It is common to read bedtime stories to children at night. There are various types of bedtime stories; with everything from princess fairytales to realistic moral stories being in the realm of possibility. While children’s bedtime stories may seem like a genre in and of itself, there are actually plenty of other genres that children’s bedtime stories can be broken down into. Below are some of the more popular genres.
Fairytales
Most probably one of the most common genres for children’s stories is fairytales. Fairytales are stories about imaginary beings and lands. Often, they will entail animals coming alive, places having people like characteristics, and people with supernatural powers. Some of the most popular stories of all time can be categorised as fairytales. For example, in “Puss in Boots”, the cat which is the main character negotiates with humans in order to secure a better life for himself and his master – something which we know that cats do not do. The main point of a fairytale is to entertain and foster imagination, but they can also have other elements such as moral or educational lessons.
Realistic Educational
Realistic educational stories tend to teach something about the real world. The purpose of these is to teach the children something practical and useful, while entertaining them with a good and mesmerising story about it. Typically, the story follows a particular character or situation, but instead of highlighting what is typically pointed out in a children’s story, educational and useful points are highlighted. The benefits of realistic educational stories is self explanatory; it is a fun and engaging way for children to learn about a particular topic.
Moral Stories
Moral stories can be both fiction and non-fiction. However, the main purpose here is not to teach children about some real concept or phenomenon, but rather teach about a specific way of thinking. Many stories contain some type of moral aspect, even though it may not be the main focus. For example, many of the classic Grimm Brothers stories contain lessons about friendship, loyalty and curiosity, even though it is not at the center nor the main part of the stories. Moral stories allow children to build and work on their character, without having to experience all of those scenarios themselves.
Animals
A common sub-genre in children’s stories is animals. Animals can be and are often incorporated in many different types of stories. For example, in fairytales, animals often come alive and have their own personalities, such as in the “Frog Prince”. Or they can also be incorporated in realistic stories such as in a story about living on a farm or keeping pets. Animals tend to be popular with children and are therefore often used in stories.
Sports
Another popular sub-genre is sports. Many children tend to develop some type of interest for a particular or a few sports at an early age. Moreover, stories about sports allow for the implementation of action packed tales for children, which is more difficult to accomplish than when writing stories for adults as there are more graphic scenarios to turn to in the latter. Many children’s stories follow a main character and their journey through a soccer tournament or a figure skating competition, which allows the child listening to the story to place themselves in the perspective of the main character and picture themself in the same scenario.
These are just a few of the genres which are common in children’s stories. Find all of these and more genres in the WonderSagas app.