VOICE FROM THE HEART
2026 Edition: A Page That Touched Me
VOICE FROM THE HEART
2026 Edition:
A Page That Touched Me
An Audio Library of Children’s Voices Reading and Reflecting on Literature
Some pages stay with us.
Some words make us think, feel, remember, or see the world in a new way.
A Page That Touched Me invites children ages 6–17 to choose a short excerpt from a classic book, read it aloud, and share why that passage matters to them.
Each accepted recording will become part of a free online audio collection celebrating children’s voices, literature, reflection, and meaning.
Submission Deadline: November 1, 2026
Ages: 6–17
Language: English
Participation: Free
What Is This Project?
A Page That Touched Me is the 2026 edition of Voices from the Heart, an annual audio project created to celebrate meaningful voices, stories, and personal reflection.
This year, children are invited to read a favorite excerpt from a selected classic book and explain why it touched them.
This is not a contest.
There are no winners, rankings, or awards.
Every child who follows the guidelines and submits an appropriate recording will be included in the audio collection.
The goal is simple and meaningful:
Read. Reflect. Record. Be heard. Inspire others.
How It Works
- Choose your age group.
Find the reading list for ages 6–9, 10–13, or 14–17. - Select a book from our curated list.
All readings must come from the books provided on this page. - Choose a short excerpt.
Pick a passage that stayed with you, made you think, or touched your heart. - Choose one virtue or meaningful idea.
It may be kindness, courage, honesty, gratitude, friendship, empathy, responsibility, justice, perseverance, hope, respect, forgiveness, or another meaningful quality you discover in the text. - Record your voice.
Read the excerpt and share a short reflection about why it matters to you. - Submit the recording through the parent/guardian form.
A separate form is required for each recording. - Become part of the audio library.
Accepted recordings will be published in the free online collection, and participants will receive a digital certificate by email.
Why Virtues?
Great stories help us recognize what matters.
A book may show us courage in a difficult moment, kindness in a small gesture, hope after sadness, or responsibility through a character’s choice.
For this project, virtues are not a test and not a “correct answer.” They are a way to help children connect literature with life.
Children are invited to ask: What did this passage make me feel?
What did it help me understand?
What virtue or meaningful idea do I see in it?
Why do I want others to hear this page?
Choose a Book from Our Curated Reading List
To keep the project clear, educational, and respectful of copyright requirements, all readings must come from the curated public domain books listed below. View the Reading List
These books are suggested starting points for young readers. Children may choose any short excerpt from the listed works and connect it with a virtue or meaningful idea they personally recognize in the text.
A Note About the Reading List
For this audio project, children are invited to choose excerpts only from the books included in our curated reading list.
This helps us keep the project focused, reviewable, and respectful of copyright requirements.
Our focus on selected public domain works does not mean that we value contemporary authors any less. We deeply respect living writers and modern children’s literature. For this particular initiative, however, we have chosen a limited list of classic texts so that every recording can be reviewed, credited, and published responsibly.
Choose a Book. Find Your Page.
Browse the curated reading lists below and choose a book that speaks to you. Then select a short excerpt — a page that made you think, feel, smile, wonder, or see something in a new way.
Click each list to open it.
➕ Reading List: Ages 6–9
Reading List: Ages 6–9
| Book Title | Read the Text |
|---|---|
| The Tale of Peter Rabbit — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Benjamin Bunny — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Tom Kitten — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of Two Bad Mice — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| The Story of Miss Moppet — Beatrix Potter | Project Gutenberg |
| Winnie-the-Pooh — A. A. Milne | Project Gutenberg |
| The House at Pooh Corner — A. A. Milne | Project Gutenberg |
| When We Were Very Young — A. A. Milne | Project Gutenberg |
| Now We Are Six — A. A. Milne | Project Gutenberg |
| The Velveteen Rabbit — Margery Williams | Project Gutenberg |
| The Aesop for Children — Aesop | Project Gutenberg |
| A Child’s Garden of Verses — Robert Louis Stevenson | Project Gutenberg |
| The Owl and the Pussycat — Edward Lear | Project Gutenberg |
| The Book of Nonsense — Edward Lear | Project Gutenberg |
| Mother Goose or the Old Nursery Rhymes — Kate Greenaway | Project Gutenberg |
| The Story of the Three Little Pigs — L. Leslie Brooke | Project Gutenberg |
| The Golden Goose Book — L. Leslie Brooke | Project Gutenberg |
| Johnny Crow’s Garden — L. Leslie Brooke | Project Gutenberg |
