The Story Step - Storytelling for Everyone
“I’m embarrassed… I’m not a confident reader myself”
Of all the reasons we hear from parents for not reading with their children, this one is by far and away the most common, sadly.
It’s not that parents don’t want to read with their children, they do! And they feel incredibly bad that they’re not confident enough to.
This is why we’ve created The Story Step…
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A place where there’s no judgement, just stories.
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A place where there’s no flashy sets and no autocues, just decent humans giving their time to share a story.
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A place where there’s over thirty stories (and growing!), all read by men who have families, jobs, dogs, hobbies, and their own lives, but who still found time to give a few minutes for a good cause.
The Story Step is a volunteer-driven initiative that brings the joy of storytelling to children who don’t have an adult at home to read with them.
Our team of dedicated storytellers - 'The Story Steppers', all giving their time freely, is as diverse as the children we serve.
We believe every child should see themselves reflected in the stories they hear, so we’ve worked hard to ensure storytellers who look and sound like the children we reach are always available.
Every story we share is either drawn from timeless, copyright-free tales or lovingly created by the storytellers themselves. Together, we’re fostering imagination, connection, and a love of stories in every child who listens.
OUR STORYTELLERS - THE STORY STEPPERS
We are very lucky to have had such a fantastic response to our request for storytellers for The Story Step!
We would like to say a massive THANK YOU!!! to all of our volunteers who have very generously given their time to record a story for us.
Here is a little about a few of our Story Steppers and their stories:
sam
"I’m Sam from South West Wales. I work for a software company and I’ve been a police officer, coastguard and lots of other things. I love horses and have done lots of horse riding and learning with my horse Princess.
My story 'I Can Be A Unicorn' is about being what you think you can be."
dave
"My name is Dave. I run workshops to help people think more creatively. I live just outside of London near Heathrow Airport.
The main theme of my story, The Cat In The Hat, is trust and honesty."
Derek
"Hello, my name is Derek. I write books and short stories for grown-ups, as well as content for websites and magazines. When I’m not doing any of that I go on walks in Cornwall, where I live, and I sometimes borrow other people’s dogs (with their permission!).
My story ‘The Ball that went to Sea’ is about how one big kick sent a ball around the world!
In nearby Penzance there is an annual literary festival where authors, readers and workshop leaders come together to celebrate their love of words."
Reuben
"My name is Reuben, and I live in Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia.
I love stories, and reading, and have done so from a very young age.
The stories I tell are mainly about courage, and friendship."
Mitch
Mitch is a 55-year-old bald man who loves telling stories.
Before he moved to Scotland to live with his partner and children he lived in Kent and created an entire universe of characters in order to keep the kids entertained at bedtime. The universe got bigger and bigger involving time travel, alternate realities, and parallel dimensions – the children funnily enough preferred the simple stories involving bums, poo and farting.
One of the best loved characters from that universe was Colin the unicorn, who he is happy to join him on the Story Step.
In his spare time Mitch is a Cub Leader, musician, kung fu expert, dog walker and domestic goddess.
Shaun
"My Name is Shaun, I'm a former secondary school teacher, now an Amazon employee.
I'm from the West Midlands in the UK."
david
"Hi, I'm David from a little village close to Sevenoaks in Kent, which is in the southeast of England.
I work to make sure that rules in schools and other places are fair for everyone, especially for children who might struggle with things like reading, writing, or sitting still.
My story is 'The Star that Fell to Earth,' and is about friendship, courage and finding your spark."
Brian
"My name is Brian, I live in Chicago, Illinois and I am the owner of Schab Fitness LLC and I work as an Exercise Specialist and Nutrition Advisor improving peoples’ strength and state of health.
My story to tell is called The Green Haired Captain and the Great Island Dispute.
Business website: www.schabfitness.com
Scott
Scott Kyles is a content and training specialist for Central Steel Group in North Carolina. He also serves as a freelance marketing copywriter and ghostwriter.
When he’s not nerding out over words, Scott enjoys spending time with family, gardening, weather-watching, playing ping-pong, and sampling hot sauces.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/inspiretraincoachexecute/
paul
"Hi, my name is Paul.
I found school and the way I was taught hard, and I left with no qualifications at all!
I was lucky to get a second chance of education when I was a bit older (and found new ways of learning that suited me!) and eventually became a teacher myself - both in mainstream schools and specialist schools.
I am very lucky to still be able to work with children, but most of my time is taken up by helping other teachers and residential support workers to get better at supporting the children in their care.
The Story Step project is amazing, and I am very happy to be part of it. My mum raised me, my little sister and brother by herself, so we didn't have a dad around to tell us stories or read us books, so the chance to read for you is amazing!
My story may be about Aliens visiting Earth on a ship... It may also be telling a story about other travellers that come on boats. You will need to decide!
Enjoy all the brilliant stories here. Maybe you will start writing your own?!"
get involved!
We aim to promote this project as widely as we can so we can reach as many children as we can!
We need to make sure we do justice to the efforts of all of the incredible men who have given their time so someone else's children can enjoy a story.
Please can you help The Story Step to reach more children?
You can do so by following and sharing our Youtube Playlist - The Story Step:
Also by following / liking / sharing The Story Step's other socials:
@the.story.step on TikTok
@thestorystep on Instagram
We’re also asking for donations (every little helps!) to help us promote this project as widely as we can so we can reach as many children as we can, and to help build a fund so we can approach authors and publishers for permission to read stories which are still in copyright.
If you would like to donate to help us promote this project, please visit our JustGiving page:
If you're not in a position to make a donation, then perhaps you can leave a message of support at the bottom of this page; like and leave a comment on our 'The Story Step' Blog (coming soon!), or on any of our social media posts, so the men who've given their time so generously can see their efforts recognised.
Get even more involved...
Become a Story Stepper and share the magic of storytelling!
We’re always grateful for new volunteer storytellers. If you’d love to read a story and bring joy to countless children, we’d love to hear from you!
Are you a children’s author or publisher? If you’d like us to share your story with our audience, please reach out through our Contact Page or email us at thestorystep@gmail.com.
Let’s make storytime special together!
The Story Step is the innovative idea of Jess Lovibond, founder of Jess Lovibond Therapeutic Services CIC -