Humans are storytelling creatures. We have been telling stories for time immemorial. Joseph Gottschall even argues that story is as vital for humans as water is vital for fish (1). As all-encompassing as story is, we often overlook or miss the stories that are available to us to tell our children. To see the vastness at our disposal, it is helpful to break down the universe of story into smaller categories.

Just as is used in library categorization, Story can be separated into two major categories: Non-fiction and Fiction. These first two categories are fairly self-explanatory. Non-fiction stories are about all the events that have occurred in real life, such as nature stories, history, family history, and personal stories. Fiction covers all stories that are imagined and created, be it fairy tales, novels, myths, folklore, etc.

A brief disclaimer on these categorizations is that stories like to morph and change. They often do not fit nicely into our little boxes. Some stories are much like the platypus, they bear many characteristics of multiple categories, and it is hard to know how to classify them. We acknowledge that some stories fit into more than one category and could even belong to the world of both fiction and non-fiction at the same time.

Non-fiction

The reason we tell non-fiction stories to our children is to ground them in a knowledge of who they are and where they fit into the bigger world. These stories help create the child’s identity and give them a deeper connection with their family, with those who lived before, and with the world around them. They can serve as a guide for the listener, teach moral values, and set norms for a community.

Researchers found that children displayed higher self-esteem, lower levels of anxiety or nervousness, had fewer behavior problems, and could deal with stress more effectively when parents frequently shared family stories. (2) 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.

Fiction

Now we come to the second half of our major division of stories—the Fiction story. Fiction includes stories that are imagined, “made up,” or created. It is the source material for many of our favorite books, movies, and television shows. These stories are often the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the words, “Tell me a story.” And for good reason too. These are the stories that allow us and our listeners to experience a world of adventure, romance, and discovery without ever having to leave our own homes. We then propose dividing fiction into three more categories for the purpose of family-based storytelling —fictional stories originating from folklore, those coming from literature, and inspired stories that we newly create.

Folklore is one of our favorite places to look for narrative play inspiration. 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. We think every child should eventually hear handed-down stories like “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “The Little Red Hen” to help root them in story tradition.

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)

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.

We hope that by taking a deeper look into all of the story types you have available, we have inspired you to give storytelling a try.

Whether they be non-fiction or fiction, inspired or existing tales, or a mix of them all, remember that the time shared and the interaction of the teller and the listener are ultimately more important than achieving perfection in the storytelling. When you enjoy your tale, they will too. As Bryant says, "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) And thus, The Legendary Connection is made.

References:

1. Gottschall, J. (2013). The storytelling animal: how stories make us human. Mariner Books

2. Wallace, K. (2015). Your ancestor owned slaves? Don’t run from it; Tell the kids. CNN

3. “Story - Quick Search Results | Oxford English Dictionary.” Oed.com, 2023, www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=story.

4. Bryant, S.C. (1918). How to tell stories to children and some stories to tell.