How did Annie Stories begin?
They began quite a few years ago when my daughter, Amantha, was about to start nursery school. At that time, Amantha was quite shy and nervous at the thought of being thrown into this new and strange environment. My husband and I had said all the usual things that parents say on these occasions – that nursery school would be fun, that the children would play with her, that the teacher would look after her, but it was obvious that it was all gliding in one ear and out the other without being processed in between. It was then that I hit on the idea of telling her a story about Annie, a little girl just like her who was also worried about going to nursery school but who ended up coping very well and enjoying it. Amantha was riveted. She asked for the story time and time again, and when in fact the time came to go to nursery school, she coped very well, just as Annie had done. From then on, whenever she was worried by something, she would spontaneously ask me for an Annie Story. I was impr
