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Volume
36, Number 2
Special Issue: Myth, Magic, and Fantasy “To
deny fantasy and the capacity to dream with purpose is to destroy
the gift of mental and emotional healing with which every story
is endowed. Whenever we hear or read those magic words, ‘Once
upon a time…,’ we are projected into a world from which
we return, equipped and healed, informed, wiser and more able to
cope with the perplexed and perplexing world of everyday life.” Dear
Bookbird Reader Stories of fairies, talking animals, transformations, and enchantment, myths of gods and creation, and legends of heroes have always been told to children in every culture. These oral tales were gathered in various collections like the Jatakas, Panchatantra, Arabian Nights, and Aesop’s Fables. In Europe, folk tales were first published in France by Charles Perrault in 1697, but it was the recording of German tales in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm that marked a widespread interest in collecting not only European tales but those of other cultures as well. These written versions of traditional stories inspired writers and folklorists—such as Hans Christian Andersen—to create literary fairy tales for children. Maryam Sanjabi’s article on the Persian fairy tales of Clara Malraux describes the exotic atmosphere evoked by “Orientalist” tales. Before recorded history, the exploits of heroes were immortalized in songs and legends. Some stories so captured the popular imagination that they assumed a life of their own—the core of historical truth was embellished to suit the needs of the community through frequent retellings. Ariko Kawabata and Kay Vandergrift’s discussion of Yukio Tsuchiya’s picture book on the killing of the elephants in Ueno Zoo during World War II provides insight into this myth-making process. Since Kawaisouna Zo was first published in 1951, the story has been retold in various versions and for various purposes—from anti-war propaganda to animal conservation to championing the cause of the weak and oppressed. The development of fantasy as a literary genre was remarkable in Victorian England. Several forces led to a reaction against the prevailing moralistic tone in children’s books: Broad Church writers, such as Charles Kingsley and George MacDonald, who represented the nonconformist element of the Anglican Church, introduced freshness and imagination; and there was a paradigm shift in educational methodology from stories intended to curb the “sinful” tendencies of children to a recognition of the impact of environment on their conduct. Fairy tales were no longer considered a corrupting influence; rather, the importance of entertainment on development was emphasized. While most fantasies were didactic, written to impart moral and social messages—as Claudia Nelson’s article on Frances Browne’s Granny’s Wonderful Chair (1856) points out—the emphasis shifted to aesthetic enjoyment and a respect for natural human passions. Lewis Carroll brought sophistication to the genre through skillful language and imagery, nonsense humor, whimsical logic, and imaginary characters. In the twentieth century, literary fantasies have become child-centered, and they enjoy a continued popularity with children. As Eva-Maria Metcalf’s “Author Spotlight” discusses, Swedish author Astrid Lindgren has influenced European fantasy with the creation of strong and independent female characters like Pippi Longstocking and Ronja. Darja Mazi-Leskovar’s paper focuses on the relationship between the primary and secondary worlds in Slovene fantasies about elves, animals, and toys. She states that children have the ability to cross easily between the two realms. Lucy Norton’s analysis of Margaret Mahy’s magical-realist novel, The Changeover, elevates the role of feminine power and witchcraft in modern fantasy. Subverting the traditional fairy tale’s representation of witches as evil and girls as passive and dependent, the plot centers on the protagonist’s transformation into a witch to save her brother. Are fairy tales escapist? Do children lose touch with reality when they read books set in an imaginary world? Jungian psychologists theorize that fairy tales mirror the images from our “collective unconscious” to acknowledge the mysterious recesses of our psyche. Donald Baker, a specialist in childhood education, states that the motifs and structures of the fairy tale distance readers from their daily problems and allow for vicarious understanding or healing, and the happy endings “encourage hope for the future.”1 The Cinderella story, for instance, externalizes the mother-daughter conflict. Likewise, the ritual recitation of the archetypal hero’s journey satisfies the community’s need for group identification and serves as a rite of passage from childhood to maturity for the individual. A third type, the trickster tale, can also be empowering. In these stories, a strong animal, such as a lion or crocodile, is outwitted by a smaller one, such as a rabbit or monkey. One reason the Mexican picture book La peor señora del mundo is so disturbing—at least to adults—is that its setting is too familiar: child abuse, cruelty to animals, physical violence, control over society. Whether the story is read as a heroic journey, as Liora Stavchansky does in her article, or as a trickster tale to regulate social behavior, which seems more acceptable, its archetypal content is compelling. Child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, recognizing the therapeutic function of fairy tales to resolve the emotional problems of children, writes: “For those who immerse themselves in what the fairy tale has to communicate, it becomes a deep, quiet pool which at first seems to reflect only our own image; but behind it we soon discover the inner turmoils of our soul—its depth, and ways to gain peace within ourselves and with the world, which is the reward of our struggles.”2 1.
Donald Baker, Functions of Folk and Fairy Tales (Washington, D C:
Association for Childhood Education International, 1981), 6. Yours
sincerely, Letters To the Point: Myth, Magic, and Fantasy History
into Myth: The Anatomy of a Picture Book Le
Royaume Farfelu of Clara Malraux: A Persian Journey of Self-Discovery Art
for Man’s Sake: Frances Browne’s Magic and Victorian Social
Aesthetics Slovene
Fantasies: A Pathway to Truth and Harmony Other
Voices Regular Features Focus
IBBY Reading
Promotion: A Spiritual Sanctuary from War in Croatia Country
Survey: Ireland Author
Spotlight: Astrid Lindgren International Children’s Books of Note Professional Literature News and Announcements Calendar |
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