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**How to tell a great bedtime story

1. Start with "Once upon a time there was a problem in the land."

Then introduce your hero or heroine. The character, whether animal or human, should be instantly recognizable as a stand-in for your child. Does she love to paint? Is he obsessed with dinosaurs? A joke teller? Animal lover? Throw in a giveaway physical attribute- missing tooth, long curly red hair, freckles.

2. Use the day's events for the plot.

"Transform mundane activities by making them bigger, sillier, or scarier," says Judith Black, an award-winning storyteller. That miserable traffic jam you were stuck in on the way to a playgroup can become magical with a few small changes. Let your imagination go wild. Does a good witch wave her wand to create more space on the highway? Are the cars equipped with wings? Is the tunnel a portal into the future? Ask your child to join in on the fun by helping you weave the story.