Bedtime Stories for Clever Kids

Young children are more perceptive than we might imagine. Curiosity and intelligence are a heady cocktail for creative storytelling that informs, entertains and educates. This author could not resist.

We might not realize how observant young children are. They have a lot of curiosity and intelligence that make them great at creating stories that can teach, amuse and enlighten. This author was drawn to this.

You may wonder what a child understands about freedom, the environment, tolerance and self-worth. This book is for sensitive kids who want to know more about these tough topics. The themes are presented in small pieces in a safe and interesting setting, with colourful illustrations throughout. Moral questions are woven into the dialogues with the characters, with some humour and fun. The aim is that bedtime stories like these will encourage meaningful and loving conversations between parent and child. The imagination has a power that can take us anywhere. The experience can be thrilling and the lessons learned can be life-changing.

Parents may not know how to broach a subject. These stories open a door for them to do so. The door is open. So, are you just going to stand there, or are you coming in?

Etienne Labuschagne is a seasoned senior counsel who has been in practice in Pretoria since 1988. He has been a painter since childhood, and children’s book illustrations flowed naturally from this past-time. The urge to write children’s stories was born of a longing for grandchildren. Etienne started writing stories for them as a type of conversation in advance of their arrival, not knowing whether or when they would arrive. He and his wife have been blessed with six grandchildren. During the pandemic, Etienne wrote and disseminated stories for free to parents with small children. The parents deserved a small respite during that strange locked-up period. The realization that a child could take on board serious and difficult topics has formed the narrative. But humour and inside jokes provide the sugar that makes the medicine go down—for the parents. The kids are fine.