• 24 minutes 9 seconds
    Bedtime Stories: The Dragon Who Whispered Fire

    Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories

    Deep in Fernhollow forest, a tiny shy dragon named Pip has always believed her fire isn't real fire at all — just small, soft sparks that float gently on the air and quietly go out. When the big dragons all fly off to their annual Night Gathering and a lost fox kit is left crying alone in the fog, Pip and her fearless salamander companion Nessa venture out into the dark to help. What follows is a gentle, funny journey across slippery stones and past a family of very opinionated glow-beetles — and a quiet discovery that sometimes the smallest, steadiest light is exactly the right kind.

    Every Lauren's Little Bedtime Story includes: Calming Relaxation: Gentle breathing exercises to help your body relax. Original Bedtime Lullaby: Wind-down time as Lauren sings you to sleep. A Full Original Bedtime Story: A whimsical story read aloud by Lauren.

    19 May 2026, 1:40 pm
  • 42 minutes 39 seconds
    Adventure Encore: A Circus Adventure, Part 2

    A Reading Bug Adventure with Original Songs

    Part 2 of 2. Step right up! The Reading Bug has run off and joined PT Barnum's circus - and she's got a terrible case of stage fright. Join Lauren to follow her under the Big Top, and discover that the Reading Bug isn't the only ones with butterflies: Jumbo, the most magnificent elephant in the show, is refusing to budge from his crate, and without him, the whole parade comes to a halt.

    With a cast of rhyming, Dr. Seuss-inspired performers - a fire horse rider, a human cannonball, and a daring trapeze artist - we must find a way to help a giant elephant and a tiny bug find the courage to step into the spotlight. Because sometimes the greatest show on earth needs a little help from its friends.

    Explore the Magic: Check out the books featured in this adventure at: ⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/circus

    18 May 2026, 1:42 pm
  • 20 minutes 14 seconds
    Fact Fly: Why Do We Have to Sleep?

    The Fact Fly's One Big Question

    Why does your body force you to shut down for eight hours every single night — and what happens inside your brain while you do? Join Lauren and the Fact Fly (fresh off an accidental cold brew catastrophe) as they investigate the surprising science of sleep! From the "Reading Bug Bookstore" analogy that explains memory consolidation, to the brain's nighttime power-wash system called the Glymphatic System, this episode reveals that sleep is far more than just rest. You'll discover exactly how caffeine tricks your brain with a chemical con, why your brain cells actually shrink while you sleep, and what REM's "Movie Remix Mode" is really doing while you dream of cheese-drum solos. Whether you're following along with the Power-Down Protocol to become a Sleep Hero or marveling at the brain-gunk-flushing Cerebrospinal Fluid, this adventure makes the science of snoozing genuinely fascinating.

    Perfect for night owls, curious dreamers, and anyone who's ever wondered why the "bean juice" always wears off at the worst possible moment!

    14 May 2026, 10:30 am
  • 22 minutes 35 seconds
    Bedtime Stories: Rosie Waits for Her Pitch

    Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories

    On a warm summer evening at a little league field, a nine-year-old girl named Rosie steps up to bat in the bottom of the last inning — down by one, two outs, championship on the line — and everything she's worked for comes down to a single pitch. She loves baseball with her whole heart, but she hasn't gotten a hit all season. Her grandfather Granpa Lou, a former minor leaguer, gives her the one piece of advice she's been missing: the best pitch you ever see is the one you wait for. With her sunflower-seed-eating teammate Benny cheering from the dugout and Granpa Lou still and steady in the bleachers, Rosie finally learns the difference between trying hard and being patient — and discovers that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is let a pitch go by.

    Every Lauren's Little Bedtime Story includes: Calming Relaxation: Gentle breathing exercises to help your body relax. Original Bedtime Lullaby: Wind-down time as Lauren sings you to sleep. A Full Original Bedtime Story: A whimsical story read aloud by Lauren.

    12 May 2026, 2:31 pm
  • 41 minutes 29 seconds
    Adventure Encore: A Circus Adventure, Part 1

    A Reading Bug Adventure with Original Songs

    Part 1 of 2. Step right up! The Reading Bug has run off and joined PT Barnum's circus - and she's got a terrible case of stage fright. Join Lauren to follow her under the Big Top, and discover that the Reading Bug isn't the only ones with butterflies: Jumbo, the most magnificent elephant in the show, is refusing to budge from his crate, and without him, the whole parade comes to a halt.

    With a cast of rhyming, Dr. Seuss-inspired performers - a fire horse rider, a human cannonball, and a daring trapeze artist - we must find a way to help a giant elephant and a tiny bug find the courage to step into the spotlight. Because sometimes the greatest show on earth needs a little help from its friends.

    Explore the Magic: Check out the books featured in this adventure at: www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/circus

    11 May 2026, 2:23 pm
  • 17 minutes 19 seconds
    Bedtime Stories: Silas and the Library of Lost Buttons

    Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories

    In the sun-warmed corner of a weathered garden shed, an elder Thistle-Mouse named Silas tends to a very special collection — not seeds or treasures, but lost buttons, rusted keys, faded ribbons, and forgotten things the world left behind. When a curious young mouse named Toby wanders in and wonders why anyone would bother keeping a pile of old junk, Silas places a small sky-blue button in his paw and asks him to look with his heart instead of his eyes. What follows is a quiet afternoon of stories, including a tiny silver bell that once told the flowers spring was coming, and a brand-new brass safety pin bent into the shape of a heart — proof that the library is never quite finished.

    Every Lauren's Little Bedtime Story includes:

    Calming Relaxation: Gentle breathing exercises to help your body relax.

