Is there any one of us who has not told a story to a child? Remember the joy of watching a child's face light up with interest as a tale unfolds? We've stimulated their imaginations, heightened their understanding, and taught life skills and principles through the medium of storytelling.

The Savior gave us prime examples of the effectiveness of using stories to teach in the multitude of parables He used during His ministry. The scriptures are full of wonderful stories that both entertain and instruct. As Jesus did, sometimes we need to tailor a story to a specific situation.

When my sons were small, I created stories of two squirrels. Sydney was a very wise little squirrel, always anxious to do the right thing and make good choices. He was diligent in watching over his brother. Sammy was very much in need of this caring, as he was impulsive and prone to act before thinking. Needless to say, he was always getting into difficulties. These two little squirrels taught my boys many lessons, from always telling the truth, to putting their toys away. It amazed me when my 28-year-old son recently mentioned the Sydney/Sammy stories. I couldn't believe he remembered them.

The challenge is to tell the story in such a way that the child understands the underlying message. It's all to easy to forget they lack our knowledge and life experiences. This is illustrated beautifully by an experience of my friend, Dot.

Zach loved to visit his grandmother on the weekends. He had a little sister at home and enjoyed being the center of Dot's attention. At four he had a vivid imagination and lively curiosity. Tucking him in one night, Dot decided to share the story of "The Little Red Hen." Zach lived on a farm, so farm creatures held little interest for him. So Dot told the story in such a way as to fascinate him: the Little Red Hen requested help from a platypus, a tyrannosaurus rex, an anteater, etc. At the end of the story, with the Little Red Hen and her chicks eating all the bread themselves, just as they had done all the work themselves, Dot asked Zach what he thought of the story.

Zach screwed up his little face in thought for a long time as Dot patiently waited. Finally his face lit up. He had the answer. "Grandma," he said, "that was one selfish chicken."

Only then did Dot realize her story about work ethics wasn't geared to a little boy who never had to do chores. His life experience taught his that he must share everything with his little sister. Sharing is what he understood. She had missed the mark in teaching Zach, but learned a valuable lesson herself.

Our challenge is deciding if we are writing to entertain or to teach. If we are teaching, we need to assess the understanding of the targeted age group and write accordingly. As women of God, who have been blessed with the gift to write, we are in a unique position to reach out to children with love, understanding, and knowledge.

What a priceless treasure—to touch the life of a child.