Ask Abbe Anything! ⭐️✨

[00:00:10] Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, your podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream.

[00:00:22] Are you ready for another bonus Q&A? This time is a little different.

[00:00:28] Instead of interviewing one of our Koala Moon characters, it's me, Abbe, in the hot seat.

[00:00:35] One of our brilliant listeners, Poppy, suggested that we do this, so thank you Poppy and hello to your sister Matilda too.

[00:00:43] For the last week, Coco Club members have been submitting their questions on Supercast.

[00:00:48] And now it's time for me to answer them. So here we go.

[00:00:55] Before we begin, a quick message for the grown-ups.

[00:00:58] If you'd like to support our podcast, enjoy ad-free listening, unlock four bonus stories per month, and much, much more, you can join Coco Club.

[00:01:09] Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes.

[00:01:13] But now here's a quick word from our sponsors.

[00:01:15] Hi, Koala Moon listeners. We're excited to share that we've officially joined Starglow, the largest kids and family audio network.

[00:01:24] Starglow has an amazing lineup of shows for all ages, including Go Kid Go favorites, like Snoop and Sniffy, Bobby Wonder, and R.L. Stine's Story Club.

[00:01:35] Perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit.

[00:01:38] You can explore all of Starglow's podcasts and audiobooks by simply typing Starglow into the search bar wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[00:01:47] And, as always, your favorite Koala Moon bedtime stories will still be right here to help you and your family sleep peacefully.

[00:01:55] Sweet dreams and happy listening.

[00:01:59] Hello, Koala Moon listeners.

[00:02:01] If you have babies and toddlers in your family, then this announcement is for you.

[00:02:06] I'd like to tell you about my other sleep show, Koala Tots.

[00:02:10] It's got all the magic of Koala Moon, but it's made especially for the littlest of listeners, babies and toddlers.

[00:02:17] Koala Tots is packed with soothing stories and calming rhymes, perfect for helping babies and toddlers sleep like a dream.

[00:02:25] Not only are the stories incredibly relaxing, but they have easy-to-understand language and gentle repetition,

[00:02:31] designed to help with babies' cognitive development as they drift off to sleep.

[00:02:37] There's even appearances from some of the Koala Moon star favorites,

[00:02:41] alongside the cutest episodes like How to Hug a Hedgehog and Nugget's Cozy Night.

[00:02:47] So search Koala Tots on your favorite podcast player and hit follow so you can find it easily night after night.

[00:02:57] I'd like to start with the most popular question asked by the lovely Siobhan and by Ned too.

[00:03:04] Take it away, Ned.

[00:03:06] Hello, Abby.

[00:03:07] My name is Ned.

[00:03:08] My question for you is why did you want to make Koala Moon in the first place?

[00:03:13] Hmm.

[00:03:15] It is a very, very good question.

[00:03:19] I think I'm going to start this answer with the fact that when I was little I used to listen to audio stories on cassettes back then because I'm ancient.

[00:03:32] So I would listen to something every single night throughout my childhood.

[00:03:38] Even if my parents had already read to me, I would then put my tape on and listen to stories.

[00:03:44] Then I had my own children and I used to read them stories during the day and at bedtime.

[00:03:50] But I found that when I was looking for bedtime stories for children on the internet, everything was very noisy and loud and overstimulating.

[00:03:58] So I would play her some of the stories that I had read for adults on the sleepiest app.

[00:04:04] And she really enjoyed them, but there weren't that many for young children.

[00:04:08] So I thought, wouldn't it be lovely if we could provide a safe space on the internet for children to find really good quality bedtime stories.

[00:04:18] And a lot of magic and some wonderful people have helped make that happen.

[00:04:23] Okay, next question, which is kind of similar.

[00:04:28] Janice, Janice, Janice asked, do you like what you do?

[00:04:33] Yes.

[00:04:34] That's a one word answer.

[00:04:36] In fact, no, I'm going to use a few more words.

[00:04:40] I think I have the best job in the whole entire world.

[00:04:46] Okay, that's pretty clear.

[00:04:48] Next up, I'd like to answer another very important question from Eli in Ohio who asked, would you rather eat Pizza Express for a month or fish and chips for a year?

[00:05:00] That's a crucial question.

[00:05:02] And my answer is Pizza Express every time because I love their variety and their desserts.

[00:05:12] And you don't get that with fish and chips.

[00:05:14] So that's quite an easy one for me.

[00:05:17] Next up, we have a question from Charles.

[00:05:21] When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

[00:05:27] Do you know what?

[00:05:28] It was a difficult one.

[00:05:30] I didn't know what I wanted to be.

[00:05:32] I knew that I wanted to be happy.

