Lots of bedtime stories and fairy tales to read to children
Every child loves to fly with the imagination and try to imagine fantastic worlds. Enable the development of his imagination by providing natural elements with which to freely create and propose readings suitable for his age. Find out how to stimulate your child's creativity by following a few simple tips, made available in this video by the specialist Chiara Grecchi. The key word is freedom of expression and only after confrontation with the parent!
Why it is important to read fairy tales to children
A timeless ritual for putting the children of the house to bed is the reading of a beautiful fairy tale.
It certainly doesn't work for everyone, so much so that other pre-bed rituals have been incorporated into the daily routine, such as watching cartoons or a "last game of video games."
Still, reading fairy tales aloud to children remains at the top of the habits that are really good for them.
But how is this moment so important?
Whether it's the classic stories of the Brothers Grimm and Andersen or a short story invented on the spot, little changes. The important thing is to find quality time for adults - children who struggle to find space in the working week.
Reading to the little ones of the kindergarten or elementary school allows both the adult to get closer to their child, and the little one to feel protected and serene in a solid relationship based on trust.
In other words, reading fairy tales is an opportunity to be jealously cultivated, because when the evening falls and the stress of the day leaves us, it is the perfect time to be together and do something authentic.
Over the years, many storybooks have been written for children, so the catalog for parents is really wide.
You can start with the classic stories of Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White; if you prefer, nobody forbids you to propose original stories right away.
We have collected the titles of the most beautiful fairy tales, to accompany your child to the world of dreams ...
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We remember very well the bedtime stories that featured a princess to save and a villain or a villain on duty: sometimes we were scared of them, but in reality this kind of "raw" fairytale is in fact very important for the development of the child.
The author's stories of the past touch on various universal themes, which everyone is called to face in adult life. Cleverly hidden between the lines, there are useful suggestions on how to face some situations and how to manage feelings.
The struggle between good and evil, that is the protagonists vs the bad guys, warns the child about the existence of problems that will exist during growth, but that it is always possible to solve. Not everything will be linear; there will be no lack of trials and errors , like the hardships that the heroes of fairy tales often have to undergo.
In essence, each fairy tale contains a specific message, albeit transmitted with symbols and representations.
So why not start your proposal of evening readings for children from the classic stores? Read on to review the titles of old-fashioned fairy tales.
The stories of the past and their teachings
In every bedtime story there is a moral that is conveyed between the lines of the text.
Here is the relevant teaching for each classic fairy tale:
- Little Red Riding Hood makes the girls identify with the protagonist with the red cloak and the little ones in the hunter. The most obvious moral of this story is that we must not trust strangers, but we can also find the concept of not divulging one's personal information and obeying one's parents;
- Pinocchio is the story of a puppet by Carlo Collodi who tells of an individual journey, full of temptations (the land of toys) and pranks;
- Cinderella, the girl dressed in rags who transforms into a beautiful princess, conveys the courage to remain faithful to her dreams;
- Rapunzel, or Rapunzel, is a story centered on destiny;
- Snow White and the Evil Witch. Yes, because it is thanks to the antagonist that the true theme of the story develops, that is, how to manage a negative feeling (envy) and how it is possible to defend oneself from evil, thanks to a network of help;
- Beauty and the Beast and the enchanted castle ... here the values transmitted are surely that the dress does not make the monk and that none of us are born good or bad, and that what we become is a consequence of our actions;
© GettyImages
- I Tre Porcellini, thanks to the wolf's attack, it can be seen that some time is needed to erect defenses;
- Sleeping Beauty is a hymn to hope: there is always a glimmer of happiness around the corner;
- Puss in Boots, for Collodi, the author of the story, ingenuity and cunning far exceed the legacy left by our fathers;
- The Ugly Duckling underlines how essential it is to believe in oneself and in one's abilities to accept oneself and therefore to take flight!
- At first glance The Princess on the Pea may seem like a story centered on a plaintive girl who cares little about the rules, but in reality it emphasizes how liberating it is to express one's discomfort and above all that being very sensitive is a virtue;
- Finally, Tom Thumb deals with a delicate theme such as the abandonment of parents. If you think it is a fairy tale that is not suitable for children in all respects, it is a story of revenge, because it is true that he accuses the parents of the emotional shortcomings that the little one will suffer from, but also that difficulties can be overcome with intelligence and dexterity.
What message do you want to end your puppy's day with?
Fables of Aesop
Aesop is probably the first exponent of fables as a literary genre.
