Are Fairy Tales Important?

I have spent most of my adult life reading fairy tales.  Sometimes it’s the escapism, sometimes it’s the predictability, sometimes it’s the romance that draws me to these timeless stories. 

Fairy tales are seeing a great resurgence in children’s literature.  It is fun to see what many consider “the same old stories” relived, reworked, and reillustrated for a new generation of young (and old!) readers. 

But, still, why should fairy tales be a part of our literary diets?  Do young children really need the predictable, often stereotypical events and characters in fairy tales? 

I love the philosophy of educator E.D. Hirsch, who argues that students need to understand a core curriculum of information so that everyone can communicate and fully participate in democratic life.  His Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know is a primer of the basic information that everyone should know, and he contends, “To be culturally literate is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world” (Hirsch, Cultural Literacy, xiii). I mention this not because everyone should run out and buy Hirsch’s book (although it is worth it!), but because I truly believe the concept that we all need a basic foundation to ensure that we have a fair playing field for education, jobs, and democracy.

Literacy? Education? Employment? Democracy?  What does all this have to do with fairy tales???

Fairy tales are typically the first types of stories to which children are introduced—especially before the last couple of generations when picture- and storybooks for children began to see a huge development.  Children are drawn to elements in fairy tales that make them “safe,” or predictable.  That familiar conclusion to every fairy tale, “and they lived happily ever after” is second only in recognizability to that “once upon a time” introduction.  We all recognize that young children need security and predictability--stories provide that in a way that real life cannot always do.  Children quickly learn that no matter how dire the circumstances (think Hansel and Gretel), the good will win out in the end and the evil will pay the price.

Children need to be familiar with fairy tales because so much of more advanced literature is based on them.  If a student doesn’t know The Three Little Pigs, it will make the experience of hearing Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs a little empty.  Certainly, The Paperbag Princess is an effective story that can stand on its own, but what makes it significant is the way it turns the typical fairy tale on its head—and if you don’t know that typical fairy tale, you won’t get the joke.  The plot of a damsel in distress, a romantic gentleman, a wicked woman, and elements of magic forms the basis for so many stories. 

Teen literature is also connecting with fairy tales these days.  Especially enjoyable are Donna Jo Napoli’s fractured fairy tales—Beast, Bound, and Zel have all been honored with multiple literary awards.  Again, they are enjoyable stories in their own rights, but what makes them powerful literature is the way they play on fairy tale themes and conventions.  Much of the best of new literature for young children, older children, and teens is taking the form of the fairy tale, either literally or in some fractured sense.

The best reason to read fairy tales goes back to my E.D. Hirsch rant.  Fairy tales are a part of our lives, whether we realize it or not.  Just like with Shakespeare (we’ll discuss that another day!), the language and character stereotypes are part of our culture.  “Happily ever after” is discussed in media, although usually in the negative . . . as in There is no “happily ever after.”  But to know that there isn’t a reality like this, a reader must be able to compare it to the fantasy of the fairy tale.  We use expressions like “the Big, Bad Wolf” to signify villains in our society and the “poisoned apple” to represent something that appears innocent but is truly dangerous.  When we make these literary allusions, we are assuming the audience knows to what we are referring.  Children with strong literary backgrounds will be more well educated than those who aren’t familiar with the traditional stories.

So pull out those dusty copies of some beautiful books and introduce them to young and older children, alike!  Fairy tales are the some of the basics that everyone should know and love!  Along with those mentioned above, here are some of my favorites:

Picture books—

The Rough-Faced Girl (Martin); Native American version of Cinderella

The Stinky Cheese Man: And Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Scieszka); fractured fairy tales

Lon Po Po (Young); Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood

Rapunzel (Zelinsky); traditional

Young Adult Literature—

Fairest (Levine); reworked Snow White (appropriate for jr. high readers)

Ella Enchanted (Levine); reworked Cinderella (appropriate for jr high readers)

Cinder (Meyer); reworked Cinderella (Note: I have not read, but the author is reputable; this is her latest work)



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