Storytime Designed by Kids

Meet the Leithers

Meet the creators of Three Detail Stories! Nick "Daddy Dude" Leither teaches writing at Santa Clara University and is a writer himself as well as an avid reader. Rosa "Mommy Moy" Leither is an author, broadcast journalist, and musician. When Nick and Rosa had kids, it was clear the craving for narrative was genetic.

Itasca (8) and River (6) live for stories. They check out books from the library by the dozen. They struggle to carry stacks of books to the couch when it's time to read. And every night they end the day with a "Three Detail Story," told by none other than Daddy Dude. The concept is simple: the kids choose three random details and Nick accepts the challenge of taking those three details and creating a story on the fly.

In 2023 Rosa decided to put her professional audio skills to good use and share these quirky, kid-designed stories with the world. The family has now put out 50 podcast episodes and 9 albums/audiobooks.

When Nick isn't telling stories or teaching he's building or fixing something, cooking, listening to podcasts or camping. When Rosa isn't editing stories she's hiking, gardening, or jamming with her band. Itasca loves dance, gymnastics, climing trees, sewing, reading, and playing piano. River is an enthusiastic bike rider, climber, dancer, jokester and drummer.

Three Detail Albums/Audiobooks

Our podcast quickly evolved into collections of stories we released as audiobooks/albums. How do you fit a squirrel, a plane and a fish into the same story? What about gluten, a flea and a bat? Listen to find out. Designed with children age 4 to 10 in mind, Three Detail Stories are good for rainy days, road trips, quiet time, bedtime and anytime inbetween.

What do people think of the stories? Here are a few recent reviews:

"Such a delight!! My kids love your stories and they make our long car rides much more enjoyable. :-) Thank you!"

"After 7 years of family road trips and many attempts to find a podcast we can all agree on, we've finally found one in Three Detail Stories. Nick's on-the-fly stories are so imaginative, and as my kids say, unpredictable - which keeps them totally engaged. They also teach my kids new words, as Nick pauses to explain things to his own kids, which is an added bonus. Looking forward to more!"

"Our little girls and I love listening to Nick's calming storytelling voice and surprising plots, and the sweet add-ins from the kids."

Our audiobooks are on a variety of platforms and streaming services, including Amazon Music, iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Nook, Google Play, Kobo, and Chirp. If you have a smart speaker you can ask it to play any of our collections. Simply say "Alexa, play the album Three Detail Stories Volume 5," or whichever album you would like to listen to. Find out more on our audiobook page. Or click the link to see purchase options.

Stream the podcast below, or find your favorite player with our Smart Link. If you have a detail suggestion, email it to threedetailstories(at)gmail(dot)com.