Auntie Jo Jo's Library

Backpacks may seem like a simple school essential, but their history stretches back thousands of years. From ancient hunters carrying supplies in animal skins, to Roman soldiers with leather packs, t…

In today’s story, we’ll meet a little cloud who feels left out because everyone else seems to have a name, children, birds, even airplanes! Determined to find one for herself, she floats across mount…

Why do we say this when a secret is revealed?

Sources used:

• Oxford English Dictionary (OED) – historical citations for “let the cat out of the bag” and idiom notes

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary – idiom ent…

There’s a tiny tool in your backpack with a giant history. In this kid-friendly history-sode, Auntie Jo Jo traces the pencil’s journey from a 1500s graphite discovery in England to the first wooden p…

Wren Calder has always been good at staying invisible: at home, at school, even in the crowded hallways where louder voices take up all the space. But on a quiet afternoon in the school library, she …

Auntie Jo Jo’s Library opens her library to a very special guest! This episode I sat down with author Christine Devane to talk about her children’s book, Elephant Beach.

Christine shares how she bring…

Popcorn and movies go together like peanut butter and jelly but how did this crunchy, buttery snack become a star at the theater?

Sources used:

• National Popcorn Board – History of Popcorn

• Smithsonian M…

On the first day of seventh grade, Sam expects the usual: new classes, new teachers, and probably a forgotten locker combination.

What he doesn’t expect is for a strange brass key to tumble out of hi…

Why does school start in late summer and end in late spring?

And who came up with the idea of school in the first place?

Sources used:

• PBS Learning Media – A History of School in America

• National Park …

Mara’s favorite place is the old oak tree growing right along her backyard fence . It's the one spot where she can think, dream, and just be herself.

At home, it’s easy to feel invisible, especially …

Irish wakes are unlike any other tradition—where laughter meets loss, and the community gathers to carry grief together.

In this episode, we explore the origins of the Irish wake, its roots in Celtic…

On a quiet farm in the Irish countryside, Owen is the only one who can connect with Windy, a wild gray pony that refuses to be tamed.

But when the wind begins to whisper secrets only Owen can hear, t…

Why do people call Limerick the City of the Broken Treaty?

In today’s history-sode, we travel back to 1690 and 1691, when the people of Limerick stood strong during two major sieges.

Discover the bra…

Cara thought her family’s summer trip to Ireland would be quiet… until the old lighthouse blinked back to life in the middle of the night.

When she investigates, she finds a glowing journal, whispers…

Have you ever wondered why there’s a Republic of Ireland and a Northern Ireland—even though they share the same island?

This episode gently explains how history, religion, and politics shaped two gov…

Every afternoon in Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green, a boy named Finn listens to a street musician who seems to play music that matches his feelings. When the flute passes into Finn’s hands, he discovers…

More than 1,200 years ago, a group of monks created one of the most breathtaking books in the world—by hand.

In this episode, we journey to Trinity College in Dublin to discover the Book of Kells, a …

On a cliffside in Ireland, a young shoemaker named Neal lives a quiet life—until one stormy night when a pair of strange boots appear on his doorstep… and a note from “The Good Folk” changes everythi…

Down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina lies Ocracoke Island, where the accent sounds like it’s from another time and another continent.

In this special U.S.-Irish history-sode, we explore how Irish…