About Kid Tales

The idea for this book of children’s stories came to me one day as I was watching my kids play. One of my sons was dressed in snow boots, a red winter hat, and holding a ‘naughty and nice’ list. His twin brother had on a pair of reindeer antlers, and was attached to a sled created from boxes and storage bins. Their little sister was somewhat reluctantly playing the part of an elf. That’s right, they were playing Santa & Co… in the middle of July .

That’s when it occurred to me just how powerful a child’s imagination can be. Children always seem to be most entertained when they are using their minds to imagine, create, and explore a world that exists for as long as their attention span will allow. Then it’s off to the next adventure. I can’t tell you the hours that I’ve spent watching my kids pretend to be all sorts of people or animals doing all sorts of strange things.

Imagination is one of the most powerful abilities that we possess. In the adult world, we encourage people to ‘think outside the box’, and reward those who are able to do so. Yet it seems that so many people are unable to think outside the box. They’re unable to detach themselves from the usual, the ‘norm’ that they are accustomed to working within. This inability to think creatively, or to imagine different scenarios or solutions, can limit the success of a person, of a project, or of a company.

In fact, it’s the dreamers that propel society forward. Where would we be if no one imagined the steam engine, or the light bulb, or the silicon chip? What would happen if no one ever offered a new, creative solution to a problem? If the boundaries of knowledge and know how were never pushed by those able to think outside the box we would be relegated to the progress of a societal treadmill.

So the purpose of this book is to help parents encourage the creativity and imagination of their children. This book is not so much a children’s book as a book for parents to read to their children. There are no pictures in this book. Children’s books generally rely heavily on drawings, paintings, or other visual stimulation to teach and entertain. That is certainly a beneficial, effective approach, and one that is most likely appropriate for a wide variety of ages, and possibly quite necessary for other ages.

However, the primary goal of this book is to help children use their minds to imagine and explore along with the characters in the stories. There are no pictures which dictate how a child should think about the events of the story, or the way a setting looks, or what the main character looks like. Children are free to think about and interpret the characters and events for themselves. They will be forced to ‘think outside the box’.

Moreover, the lack of illustrations provides the child with an opportunity to brush up on his auditory learning skills. Television, video games and the Internet provide more than enough visual stimulation for today’s children. Unfortunately, a child’s auditory skills may not be developed as much as they could or should be. Strong auditory skills are often required in elementary school and beyond, particularly in test taking situations.

Hopefully these stories will provide your children with fun examples of how kids can use their imaginations to learn and have fun. The stories should serve as seeds for your children’s exploration of their own imaginations. Please nurture these seeds. Your enthusiasm and creativity are needed as you narrate and give voice to the characters in this book. However, even satisfying the minimum requirement of simply reading to your children will most likely prove of great benefit to you both.

By teaching our children to think about things in an imaginative way, we can start them down the path of creative problem solving and higher level critical thinking. 

Due to the lack of illustration, these stories may not appeal to a younger audience. As such, you should gauge the maturity and attention span of your children. Children under 3 may not have the patience for following along with the stories. Trying to make them sit through something that they aren’t ready for will only prove frustrating to you both.

I hope that you and your children will enjoy the stories in this book. They have varied subjects, and may appeal to both boys and girls. The stories vary in length, but for those nights where mom and dad just don’t have the strength, many stories also contain suggested ‘Story Breaks’ – spots where it’s good to stop for the night.

Happy reading, and enjoy exploring your imagination!