Jonathan's Tales Volume 1

<p>Jonathan's Tales Volume 1 is a compilation of 11 magical bedtime stories told verbally to</p><p>my 6-year-old son recorded on my Android phone. They are enhanced written transpositions</p><p>from the unedited audio version numbering nearly 100 recorded stories. The Tales purely a</p><p>product of my imagination came to life after my son's bedtime toilette and he snuggled in bed </p><p>arbitrarily drew from his head a binary subject and allowed me several minutes to ponder a story.</p><p>The stories gave me much pleasure to bequeath to my son who often interacted with</p><p>the stories; sometimes vociferously protesting at the outrageous actions of the occasional</p><p>villainous characters therein; sometimes being so enthralled with the storyline he remained</p><p>quiet until the end and not infrequently as I came to the story's dénouement I heard a</p><p>gentle buzzing sound as my son had fallen into deep slumber. I could not love my son more</p><p>than I did at such times.</p><p></p><p>Of the 100 or so Tales located firmly in the magical realism genre I have chosen 11 to</p><p>publish initially. They span a broad range of subjects. Within these subjects a degree of</p><p>poetic license has been inevitably exercised in respect to real world facts requiring the more</p><p>discerning reader to temporarily suspend their belief.</p><p></p><p>I told the stories to my son with three main aims: entertainment of which</p><p>he by his reactions recorded seemingly derived much pleasure; erudition to increase his</p><p>knowledge on specific items of facts or to whet his appetite to seek out more information (the</p><p>notations referenced at the end of the book for each Tale act as a starting aid); finally didactic </p><p>a way of subtly introducing a broader morality into my son's world on an array of subjects</p><p>from the power of love and friendship of kindness and honesty and also the importance</p><p>of inclusivity recognising we are all different. There was however one other thing I deemed</p><p>essential to convey to my son. In Jonathan's Tales across a number of stories told I tried to</p><p>gift my son an understanding that in each and every one of us there are by differing degrees</p><p>what I might call human weakness. Acknowledging such weakness an acknowledgment that</p><p>sometimes can originate from within but in many instances through the love and kindness of</p><p>others individuals may find a power and strength to transform their lives for the better if you</p><p>will becoming better versions of themselves versions of themselves that were always meant to</p><p>be. It is this final aspiration I wish and hope all my readers will see in my stories to my son.</p><p></p><p>One final note Volume1 might be nominally seen as a Middle Grade children's</p><p>literary work and yet it admits an eclectic age range. Not only</p><p>children but teenagers and adults have reported back on Volume 1 their absolute</p><p>delight. I seek the reader's forgiveness in final close to this foreword by copying a</p><p>genuine comment from one reader which I trust gives due credence to the assertion</p><p>that Jonathan's Tales has a broader relevance in all our lives and to be enjoyed as such: </p><p>You are never too old to enjoy a good story.</p><p></p>