While the methods of delivery and the range of themes have changed over time, the essence of the bedtime story remains the same. It is a shared experience between the storyteller and the listener, a journey into the world of imagination right before the journey into the world of dreams. Whether etched on paper or illuminated on screens, the bedtime story will continue to be a timeless tradition, offering comfort, fostering connections and lighting the spark of imagination in young minds.
I was eager to dive into this essay. As a former teacher who founded a chain of nursery schools, I was always interested in the history of children's stories. (As a child, my mother read us children's stories from her youth in Germany - they were horrific stories and I came to believe the way Germans raised their children helped mold them into adults who could more easily be Nazified - but that's for another time.) I recently read in The New Yorker about the influence of Margaret Wise Brown - an early and radical "founding mother" in the American growth of children's literature as a genre. I highly recommend that piece. But now, since reading your column, I have a greater understanding of where children's stories come from and how they fit into our literary world today.