[00:05:36] I didn't have a job title in mind.

[00:05:40] I never got to be the narrator in any of the school plays, which is really what I wanted to do then and there.

[00:05:49] My big brother told me that I should be a TV presenter on a children's TV show.

[00:05:54] But I didn't believe him.

[00:05:56] Yeah, I didn't really know what I wanted to be, to be honest.

[00:06:00] And I'm really happy doing this right now.

[00:06:03] I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up.

[00:06:06] The next question comes in from Annabelle, who asked when my birthday is.

[00:06:11] That's easy.

[00:06:12] 19th of July.

[00:06:13] And many of you seem to know it because you sent me the most wonderful messages.

[00:06:17] It was the loveliest birthday this year.

[00:06:19] And also she asked what school I go to.

[00:06:22] The school of life.

[00:06:25] I don't go to school anymore, Annabelle.

[00:06:28] My children do.

[00:06:29] And I sometimes go into their school, but I don't go to school.

[00:06:32] Next, Hudson would like to know how Sydney the squirrel is silver and magical.

[00:06:38] It's an interesting question, Hudson, because the usual ones in my garden are grey and quite ordinary.

[00:06:45] Well, all I can say is he's magical.

[00:06:50] Megan is next with a fantastic question.

[00:06:53] Now, here's Megan.

[00:06:56] Who's your favourite Coco Sleep character?

[00:07:00] Oh, Megan, it's the hardest, hardest question because my answer will change on a daily basis.

[00:07:08] Sometimes it's Camembert because of his love of cheese.

[00:07:12] Sometimes it's Peanut because of his love of travel.

[00:07:17] Both of those things I can really relate to.

[00:07:19] I really love Camo because of his changing skin and his relationship with his appearance.

[00:07:28] I absolutely adore the dimpled dumpling cafe lady whose names I've just forgotten.

[00:07:36] Possibly, though, maybe it's Kira, you know.

[00:07:39] Kira the panda who's Coco's little adopted sister because I'm adopted too.

[00:07:45] And I think she's brilliant how she's just got on with life in her family.

[00:07:50] Okay, next we got Joy, who asked, how long have you been doing Koala Moon?

[00:07:57] How many people work in Koala Moon?

[00:08:00] How many pets do I have?

[00:08:03] And what is my favourite story?

[00:08:05] I think that's not technically one question, is it?

[00:08:08] But that's cool.

[00:08:08] I can answer all of those.

[00:08:10] I've been counting up on my fingers how long we've been doing Koala Moon.

[00:08:15] And we started, our first, first story went out on the 30th of November 2021.

[00:08:24] And that was Coco's bedtime.

[00:08:26] So that's been a few years now, hasn't it?

[00:08:29] Almost three years.

[00:08:31] Sleep HQ team, I think we're about 12.

[00:08:36] Not everybody's in the same place, though.

[00:08:39] We all work in different countries and places and we talk to each other via the internet.

[00:08:45] So I think altogether we're a team of about 12.

[00:08:49] How many pets do I have?

[00:08:51] Two.

[00:08:52] It was three, but I've only got two now.

[00:08:56] And Sunny's one of them.

[00:08:58] And I have a cat who's quite old.

[00:09:00] What was her last question?

[00:09:02] Oh, my favourite story.

[00:09:05] Hmm.

[00:09:06] Maybe the doggy daycare episode?

[00:09:09] Or is it Swifty?

[00:09:12] Or is it Isla and the bravery dragon?

[00:09:17] And anyway, I'm not supposed to have a favourite, am I?

[00:09:20] Okay, finally, here's a question from Alice.

[00:09:25] Hi.

[00:09:26] Um, I am Alice.

[00:09:28] I live in Virginia.

[00:09:29] And my question is, where did potato and beans go?

[00:09:32] They've disappeared.

[00:09:34] Thank you.

[00:09:36] That's a good question.

[00:09:37] But you know what the answer is.

[00:09:39] They're at the diner.

[00:09:40] And they're going on adventures.

[00:09:42] The stories will be with you soon, I promise.

[00:09:45] Thank you, all of you, for your wonderful questions.

[00:09:49] They're absolutely marvellous.

[00:09:51] It's good to hear from you.

[00:09:52] Let me know in the comments or in a review who you want the next Q&A to be with.

[00:09:57] And then join us over on Supercast if you'd like to get involved, okay?

[00:10:01] The link is in the show notes.

[00:10:04] Oh, koala kids.

[00:10:05] Until next time.

[00:10:07] Thank you and sweet dreams.

[00:10:09] There's two items that may be a little better.

[00:10:09] You're, you're really happy to be a people.

[00:10:09] My mãe is so bad.

[00:10:09] Or am I?