The Storyteller's Diary

By: J. Edwards Holt

Narrated by: Dean Ruple

Whether you’re looking for mystery, adventure, light-hearted laughs, or even something on the scarier side, The Storyteller’s Diary has it all! Set in the fantasy world of J. Edwards Holt’s Little Men, Big Treasures trilogy, this collection of short stories includes over a dozen tales, featuring all kinds of fantastic mythical creatures like dragons, wizards, elves, and much, much more!

©2020 J. Edwards Holt (P)2020 J. Edwards Holt

A Great Fantasy Short Story Collection

A charming collection of fantasy short stories, most with a moral lesson including characters from dragons to dwarves, princes and princesses, a village of rabbits and a host of ordinary boys and girls.
Short, entertaining and perfect for bedtime reading.

Perfect bedtime stories!

Wow what a variety of fantasy stories! This is a great book, especially for kids but very enjoyable for adults as well. I also like the way the narrator handles this one — he really gets into the characters.

Whimsical Fairy Tales that teach Morality

The Storyteller's Diary is an anthology of bedtime story length fairytales steeped in classic folk creatures, whimsical settings, and themes of morality. While some stories are sillier than others, all of them aim to teach a lesson about living good and peaceful lives, loving family and neighbours, and not taking anything for granted. Some of the stories mirror biblical stories and parables very closely (one near the middle is very much a "he who is without sin shall cast the first stone" sort of story), while others feel more unique.

All of these stories would make great bedtime stories for kids of all ages, and this book would also be wonderful family storytime reading for lazy afternoons, camping trips, and storm days. I would recommend this to all my friends with kids.

I am reviewing the audiobook edition, specifically, so I would also like to comment that the narrator's performance was very good. His voice is crisp, his pacing is appropriate, and he does make a good effort to vary the voices of different characters in dialogue. There are appropriate pauses between stories, too. I've listened to some audio anthologies where one story blends into the next, leading to confusion for the listener, but that is not the case with this performance.

For the book itself, I rate The Storyteller's Diary 4 out of 5 stars. It's very good and I would recommend it, but I wasn't completely captivated by it. For the narrator's performance, again I rate it 4 out of 5 stars. It was quite good, and I would not hesitate to listen to another audiobook performed by the same narrator. Overall, therefore, my rating is a solid 4 stars.

I would like to thank the author for granting me access to a free review copy in exchange for an honest review as part of a blog tour for The Storyteller's Diary organized by Audiobookworm Promotions.

Great Christian messages!

I love the way this book has Christian meanings behind some of the stories! Excellent writing; my particular favorite it the one about the old dwarf and the wolves!

Very enjoyable collection of fantasy stories

I really enjoyed this collection of short fairy-tale/fantasy type stories, although sometimes the ending of the stories left unanswered questions and felt incomplete. The stories were sweet, a little nostalgic, and heart-warming. Many also came with a lesson (kind of like Aesop's fables), including about handling bullies, letting go of departed loved ones, bettering yourself, and learning that our perceptions color how we see events. There are princesses and pirates, poor people and wealthy ones, good spirits and troublesome ones, a talking horse and a colony of talking rabbits, humor and tragedy, joy and sorrow, All-in-all, a very enjoyable listen.

I liked the narration. It was well-paced and it was easy to tell the different characters apart.

I received a free review copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.