    Original Bedtime Lullaby: Wind-down time as Lauren sings you to sleep.

    A Full Original Bedtime Story: A whimsical story read aloud by Lauren.

    5 May 2026, 10:30 am
  • 55 minutes 2 seconds
    A Wonderland Adventure

    A Reading Bug Adventure with Original Songs

    Full Story. Follow the White Rabbit down the hole as Lauren and the Reading Bug tumble into the magic book bag for a journey to the curious, nonsensical world of Wonderland! In this tea-riffic adventure, you'll discover what happens when a grinning Cheshire Cat points the way down two mysterious paths - and a Mad Hatter's tea party turns into a quest to help a new friend in need.

    From pocket-watch-carrying rabbits to hedgehog croquet balls and flamingo mallets, Wonderland is every bit as wacky as you'd imagine. But when the Queen of Hearts threatens to unleash her "Off with their heads!" fury on poor Alice, our adventurers have to decide: turn back home, or stand bravely beside a new friend? Grab your teacup and join us for a topsy-turvy trip full of music, riddles, and wonderfully mad surprises.

    Explore the Magic: Check out the books featured in this adventure at: ⁠⁠w⁠ww.thereadingbug.com/adventures/wonderland

    4 May 2026, 2:10 pm
  • 31 minutes 25 seconds
    Story Snack: Into the Midnight Zone

    Book Worm's Story Snacks | Into the Midnight Zone

    Can a bookworm who's afraid of the dark explore the deepest, darkest place on Earth?

    Join the Book Worm on this deep-sea Story Snack and dive three thousand feet below the ocean's surface — where the sun has never reached, the water pressure would squish a submarine flat, and the darkness is full of things that glow.

    Meet Augusta, a four-hundred-and-twelve-year-old anglerfish who knows everything about the deep ocean and almost nothing about the world above it. Discover lanternfish who wear their names in blinking lights, ride alongside a thirty-foot silver oarfish, and come face-to-face with a jellyfish that has been pulsing through the dark since before the dinosaurs. Then, when danger threatens Augusta's ancient neighborhood, the Book Worm will need your help to save the day.

    Together, you'll discover why the dark isn't something to be afraid of — it's just full of things that haven't been found yet.

    30 April 2026, 10:30 am
  • 18 minutes 52 seconds
    Bedtime Stories: The Bear Who Collected Clouds

    Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories

    High on Mount Fumble, where pine trees grow in crooked spirals and streams sing to themselves, lives a small, round bear named Bram with a very unusual hobby - collecting clouds in glass jars. His cave shelves hold everything from a grumbly little storm cloud to his most prized possession: a breathtaking jar of pink-and-gold sunset. But one morning, the sunset cloud is gone. Bram follows a trail of pink mist all the way to the mountain's peak - past a family of riddle-demanding geese, a wobbly log bridge, and a very enthusiastic marmot narrator - only to find his cloud floating free in the middle of the real sky at golden hour. What he discovers there is far more beautiful than anything he could ever fit in a jar.

    Every Lauren's Little Bedtime Story includes:

    Calming Relaxation: Gentle breathing exercises to help your body relax.

    Original Bedtime Lullaby: Wind-down time as Lauren sings you to sleep.

    A Full Original Bedtime Story: A whimsical story read aloud by Lauren.

    28 April 2026, 10:30 am
  • 35 minutes 56 seconds
    NEW! A Wonderland Adventure, Part 2

    A Reading Bug Adventure with Original Songs

    Part 2 of 2. Follow the White Rabbit down the hole as Lauren and the Reading Bug tumble into the magic book bag for a journey to the curious, nonsensical world of Wonderland! In this tea-riffic adventure, you'll discover what happens when a grinning Cheshire Cat points the way down two mysterious paths - and a Mad Hatter's tea party turns into a quest to help a new friend in need.

    From pocket-watch-carrying rabbits to hedgehog croquet balls and flamingo mallets, Wonderland is every bit as wacky as you'd imagine. But when the Queen of Hearts threatens to unleash her "Off with their heads!" fury on poor Alice, our adventurers have to decide: turn back home, or stand bravely beside a new friend? Grab your teacup and join us for a topsy-turvy trip full of music, riddles, and wonderfully mad surprises.

    Explore the Magic: Check out the books featured in this adventure at: ⁠⁠www.thereadingbug.com/adventures/wonderland

    27 April 2026, 10:30 am
  • 21 minutes 7 seconds
    Bedtime Stories: Mallow and the Quiet Side of Wonderland

    Lauren's Little Bedtime Stories

    In the wonderfully topsy-turvy heart of the Tulgey Wood, a tiny neon-pink Mome Rath named Mallow has one very unusual wish — not to point the way for anyone, but simply to sit still. When the chaos of Wonderland grows too loud, Mallow sets off in search of the legendary "Center of the Calm." With a cryptic clue from the ever-grinning Cheshire Cat and a nudge from a delightfully drowsy Peppermint Lily, she finds her way to a wise Blue Caterpillar atop the softest mushroom in the forest. When a swirling Nonsense Gale sends spoons flying and trees spinning, Mallow discovers that the quiet she's been searching for was never a place at all — it was right inside her own steady breath, all along.

    Every Lauren's Little Bedtime Story includes:

    Calming Relaxation: Gentle breathing exercises to help your body relax.

    Original Bedtime Lullaby: Wind-down time as Lauren sings you to sleep.

    A Full Original Bedtime Story: A whimsical story read aloud by Lauren.

    21 April 2026, 10:30 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App