Fairytales are a wonderful source of story ideas because of the themes they use. (The theme of wrongs being righted is never going to date!). As well as usually being amongst the first things children have read to them and then go on to read for themselves (usually because they like to read tales they already know), fairytales can be the introduction to a whole universe of books and stories for youngsters. Fairytales can be the foundation of someone's reading life (I should know, this is very much the case for me!).
So do fairytales matter? Yes, of course they do. Many of them contain a great deal of truth, some deal with social commentary (The Little Match Girl), others simply entertain but also encourage with evildoers not getting away with wrongdoing. Even at a young age, you become aware this isn't always the case in life so these stories act as a consolation to an extent. And I feel one of the most important things from a fairytale is the common theme of never judging by appearances. The Ugly Duckling is the most obvious example but how many fairytales have ordinary people as their heroes/heroines? Quite a few. And I love that.
So do fairytales matter? Yes, of course they do. Many of them contain a great deal of truth, some deal with social commentary (The Little Match Girl), others simply entertain but also encourage with evildoers not getting away with wrongdoing. Even at a young age, you become aware this isn't always the case in life so these stories act as a consolation to an extent. And I feel one of the most important things from a fairytale is the common theme of never judging by appearances. The Ugly Duckling is the most obvious example but how many fairytales have ordinary people as their heroes/heroines? Quite a few. And I love that.
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