| Johnny Crow’s Party — L. Leslie Brooke | Project Gutenberg |
| The Tales of Mother Goose — Charles Perrault | Project Gutenberg |
| Andersen’s Fairy Tales — Hans Christian Andersen | Project Gutenberg |
| English Fairy Tales — Joseph Jacobs | Project Gutenberg |
| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — L. Frank Baum | Project Gutenberg |
| Little Wizard Stories of Oz — L. Frank Baum | Project Gutenberg |
| Mother Goose in Prose — L. Frank Baum | Project Gutenberg |
➕ Reading List: Ages 10–13
Reading List: Ages 10–13
| Book Title | Read the Text |
|---|---|
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll | Project Gutenberg |
| Through the Looking-Glass — Lewis Carroll | Project Gutenberg |
| The Secret Garden — Frances Hodgson Burnett | Project Gutenberg |
| A Little Princess — Frances Hodgson Burnett | Project Gutenberg |
| Little Lord Fauntleroy — Frances Hodgson Burnett | Project Gutenberg |
| The Railway Children — E. Nesbit | Project Gutenberg |
| Five Children and It — E. Nesbit | Project Gutenberg |
| The Phoenix and the Carpet — E. Nesbit | Project Gutenberg |
| The Story of the Treasure Seekers — E. Nesbit | Project Gutenberg |
| The Wouldbegoods — E. Nesbit | Project Gutenberg |
| The Wind in the Willows — Kenneth Grahame | Project Gutenberg |
| Black Beauty — Anna Sewell | Project Gutenberg |
| Heidi — Johanna Spyri | Project Gutenberg |
| The Adventures of Pinocchio — Carlo Collodi | Project Gutenberg |
| Pollyanna — Eleanor H. Porter | Project Gutenberg |
| Peter Pan — J. M. Barrie | Project Gutenberg |
| The Jungle Book — Rudyard Kipling | Project Gutenberg |
| Just So Stories — Rudyard Kipling | Project Gutenberg |
| The Happy Prince, and Other Tales — Oscar Wilde | Project Gutenberg |
| The Princess and the Goblin — George MacDonald | Project Gutenberg |
| The Princess and Curdie — George MacDonald | Project Gutenberg |
| The Light Princess — George MacDonald | Project Gutenberg |
| At the Back of the North Wind — George MacDonald | Project Gutenberg |
| The Water-Babies — Charles Kingsley | Project Gutenberg |
| Treasure Island — Robert Louis Stevenson | Project Gutenberg |
| Kidnapped — Robert Louis Stevenson | Project Gutenberg |
| Swiss Family Robinson — Johann David Wyss | Project Gutenberg |
| The Adventures of Tom Sawyer — Mark Twain | Project Gutenberg |
| The Prince and the Pauper — Mark Twain | Project Gutenberg |
| Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm — Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin | Project Gutenberg |
➕ Reading List: Ages 14–17
Reading List: Ages 14–17
| Book Title | Read the Text |
|---|---|
| Little Women — Louisa May Alcott | Project Gutenberg |
| Anne of Green Gables — L. M. Montgomery | Project Gutenberg |
| Anne of Avonlea — L. M. Montgomery | Project Gutenberg |
| Jack and Jill — Louisa May Alcott | Project Gutenberg |
| Eight Cousins — Louisa May Alcott | Project Gutenberg |
| Rose in Bloom — Louisa May Alcott | Project Gutenberg |
| Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë | Project Gutenberg |
| Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen | Project Gutenberg |
| Emma — Jane Austen | Project Gutenberg |
| Sense and Sensibility — Jane Austen | Project Gutenberg |
| Northanger Abbey — Jane Austen | Project Gutenberg |
| A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens | Project Gutenberg |
| Great Expectations — Charles Dickens | Project Gutenberg |
| David Copperfield — Charles Dickens | Project Gutenberg |
| Oliver Twist — Charles Dickens | Project Gutenberg |
| Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — Mark Twain | Project Gutenberg |
| The Call of the Wild — Jack London | Project Gutenberg |
| White Fang — Jack London | Project Gutenberg |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel — Baroness Orczy | Project Gutenberg |
| Around the World in Eighty Days — Jules Verne | Project Gutenberg |
| Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea — Jules Verne | Project Gutenberg |
| A Journey to the Centre of the Earth — Jules Verne | Project Gutenberg |
| The Mysterious Island — Jules Verne | Project Gutenberg |
| The Time Machine — H. G. Wells | Project Gutenberg |
| The War of the Worlds — H. G. Wells | Project Gutenberg |
| Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus — Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | Project Gutenberg |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles — Arthur Conan Doyle | Project Gutenberg |
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Arthur Conan Doyle | Project Gutenberg |
| A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens | Project Gutenberg |
| The Count of Monte Cristo — Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet | Project Gutenberg |
✅ What Your Recording Should Include
Your recording should be about 3–5 minutes total.
Please include:
- A short introduction
Example:
“My name is Emma. I am 9 years old. I chose Kindness and an excerpt from The Secret Garden.” - The excerpt you selected
Read a short passage from one of the books in our curated reading list. - Your reflection
Tell us why this page touched you.
What did it make you think or feel?
