Once upon a time stories carried great power. Once upon a time, stories helped transform us all, and they served our children with sober depth and real meaning. Then stories suffered the fate of millennial familiarity and fell into common superficiality.Core Stories rediscovers and re-presents wise tales from around the world that reveal universal values: Learning to Focus, True Happiness, Self-Knowing, the Arts of Breath and Feeling, and the Joy of Community.Core Stories recovers what stories are supposed to be: captivating, challenging, fun, and wise; these stories are literally inviting, and serve a perfect pattern for a truly rich life. Imagine a set of sage stories that children will enjoy and remember.Look no further. Core is never far away.Core Stories is the companion volume for kids and parents to theteacher's curriculum Big Philosophy for Little Kids - an affective and effective writing curriculum for upper elementary education. However, this volume stands alone for children to read by themselves or to be guided by caring adults. It is patterned after ancient educational systems for teaching emotional potency to the children of cultural leaders. Herein, we build five principles of character and emotional fluency: * the ability to focus and the wisdom of failure* the difference between temporary and long-term happiness * the need and usefulness of self-knowledge* the inspirational play of breath and feeling* service heroes and the joy of community