Three of the shadow puppets that the writer made for the girls, which inspired them to start coming up with their own stories.
Once upon a time, my daughter Angelica loved writing stories. She would draw me grand tales in childish scribbles. As she learned to draw better, her stories became better illustrated. I was very happy. I had a little writer on my hands!
Then one day, she decided she didn’t want to write stories anymore. Every time I asked her to write, she would moan and grumble. It wasn’t her thing anymore and I was crushed.
During a parent-teacher conference in school, however, her teacher told me that she was one of the stronger writers in class, usually very eager to submit a story.
Hmm. So she writes in school, but not at home. I can accept that. It’s probably a phase. I tried the writing thing with her younger sister Lauren, but I think I started too late. I had let her witness Angelica’s drama sessions whenever I asked her to write, so now she started her own drama sessions.
What is a mother to do?
For quite some time now, I’ve not broached the subject of writing. Every time I mention the word “story,” they look at me with suspicious eyes. We’d be watching a movie, and I’d casually mention what a cool “story” that was, and heads would whip around and eyes would narrow. At least, I’ve alerted them to the notion of the storyline ... I hope.
I never stop trying, you know. The writer in me knows there are many ways to skin a cat, or tell a story. They don’t always have to be writing it. Two pint-sized humans are no competition for me when it comes to trickery. And of course, I have something called a voice recorder on my phone. It’s the best invention in the world.
Whenever I can, I secretly turn on the recorder, and inevitably, someone will be telling a story. Once, I ended up with a three-minute recording of the tale of two princesses who loved Burger King and McDonald’s, which turned into a rhyme, then a song.
Last week, Angelica had to make a shadow puppet for school. After she was done with hers, I started to make a couple of puppets for the girls. A couple turned into eight. After that, all I had to do was sit back, and watch them stage their little puppet shows. Guess what, they’re telling stories!
A while back, the girls and I discovered Studio Ghibli’s much-loved anime, The Borrower Arrietty. It’s a story about a family of little people who live beneath the floorboards of a human house, “borrowing” things they need for their survival, like cubes of sugar, grains of wheat, scraps of fabric and such. Throughout the movie, Arrietty has exciting adventures climbing through the floorboards, swinging from ropes made of string anchored against nails, scaling kitchen cabinets, climbing curtains and discovering a sewing pin, which is her first “borrowing” and becomes her sword.
My girls love it, and ask to watch these parts over and over again.
Though magical, this story is grounded in reality; it talks about the daily struggle to make ends meet for Arrietty’s family, the pain and separation of first love between Arrietty and Sho, a sickly human boy, and Arrietty’s family’s fight for survival.
The kids probably do not realise the more sombre aspects of the movie, but they ask questions about why it’s so hard for Arrietty’s father to find food, and why her mother is worried for them every time they go out to borrow. They also wonder why Sho is always tired, and tense over the possible danger that Arrietty faces from garden insects or the cat.
It would be very uncool of me to draw parallels in the film to real life; just let the kids enjoy the cartoon, for goodness sake! So I don’t. As they watch Arrietty enjoy her adventures, they also see her sense of responsibility towards her family. They see her trying to make things right when she fails to bring back a cube of sugar for her mother, and they marvel at her bravery and resourcefulness when her mother’s life is threatened. They also see Arrietty’s sadness, though they may not know the specifics of that sadness.
We’ve watched the show more than 10 times. But then, these are kids who can watch re-runs of Jake and the Neverland Pirates on TV countless times and still not get sick of it.
What I’ve realised is that storytelling is such a natural part of my kids’ – and all kids’ – lives that I don’t really have to do anything to “make it happen.” I just need to constantly provide the backdrop for them, whether it’s by making a few puppets, or letting them watch a really cool cartoon, and it’ll happen, like magic. And the stories will begin.
Elaine Dong always loves a good story. She blogs at angelolli.com.
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