A story for the child who asks: but what if?
Some children sit at the tea table and wonder out loud whether the clouds are made of candyfloss, or where the moon goes in the daytime. They draw animals that do not exist and give them names. If your child is that kind of dreamer and inventor, the everyday world can feel just a little too small.
A fantasy story gives that world room to grow bigger. Not simply "everything is different", but a place with rules of its own that you get to discover: where the light grows in the garden, or where you can lend someone your shadow. And your child does not step in as a bystander, but as the main character who works out how it all fits together.
A made-up world does something else too. It gives you distance. Something big, a strong feeling or something a little frightening, is allowed to happen there without coming too close. Your child watches it from a safe spot, because it is happening in Ravel or Cloudland, not in their own bedroom. The world is invented, but the feelings inside it are real.
The story adapts to your child's age, in its tone and in how far the world dares to go. You tell us who your child is, what the main character looks like and what is going on; a photo is not needed, a name is enough. The rest is invented around it.
What this kind of story gives your child
- A world with rules of its own that your child gets to discover, rather than have explained to them.
- A safe distance: something exciting or a big feeling can happen just far enough away to look at properly.
- The wonder of stepping in, and the calm of coming home again with something new in your pocket.
- The world is made up, the feelings are real; that is why something stays with them once the book is closed.
What that sounds like
In Ravel the light grew in the garden, just like the flowers. Every evening Nora picked one tiny lamp and set it on her windowsill. Whoever was given a lamp was allowed to tell it one secret. By morning the secret had dissolved into the dew, and the lamp glowed a little warmer than the rest.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between fantasy and a fairy tale?
- A fairy tale leans on familiar shapes: "once upon a time", magic, good winning out in the end. Fantasy builds a world of its own, with rules that stay true for the rest of the story. Think less about spells and witches, and more about a place where gravity works a little differently and your child works out how.
- Will a made-up world confuse my child?
- Children know perfectly well that an invented world is not real; they play that way all day long. Because it is so clearly imagination, there is room to invent and to feel freely. The story also keeps coming back to your child: it begins and ends somewhere recognisable, with a return to the ordinary.
- Can the fantasy world help with something that is really going on?
- Often it can, precisely because of the distance. Something that is too big or too close in real life can be looked at in another world: a dragon that seems frightening but turns out to be scared, a journey that rhymes with something from home. You tell us what is going on, and the story wraps it in a made-up world, just far enough away to look at safely.
Other kinds of stories
Themes that suit this kind of story
Make a story that suits your child
Make a personal story