Orly Benaroch Light sharing Papimento and the Chocolate Mountains in Rockport, Massachusett.

No Prince Needed: Stories Shape Who Children Become

Orly Benaroch Light

There is a specific kind of magic that happens at bedtime. The lights go down, the world gets quiet, and for a few minutes, anything is possible.

I've loved fairy tales and fantasy adventures since I was a little girl growing up in Israel. Back then, my friends and I didn't wait for a prince to show up. We were too busy dreaming up our own adventures in the orange groves near Petah Tikva. But as a mom, I started to notice a gap in the stories we read. Too often, the girls were waiting to be saved while the boys were expected to be fearless alone.

I wanted something different. I wanted stories where bravery is a team sport and kindness is a superpower available to everyone.

Psychologists have long observed that stories are one of the main ways children make sense of the world and their place in it. They become the internal blueprint children use to navigate life. When we change the stories, we change the possibilities children see for themselves.

A Global Mission from a Home Office

When the pandemic hit, I found a way to act on this belief. As an activist, I was invited to join UN Women's Awake Not Sleeping project. It was a whirlwind of collaboration with women writers from Europe to Central Asia, all asking the same question: How do we reimagine these old tales for a new generation?

Our goal was simple but powerful: to show that boys and girls can be brave together, and to help children develop a growth mindset and reach their full potential.

From Bedtime Whispers to the Chocolate Mountains

My own contribution to this journey started years ago as a series of whispered stories for my children. Those stories eventually grew into my first book, Papimento and the Chocolate Mountains.

The main character is Papimento, a curious boy from Brooklyn whose mom is a chef. When a simple errand whisks him away to a mysterious land where mountains are made of chocolate and nothing is quite as it seems, the adventure truly begins. There he meets Emma, who is clever, kind and brave. Together they don't just survive the adventure; they solve it through teamwork, compassion and friendship. It's a reminder that when we remove barriers, we can create something wonderful together.

Inside the book, you'll find a discovery guide to where chocolate actually comes from, a chocolate recipe to try at home, and practical ways to bring the story's themes into your own family.

A Step Toward a Kinder World

I've always believed that we aren't just teaching kids to read; we are teaching them how to see the world. A purposeful life is built one choice at a time, and this book is one of mine.

If this message of equality, friendship, and kindness resonates with you, I'd love for you to join Papimento on his first journey. Papimento and the Chocolate Mountains is available on Amazon. Share it with a young dreamer in your life.

After all, the best stories aren't just about where we've been. They are about who we can become.

Disclosure: I retain full copyright to my story, which I've also made available to UN Women for its Awake Not Sleeping: Reimagining Fairy Tales for a New Generation project.

Orly Benaroch Light is the founder of MCE Conferences, Mid-Life Women, and Prime Time Havurah, a friendship group, and the author of the Papimento series. She has long been an advocate for global peace and women's empowerment. A foodie, proud mom and Yemma, she lives by the sea in San Diego.