Last night my daughter was (understandably) upset when my son “accidentally” dropped her toothbrush into the toilet. In trying to calm her down at bedtime, I realized I was out of good bedtime stories. I’d exhausted my fairies in the garden stories, my candyland capers, and it was clear she was getting bored of stories that began with “there was once a little girl who…”.

Then it dawned on me. I’d been re-reading the classic E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View on DailyLit (and I’ve always loved the film with Maggie Smith that was based on the book). Well, I began telling her the story from memory. I told her about the girl who needed to be chaperoned by her aunt when she went to Florence, about the boy and his father who traded rooms with them, and about her witnessing the murder in the Piazza della Signoria. I know, not exactly the most calming bedtime story, but it did do the trick. She was immediately entranced. And, most importantly, she forgot all about her toothbrush.

I think I’ve just stumbled upon great bedtime story material – wonderful, memorable classic books.

• Posted on 18 August, 2010
  by susandanziger
• Category
  Featured Books, General