Photo by Kelly Sikkema
In today’s fast-paced digital age, it’s easy to forget that some of life’s deepest truths are taught early in simple stories. It can be a rhyming tale with a talking animal, or a lesson of the day with favorite heroes.
These moral stories for children are hardly charming distractions. They can be the bricks that build up their character. From fables to futures, storytelling remains one of the most powerful tools we have to shape young minds. Books like Stories by Grammygirl aren’t being written for bedtime enjoyment but also for lifetime success.
The Power of Simple Stories with Big Lessons
You’ll find plenty of parents and teachers who still see something magical in the way children’s eyes light up during a story. However, the real magic is when they understand the values being taught by that tale. In Stories by Grammygirl, there are many lessons that subtly demonstrate the values of resilience, empathy, creativity, and courage.
Take Squiggly the Spider, for example. It starts with its protagonist struggling to figure out why his limbs are what they are. Can they help him walk? Fly? Roll, even?
He tries doing it all, only to land flat (and make quite a few SPLATs).
Yet towards the end, he finally discovers what his eight legs are for (and that being different is something to embrace, not grumble about).
These ideas translate from fables to futures by giving children a framework to embrace individuality and self-acceptance. These are the tales that build character by giving young readers somebody they can see themselves in.
That is why they are never abstract and bury the lessons in metaphors only adults understand. These are lessons from literature that a five-year-old can feel, relate to, and remember. When children internalize values like diversity through charming characters and memorable rhymes, those values stick with them longer than any lecture.
Going From Fables to Futures Requires Lessons That Last
In Scarlett’s Hats, readers are introduced to a cave girl whose special talent isn’t fighting or foraging, but making hats that change lives.
Scarlett uses her gifts not for praise, but to solve problems. Her only goal is to put a smile on the faces of everyone in her community. Whether it’s crying babies or dispirited dinosaurs, she compassionately weaves a solution for them into every brim and band.
Such illustrations can inspire children to think creatively while also acting kindly. They also demonstrate that helping others doesn’t always require action hero antics. Sometimes, it is enough to have a smile, a listening ear and a clever idea to bring them good cheer.
This is how children’s stories and values can make an impact on how they will behave towards others later in life. The key to storytelling for success is in values that lead to actions with a positive impact. These include the power of kindness as well as using creativity to solve conflicts. They don’t merely tell kids how the world could be—they’re learning how they can shape it for the better.
And it isn’t just about character education in the moral sense. The path going from fables to futures isn’t one paved with facts and figures. It is a path that nurtures emotional intelligence, which is becoming more important in a world that is becoming more distanced and divisive.
Why We’ll Always Need Stories Like These
Photo by Nguyễn Hiệp
There’s no substitute for a well-told tale even in a world of smart devices and instant access to information. In fact, the best ones date back thousands of years yet teach lessons that will still be relevant today. The concepts go from fables to futures because there will always be instances where the facts of life repeatedly mirror in fiction.
In fact, the art of setting a story in a different time and place is part of what makes it fun. Take The DinoSore Throat, for example. It teaches bravery and friendship using a prehistoric adventure. However, its lessons about working together and the importance of keeping promises still obviously apply today. The characters may be cave boys and dinosaurs, but they are still models of integrity and bravery that can inspire imaginative readers.
Passing on such lessons from fables to futures isn’t about getting your mind in the clouds of myths and fairy tales. It’s a reminder that many outlandish tales from the past can hold blueprints for building character in the generations ahead.
They don’t have to be lengthy epics either. The story in I Know My Dog Loves Me is very simple in structure, but it remains very emotional. It illustrates how love and loyalty are shown through the everyday moments of a child and their dog. There’s no villain, no quest—just an adorable pet’s unconditional affection. Using the narrative as a guide, kids learn how even the simplest gestures can mean a whole lot when they know how much heart is behind them.
Building Tomorrow Through Today’s Tales
If you’ve ever wondered why the adorable illustrations and cute rhymes of children’s books can stick for a while, ask yourself: What is it that they share?
More often than not, they share something that teaches a child how to be a better person.
From a spider learning to jump to a girl sewing dinosaur hats, the stories may seem fantastical, but the growth they encourage is real.
It is why children’s book authors do more than pass on stories when they go from fables to futures. The best ones pass on courage. They pass on kindness. They pass on the understanding that even the silliest tales can echo through generations if they teach something profound.
So, if you’re someone looking to instill strong values while also nurturing a joy in reading, don’t just filter out a story based on how old it is. Focus more on whether it teaches them to be kind, brave, and true.
There is a reason why mythology and innovationin storytelling still attract so many young minds. There are values in myths and silly tales that they will find very true, long after the last page has been turned.
Want to check out Stories by Grammygirl for your own kids’ bedtime tales? You can find copies widely available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and ReadersMagnet!
