Brought to you by Nuffnang and Disney Junior
Whoever said that magic doesn’t exist has never picked up a book and read it. Books have the power to take the reader on a journey beyond the realms of reality. Better still, you can share the magic through a little read-aloud storytelling.
Long before my children arrived I started amassing a picture book collection in preparation for the day we would read together. I envisioned snuggling between my two children, book on my lap as I whisked them off to Never Never Land. When I finally became a mother, I set about making storytelling a part of our night time ritual.
By carefully selecting content that stimulates our children’s imagination, storytelling has numerous benefits. It is a protective factor, enabling you to weave moral learning through the text you’ve carefully chosen and provide opportunities to model and practice social skills while increasing creative thinking. Pretty amazing, right?
When I was a small girl I loved “The Book Place” and watched it daily with a zeal that was barely contained. Each day, a number of books were read aloud and I would be engrossed from the first page onwards. I was delighted to learn that Disney has created their own story telling show: Disney Junior’s The Book of Once Upon A Time which is locally produced with Australian actress and playwright Kate Mulvany hosting and screened on Disney Junior The Channel daily.
I’ve had a chance to watch a couple of Disney Junior’s The Book of Once Upon a Time episodes with Sunshine over the weekend. Already familiar with most Disney stories (we’re a little obsessed, truth be told), Kate’s narration quickly drew us into the story and I was quite delighted to note that some of the important rituals of story reading were embedded: turning the page, re-enactment, and even the change of voice for each character (Kate was very good at this). It’s whimsical, silly in just the right way, and full of charm. I found myself engrossed as much as Miss N.
If your kids watch television before bedtime, I think this would be a great tool to use as the wind down for the evening. Each episode of The Book of Once Upon a Time concludes with a Land of Once Upon a Time lullaby which is quite soothing and a great prelude for bedtime. It’s certain to become a part of Miss N’s regular viewing schedule.
I would love you to watch the Season 2 Premier episode – Snow White and the Great Jewel Hunt and for you to tell me in the comments what you think.
The second season of Disney Junior’s The Book of Once Upon a Time launched as Book Week started on Monday 24 August 2015. This season’s episodes will include stories from Winnie the Pooh, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and Frozen. I know Sunshine will be watching closely to see which Frozen characters appear.