Grammy winning storyteller and author Bill Harley joins The Children’s Hour for a joyful hour of music and storytelling. From hilarious songs about whining and walking around the moon to a true story from second grade about courage and friendship, Bill reminds us that the moments that happen to kids every day really matter. Listen in for laughter, sing-alongs, and inspiration from one of the nation’s most beloved children’s performers.
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Grammy winning storyteller, author, and songwriter Bill Harley joins The Children’s Hour for a full hour of music, stories, and laughter. Broadcasting from his studio in Massachusetts while the Kids Crew joins from New Mexico, Bill shares songs about whining, walking around the world, singing out loud, and even very smelly socks. He also tells a powerful story from his own childhood about courage, friendship, and what really goes on behind the mysterious door marked “Teachers Lounge.”
Bill has performed in more than 2,500 schools and has won two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. He is the author of the Charlie Bumpers book series and the novel Night of the Spadefoot Toads, which is read by thousands of students each year. In this encore episode recorded in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill reminds us that the small moments in childhood matter. They shape who we become.
Bill talks with the Kids Crew about growing up in Ohio, wanting to play baseball, becoming a musician instead, keeping bees, writing books, and finding your own unique voice. He explains that your job is not to be the best. Your job is to be the only — the only you.
Think about your own life and the stories you already have from your experiences. Could you turn an ordinary event at school into a hilarious story to entertain your friends and family? Would a comment by your sister or brother make it into a song you might write? Get even more inspired by Bill Harley in our learning guide.
The Children’s Hour is written and produced by Katie Stone and was originally recorded in April 2020 at the Sunspot Solar Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Production help for this episode came from Sarah Gabrielli, McKenzie Graunke and Thaniel Lentz. Our learning guides are written by Amber Shiel.
The Children’s Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, the Native American Radio Network and is a production of The Children’s Hour Inc., a New Mexico nonprofit organization.
© 2026 The Children’s Hour Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Not all of the songs heard on The Children’s Hour can be found on Spotify
Playlist: Bill Harley
| title | artist | album |
|---|---|---|
| I Don't Wanna Wait Anymore | Bill Harley | Live on The Children's Hour |
| Everybody's A Baby About Something | Bill Harley | Live on The Children's Hour |
| Mom and the Radio | Bill Harley | Down In the Backpack |
| Five Minutes More | Bill Harley | Hear & Gone In 60 Seconds! |
| The Teacher's Lounge | Bill Harley | Live on The Children's Hour |
| A Walk Around The Block | Bill Harley | Live on The Children's Hour |
| Black Socks | Bill Harley | Play It Again |
| Is Not, Is Too | Bill Harley | Live on The Children's Hour |
| Like to Sing | Bill Harley | Yes to Running! (Live) |
| Swimming | Bill Harley & Keith Munslow | It's Not Fair to Me |
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