The Bedtime Story Tradition

As I read my daughter a story from the library book she had picked out, I found myself wondering if the tradition of bedtime storytelling was still a popular one. Then I found myself wondering...how did this tradition get started? I’m not sure, but I know that storytelling has been around since men have been clubbing women and dragging them back to the cave.

In West Africa, a “storyteller” was assigned to each king; he was known as a griot. It was his responsibility to remember and keep alive all the traditions of the tribe by recounting stories of the ancestors. Often, there was a valuable lesson learned or even war strategy passed on in the stories.

Remember the Brothers Grimm? Their stories were a bit dark compared to today’s PC books. But in the 1700s and 1800s, Mother Goose stories and Grimm fables were the go-to for childhood lessons and morals, in a very dark way.

Now, stories are touted as the best way to get children interested in books and build early skills in both reading and writing. (Gotta pass those standardized tests!) It’s also been reported that the tradition of bedtime stories is decreasing as parents and kids turn to TV, DVDs, iPods, Nintendo, Wii, net surfing, and other technological pasttimes. (Boo.)

Which is a bit saddening to me. Because curling up and reading a good book, particularly one that was read to me when I was little, is one of the most special, cozy, and comforting moments I share with my loved ones. Here are some of my favs:

• Goodnight Moon
• Frog and Toad are Friends
• The Cat and the Hat
• Green Eggs and Ham
• James and the Giant Peach
• The Hungry Caterpillar
• The Snowy Day
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• The Night Pirates
• A Color of His Own
• The Lonely Firefly
• Fancy Nancy
• Little House on the Prairie – the whole series

What are yours?