How to: read stories to your babes like a professional

This is part of a series on online entertainment alternatives to The Easies: dear Diego and Netflix.

Storyline Online: Picture books, not sure how they get chosen, are read by members of the Screen Actors Guild. The book's illustrations are somewhat animated and follow the story.

I like that the kids can navigate it themselves (though I think it could be still cleaner and simpler), that it's hearing books read aloud, and the length is good for short distrations--most are not longer than seven to ten minutes long. There are "activities" that go along with each story, many of which are just discussion jumping-off points.

(Tangent: remind me to write something about 

the importance of / how to create family mythologies)

Storynory: A British site, where we've mostly enjoyed the "classic" section--Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. Professionally recorded, but no illustrations, so nice to do while you're working on a puzzle or drawing, or just spacing out on the couch.

Sparkle Stories: A monthly story subscription, like an audio magazine for your kids. I'm so happy somebody is doing this, and I *love* magazines, so I'm not sure why I haven't subscribed to this. But we've really enjoyed the sample stories in the meanwhile. They tend to have a lefty/green/touchy-feely bent--just fine by me (but still, makes me chuckle at the self-conciousness sometimes).


What makes them fun to listen to?
Of course, it's starts with a good story.
For many of them it's a voice I recognise, or learn to, after a couple stories.
Third, the readers tend to read much more slowly than I do with my two on the couch.
Fourth, they use their voice to make drama, create feeling, invent the characters with different voices. I especially loved the way this happened in the book "Knots on a Counting Rope," from Storyline Online.