Common questions
The things parents ask us most often — answered briefly and in full.
What Silbenwald is
What is a personalised children's audio story?
- An audio story that is made only after you order it and is tailored to one particular child. You give the name, age, theme and narrator, your child is the main character, and you receive the result as an MP3 file that is yours to keep.
How is this different from a children's audiobook or an audio drama?
- A children's audiobook is a finished work that everyone hears in the same version. Here the story is written anew and only for your child — which is why we call it an audio story. An audio drama uses several actors and sound effects; we deliberately use a single calm voice, because these stories usually play at bedtime.
Is AI used to make the stories?
- Yes. The stories are created with the help of generative technology — that is, AI — and are editorially checked and released before they reach you. The characters, the worlds and the storytelling rules are ours, not the model's.
Is Silbenwald a subscription?
- No. You pay once, for what you order. Even the rituals run out on their own after their last episode — there is nothing to cancel and nothing that renews quietly.
The personalisation
Can my child be the main character?
- Yes, that is the whole point. Your child is the protagonist of the story, not a side character who happens to have the right name.
Can my child's name appear in the story?
- Yes — twelve to twenty times depending on length, spread across the whole story rather than only at the beginning.
How does the personalisation work?
- You go through a short configurator: first name, age band, occasion, world, a few traits of your child and who else should appear. The story is written from that and then narrated.
Which voices are available?
- Eleven narrators, from the grandmother and the forester to the lantern keeper. Three of them can be chosen in the free story, all eleven from your first purchase.
What if the name is pronounced wrongly?
- You hear the pronunciation in a short voice sample before the story is produced. If it is not right, we redo it free of charge.
Occasions and gifts
Are there personalised bedtime stories?
- Yes, and it is the most common case. With the occasion “falling asleep” the conflict resolves early, pace and volume drop towards the end, and the story closes quietly instead of on a climax.
Can I create a personalised audio story for starting school?
- Yes. Starting school is one of the eight occasions, and it changes not only the subject but the shape of the story.
Is there a birthday audio story?
- Yes. The story can be built around the birthday child, with their name, their age and the characters they like.
Do personalised audiobooks make a good gift?
- For children, yes — and you can give one without knowing anything about the child: you buy a voucher, the parents redeem it and give the details themselves. With a recorded spoken greeting if you like.
Practical questions
What age are the stories for?
- From 2 to 10 years, in four bands: 2–3, 4–5, 6–7 and 8–10. Language, length and tension are matched to the band.
How long is a story?
- Between about eight and twenty-eight minutes depending on the age band — around eight to ten minutes for the youngest, close to half an hour for the oldest.
How long does it take to create?
- Usually a few minutes. You get a message as soon as the story is ready.
How do we listen to the story?
- In the browser, or as an MP3 download — for Toniebox (Creative-Tonie), Yoto, tigerbox, hörbert, a phone, a car stereo or any MP3 player. There is an illustrated guide for each type of device.
How long can I download the file?
- The link stays valid. You can still download the story in two years' time.
What does it cost?
- The first story is free. After that a single story is €4.90, a pack of three is €12.90, and the rituals start at €17.90 for 21 evenings.
What happens to our child's data?
- We only ask for what appears in the story: first name, age band, occasion and a few traits. No surname, no address, no date of birth, no nursery. The free story needs no account.
Still something open?
Write to hello@silbenwald.de — we answer ourselves.