Classic Fairy Tales

Finding a Good Fairy Tale

Fairy tales have been around for hundreds of years, and over time they have been retold time and time again, adapted for various audiences and interpreted by different illustrators. There are many different stories from all over the world, with so many different interpretations and adaptations of them that it is impossible to single out just a few to list here; some adaptations are darker than others, illustrations styles vary widely, and some have much more text than others. A few anthologies are listed below that can provide a brief introduction to many of the princess stories, but the best way to find the most appropriate fairy tale for the reader is to browse the shelves.

Fairy tales and folk tales are classified in the 398.2 range of the Dewey Decimal system, which is used by many public libraries. Within that range, they are further grouped by decimal number according to the country/culture of origin. So head to the library and browse the 398.2's, or ask your children's librarian for suggestions.

More About Fairy Tales

Written versions of fairy tales date back hundreds of years, with oral versions possibly longer than that. While fairy tales have come out of every culture, the ones that most of us are familiar with came from western European cultures, primarily from Italian, French, and German writers, frequently borrowing and re-imagining stories told by others, often without crediting the original source. The Grimm brothers are probably the best known, with their much darker interpretations, but before them there was the French author Perrault, the Italian author Basile, and others. Perrault's tales were much lighter and more romantic than the Grimm brothers, and his version of Cinderella was the inspiration for Disney's (Bottigheimer, 2009). It is interesting to explore fairy tales from other cultures and notice the similarities. For example, there are tales very similar to Cinderella that originated in Egypt, China, Korea, Native American cultures, and more. Other times authors and illustrators may choose to retell a story with a different cultural setting than the original. All of these add great diversity to our storytelling.

Fairy tales differ from folk tales in several ways. First of all, magic is a key component. There are spells, curses, fairies, witches, and other magical creatures, but most important is the fact that the hero/heroine cannot succeed on their own; they must have some type of magical aid or intervention. Folk tales generally have a simple, very linear plot that serves to teach a moral or lesson; fairy tales have a more complex plot, but do not really serve to teach a moral (though lessons can still be drawn from them). In fairy tales the conflict is often between good and evil, with characters being clearly one or the other. Several motifs are common, and appear in multiple stories across cultures. One motif is the "rise", where a character who is neither rich nor royal, often in an unfortunate situation, is rescued or rewarded, so that in the end they are elevated to a higher status; Cinderella is an example of a rise story. Another common motif is a character being betrayed in some way, and gaining retribution and restoration of their former position. Though today we may think of fairy tales as being for children, originally they were written for adults, which explains some of their darker themes and characteristics (Bottigheimer, 2009; Dewan, 2016).

Why Read Fairy Tales?

Why should children read/hear classic fairy tales? Well, as an oft-repeated saying commonly attributed to Albert Einstein goes, "If you want your child to be intelligent, read him fairy tales...". While this "quote" is actually something of folklore itself, if the original story is to be believed Einstein reportedly advised a parent to read her child fairy tales in order to prepare them for a future as a scientist, as fairy tales instill imagination and creativity, encouraging the reader to believe anything is possible (Winick, 2013). Teacher, writer, and parent Melissa Taylor points out in her article for Brightly that the original stories are so much richer and more complex than their Disney-fied versions, and gives 10 reasons to share the original stories with children. Classic fairy tales:

• 1. Teach life lessons - such as the value of kindness or that actions have consequences.

  2. Give hope - hope of redemption, hope that good will triumph over evil, hope that things will get better.

  3. Provide a shared mythology and cultural literacy.

  4. Encourage imagination and expand our idea of what's possible.

  5. Provide an introduction to and help develop an appreciation for other cultures.

  6. Are short stories, and provide a good bridge between regular picture books and chapter books.

  7. Allow children to face and process fears in a safe context.

  8. Introduce some hard truths; sometimes bad things happen.

  9. Introduce children to fantasy.

  10. Have princesses of all kinds who wear all kinds of clothes; there is no set "type" or wardrobe.

Dewan (2016) echoes many of these points, saying children are drawn to fairy tails because they find them empowering because it is often the youngest, smallest, or poorest who prevail and they allow them to face their fears. Children are also drawn to them because they portray growing up and moving out into the world, embody hopes and dreams, and typically follow a reassuring structure or formula. She mentions children find fractured fairy tales so humorous because they deliberately deviate from the expected formula, thus creating unexpected twists.