The Keene Green Halloween Cat

Parents have always recognized that reading to their children is a good idea. In fact, even respected authorities like Albert Einstein have recommended reading fairy tales to children. Ancient cultures have told stories and sung songs to children-even while the children were being carried in the wombs of their mothers. Current research is now proving that babies hear while in- utero, and they remember the stories and songs they heard!

The First Fairy Tales are a series of stories that portray an idyllic journey. From the compelling union of masculine and feminine energies (The First Fairy Tale I: The Adventure Begins), throughout the development of the heart (The First Fairy Tale II: The Awakening Heart), and now to the magnificent assemblage of a body and senses ready to be born into the light (The First Fairy Tale III: Making Sense), each fairy tale describes an ideal passage that prepares Little Ones for a successful transition surrounded with love and traversed with ease.

In Joy, read these fairy tales to your Little One while you are pregnant. Your baby will get the idea! Your Little One will hear and internalize a model of a journey in which obstacles are overcome and development is both fun and awe-inspiring. Your baby will hear your voice conveying how much you appreciate the creative process being undertaken and will sense your anticipation of holding this Precious One in your arms. It is never too soon to begin communicating with your Little One who may be saying, “Tell me a story. I’m here, and I’m listening!”

This is the fourth fairy tale in the series of stories designed to be read to babies while in mothers’ wombs. Each of these tales is a metaphor for a part of the journey a new baby is undertaking to come into mother’s arms. Reading these stories enhances the bond, the tie between mommy and baby, between parent and child. This is falling in love with your baby. What greater gift can you give to your child while s/he is in your womb? Reading to baby acknowledges the consciousness and innate wisdom within the growing embryo. What greater gift can a father, grandmother, caring relative or friend, give to a pregnant woman than to support the bond between a mother and her unborn baby? Research reveals that newborns remember stories that were read to them while they were in utero because they respond positively to the particular stories they heard. The First Fairy Tale: Book IV welcomes babies around the world as they come into the light. Read this tale to your baby before birth and continue to read it to your newborns and toddlers as they grow. Build your bond with your baby before and after birth-it’s never too early. By Susan Highsmith