a wonderful holiday!
StoryTruck Team
  

New Titles on StoryTruck

We are excited to bring you new titles in English, Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. These new books are from our Moral Stories series. These stories help the kids differentiate the good from evil, right from wrong and needs versus wants. Take the story of The King and The Apple. This story teaches us that the most priceless gifts are not those that are expensive or fancy but those that come from the heart. Similarly, in the story, The Three Best Things, it forces you to think and acknowledge that the three best things are those that you seldom recognize. We have added a total of thirty books - ten titles in three different languages. As usual, these books come with excellent illustration and voice overs. If you have already subscribed, you can simply download them to your library. We hope you'll enjoy these great titles.

Mission Main Street Grants Challenge Update

We have reached a new milestone today and we wish to thank all our patrons who stopped by and took action by casting their vote and showing their support. You have not only shown your support for StoryTruck but also for helping children read in Indian languages, making Indian language books easily available and a love for helping children become life long learners. We love you all!

We have received 150 votes and need 100 more to qualify for the next round. We promise to keep working and bringing even more content! Please spread the love and tell your friends about us!

Twenty New Books on StoryTruck

Beep...beep... move away , move away... make way for our trailer. We are delivering twenty new books to StoryTruck. Our new titles include:
In Hindi
Buddha, Ganesha, Hanuman, Jesus, Krishna, Mahavir, Parvathi, Sai Baba, Shiva, Vishnu

Browse All 

In Tamil
Buddha, Ganesha, Hanuman, Jesus, Krishna, Mahavir, Parvathi, Sai Baba, Shiva, Vishnu

Browse All

Have you ever been asked by your children why Lord Ganesh has a trunk or are Lord Krishna and Lord Rama are the same? Of course yes and we know all children are curious and have a lot of questions. We have made it a little easier now because your children can listen to these wonderful stories on StoryTruck.  Subscribe away for only $4.00 per month and enjoy more than two hundred books in six different languages.

Help Us Win a $250K Grant

Chase is giving away $250K grant to small businesses.We need 250 votes to move on to the next phase where a panel of judges will pick the winners. We need your help!  Please Vote For Us.

Here's why we need your votes!

1. We would like to see every child read not only in English but in any Indian language!
2. We would like to bring you a larger collection of Indian books by partnering with many more publishers.
3. We would like to expand our offerings on Android and Desktops so that no child is excluded.
4. Last but not the least, we would like to make all these at a price that is affordable to you.


A $250,000 grant will not only help us achieve these goals but will help us build a stronger community!

Several thousand children learn Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and many other Indian languages in the US today. StoryTruck helps these children have fun and become better readers by making bilingual storybooks easily available on all devices they are so familiar with. Because a society's culture is rooted in its language, it helps the children learn their culture, establish stronger family ties and create a stronger community. 

Popular Books on StoryTruck in September

What do you think were the most read books on StoryTruck in September? With so many popular series to choose from, your little kids choose to read or listen to these stories more often.

Note: We didn't think it was appropriate to include the free books in this list because it's obvious that free books would get read the most.

	Emperor Akbar has organised a sumptuous feast and both Akbar and Birbal tuck in greedily. The Emperor sees an opportunity to tease Birbal, but does his plan work?
	A butcher and a grain merchant are fighting over a bag of money. Each claims that the other is the thief. It is ultimately up to Birbal to uncover the truth.
	Emperor Akbar wants to know the exact number of sparrows in the kingdom. As usual, it is only Birbal, his wisest minister, who can provide a good answer to this impossible question!
	Beauty is a kind young girl who has to go live with a fearsome Beast. But as she soon finds out, the Beast’s terrifying exterior hides a caring heart. A story of magic and unlikely love.
	Cinderella spends all her day cleaning and washing for her mean stepmother and her stepsisters. But then one day, her kind fairy godmother comes to her rescue. With a little bit of magic, Cinderella's life may change forever!
	A story of a blind vulture bringing about his own doom by misplaced trust.
	A story of how a small deer by using his wit and ingenuity was able to overcome dangerous obstacles.

