By now, many of our readers will be back at school, so it seems appropriate that this month’s stories should be about learning lessons of different kinds!
Storytime Issue 74 – Learning Lessons
Our cover stars, Maggie and Magnus, had learned about technology and decide to use it to make their own robot in The Incredible Pet Project, featuring fantastic artwork by Marko Renko. However, when things go wrong they find out that they should have thought things through a bit better! Grandpa comes to rescue and reminds us all of the lovely role our grandparents have in our childhoods!
This proud Stag learns a valuable lesson in our fable this month
Fables are traditional tales written to teach lessons, and The Stag’s Reflection is no exception! A vain deer is very proud of his mighty rack of antlers, but after they get caught in tree branches, it is his legs that save him from a panther! The illustrations by Marya Bazykina really bring the animals in this Indian jungle story to life in style.
The Boy Who Liked Bugs is our latest Awesome Adventures story, and it stars a boy named Charles who would rather collect insects than study traditional subjects. You will notice that artist Pedro Riquelme really enjoyed drawing all the creepy-crawlies! The lesson that this story teaches is that it is important to follow your interests, because you never know where they might lead you. Can you guess who little Charles was? If so, write it in the comments!
The World’s Beauty is a classic story about a young man who falls for the most beautiful princess in the world and loses a fortune and three amazing magic items to her before figuring out how to turn the tables on her. Chioma Iloegbunam does a wonderful job of capturing the tale of a lad learning an important lesson… eventually!
Dick Whittington’s Cat is a story that many of us might know and love from Christmas pantomime performances. This version may not have songs, but it does have lovely illustrations by John Joven! Needless to say, the main character learns a lot about the value of hard work and shrewd investment!
The heroine of The Princess in the Wooden Petticoat is a wild, wild child who needs to learn how to behave properly – and she does, with help from a certain piece of timber clothing! Núria Aparicio gives this Dutch folk tale a modern feel with her art.
Brunhilde isn’t your typical damsel in distress! Read about her in this classic German legend
The legend of Brunhilde and Sigurd might seem like a traditional story of a damsel in distress being saved by a hero at first – but this one has a twist! In this classic German legend, the lady is a mighty warrior in her own right, and when the hero Sigurd comes to rescue her, she teaches him many things, including how to write magical symbols called runes! Britanny Baugus’s gorgeous illustrations take this legend to a whole new level.
Of course, not all stories need to have an obvious lesson. Giorgia Broseghini uses her art to tell the story of what happens when a certain folk character decides to check that all the baby animals are safely tucked in. Wee Willie in the Woods is a sweet tale that makes an ideal bedtime story that will guarantee sweet dreams to our readers!
Can you think of any valuable lessons you have learned from stories? Tell us about it in the comments below!
