The Magic of Stories for Children: Why Reading and Storytelling Are the Greatest Gifts You Can Give Your Child
Once Upon a Time Stories are the oldest technology of the human species. Before we had writing, before we had cities, before we had agriculture, we had stories. Around fires, in caves, in the spaces between the demands of survival, human beings told each other stories. About where the world came from. About what happens when you are brave or cowardly, generous or selfish. About the heroes and monsters that live at the edges of the known world. About what it means to be a person, to be afraid, to love, to lose, and to keep going. We have not changed, at the most fundamental level, in this. Children come into the world wired for narrative. Before they can read, before they can write, before they can sit still for any appreciable time, they demand stories. Tell me again. Tell me what happened. What comes next? The story is not entertainment appended to a child's real development. It is, in a very deep sense, how development happens. This guide is about why stories matter so profound...