It’s late November 2019. Jared Young sits in the office he shares with his twin brother, Matthew. For almost 14 years, the twins have run Brothers Young Productions. For most of their recent history, they’d focused their talents on documentary films and creating testimonial videos for local clients.

It’s February 2020, and the crowds have started to gather in the ballroom for Camp Southern Ground, Zac Brown’s summer camp for kids. Stan Tucker is the outreach director at the camp. However, tonight, he’s hosting a fundraising gala for his non-profit, Leap For Literacy.

“Due to government regulations, we will be closing the school for the foreseeable future,” an email from another school reads. Stan closes his laptop and breathes in a deep sigh of frustration. He glances over at his Read N’ Roll bus, which sits just outside his window. A thick blanket of Georgia’s famous snot green pollen gathers on the windows.

“Do we need this?” Jared asks his brother as he holds up yet another unidentifiable piece of film gear. The room was littered with relics from a bygone era of movie production.

After some additional discussion, the three agree to start a channel called Stories with Stan. The premise is simple: Stan will read books on camera.

It’s been a few weeks since Stan read “When You’re Feeling Sick” by Coy Bowles, for the first ever Stories with Stan episode. The filming set up has become routine, maybe even a little boring.

A carpenter stands in the center of the studio. He’s working diligently on two simple flats, extending his tape measure to ensure he has the correct height.

DeCorey Hale sits on a stool next to Stan, watching as a crew member makes some last-minute adjustments to the lighting.

“Woah, it’s so cool,” Jaxon calls to his Mom as he admires the tiny set in the modest studio.

Matthew, Jared, Stan, and the small crew watch as Connie Crawley reads her book, Amazing YOU!

Matthew and Jared Young have always enjoyed making things. As twins, it’s hardly a surprise that they make a pretty good team. Back in the first grade, they won a county-wide milk cart stacking competition. Of course, this was mainly due to the other team’s tower falling over at the last minute. Still, a win’s a win.

“This is where the door would go, and then your desk could go over here,” says Jared as he paces around the empty room.

It’s 2013, and Stan Tucker is standing at the front of his second-grade classroom doing roll call. It’s his first year teaching, and he’s still getting used to the joyful chaos the mornings bring.

“So there’s this ancient library in the middle of this old forgotten forest,” Matthew continues. “And the legend is that the library contains every book ever written.”

The “naming” process was proving to be more frustrating than anticipated. It wasn’t that Matthew, Jared, and Stan couldn’t think of anything interesting. It’s just that their options weren’t original or imaginative enough.

The set for “The Very Airy Library” was beginning to take shape. Fortunately, The twins were able to repurpose some materials from previous productions. This expedited the creation of some of the more elaborate set pieces.

When building a “library” set, there is one key ingredient: books!

The trio’s initial thought was to collect them from anywhere they could - personal book collections, Goodwill, and perhaps some garage sales. The twins love a colorful set, so Jared suggested that the books they source all be very colorful.

Jared piles books onto the set. The brothers had been meticulous in choosing books with colorful spines. Still, Jared seems dissatisfied.

“Hello, I am the Codex,” Matthew says into the tiny transmitter in his hands. “I am the vast accumulation of the eternal library’s knowledge.”

It’s August 2021. Sam Carter knocks at the studio door. His arms are filled with various puppets he’s built over the past few weeks.