Who records bedtime stories this way
Reading at bedtime is the point, not the recording. This exists for the nights when the person who usually reads isn't in the room.
Parents who travel or work away
Fly-in fly-out rosters, night shifts, deployments and long work trips. The story is still read in Mum's or Dad's voice, every night, by whoever is home.
Grandparents living far away
A grandchild in another city or another country hears Grandma or Grandpa read The Velveteen Rabbit at bedtime, long after the visit ended.
Separated and shared-care families
On the nights the child is at the other house, the familiar voice still reads. No calls to schedule, nothing to download on anyone else's phone.
Hospital stays and long illness
A parent in hospital, or a child in one, can keep the bedtime story going. Families also record a voice to keep while they still can.
How it works
You do not read the whole book. You read one short passage, and that is enough for your voice to narrate every chapter.
- Record one minuteOpen the site on your phone, press Record and read the passage shown on screen. Listen back, and re-record as often as you like.
- Choose the storiesPick one children's title or several from the shelf below. Hear a sample in your voice first, and try the first chapter free.
- Receive the recordingsEvery chapter arrives by email, narrated in your voice, usually within a few days. Keep them forever, share them with the child's other carers, or send them as a gift on a chosen day.
Children's stories you can record today
34 children's titles are open to order right now, each with its own page. Short fairy tales fit one bedtime; the novels give a chapter a night for weeks. Every title is a public-domain classic, prepared for reading aloud.
Anne of the Island
L. M. Montgomery · about 8.5 hours
Anne Shirley leaves Green Gables for four years at Redmond College — cozy housemates, proposals refused, and finally Gilbert; gentle, romantic, with one…
The Railway Children
E. Nesbit · about 6.5 hours
Three children whose father is mysteriously taken away move to a railway-side cottage, stop a train crash with red petticoats, and help clear his name; warm…
The Velveteen Rabbit
Margery Williams · about 5 minutes
A stuffed rabbit longs to become real through a boy's love, surviving a scarlet-fever scare and a bonfire; very short, tender bedtime story with a…
Aesop's Fables
Aesop · about 1 hour
Short, snappy tales for the youngest listeners—each over in a minute or two. Perfect for first sittings, bedtime stories, and wriggly attention spans just…
Aesop's Fables
Aesop · about 1 hour
A little longer now. These fables stretch attention spans gently, with more room for mischief and mishap—ideal for children ready to sit and listen a while…
Aesop's Fables
Aesop · about 1 hour
Meatier stories with real plot and cunning characters—foxes outwitted, lions humbled, lessons learned the hard way. For confident listeners who want a…
Aesop's Fables
Aesop · about 1 hour
The richest fables of all—longer, wittier, and full of twists. Best for older children, where a clever ending rewards those who listen right through.
Cinderella & Other Stories
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 1.5 hours
A kind girl goes to the ball with help from a magic hazel tree, seven little goats and their brave mother outwit a hungry wolf, and tiny elves help a poor…
Hansel and Gretel
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 20 minutes
Lost in the forest, Hansel and Gretel find a house made of bread and cake. But its owner isn’t as kind as she seems, and only quick thinking can save them.
Little Red Riding Hood
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 10 minutes
Little Red Riding Hood sets off through the woods with a basket for her grandmother. But a sly wolf has a plan, and he gets to Grandmother’s cottage first.
Little Red Riding Hood & Other Stories
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 2 hours
A girl in a red hood meets a wolf in the woods, two lost children discover a house made of bread and cake, and Rapunzel lets down her long golden hair.
Rapunzel
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 10 minutes
Locked in a tall tower with no door, Rapunzel lets down her long golden hair for the witch to climb. One day, a prince hears her singing and finds the way up.
Rumpelstiltskin
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 5 minutes
A miller’s boast leaves his daughter locked in a room full of straw that must become gold by morning. A strange little man can help, but his price is very high.
Rumpelstiltskin & Other Stories
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 1.5 hours
A miller’s daughter must spin straw into gold, a boy no bigger than a thumb has enormous adventures, and a jealous queen asks her magic mirror who is fairest.
Sleeping Beauty
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 10 minutes
An uninvited fairy’s angry spell sends a princess and her whole castle into a hundred-year sleep, while a thorny hedge grows high around them. Can a brave…
Sleeping Beauty & Other Stories
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 1.5 hours
A princess sleeps for a hundred years behind a wall of thorns, twelve sisters secretly dance their shoes to pieces, and four old animals set off to become…
Snow-White and Rose-Red
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 15 minutes
Sisters Snow-White and Rose-Red welcome a shivering bear into their cosy cottage one winter’s night. But who is he really, and what does he have to do with…
Snow-White and Rose-Red & Other Stories
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 2 hours
Two sisters befriend a gentle bear, a brave girl travels to the end of the world to save her seven brothers, and a fearless young man goes looking for a fright.
The Elves and the Shoemaker
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 5 minutes
A poor shoemaker has only enough leather for one last pair of shoes. But every morning he finds beautiful new shoes on his workbench. Who could be making…
The Fisherman and His Wife
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 15 minutes
A poor fisherman catches a magic fish and lets it go free. His wife keeps sending him back to ask for more and more, but how much is too much?
The Frog Prince
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 10 minutes
When a princess drops her golden ball into a well, a frog fetches it in exchange for her promise. But she soon learns that a promise must be kept.
