From Folktales to Family Lore: The Different Types of Stories to Share
Different types of stories to share and detailed examples of each are covered more fully in our book, Creating Stories Worth Telling Your Kids, now available on our store…
Humans are natural storytellers. For as long as we’ve existed, we’ve used stories to make sense of our world, pass down knowledge, and connect with others. Joseph Gottschall even argues that storytelling is as vital to humans as water is to fish (1). Despite the vast universe of stories available to us, we often overlook the many types of narratives we can share with our children. Understanding these categories helps us become more intentional in the stories we tell, fostering deeper family bonds and a richer storytelling tradition.
The Two Major Categories of Storytelling
Like library classifications, stories can be broadly divided into two primary categories: Non-Fiction and Fiction. While these may seem self-explanatory, they encompass a wide variety of storytelling traditions.
Non-Fiction Stories: These are real-life accounts—nature stories, history, family lore, and personal experiences.
Fiction Stories: These involve imagined worlds and characters, including fairy tales, myths, folklore, and literary creations.
That said, stories don’t always fit neatly into these categories. Many narratives blend elements of both, much like the platypus—defying strict classification yet still existing as a vital part of storytelling tradition.
Non-Fiction Stories: Grounding Children in Identity & Connection
Non-fiction stories provide children with a sense of belonging. They help kids understand their place in the world, strengthen family identity, and teach important moral values.
Self Stories
Children love hearing about themselves! Self stories include tales of their birth, funny childhood moments, and cherished family traditions. These stories give them a sense of importance and connection to their own history.
Family Stories
Stories about parents, grandparents, and ancestors offer children a deeper understanding of their heritage. Research from Emory University shows that children who hear family stories develop higher self-esteem, lower anxiety, and stronger coping skills (2). Sharing tales from past generations helps children navigate their own lives with confidence.
Telling stories about the younger days of you or your parents is a great place to start. As your child grows, they might discover that these family stories help them in difficult situations or give them a better understanding of their family dynamics.
Social Stories
Social stories help children prepare for and process challenging experiences, such as visiting the dentist, starting school, or making new friends. By narrating a relatable scenario—whether real or hypothetical—parents can help kids build emotional resilience and problem-solving skills.
Community Stories
Stories from a child’s larger community—whether religious, cultural, or local—instill a sense of belonging. These narratives help children understand shared values, traditions, and historical events that shape their identity within a broader group.
History Stories
The very word “story” originates from the Middle English shortening of “history” (3). Historical stories can include biographies, key historical events, and religious texts that provide valuable lessons and perspectives.
Nature Stories
Nature stories bring the world around us to life by personifying elements of the environment—like a raindrop’s journey through the water cycle or a butterfly’s transformation. Eric Carle’s books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, are great examples of nature-based storytelling that blend fact with imagination.
Fiction Stories: Sparking Imagination & Adventure
Fictional storytelling lets children explore different worlds, emotions, and perspectives in ways that are both fun and meaningful. Within fiction, we categorize stories into three types:
Stories from Folklore
Folklore includes fairy tales, myths, and legends passed down through generations. The German language distinguishes between Volksmärchen (folk tales that evolve collectively) and Kunstmärchen (literary fairy tales with a known author). Classic stories like The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood help children connect with timeless storytelling traditions.
The stories are simple and easy to retell or be inspired by and adapt. If you are not yet confident in creating your own tales, begin by simply retelling these narratives that have stood the test of time. Sharing these and other fairy tales serves to deepen the child’s appreciation of more complex stories as they grow. As Sara Cone Bryant says "...to omit it [the fairy story] is to deprive him [the child] of one important element in the full appreciation of mature literature." (4)
Stories From Literature
Literature-based storytelling draws from novels, plays, and films. Parents can retell stories in age-appropriate ways, simplifying complex plots or focusing on key themes. Adapting elements from favorite books allows children to engage with classic narratives even before they’re ready to read them independently.
Just be careful, works of literature and screenplays are usually more complex than folklore. When trying to retell them, you can easily get bogged down in the details. To avoid this, we recommend using these stories as inspiration. Try retelling a single event or small series of events from your favorite novel. Or you can borrow the work’s main character, setting, or source of conflict to weave into a new story.
Inspired Stories
Inspired stories are original, made-up tales. They may be completely unique or co-created with children, allowing them to contribute characters, settings, and plot twists. These spontaneous, interactive stories help kids develop creativity and narrative skills while strengthening bonds with the storyteller.
Why Storytelling Matters
Whether fact or fiction, passed down or newly created, storytelling is more than just entertainment—it’s a way to nurture connection, inspire learning, and spark imagination. As Sara Cone Bryant beautifully states, “When you make a story your own and tell it, the listener gets the story, plus your appreciation of it. It comes to him filtered through your own enjoyment.” (4). So, choose a story - any story - and share the magic of storytelling with your child today.
References:
Gottschall, J. (2013). The storytelling animal: how stories make us human. Mariner Books
Wallace, K. (2015). Your ancestor owned slaves? Don’t run from it; Tell the kids. CNN
“Story - Quick Search Results | Oxford English Dictionary.” Oed.com, 2023, www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=story.
Bryant, S.C. (1918). How to tell stories to children and some stories to tell.
