"Once upon a time": a discussion of children's picture books as a narrative educational tool for nursing students.

Narrative pedagogy influences many areas of nursing education, with emphasis on the co-constructing of narrative between students, educators, and clinicians. Little has been written about published children's literature as a basis for narrative discussion in nursing education. This article describes how narrative pedagogy already works within nursing education and explores features of children's picture books that give them value as a narrative educational tool for nursing students, providing stories that encourage self-understanding and deconstruct the multiple realities of narratives about the human condition.