Why We Tell Stories
Why We Tell Stories
I've been thinking a lot lately about why stories matter so much — not just to children, but to all of us.
We tell stories to remember
Long before we had textbooks or Google, we had stories. That's how we passed down what mattered: the mistakes worth avoiding, the wisdom worth keeping. In Through Greta's Eyes, Greta comes across the myth of Narcissus, and it's not just an old tale to her — it's a way of understanding something true about the world, wrapped up in a story she can carry with her. That's what stories have always done for us. They let one generation hand its lessons to the next, in a form that actually sticks.
We tell stories to shape the future
But stories don't just look backward. When we tell a story, we're often quietly asking: what kind of future do we want? A story about kindness plants a seed. A story about noticing the natural world instead of a screen plants another. We tell stories not only to remember who we've been, but to nudge ourselves — and our kids — toward who we might become.
We tell stories because they make the abstract concrete
Years ago, when I was teaching my TAFE students, I noticed something simple but powerful: give someone a bare problem to solve, and they'll struggle. Give them a scenario — a person, a situation, a story — and suddenly they can see it. They can picture themselves inside it, and the solution starts to make sense.
Children's books work exactly the same way. If I want a young reader to understand an issue — screen time, kindness, the environment — it's not enough to explain it to them. I need to show them. I need a character living through it, so they can see themselves in her shoes and get it, really get it, in a way no lecture ever could.
That's the quiet power of story: it turns an idea into something you can walk around inside.
What's next for Greta
Watch this space — Greta's next activity book is on its way, and this time she's helping readers discover more about their grandmothers. It's a story about memory, connection, and the people who shaped us, and I can't wait to share it with you.