The Goose-Girl
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 15 minutes
On the way to meet her prince, a princess is tricked by her wicked maid, who steals her place. Now she must tend geese, and only her faithful talking horse…
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 10 minutes
Every morning, the king’s twelve daughters wake up with their shoes worn to pieces, but nobody knows why. Can a clever soldier with an invisible cloak…
Tom Thumb
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · about 15 minutes
Tom Thumb is no bigger than his father’s thumb, but he’s full of courage. He drives a cart, outwits two thieves, and even escapes from inside a cow and a wolf!
The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett · about 9 hours
Sour orphan Mary finds a locked garden at her uncle's Yorkshire manor and revives it with sickly cousin Colin and Dickon; healing springtime story after a…
Anne of Avonlea
L. M. Montgomery · about 8 hours
Sixteen-year-old Anne teaches the Avonlea village school, raises mischievous twins Davy and Dora, and matchmakes for Miss Lavendar; gentle, low-stakes episodes.
Anne of Green Gables
L. M. Montgomery · about 11 hours
Chatty orphan Anne Shirley is sent by mistake to an elderly brother and sister's island farm and wins everyone over; funny and warm, with one sad death late.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank Baum · about 4.5 hours
A cyclone carries Dorothy and Toto to Oz, where the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion join her road home; brisk chapters, one mildly scary witch.
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Carlo Collodi · about 4.5 hours
Geppetto's wooden puppet lies, skips school, turns into a donkey, and is swallowed by a giant shark before earning real boyhood; darker and stranger than…
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
Oscar Wilde · about 1.5 hours
Five fairy tales, including a jewelled statue stripped by a devoted swallow and a selfish giant's garden; tender short read-alouds with several sad deaths.
Andersens Fairy Tales
H. C. Andersen · about 6 hours
The Emperor’s New Clothes & Other Short Tales
H. C. Andersen · about 1.5 hours
A vain emperor’s invisible suit, a magic teapot, a lonely tin soldier, proud snails, a boastful collar, a leaping frog and cheeky Cupid. Eight short tales…
The Shoes of Fortune: Tales of Wishes & Journeys
H. C. Andersen · about 1.5 hours
Magic galoshes grant every wish at once, sending their wearers back in time, up to the moon and off as a lark. Then children search a forest for a…
The Snow Queen & Other Royal Tales
H. C. Andersen · about 1.5 hours
When the Snow Queen carries Kay away, brave Gerda sets off barefoot to find him. Plus a prince disguised as a pig keeper, and a princess tested by a pea.
Where the child listens
The recordings are ordinary audio files, so they go wherever bedtime happens. Nothing to install for the child.
Download the Yoto zip for a book and load it onto a Make Your Own card. Chapters are already cut to the card's limits.
Download the tonies zip and upload it to a Creative-Tonie, one bedtime's worth per figure, in reading order.
A private podcast feed puts the whole book in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any podcast app, with resume and a sleep timer.
Play from the library page, download the MP3s, or use the chaptered .m4b audiobook in Apple Books.
Questions parents and grandparents ask
How do I record a bedtime story in my own voice?
Open the site on your phone, press Record and read the short passage shown on screen. That one-minute recording is all that is needed; the stories you choose are then narrated in your voice, every chapter. You do not read the whole book yourself.
Does it sound like me?
It is an AI simulation of your voice built from your own recording, so it keeps your tone, pace and accent. You hear a sample in your voice before you pay, and the first chapter of any title is free.
Can my child listen without a phone?
Yes. Every book can be downloaded as a zip made for a Yoto Make Your Own card or a Creative-Tonie, as a chaptered .m4b audiobook, and as a private podcast feed that works in any podcast app. The MP3 files also play on any phone, tablet or smart speaker.
Which stories are good for bedtime?
The children's titles on this page are classic fairy tales and children's novels, many of them single short tales that fit one bedtime. Fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and The Elves and the Shoemaker run a few minutes each; longer novels such as The Secret Garden or Anne of Green Gables give a chapter a night for weeks.
Can I give it as a gift and have it arrive on a certain day?
Yes. You record, choose the recipient and write a short note, and the recording is emailed to them on the day you choose — a birthday or the first night you are away. Your own copy arrives straight away. See Gifts.
How long does it take?
Recording takes about a minute. The finished narration usually arrives within a few days, and always within 14 days of your recording being accepted.
What happens to my voice recording?
It is used only to narrate what you ordered, on servers the company operates, and it is never sold or passed to a third-party voice company. You can delete it at any time, and order recordings are erased automatically after a set period. The details are on Your Voice, Your Data.
Your recording is biometric data and is treated that way: processed on servers we operate, never sold, never handed to a third-party voice-AI company, deletable by you at any time. The company behind this is 33Ventures Pty Ltd, Australia. Read the whole promise at Your Voice, Your Data.
Tonight's story, in your voice
One minute to record. The first chapter is free. Everything after that is yours to keep.
Start recordingRead more
- How to record a bedtime story in your own voice — the practical guide, from a quiet room to the first listen.
- The best classic books for children at bedtime — by age, by length, by how sleepy you want them.
- Yoto, Toniebox or podcast app? — getting a story in your voice onto the player your child already uses.
- A personalised audiobook as a gift — for grandparents, from grandparents, and for the day it should arrive.