Is it really once upon a time?

Almost every time we get a new book, my son asks "is this a once-upon-a-time book?". On nights that Daddy reads his bedtime story, its not uncommon for me to hear my son call down "Mom is it really once upon a time?"  It always makes me smile.

Its not that my son doesn't like fairy tales.  He does.  Its not about distinguishing real from make-believe stories.  While he knows I generally read the story like its written, he's found out that Dad does some improv.  Dad is the storyteller who adds voices and sometimes embellishes the story, generally adding an extra "once upon a time" :)

Sometimes that means that a cowboy book is read with a strange French accent.  Or the character's name changes.  Or the story just changes completely.  The silliest was the day we brought home Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Snow White books.  When Dad was supposedly reading the first book, he told the story from the second and vice versa.  We were all laughing!

I love that my son is making so many special memories of reading with his Daddy.