You read at your own pace
The text stays within reach: a child can read alone, take turns with an adult, or come back to a favourite passage. The catalogue shows the recommended age and the estimated reading time.
Projects/ Education and culture
EDUCATION AND CULTURE · ONGOING INITIATIVE · SINCE 2024
Small stories. A big appetite for reading.
A firefly afraid of the dark. A tram that travels through time. A truck that dreams of flying. MiniPovești invites children into the story, to read it or listen to it, and to discover what sparks their curiosity.
Created by Asociația Susțin.org and launched in April 2024 with AFCN co-funding, the platform offers free access to children’s literature in text and audio. The stories come with images, and the literacy resources open up room for play and conversation, at home or in the classroom.
For children, parents, teachers and anyone who wants to make room for a story.
HOW IT WORKS
A story can begin in many ways
You listen to a voice that brings it to life
The audio versions bring interpretation and rhythm. Stories can be heard on the platform, and the MiniPovești podcast is also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Reading and listening are two ways into the same adventure.
You carry on with a question or an idea
The “MiniPovești Interactive” materials propose reading-related activities for the family and the classroom.
Access to these documents is presented on the platform through creating an account and subscribing to the newsletter.Information about the resources ↗
WHERE TO START
Choosing a starting point that fits
The ages are the catalogue’s guideline. The choice also depends on the child’s interests, their reading experience and the particular story.
And onwards, towards books
TheSchool sectionincludes classic texts, from Ion Creangă and I.L. Caragiale to Mihai Eminescu.The reviewsand the blog round out the platform with encounters, ideas and recommendations from the world of children’s literature.
WHICH STORY TO START WITH
Three stories to start with
The durations are the reading estimates shown by the platform, not the length of the audio files.
THE AUTHORS AND THE VOICES
The stories have authors. And voices you remember.
Founder and author
A writer, screenwriter and Susțin co-founder, Mihai Mănescu created MiniPovești out of the pleasure of telling and discovering stories. The catalogue also features guest authors, among them Cristina Beatrice Preda, with “Ghemotoc de mamă”, and Maria Mănescu, with “Michi și vulpoiul viclean”.
The MiniPovești voices
Those who read the stories include Irina Margareta Nistor, Ada Condeescu, Marcelo Cobzariu, Bogdan Farcaș, Andreea Brașovean and Alex Ferariu. Other recordings feature Mihai Mănescu, Karina Jianu, Andreea Constantinescu and Viorel Păunescu at the microphone.
Images and sound
The platform uses illustrations made with the help of artificial intelligence, with credits specific to each material. The book “Pisica Vera și aventurile micuței Ema” is illustrated by Mihail Cosuletu. Audio production credits, across different stories, go to Alex Hosu, Ștefan Buculeasa and Sebastian Crețu.
BEYOND THE SCREEN
The stories step off the screen. The children step into the story.
From readers to authors
The platform also publishes texts written by children.“Chiți și Caramela în cămară”is signed by Sofia Marin, and“Aventurile lui Max în Tărâmul Magic”, by Sara Petre. Both pages present them as third-grade pupils at Dragomirești Secondary School, guided by their teacher Orieta-Magdalena Matei.
These contributions show a step we want to encourage: a child discovers other people’s stories and finds the courage to tell their own.
Postcards that open stories
At Bookfest 2024, the Romanian Post announced a collection of postcards carrying QR codes to 10 stories on MiniPovești. The programme also included a reading with Mihai Mănescu, around the story “Scrisoarea”.
A MiniPoveste becomes a book
The collaboration with Veranda Mall led to “Pisica Vera și aventurile micuței Ema”, written by Mihai Mănescu and illustrated by Mihail Cosuletu. Inspired by the shopping centre’s mascot, the story also appeared in a limited print run.
Gatherings where we invent together
The platform also promoted the “Story Wizardry Workshop”, scheduled for October 2024 at Meraki Edu Hub. The workshop’s premise: children write a story together with the author, which then goes up on the site.
WHAT WE HAVE BUILT TOGETHER
A year of stories, in figures
13
New stories in 2025
A new season of texts and recordings
34.000+
Readers reported in 2025
The platform’s audience, annual report
2024
Launched in April, with AFCN co-funding
A project initiated by Asociația Susțin.org
Source for the 2025 figures: the Susțin annual report, page 9. The project’s earlier presentation separately mentions over 45,000 children who read or listened to stories in 2024. The figures are kept per year and not added together.
Susțin’s contribution
We initiated the project and we develop the content and the platform, connecting writers, voices, teachers and partners. The point is for the encounter with reading to be within reach, and for one good story to open the next one.
The direction we want to grow in
We aim to reach more families, classrooms and libraries, with stories and activities that are easy to use. Through education and access to culture, the project connects to impact areas SDG 4 and SDG 10.
THE PROJECT’S PARTNERS
Who made room for the stories
INITIATOR
Asociația Susțin.org initiated the project and develops the platform and the content.
2024 LAUNCH CO-FUNDING
A project co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration at its 2024 launch. The project does not necessarily represent the position of AFCN, which is not responsible for the content of the project or for the way its results may be used.
PROJECT PARTNERS
The partners are presented as listed on the platform and on theSusțin partnerships page. Roles and collaboration periods differ; the logos represent relationships documented in the project’s history. Veranda Mall joins through the “Pisica Vera” collaboration, and the Romanian Post through the postcards at Bookfest 2024.
HOW YOU CAN USE US
Shall we make room for a story?
For parents
Choose a title together, read or listen, and leave room for what the child noticed. It might be a question, a drawing, or the wish to hear another story.
For teachers and librarians
Explore the stories, the texts in the School section and the resources available on the platform. For a meeting with the author or an activity built together, write to us about your group of children and what would be useful to you.
For partners
We can discuss supporting new stories, audio recordings or reading events. We start from a concrete format, an audience and the resources needed to deliver it.
Do I need an account?
The stories we consulted are public and can be read without signing in. The platform’s About page presents access to the interactive documents through an account and a newsletter subscription.
Are all the stories very short?
Lengths vary. There are texts of a few minutes, but also longer stories and ones in episodes. Check the estimated duration on the page of the title you choose.
Can I propose a story or a collaboration?
Yes, you can write to us. Publication involves editorial selection and agreements on the use of materials; a proposal does not guarantee inclusion in the catalogue.
About MiniPovești, in external sources
HOW THIS LINKS TO OUR IMPACT AREAS
Free stories, in text and audio, bring reading within children’s reach and lower the barriers to literature, at home and in class.