What virtue or meaningful idea did you discover in it?
Your recording does not need to be perfect. We are not looking for professional audio or dramatic performance. We are looking for a clear voice, thoughtful reading, and honest reflection.
❌ What Not to Include
For safety and privacy, children should not say:
- full last name;
- school name;
- home address;
- city or exact location;
- phone number;
- email address;
- social media usernames;
- any other private or identifying information.
Please also avoid:
- background music;
- loud background noise;
- inappropriate language;
- offensive, discriminatory, or disrespectful content;
- political provocation;
- content not related to the selected book and reflection;
- excerpts from books that are not included in our curated reading list.
Submission Guidelines
Before submitting, please make sure your recording follows these guidelines:
- Participant must be between 6 and 17 years old.
- Recording must be in English.
- Recording must be about 3–5 minutes.
- The excerpt must come from one of the books in our curated reading list.
- The recording must include both reading and personal reflection.
- Audio must be clear enough to understand the child’s voice.
- Accepted formats: MP3, M4A, or WAV.
- A parent or guardian must complete the submission form.
- A separate form is required for each recording.
- Children may submit more than one recording, as long as each one is submitted separately.
Only recordings that meet the submission guidelines will be published.
Parent Consent and Privacy
All submissions must be completed by a parent or legal guardian.
In the submission form, parents will provide a Public Display Name for the child.
Please use this format: Emma M. This means first name and last initial only.
The public title of each audio post will follow this format: Emma M., age 9 — Kindness — The Secret Garden
We will publish only:
- the audio recording;
- the child’s public display name;
- age;
- selected virtue or meaningful idea;
- book title.
If a parent or guardian later wishes to request removal of a recording, the request must be sent from the same email address used in the original submission form.
Removal requests may be sent to: info@snowlikestudio.com
Submit Your Recording
Please review all guidelines carefully before submitting. Only recordings that meet the project requirements will be included in the audio collection.
Before submitting, please prepare:
- child’s public display name, such as Emma M.;
- child’s age;
- selected book title;
- selected virtue or meaningful idea;
- the exact excerpt being read;
- audio file;
- parent/guardian name;
- parent/guardian email;
- parent/guardian consent.
For Libraries and Educational Partners
A Page That Touched Me gives children a meaningful reason to read, reflect, and share their voices.
This project supports:
- reading and literacy;
- public speaking confidence;
- self-expression;
- thoughtful reflection;
- emotional intelligence;
- connection between children and books;
- values-based learning through literature.
You can support the project by:
- sharing the project with families;
- displaying a flyer with a QR code;
- including the project in a newsletter;
- posting on social media;
- encouraging children to choose a book and record at home;
- hosting a simple reading and reflection activity;
- sharing the curated reading list with young readers.
This project is separate from the Annual Chicagoland Children’s Stories & Art Exhibition, but both initiatives share a common goal: encouraging children to express ideas, imagination, and meaning through creative forms.
Children who love drawing and storytelling may enjoy the art exhibition.
Children who love reading, speaking, and literature may enjoy this audio project.
Partner materials will be available for download below.
Download Partner Packet
Download Flyer
Download Social Media Images
Frequently Asked Questions
➕ FAQ
Is this a contest?
No. This is not a contest. There are no winners, rankings, judges, or awards. Every recording that meets the guidelines will be included.
Who can participate?
Children ages 6–17 may participate.
What language should the recording be in?
All recordings should be in English.
Can my child choose any book?
For this project, children must choose from the curated reading list on this page.
Why are the books limited to this list?
The list helps us keep the project focused, reviewable, educational, and respectful of copyright requirements.
Can my child read from a modern book?
Not for this edition. This year’s recordings must come from the selected public domain books listed on this page.
How long should the recording be?
About 3–5 minutes total.
Does the audio need to sound professional?
No. A phone recording is fine, as long as the voice is clear and there is no distracting background noise.
What should my child say at the beginning?
The child may say:
“My name is Emma. I am 9 years old. I chose Kindness and an excerpt from The Secret Garden.”
Please do not include last name, school name, address, or other private information.
What information will be published?
Only the audio recording and the public title, using this format:
Emma M., age 9 — Kindness — The Secret Garden
No additional personal description will be published.
Can my child submit more than one recording?
Yes. Children may submit more than one recording, but each recording requires a separate submission form.
Will every submission be published?
Every recording that meets the guidelines and is appropriate for the project will be published.
Will participants receive a certificate?
Yes. Accepted participants will receive a digital certificate by email.
Where will the recordings be published?
Accepted recordings will be published in a free online audio collection on Patreon, with access linked from this website.
Can a recording be removed later?
Yes. A parent or guardian may request removal by emailing us from the same email address used in the original submission form.
Can libraries or schools participate?
Yes. Libraries, schools, and educational organizations are welcome to share the project with families and young readers. Partner materials are available on this page.