Hardk Nock Tigers

For generations children have experienced fairy tales. These fairy tales have been stories that have been used to teach lessons on good manners, respect, life, imagination and much more. Our young readers of today can probably recognize some of the wonderful fairy tales of the past but I’m afraid a lot of them are being left out of today’s reading experiences. They will recognize The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie and Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi because Walt Disney loved fairy tales and wanted to share them with the children of his generation and the children of generations to come. There are so many more fairy tales that he didn’t get around to and may be lost to our young readers if we don’t remind them that these wonderful stories, who seem like old friends to me, are out there. J. K. Rowling even made up fairy tales for her famous Harry Potter series which are very reminiscent of the cherished old stories that we need to revisit.

The following is a short list of some of the stories that I hope don’t get forgotten along with their wonderful creators that I hope don’t get forgotten either:

The Brothers Grimm

• The Elves and the Shoemaker

• The Town Musicians of Bremen

• The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Hans Christian Anderson

• The Most Incredible Thing

• Thumbelina

• The Ugly Duckling

• The Princess and the Pea

Aesop

• The Boy Who Cried Wolf

• The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

• The Tortoise and the Hare

• The Ant and the Grasshopper

• The Lion and the Mouse

These wonderful writers told stories that helped nurture honesty, courage, hard work, self esteem and imagination. There are some writers or story tellers who have been forgotten such as the writer or story teller who created the story of The Little Red Hen which is one of my very favorites, all we know now about this story is that it began in Russia. I hope we can share and remember the great fairy tales we have with our young readers and help them to learn to love and appreciate the wonderful literature that is available to them. I have little tip for those who have a kindle or some other kind of e-reader, most of the fairy tales, fables, and folk tales can downloaded for free. I hope you have fun reconnecting with these old friends and sharing them with your young readers.

No matter how old or young you are you can look back and remember the special books you read as a young person. Whether you became an adult yesterday, a long time ago or absolutely refuse to make that transition in your life you can look back and think about the books that you loved in the past. They were special to you for many reasons maybe they helped you through a tough time or broaden your imagination or even gave you the courage to believe in your dreams, I would encourage you to revisit these old friends and remember what made so special to you then and maybe you can even uncover something new about them as well. By doing this you not only reconnect with these special books you enjoyed as a young reader but this will help you to be able to excite your young reader about the book as well.

If you skipped making friends with some wonderful book as a young reader yourself or if you haven’t read any children’s literature recently I would encourage you to get involved with some of the newish books that have come out in recent years. Children do sometimes follow the example they see so if we read the books we want them to read it could help encourage them to read… if it doesn’t help it won’t hurt and you might even enjoy it.

Some of my favorite “then” books are:

• The Box Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter
• Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien
• The Narnia series by C. S. Lewis

Yes my tastes were and still are all over the place. I love reading a good story and the best stories have been written in my opinion by those who wrote and write children’s literature. I have continued to read these good stories written by the incredibly talented children’s writers of today and below are some really good ones in my “now” or newish books favorites:

I love theater! That may not be everyone’s cup of tea but have you ever thought of changing the way you share the reading experience with your young reader or yes, even your teen? I would encourage you to try this, choose a book, even one you have read many times is fine, and actually would be really great for the first time trying this; next choose a character and read the book as if you are acting out the parts. The more the merrier so you could make this a family event or invite friends over to share in the fun. In this theater style of reading or sharing a book you can choose books that are short and simple or try some of the classics for a real challenge. The main thing is to have fun with it! I should warn you this could become addictive and may become a regular event for you and your young readers, for your family or for your group of friends.

Our main goal is to encourage young readers to love literature and love reading, so by showing them how much fun it can be in a group they might just learn how much fun books can be and pick up a few to read on their own.

Below are a few children’s books that I think might be fun to experience in the theater style of reading, but almost any book could be adapted:

• Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter
• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Little Critter by Mercer Mayer
• Little Bear by Elsa Holmelund Minarik
• Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris
• Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien
• The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver
• Ink Heart series by Cornelia Funke

Don’t forget the old fairy tales and fables they would be great fun, I would love to be the Big Bad Wolf, Brer Rabbit or the tortoise in the race between the tortoise and the hare. No matter which book or story you choose remember to make it fun for your young reader and your teens. If we can help them to really enjoy what they are reading it will instill in them a love of literature that will last throughout their lives. As the wonderful William Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” We do have many parts to play and many ages to go through while playing them, so let’s do have fun on the way.

I love Christmas! I would have Christmas all year long if I could somehow get away with it. So of course I spend much time thinking about what gifts I might get or make for my friends and family. Whether you are a young reader or not, children’s books make great gifts, they are easy to wrap and they always have a wonderful adventure to give to the recipient. When you give a book to a young reader make sure they know just how special the book is to you, which will help them be excited about the new adventure that is ahead for them. In other words tell them the story of how you became acquainted with the book yourself.

You can also write a little message inside the book for them and that will make the gift even more special, it will also give them the feeling that you are sharing something special together. There are so many children’s books to choose from, books with Christmas themes, cherished books from your childhood, newish books you have read recently or a book you have never read before that you can both read together for the first time. There are also many different ways to give a book such as an e-book, an audio book, or the traditional paper back or hard cover books, whatever you think the young reader in your life will enjoy the most.
Below are some Christmas themed suggestions to get you started:

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
• Samantha (American Girl) by multiple authors
• Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book: Revised and Updated by Norman Rockwell
• The Christmas Dinner: A Play for Reading or Acting by Shepherd Knapp
• Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Shulz
• Christmas Books by Charles Dickens
• The Nutcracker Ballet: A Book, Theater, and Paper Doll Fold Out Play Set by Mara Conlon & Jo Gershman