About the Authors
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist, and mythologist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm’s law (linguistics), the co-author with his brother Wilhelm of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm and the editor of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
Aesop (620–560 BC) has been known in history and in legend since the sixth century BC, or earlier, as a gifted Greek storyteller and the author of the world’s best-known collection of fables. A Phrygian slave, there is speculation that he was freed as a result of his wit. Though little is known about his life, his remarkable wisdom regarding human nature, conveyed through his fables, has brought him great renown.
Lorena Romero is an author, narrator, certified Spanish translator, and a public librarian specializing in early literacy and outreach to Spanish-speaking communities. She loves to write stories that Spanish-speaking children may relate to, often drawing on her own experiences growing up as a child in Mexico City, and as a teenager in California.
Lauren Kratz had been a children’s librarian for fifteen years, including at The New York Public Library in the Bronx and now the Los Angeles Public Library. Lauren manages the Octavia Lab, a DIY makerspace at the Los Angeles Public Library. She also works as a content developer for the 2022 and 2023 Modern Library Platinum Award Winner LibraryCall, where she develops and records original and diverse stories which children can listen to from around the country.
LibraryCall is a small team of children’s librarians, storytellers, writers, audio editors, and translators. Founded in 2020 by Lori Ayre, this diverse team is driven by a deep appreciation for the power and importance of storytelling. LibraryCall creates modern renditions of classic children’s stories and fairy tales, adapts stories from various oral traditions, and even writes new stories. Their hope is that their varied and inclusive catalog will inspire the next generation to explore the world, appreciate the cultures around them, and perhaps even become storytellers themselves.
Bradford Hastings is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.
About the Narrators
Lorena Romero is an author, narrator, certified Spanish translator, and a public librarian specializing in early literacy and outreach to Spanish-speaking communities. She loves to write stories that Spanish-speaking children may relate to, often drawing on her own experiences growing up as a child in Mexico City, and as a teenager in California.
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist, and mythologist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm’s law (linguistics), the co-author with his brother Wilhelm of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm and the editor of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.