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Fairy Tales and Bedtime Stories

Reading Fairy Tales and Bedtime Stories

By: FUN Monster

A child climbing into bed wearing their favorite pajamas while a parent or caretaker sits on the edge of the bed with a favorite book is a lovely picture and a beloved memory for many children. Making books the last part of the nightly routine is highly beneficial to kids. One reason is that kids love routine, and the nightly routine of reading bedtime stories helps children transition into going to sleep mode. It's also valuable time for parents and children to bond during a time of the day with fewer distractions. Reading stories to children helps nourish their imaginations. Timeless bedtime stories, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and fables also impart lessons to children and teach them to think through the problems encountered by the characters in the stories.

  • "Cinderella": A classic tale, "Cinderella" is the story of a young girl forced to act like a servant to her stepfamily until her life is changed by her fairy godmother.
  • "Beauty and the Beast": Belle is the heroine of this tale of a beautiful, bookish girl who falls in love with an enchanted beast. Their love story changes their lives and the lives of everyone who lives in the Beast's castle.
  • "The Snow Queen": Hans Christian Anderson penned this classic tale, which finds friends Gerda and Kay locked in a battle against evil.
  • "The Frog King": The Brothers Grimm included this fairy tale in their book of fairy tales, but the story predates their book and is an ancient German story. A princess befriends the Frog Prince after he retrieves a gold ball she dropped into the pond. After she becomes his friend, he turns into a handsome prince.
  • "Hansel and Gretel": Two children lost in the woods, a gingerbread house, and a witch are the main elements of this Brothers Grimm tale.
  • "Briar Rose": Most people know this fairy tale by its other name, "Sleeping Beauty." In this story, a witch places a curse on a beautiful princess, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. Only her true love's kiss can rouse her from her sleep.
  • "Rumpelstiltskin": A king hears that a miller's daughter can spin straw into gold, and he sends for her. She's locked in a room with a spinning wheel and threatened that something terrible will happen if she hasn't spun straw into gold by the next day. That's when a creature finds her and promises to help her if she makes a terrible promise in return.
  • "Thumbelina": A tiny girl has many adventures with toads who want to marry her before finally falling in love with a prince the same size as she is.
  • "The Princess and the Pea": When a young woman shows up dressed like a commoner but claiming that she is a princess, how can people be sure she's actually a princess? Find out by reading this story.
  • "The Blinded Giant": A giant holds a young boy named Jack hostage for seven years, until Jack finally figures out how to escape.
  • "Blue Beard": Written by Charles Perrault, this French tale recounts the story of a wealthy man who kills his wives and the woman who determined that she would not share this fate.
  • "Jack and the Beanstalk": Jack is the son of a poor widowed mother who sends him into town to sell their cow. Instead of coming back with money, Jack trades the cow for magic beans and soon is climbing a giant beanstalk.
  • "The Elves and the Shoemaker": A poor shoemaker only has enough to leather to make one more pair of shoes. Soon, though, he's helped by a team of elves. A perfect bedtime story!
  • "Harry's Magic Pirate Ship": A boy named Harry dreams of having his very own pirate ship and loves spending weekends with his grandparents. His grandfather decides to help Harry's dreams come true.
  • "The Three Little Pigs": Three pigs decide to build houses out of very different materials. When the Big Bad Wolf attacks the pigs' new homes, it turns out that only one house is built well enough to survive the onslaught of the Wolf!

Additional Resources

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