Lived in Ancient Greece, it is said that he was a horrible looking old man who liked to tell little stories to children. He has remained in history as one of the most famous writers of all time and his fables have aroused such interest that the genre has been replicated by hundreds of authors who have come after him.
Specifically when it comes to fairy tales? The fable is generally a short narrative text, perfect for educating the little ones, as it is enriched with a final moral that summarizes the entire plot of the story.
Here are the best-known titles from Aesop's fables to tell your children before going to bed:
- The cicada and the ant
- The Hare and the Tortoise
- The Crow and the Fox
- The Horse and the Donkey
- The Fox and the Stork
- The Fox and the Grape
- The Lion and the Rat
- To the Wolf! To the Wolf!
- The country mouse and the city mouse
- The Vanity Crow
- The Deer and the Lion
As you can see, all fairy tales have animals as protagonists, who perform simple actions in the stories. They are very valid for educating a child and to transmit a very profound teaching to him.
Short bedtime stories
If your puppy already has narrowed eyes and you just want to make him fall asleep with the sound of your voice, we have two short stories to whisper to him just before he collapses!
The Palazzo di Gelato (taken from "Favole on the phone" by Gianni Rodari)
Once, in Bologna, they made an ice cream palace right on the Piazza Maggiore, and the children came from afar to give it a lick. The roof was of whipped cream, the smoke from the chimneys of cotton candy, the chimneys of candied fruit. Everything else was ice cream: the ice cream doors, the ice cream walls, the ice cream cabinets. A very small child had clung to a table and licked his paws one by one, until the table collapsed on him with all the plates, and the plates were of chocolate ice cream, the best. At one point, a municipal guard noticed that a window was melting. The glasses were of strawberry ice cream, and they melted in pink rivulets. - Quick, - shouted the guard, - sooner still! And everyone down to lick as soon as possible, so as not to let go of a single drop of that masterpiece.
- An armchair! - implored an old woman, who could not make her way through the crowd, - an armchair for a poor old woman.Who brings it to me? With armrests, if possible. A generous fireman ran to get her a chair of cream and pistachio ice cream, and the poor old woman, all blissful, began to lick her right from the armrests. That was a great day, and by order of the doctors no one had a stomach ache. Even now, when children ask for another ice cream, parents sigh:
- Yeah, for you it would take an entire building, like the one in Bologna.
Stories of all colors by "Favole della Buonanotte".
In the undergrowth there was a kingdom of green elves. They were all green as grass and more, they also had a fantastic green pointed cap. They were all hardworking and happy.
This kingdom was near a calm and slow river that with its precious waters, allowed the green elves to grow many fruit trees that in the right season gave the little ones a lot of delicious fruit.
One day the storm was raging and the river was rough and rushed by. During this storm the river brought into the realm of the green goblins a large leaf carrying 10 small red goblins all wet, hungry and very cold.
As soon as they arrived, many took care of them by providing food, blankets and medicines. But no one hosted them at their home and therefore they were forced to sleep outside (and luckily it was still hot).
Time passed and things got worse and worse. Not only had no one hosted them, but they began to no longer receive supplies and medicines.
The little red elves were always forced to stay with each other and sleep in mushrooms without hats, because the green elves never invited them to their parties or their games and above all they never did any work together.
They got so used to living apart that even though they lived in the same realm they seemed to be two different worlds. Mother nature saw that bad situation and was not happy at all, she thought ...
They are all children of my undergrowth fairies and cannot be so divided.
Suddenly a very strong wind blew over the kingdom of the green elves and took off all the mushrooms' hats.
Now all the goblins, both the green and the red ones, did not have a roof to shelter. The difference was that the red goblins had to take shelter even earlier and had learned to make mushroom hats out of leaves.
Seeing that the green goblins were in trouble, they decided to help them and began to work together to put the roofs on all the mushrooms, and they managed to finish the job just in time to shelter from the strongest downpour of recent centuries.
After the downpour they had a big party all together with songs and dances and the next day everyone went to work ... They worked together reds and greens without distinction.
The lands they cultivated gave even more fruit that was enough for everyone and from that moment everyone understood that it was better to be together and do things together than to be divided.
Each of them had something to teach the others!
From that day on, blue, purple and fuchsia goblins arrived in that kingdom and everyone lived in love and agreement.
Since then that part of the undergrowth has been called the kingdom of a thousand colors ... It is the richest and most beautiful of all ...
And it is the place where every elf dreams of going to live ...