Ever felt guilty about feeling too tired to read a bedtime story? Promising you will read it tomorrow or rushing through it as fast as you could? We have all been there and felt awful afterward. After all, we are supposed to read kids from infancy to enhance their development and make them smarter. Or so the research says.And all of us can remember that wondrous time as we discovered the world through the magical lens of children's stories and what a strong hold they had on our imagination.
This week in the Washington Post, Michael Dirda reviewed Maria Tatar's "Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood". Fairy tales enthrall, the author says, because they present gripping contrasts between good and evil, beauty and horror which impact the imagination. A bored child is distracted by curiosity and explores these tales. Curiosity then leads to a sense of wonder, a sense, as Dirda notes, that anything is possible. That is an invaluable gift. How many children, blind to this wonder, have grown up to be sad people who have no hope in their lives and can't bring any to others?
Tonight, all promises will be kept. Peaches and Popcorn will get the full set of Eloise's adventures and a bonus Angelina Ballerina!
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