Point of view

English teachers often discourse on "point of view"—a literary term for who narrates the tale. An omniscient voice? The heroine? Tales can be told from many points of view and how we see an event depends to a large extent upon who tells us about it.

Fairy tales usually employ an all-knowing, impersonal voice. But what if "Once upon a time" were traded in for "I"? Can your child imagine how Cinderella would tell her own story? Cinderella's wicked stepsisters?

Being able to tell the same tale from a number of points of view stretches the imagination. It asks a child to think like someone else, to see with another's eyes.

Try this exercise with your child, using a familiar tale or making up one of your own. For example, let's imagine a puppy follows her young mistress to school. Her classmates love the dog, but the teacher is annoyed. The girl tries to get the dog to leave, but he won't go. Finally, the teacher orders the girl to call home and get someone to pick the dog up. The next day the school paper writes about the incident. How would your child tell this tale if she were the school reporter? The puppy? The girl? The teacher?