.png)
About
For nearly 25 years, Storybook Farm has been creating opportunities for children navigating a wide range of challenges and circumstances to learn, grow, and thrive.
What began in 2002 with a handful of children and animals has grown into a 51 - acre learning environment serving thousands of children each year, with the support of Auburn University students, donors, volunteers, families, and a community that continues to believe in what's possible.
4,500+
CHILDREN EACH YEAR
1,200 +
AUBURN UNIVERSITY STUDENT VOLUNTEERS
$0
COST TO PARTICIPATE
2002
FOUNDER
STORYBOOK FARM
51 ACRES
Long before there was a Storybook Farm, horses were already shaping the life of the little girl who would one day create it.
Dena loved being with them. Cleaning stalls or cleaning them. It did not matter as long as the horses were there. Horses gave Dena something to look forward to, something to work toward, and another reason to keep learning. Things that were hard eventually became mastered, and that changed how she felt about herself.
They gave her comfort when she needed it and purpose in caring for something beyond herself. Around the horses came a community: friendships built in the barn, shared work, and a common love for the animals at the center of it all. Horses became one of the constants of her childhood and a source of love and possibility.
Books shaped her childhood in a different way. Reading opened a larger world, strengthened language and imagination, and offered a powerful reminder: a difficult chapter doesn't have to determine how the story ends.
Years later, as Dena watched children carry challenges of their own, she began to wonder: What if other children were given the opportunity to discover what an animal could teach them, too?
That question became Storybook Farm.
Childhood Shapes What Comes Next
At Storybook Farm, we believe what happens in childhood shapes the people children become and the futures they create.
That's why we created opportunities for children facing adversity to learn, explore, build relationships, and discover what they're capable of. Across 51 acres, animals and nature teach as literacy, STEM, and hands-on learning build confidence, connection, and resilience.
Since 2002, Storybook Farm has provided every experience at no cost to families, schools, and organizations.
That's Where Storybook Farm Begins
3
CHILDREN
3
DOGS
2
PONIES
1
HORSES
Long before Storybook Farm existed, founder Dena Little knew what it was like to find steadiness in a barn and possibility in the pages of a book. Horses brought structure, responsibility, and confidence. Reading strengthened language and imagination and offered a reminder that difficult chapters don't have to determine how the story ends.
Years later, while watching children carry challenges of their own, an idea took shape: what if the same horses and books that had built strength in one child could do the same for another?
In 2002, that idea became Storybook Farm. With one horse, two ponies, three dogs, and three children, Storybook opened its barn doors. From the beginning, families were never charged.