The Very Hungry Caterpillar has nothing on Davy Crockett or Three Billy Goats Gruff. There’s something about folktales that speak to the heart. Maybe it’s the family history that they often carry with them.
When we read a story that has been passed down through the generations, we become part of a chain of storytellers and eager listeners. It’s not just the characters and illustrations that rise to the surface of distant memory when we read a favorite childhood book … but the environment in which we first remember hearing the tale.
The smell of pipe smoke in our grandfather’s den, the willow tree that danced in the breeze outside the kitchen window, or the warm, safe feeling of being nestled in our grandmother’s arms.
I had this experience recently when visiting our local library. I happened to stumble upon a collection of “classic” children’s books. Amongst the Grimms’ Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, I came across a folktale that my grandmother read to us every time we visited – The Sky is Falling.
So I brought it home to read to my kids. After almost 30 years, it was so much fun to revisit the story of Chicken Little. As I read, I could hear the echo of my grandmother’s voice as she played the part of Henny Penny and Foxy Loxy. It was like being teleported back to her cozy bedroom in 1977 or so, with her soft arm curled around me and the warm Alabama breeze coming in through the window.
And in an unexpected way, reading this classic fable enabled me to share a piece of my personal history with my kids.
We all have favorite books from childhood that we remember – or maybe we’ve temporarily forgotten. But I encourage you to seek them out and share them with your children or grandchildren. Or find a quiet space to read them alone. And then sit back and enjoy the sweet memories they evoke.
When we read a story that has been passed down through the generations, we become part of a chain of storytellers and eager listeners. It’s not just the characters and illustrations that rise to the surface of distant memory when we read a favorite childhood book … but the environment in which we first remember hearing the tale.
The smell of pipe smoke in our grandfather’s den, the willow tree that danced in the breeze outside the kitchen window, or the warm, safe feeling of being nestled in our grandmother’s arms.
I had this experience recently when visiting our local library. I happened to stumble upon a collection of “classic” children’s books. Amongst the Grimms’ Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, I came across a folktale that my grandmother read to us every time we visited – The Sky is Falling.
So I brought it home to read to my kids. After almost 30 years, it was so much fun to revisit the story of Chicken Little. As I read, I could hear the echo of my grandmother’s voice as she played the part of Henny Penny and Foxy Loxy. It was like being teleported back to her cozy bedroom in 1977 or so, with her soft arm curled around me and the warm Alabama breeze coming in through the window.
And in an unexpected way, reading this classic fable enabled me to share a piece of my personal history with my kids.
We all have favorite books from childhood that we remember – or maybe we’ve temporarily forgotten. But I encourage you to seek them out and share them with your children or grandchildren. Or find a quiet space to read them alone. And then sit back and enjoy the sweet memories they evoke.
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