Eenie Meene Mei,...

From cassettes to streaming The Digital-Native-Column

Text : Thea Neubauer | Illustrations : Alice Williamson

As regularly as the seasons change in the temperate latitudes, as regularly do us humans seem to change our mood. While we long for an awakening and a new beginning in spring and make plans or travel to distant countries in summer, we often look back in fall and winter. On the tick, nostalgia gets to me from September 1st on. I just like to reminisce about my childhood that is full of anecdotes about my »projects« or typical accidents (like running against the doorframe). And my mother never forgets to mention that it was never quiet in my room. I almost continuously listened to all kinds of audio stories. Almost nothing is unfamiliar to me: from Bibi Blocksberg and Benjamin the Elephant to The Three Investigators, TKKG, St. Clare’s, Castle Schreckenstein or fairytales – I collected and listened to all of them. Often with my sister with whom I discussed and shared every episode.

Over the last weeks, I started devoting myself to audio stories again and noticed the big role they played in my childhood. My favourite hero is and will always be Bibi Blocksberg whose series was later expanded by the series »Bibi and Tina«. When I hear the inimitable voice of Susanna Bonaséwicz that has been the voice of Bibi since 1980, in my head I think of the little blonde witch in the green dress. I owned every cassette from episode 1 (»Witches exist after all«) to 72 (»The bewitched calendar«) and had them in the correct order in the shelves of my children’s room. Up until today, myparents have a shelf with my cassettes in their attic because I can’t give them away. My love for the little witch was getting to a point where my mother and my sister Toni invented a game. Because I knew

I listened to the first 3 seconds following the title song and had to guess which episode it was. My sister had the plan to sign me up with the TV show »Wetten, Dass«..."

the stories almost too well, they chose stories I wasn’t that familiar with. Every evening, I listened to the first 3 seconds following the title song and had to guess which episode (including the right title and number) it was. My sister had the plan to sign me up with the TV show »Wetten, Dass« but since I was a little coward, I never would have made it ;).

When I listen to the stories today, I still know the text of some passages. I know exactly where the voices of the narrators go up and which passages I liked most: This immersion into the world of audio is a reason for childrento listen to audio stories and for parents to support it. Children can already use these stories however they want to, they can choose which story matches their own feelings and which one they are up to. With the

audio pieces, they can retreat into a little private sphere and get their own experiences and good feelings. And sometimes, it’s just about bridging times of boredom or idleness.

When I listened to the audio story »Bibi’s new friend« (number 10 ;)) again, I realized that it tickles the fantasy: All of a sudden, the same pictures I had in my head when I was a child came back – underlaid with today’s knowledge that »Bibi’s skyscraper« couldn’t be standing in that small city. But I still smiled when the old pictures came back. I immediately called my mother to tell her that the old feeling came back: I felt like being Bibi and for me, my mom has always been Barbara Blocksberg. Being confronted with this statement of her 29-year-old daughter, my mother laughed and told me that I’m still nuts. But we still discussed which story was the best one (my mother says it’s number 38: »Bibi and the Santas«). Up until today, my sister Toni rants about »Benjamin the Elephant as a cook« (number 23) because she thinks that Benjamin is »very/too dense« in it.

Whether you wake up or fall asleep | This is what most of our childhood pictures look like: my sister Toni and me listening to cassettes.

Playing with grandma | Bibi-Blocksberg games in my grandma’s kitchen

Another aspect is proven right by now: If a child listens to an audio story repeatedly and with pleasure, it can positively affect the language development. The sound effects, noises and music as well as the change of narrators lead to a very intense listening experience. The language can be perceived and processed better. The vocabulary is established and strengthened with such intensive listening.

When I looked at my collection of cassettes I discovered something else: the self-painted and nicely »copied« inlays with red and yellow stripes (the impression of the back of a cassette) and spidery writing. While I had to wish for the new episode on every holiday – be that Easter, Christmas or my birthday – or had to go to the children’s library of our town to borrow the missing episodes (I don’t want to explain in public that I always had to do that only once – thanks to dubbing) it’s no problem anymore today. Full of astonishment and a little bit of envy, I recently scrolled through the offerings of Spotify: No matter which search term I entered, the program displayed the right story, separated into chapters. This surely saves a lot of space in the children’s room!

Of course, Spotify makes other agonizing problems of the age of the cassette go away: the »turning« (especially when you sit on the couch with the cassette player at the other end of the room!) or the disaster of the »spaghettied tape«. Do you still remember when the tape was pulled into the cassette recorder? Horrifying. In the worst case, the tape had to be cut. I remember the concentrated face of Toni (a little mad as well because I – as the little sister – was always under suspicion to be the source of the mischief) when she glued the tape back together again, using cellotape, which led to lapses of the sound.

It’s also a real treat for every travelling family that they can take along a whole arsenal of audio stories in the car, the plane or to a distant country. We always had to choose 10 to 12 cassettes beforehand which generally led to resentments during the ride. After the fourth run of a cassette of Benjamin the Elephant, my father had enough and demanded for the radio or silence!

There is a huge selection behind the button »children and family« in the menu »browse« of Spotify. Here, you find playlists, like curated lists by Nena (»Children’s room punk«) or Johannes Strate (»Daddy, are we there yet???«). Under »artists« you not only find singers like Rolf Zuckowski or Volker Rosin but also spot the well-known face of the friendly elephant from Neustadt – Benjamin and newer offerings like »Mia and Me.« An almost

Checking the cassettes

infinite pool of listening material for children (and some adults as well). Eventually, many adults still admit that they like The Three Investigators! When the narrators of Justus Jonas, Peter Shaw and Bob Andrews perform live, the hall is full to the last seat – and not only with children!

An interesting feature, especially for travels, is the offline storage for premium users. It allows listening to audio stories you saved before, even without WiFi.

Winter holidays | Winter vacation in a wood cabin. On board: lots of Barbies and of course our tape recorder

After doing some research I found out that I am lucky with my home country because Germany is the country in which most audio stories are produced and consumed. With more than 46 million sold units and 100 gold and platinum records, The Three Investigators is the most successful audio story production in Germany – and the world! It accounts for 40 % of the commercial audio story market! It’s followed by TKKG which I also remember vividly – even if I have the impression that Gabi was kidnapped all the time. According to that series, I should never have walked through an empty alley ;)!

Whether it is a detective story, a story about horses or a thriller and adventure series – in every story you get to know new worlds and the lesson was quite clear: friendship, honesty, understanding and generosity. All the stories and audio friends of my childhood taught me these values. No matter how many tricks Bibi played and how many rules she broke (»You must not conjure in school!«) – it always was for a good cause! Thanks to Benjamin, I got to know every possible job – from baker to taxi driver to zoo director. And who knows: Karla Kolumna may have made a more sustainable impression on me than I would admit today. I already have big glasses, work for a magazine every day – now I just have to get a scooter and start a fight with the mayor ;).