If I had a nickel for every time my kids have asked me for a story…well, I’d probably be a homeless vagrant, telling stories for my supper and sleeping next to the freeway.  But I’d have a huge bag of nickels to beat off anyone who messed with me.  For now, though, I’m just a mommy in desperate need of stories to distract my daughter while I comb the tangles out of her hair, entertain my son while his sister is at school, and help pass those long car rides.

I love reading books to my kids, but printed books just don’t have the adaptability and personality of verbal stories.  Storytelling is a dying art that we are trying to keep alive around our house.  I’m not saying that all our stories are worth retelling, because they are sooooo not.  But I still wanted to have a place to keep track of the ones the kids ask for over and over, and I wanted to push myself to keep making up new ones so I don’t draw a blank in those crucial story moments.  That’s how Tell me a story, Mommy was born.  I would LOVE to post stories written by other Mommies (and Daddies), so feel free to leave your own versions of stories, suggest alternate endings or titles in the comments, or email me with your own original story entries.  Best of all, tell these stories to your kids.  Use your own words, give them your own spin, but use them.  That’s what they’re there for.

What you need to know about what’s going on here:

1.  Everything posted is original to the poster. I’m not saying there won’t be elements of classic stories or ideas picked up here and there.  Heck, I have a whole section of parodies here.  But this is a promise not to  plagiarize anything and not to retell old tales without putting my own original twist on them.

2.  Intensive editing is not the point. Though I do hope to maintain a certain level of quality, this is a place to generate stories and story is the focus, not writing.  I could spend hours and hours crafting stories and shaping the words in the best possible way, but I don’t have that kind of time.  For the most part I’m letting these stories just flow out of my brain and through my fingers, and I’m clicking publish without looking  back.  I think that’s the best way to get lots of stories out there.

3.  These are stories aimed at kids. They’ll all be kid-appropriate.  Most of these are stories I’ve actually told to my kids, or at least plan to.  In my case, that means they’re aimed at entertaining preschool and early elementary ages.  I’ve got some for older kids, though, too, and I have to confess that sometimes I stray into “only adults will really find this funny.”  I work hard as a mom; I think I’m entitled.  I hope they’ll be fun for kids of all ages.
Edit:  I should clarify that by kid-appropriate, I mean that these stories are sex-free and not too detailed on the violence.  I don’t mean that they won’t have fighting.  Every boy needs a few tales of swashbuckling pirates and cowboys and knights, and I’m all about men being real men.  I also don’t mean that they won’t use big words or be sarcastic in nature.  I find that the snarkier my stories, the more my kids like them.  And I love it when I hear them using those big words I didn’t think they understood.

4.  The moral is optional. Sometimes I try to work in a nice little lesson to my stories.  The usual kind about friendship or sacrifice or always keeping your teeth clean.  But sometimes I just make them fun to listen to and let it go at that.  In fact, those ones are usually my favorites.