Eight stories, eight individual editions

Stories Our Daddy Told Us

Stories to discover together: curious animals, magical worlds, surprising adventures and a few very big questions.

Choose a story

Each story has its own page, with a description written for parents and two illustrations wherever available. The stories are being prepared for publication individually; their reading levels and subjects vary. Parents who want to know the ending before buying can read the complete overview on each story page.

Illustration for A Duck Named Simon

A Duck Named Simon

A curious duckling decides that if people can swim, a duck should be able to drive. A steep hill, an unattended car, and a pond soon test his reasoning.

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Illustration for Letter to the President

Letter to the President

A young writer addresses the President with a troubling discovery about signals that seem to stop at the same mysterious point in the future.

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Illustration for The Tale of the Silly Little Fish

The Tale of the Silly Little Fish

In a magical sea, a fish who thinks he is bigger and more important than everyone else learns how large the world really is.

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Illustration for The Littlest Mermaid of Azatland

The Littlest Mermaid of Azatland

Deep below the ocean is Azatland, a hidden city whose generous, gentle inhabitants understand friendship and possessions differently from people on dry land.

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Uncle Bill orders the runaway porch back behind Normandy

Uncle Bill’s Mustache

At the family’s old country house, Normandy, a stubborn uncle encounters a back porch with a mind of its own.

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Illustration for Paper Airplanes You Can Make at Home

Paper Airplanes You Can Make at Home

A seven-year-old boy receives an old book that turns his fascination with paper airplanes into an extraordinary adventure.

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Illustration for The Lonely Bear

The Lonely Bear

A bear searching for company encounters animals and people who are not quite as eager to befriend him as he expects.

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Illustration for Joey the Jumpinest Joey

Joey the Jumpinest Joey

Joey, a young Australian kangaroo determined to become the greatest jumper, discovers why his mother warned him to stay away from the road.

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Illustration styles: Paper Airplanes You Can Make at Home uses informal pencil sketches; the other stories are illustrated in color. Illustrations depict fictional scenes and are subject to final author review.

Authorship: Uncle Bill’s Mustache was conceived and written by Alayne Barry Conlyn, and recorded by her brother Andrew Conlyn.

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Original childhood cover drawing for Stories Our Daddy Told Us, featuring a hand-drawn bear and a green paper mustache
Original cover drawing by the author's daughter, Brittany, when she was very young. The green paper shape is Uncle Bill's mustache.
From our family archive

Where the stories began

Before these stories became books, they were stories told at home. My daughter made this cover for the collection when she was very young. Its bear and carefully cut green mustache capture something no polished illustration can replace: the joy of children helping make their own stories real.

The artwork for the new editions may be different, but I wanted to preserve a glimpse of the family beginnings of Stories Our Daddy Told Us.