‘Rhyming Tales’ creator talks about her podcast

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A local woman who started a podcast for children which tells original or re-imagined stories that, according to her website, are “…great for bedtime, car rides or anytime,” is encouraging parents and kids to tune in.

Sandy McCambridge reached out recently to the Record-Herald to share her story and the eventual creation of the “Rhyming Tales” podcast.

“I was born and raised in Chillicothe and also lived about 20 years in Waverly where we raised our three kids,” McCambridge said. “We were really trying to get further north and moved here to Washington Court House about three years ago. Now all the kids are grown and graduated from college, so that is how I started to get back into writing again. I used to always write — when my kids were little — stories for them that I would read to them. I was trying to get published back then and my husband was deployed, and at the time I gave up on writing to focus on raising the kids and things.”

McCambridge said once she moved here she started to write again — mostly for herself at first — but there was a feeling of wanting to share the stories with others. She said she was hoping maybe they would put a smile on someone’s face and this is how the podcast started at the end of May.

“I never expected it to go anywhere and I thought I might get a few listeners and maybe kids might like it,” McCambridge said. “My stories rhyme and some are original stories I have made, and others are re-told fairy tales, nursery rhymes, stuff like that. I started the first podcast on May 29th and it has done way better than I could have ever imagined.”

According to McCambridge, the podcast has found its way into 41 countries and on her website (http://rhymingtales.buzzsprout.com/), several episodes are already available with more expected soon. These include classics like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Three Little Pigs” and “Goldie Locks and the Three Bears” with a slight retelling to keep the stories positive. Additionally, several McCambridge original stories are available such as Niko and The Keeper of the Mallows.

“My kids when they were little — especially my girls — they never liked that the females were always the ones rescued,” McCambridge said. “They would always ask me why can’t they save themselves. I never really had a good answer, so in my stories females save themselves and I always give a positive ending. A lot of fairy tales can be gruesome so I stay away from that and keep the stories light-hearted and fun with a positive ending.”

In addition to her website — which links the Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms — more information is available from McCambridge at her email address: [email protected]. The podcast — which receives new episodes once or twice a month — is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and many more. Finally, McCambridge also encourages children to be creative when listening and draw pictures of the story to help them visualize it.

“Parents and children can listen together as a family or maybe it’s something you want to share with your kids,” McCambridge said. “As a family they can take that opportunity to sit down and draw out the stories together. Maybe they can come up with other ways they can end the story, or with some stories that have lessons, they can take the opportunity to talk about what they learned from the story. This is also a great way to help children relax when they are going to bed while they listen to the story. I know parents are busy and don’t have all the time to read bedtime stories, they can listen to the story as they go to sleep. I do encourage kids — with permission from their parents — to email me their drawings or post them to my Facebook page. I have heard from people all around the world and I really enjoy when they show me their creativity.”

Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy.

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By Martin Graham

[email protected]

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