“Mommy, when will I get my fairy wings?”
Today my three-year-old daughter is dreaming of getting her very own set of wings like Thumbelina did in the Hans Christian Andersen tale we read last night. Tomorrow she’ll practice swimming and singing like the mermaids in the magical stories she never grows tired of reading.
I love how fairy tales fuel my daughter’s imagination and excite her in the same way they did me. I love how she falls asleep looking at the pictures in one of her books, reciting the words from memory or making up her own stories to share with her dolls.
I know these stories full of magic, adventure, wisdom and endless possibilities will stay with her as she grows. They’ll encourage her to keep dreaming and to be curious, brave and creative. I hope they teach her that life is an adventure and though it’s not always easy, a happy ending is always possible.
Mommas of little ones, no matter how busy life gets, make time to read to your babies. Read to encourage their imaginations and help increase their understanding of and curiosity about the world. As they grow and learn to read on their own, make a point to read with them and let them read to you. Recently, I discovered that my first grader is much more enthusiastic about reading when I curl up beside him and let him read to me.
No matter how old you are, I hope you keep reading and keep dreaming. We may have to stay home but books give us plenty of places to go. Every day can be an adventure if we have the right perspective.
“Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.” – Hans Christian Andersen