Skip to main content

GivingTales brings Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales to life and donates to charity

GivingTales - Behind The Scenes
Sir Roger Moore and some of today’s top actors have teamed up to create a new educational app called Giving Tales. GivingTales features short animated versions of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, narrated by famous actors. The stories aim to educate children from around the world about values like bravery, selflessness, and compassion, while also making reading engaging and fun.

“The idea was triggered during a conversation with Christian Moore about creating digital versions of educational material but it evolved into fairy stories, as they have proven their worth over many years and are sort of mandatory in nature for children,” Klaus Lovgreen, the Chairman of Giving Tales told Digital Trends.

“I asked Christian if he thought his father [Sir Roger Moore, the famous actor and UNICEF ambassador] would read a story for the project, ‘Let’s find out,’ he said and he called his father right there and then — and Sir Roger Moore immediately accepted. The support by Sir Roger has been invaluable, and he was also instrumental in getting the other celebrities involved in the project.”

The GivingTales app features the voices of actors such as Ewan McGregor (The Little Match Girl), Stephen Fry (The Ugly Duckling), Dame Joan Collins (The Emperor’s New Clothes), and Sir Roger Moore (Princess and the Pea). In each illustrated story, the text on the screen is highlighted, so children can read along with the narrator. An animated version of each story plays before children’s eyes, to add a fun, visual element to the reading experience.

Sir Roger Moore told Digital Trends that he choose to narrate the Princes and the Pea because he has a special connection with Denmark. “The Crown Prince of Denmark came to the bi-centenary HCA event, at British Museum in London, where I was appointed an Ambassador. I, therefore, thought it appropriate that my first ‘Tale’ should incorporate the Royal patronage my first HCA event received.”

While the GivingTales app is available for free download, each additional story after the Princess and the Pea will cost $4. Of course, much of the money raised from the app will go to charity.

Since Sir Roger Moore is an Ambassador for UNICEF, Lovgreen said he wanted to commit to helping children from around the world through “education from these incredible tales and the learnings that come with them by donating 30 percent of the revenue to UNICEF U.K.”

GivingTales is available for download on the App Store, Google Play Store, and Windows Phone App Store.

Editors' Recommendations

Karen Tumbokon
Karen is a technology, music and entertainment writer. Originally from New Jersey, Karen began her writing career in music…
Visible just made its unlimited 5G plan better than ever
Visible wireless phones and plans featured

Digital wireless service provider Visible has announced upgrades to its premium Visible+ phone plan. The highlight is a new Global Pass feature that allows Visible customers to use their phones in 140 countries worldwide.

The Visible Global Pass offers unlimited talk and text services, along with 2GB of high-speed data, for a flat rate of $10 per day. Visible+ members can also enjoy a free Global Pass usage day every month. The activation process can be done through the Visible app.

Read more
The OnePlus Watch 2 is the Wear OS smartwatch I’ve been waiting for
Person wearing OnePlus Watch 2 with a green strap on their left wrist.

The OnePlus Watch 2 -- the company's first Wear OS watch -- has entered a market that Samsung dominates. However, OnePlus' popularity as a smartphone brand can be expected to bring small, yet meaningful changes that benefit not only OnePlus users, but all of the Wear OS segment in general.

For almost a decade, Samsung and Apple have predominantly been the default options if you want a smartwatch that is actually useful and goes beyond flashy features. With Samsung shifting gears and migrating from its own Tizen OS to the (relatively) more universal Wear OS platform and Google releasing its own Pixel Watch after struggling with an identity crisis in the smartwatch world, the platform has much more traction than it did a few years ago. As OnePlus carves its way into the segment, it has the opportunity to entice people who don't wish to live within Samsung's limitations when using a Galaxy Watch with another brand's phone.

Read more
Buying an iPad Mini today? You need to know about this deal
The Apple Pencil attaches to the iPad mini magnetically.

If you've had an eye on iPad deals for the latest model of the Apple iPad Mini for a while now, this may be the offer that you've been waiting for -- a $100 discount from Best Buy on the tablet's Wi-Fi, 64GB model, slashing its price to $400 from $500. It's still pretty popular years after its release, so we don't expect stocks of the device for this sale to last long. If you're thinking about taking advantage of this bargain, you better push through with your purchase as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad Mini 2021
The latest generation of the Apple iPad Mini was released in 2021, but it's still featured in our roundup of the best iPads because it's the model that you should buy if you want a smaller and more compact version of Apple's tablets. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is smaller than the screens of its peers, but it's still big enough to enjoy watching streaming shows and browsing websites, while allowing you to use the device with one hand. Unlike its predecessor, there's no Home button, so the Touch ID sensor is instead built into the power button at the side of the Apple iPad Mini 2021.

Read more