Stories are an important part of a young child’s way of making sense of their world. Hilary Cooper’s excellent article ‘Why Stories?’ explores some of the reasons why stories are important to young children and their growing ‘understanding of the world’. This article is going to explore some recommended stories and how we might use them in a slightly more focussed way to ensure the historical element of the area of learning is strengthened and developed. If we did not have enough justification the Listening and Attention aspect of Communication in the Early Years Framework supports the use of stories explaining that children should ‘listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions’...