Once Upon a Reality…
Why children should expand their reading beyond the classic fairytales.
I don’t know about you all, but I love a good story.
A long long time ago in a faraway land called Greece, there was a man named Aesop who was a writer of fables. Not only did he teach others (particularly children) about the importance of morals, but he opened doors for other authors to create their narratives. The rest is history.
Before we knew it, stories began to flourish in creativity as writers used unique characters and plot points to spark children’s interest through fairy tales. When reading or listening to a fairy tale, children can be putty in the writer’s hands as they choose to engage with the story. Through engagement, a child’s view of the world could be altered. Yes, it’s true, authors have the power to drive a narrative, however, is it for better or worse? Maybe it’s time for children to put aside stories that display a world that covers superficial topics like “good triumphs over evil” or “true love” to expand their reading to realistic narratives.
I think most people would agree that stories can be significant in everyone’s lives, especially children’s. By sharing stories, children can build their own identity by fusing their personal experiences with tales as old as time.
Children’s literature, as well as other genres, share the common goal of being palatable to the reader. After all, children’s books provide just as much pleasure to a child as a novel would to an adult.
When a child enjoys a story, their enjoyment is molded by their “limited” life experience. Thus, the story should be simple in format and language as children are yet to comprehend more mature topics like concepts like divorce, illness, death, etc.
Now, if you happened to cozy up to read an Aesop fable you should expect some form of life lesson that you have most likely heard of before. “Never give up!” “There’s a way!” “Lead by example!” “Be happy with what you have!” Mottos that are universal and very easy to follow. These same messages can be seen across numerous works such as those by Lewis Carroll, Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm (and many others) as these earlier authors continue the mission to expand the art of storytelling through their well-known fairy tales. With just a dash of imagination, like adding the idea of never ending balls of fire-breathing dragons, these narratives have magically become enchanting to the youth.
It’s like an infant having their first spoon of a pureed apple, the taste is so irresistible that you can’t help but open your mouth anticipating more. Trust me, I should know as I have been spoon-fed these stories as well and they went down easily.
There has to be a reason why people are still looking for their “true love,” or believe that if they are good they’ll be rewarded with nothing but success in life, and believe that those who are evil must be persecuted for their actions. Perhaps it’s because we were brought up knowing that’s how the story goes, or it’s at least what we were told. In fairy tales, like Sleeping Beauty, we know that the good always triumphs over evil, the princess always finds her prince, those who are kind and generous are always rewarded, and the bad people are always punished.
Doesn’t this generalized perspective of life sound so satisfying? To experience life in the most superficial way possible lacking in fine detail?
I know it did to me when I was 4. I became obsessed with these narratives for 3 years straight by getting my hands on any fairy book or watching Disney movies until I was bored of watching the films (which I wasn’t), along with dressing up as my favorite magical characters. That was a moment in time that I never wanted to end because I perceived it as being so easy to obtain. Simplicity tempted me to feed into the fantasy mindset because of how sweet it sounded. As A. Klim-Klimaszewska would say, my “knowledge of reality [was] objective” when I was younger like other children.
What if I told you that objective ideas are practiced to only end up feeling disappointed by society? Growing up, I began understanding reality by reading other genres of novels. I was heartbroken that I ended up being in a state of denial. It was challenging to let go of something that I have learned to love which is a problem children face. Buzzing Bubs even mentions, “reading or viewing the same content can saturate [a child’s] brain development and restrict/limit their skills.” If children begin to read other genres of books early, they would “build experience,” “develop their thinking skills,” and “[broaden] their worldview.” Other mediums like articles and newspapers should be considered too as literary reading helps create different patterns/beneficial exercises for the brain.
All in all, stories can be so powerful that they can change lives in some shape or form. Authors work tirelessly to satisfy their audience and keep them entertained. Fairy tales are one of the many shining examples of an author’s efforts to amuse a reader. Fairy tales can be all in good fun when it comes to exploring imagination. Yet, it should be imperative that children should expand their reading to other genres and mediums. It will not only make one’s thinking open-minded but it will also inform people to be mindful of the finer details of the world to navigate their realistic version of a “happily ever after.”
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Works Cited:
Danish, Elizabeth. “Influence of Fairy Tales on Children.” HealthGuidance.org |, 26 Jan. 2020, https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15745/1/influence-of-fairy-tales-on-children.html.
Enchantico. “12 Reasons Why Kids Should Read Books of Different Genres.” BuzzingBubs, 19 May 2018, https://buzzingbubs.com/articles/kids-read-books-of-different-genres.
Klim-Klimaszewska, A. “THE EFFECT OF FAIRY TALES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN’S IMAGINATION.” EDULEARN15 Proceedings, IATED, https://library.iated.org/view/KLIMKLIMASZEWSKA2015EFF.
Marty Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he’s not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales. “12 Lessons from Aesop’s Fables: Top Fables With Morals.” Imagine Forest Blog, 17 Nov. 2020, https://www.imagineforest.com/blog/life-lessons-aesops-fables/.
Stanford, Corrie GoldmanThe Humanities at, and Corrie Goldman. “This Is Your Brain on Jane Austen, and Stanford Researchers Are Taking Notes.” Stanford University, 7 Sept. 2012, https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/september/austen-reading-fmri-090712.html.
“Talking about Tough Topics.” Raising Children Network, 30 May 2019, https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/connecting-communicating/tough-topics/tough-topics.
“The Writer’s Role in Society.” Nicholas Conley, 18 Oct. 2021, https://nicholasconley.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/the-writers-role-in-society/.
VisikoKnox-Johnson, Leilani. vol. 14, 2016, The Positive Impacts of Fairy Tales for Children , https://hilo.hawaii.edu/campuscenter/hohonu/volumes/documents/ThePositiveImpactsofFairyTalesforChildrenLeilaniVisikoKnox-Johnson.pdf.
