A story about a flamingo who attends school with a community of polar bears and has trouble meeting expectations. (Suitable for all ages.)

“Once upon a time there was an anguished cave mother who finally couldn’t take it anymore. Every night, she’d arrive back to her cave after hunting and gathering all day long, ready to fall asleep on her cozy boulder, but every night, without fail, her little ones would insist on a story before bed. And back then, without a book to close, a goodnight story could go on and on until almost dawn.  In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for poor prehistoric mothers to miss out on sleep entirely because of little ones begging and pleading for the thousandth time, “Please Mama, tell us what happened next!!! Please, Please, Please!!” But one day, this particular anguished mother just couldn’t think of what happened next.”— From 'The Origins Of Happily Ever After'(Suitable for all ages.)This episode was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.New episodes every Wednesday!For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

A Pigeon At Heart is a story about a man who felt it was easier to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. Until someone found out the truth of who he really was…(Suitable for all ages.)

Channel 15 ½ is about a man who fears the whole world is against him and discovers it’s true. Sort of. (Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

The Shears of Thornling is a story about a town that discovers their old-fashioned ways of solving behavior problems aren’t always the best. (Suitable for all ages.)

My son has lost a lot of people in his life already, and he often asks me to call my mother on my heart-phone so he can talk with her. I do a pretty good imitation of my mother and try to imagine what she’d say. Sometimes it really does feel like I’m channeling her. This is one of those conversations. (Suitable for all ages.)

A poem for children and families experiencing loss and grief, based on my book Anchors in the Storm. (Suitable for all ages.)

A mean boy tells the story of how he became mean. (Suitable for all ages.)

A story about a mother and her tween son who wanted to connect but had a wall between them. (Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

“Katie McKeever was the new girl in third grade. Katie McKeever was perfect. She didn’t walk, she did back handsprings. She received standing ovation after ovation not only from her peers but from her teachers, some of whom skipped their lunch breaks just to watch her on the balance beam. It was at that moment I knew I had to be a gymnast. Unfortunately, a gymnast I was not. I took one fall off the balance beam and had to be rushed to the nurse’s office.” — from 'The Girl Who Wanted To Be Someone Else’ (Suitable for all ages.)