240 Books and Counting

Did you notice new books lately on StoryTruck? If you did, congratulations! Yes, we added several new books and now have 240 well illustrated books with excellent audio narration in six different languages. That's in five Indian languages and English!

Our newest addition has been in hindi, tamil and kannada. We added ten new books in each of these languages from the Jataka tales series. Jataka tales is the oldest known Budhist literature and tells stories about the previous lives of Buddha in human or animal form.

Try these and other books on our iPad app today! Our subscription prices start from as low as $3.99/month.

How my children turned into bookworms

There is a lot of research to show the positive effects of early reading. Teachers and educators constantly encourage children to read more and more. A few years ago, when my kids were six and one, we were in the same boat. Today, my younger son, who is seven can finish two or three books in a day. My older one who is 12 can't go to bed without reading a book. Our Saturday breakfast is now incomplete without a newspaper on the dining table. We don't read away individually and munch on a bagel or slurp our noodles. Instead, our kids enjoy discussing the comic strips and bits of news from the front page. I enjoy reading the neighborhood news and garden tips while my wife is browsing through arts and entertainment.

It's hard to pick a single thing that caused this change and I credit most of it to our shift in attitude. When my kids were young, we didn't subscribe to a newspaper because there was no time to read one. But when my parents visited us, we subscribed so that they could keep themselves busy. After they left, I decided to continue my subscription with the weekend only edition. Sure enough there was no one reading it for a long time. Some days, the paper made its way directly into the recycle bin. While my wife was a little irritated with the pileup of unread newspapers and waste of money, I stayed with the conviction that our money was being put to good use. I thought that it was important to surround yourself with enough reading material to cultivate a reading habit. If you don't have anything to read, you are probably not going to start reading. But, if you have plenty of stuff lying around and you are bored, you'll eventually start reading. I also started leading by example. I would make a determined effort to bring the newspaper on the table at breakfast time and read comic strips to my kids. It takes a little bit of time to grasp the jokes and the characters in the comic. Once they are hooked on to it, there is no going back. I also read them about important news items, tidbits and facts from the newspaper. After a while, both my kids were hooked onto comics. I left the paper for a whole week on the table and every time my kids ate at the table, they would flip the pages. My older son slowly began reading news articles. Now, I subscribe to two or three magazines and leave it on the dining table.

Newspapers were not the only ones they were introduced to. We constantly visited libraries and checked out a bag full of books. We reduced their TV time and rewarded them for reading. We made sure to bring material that suits their reading level. They lose interest if the material is too hard to grasp or not challenging enough. As they started to grow older, they cherished reading. They still love to watch TV or play games but if those two options are not available, they are hooked onto books.

Share your story on your kids reading habits below in the comments section.

by Mohan Rao
Founder StoryTruck.

Twenty new tamil books added to StoryTruck!

Hurray! Our library is continuing to grow. We added twenty new tamil books to the library. We have added stories from Hitopadesha and Aesops.

Hitopadesha tales are old Sanskrit fables that were written to teach young princes the philosophy of life and grow into responsible adults. These stories were popular then and now. They help teach our children the moral values and differentiate good fro evil. We have handpicked the best illustrated books, and added them to our library with excellent voice overs. Like all other books in our library, these books are bilingual and can be either read of listened to.

Like Hitopadesha, Aesop's fables comes from Greek. A number of these stories are credited to a Greek storyteller called Aesop. He used a number of animals and inanimate characters in his stories to create wonderful stories that illustrate the effects of greed, kindness and other virtues in our lives.

To see a complete list of tamil books, head over to  http://www.storytruck.com/browse/Tamil. Check them out and tell us which one is your favorite.

Welcome to StoryTruck Blog

We debated a lot about whether a company blog was necessary when the world is moving towards Facebook and Twitter. Although the decision was not unanimous, we all agreed that blogs provided certain value that Twitter or Facebook can not offer. Blog is a long form content, provides SEO benefits and allows anyone to read and share. So, here we go! Please welcome our new blog.