The enduring allure of children’s literature
Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, The Hare and the Tortoise, and Pinocchio: What do all these tales have in common? They are some of the most popular children stories ever written.
Centuries of written literature have yielded prodigious amounts of fictional works, but nothing seems to beat the staying power of the classic bedtime stories that children never seem to get tired of. These stories are printed and reprinted over the years. Every now and then they are subject to modernization or cultural transformation, but the characters and gist of the storylines remain largely the same.
The Information Age has been a boon for storytelling, particularly for children. Children’s literature has been propagated and augmented by multimedia. Online stories for children are usually beautifully illustrated, often animated and accompanied by audio as well. Parents who may be rusty on their knowledge of children stories, or who need to work on their storytelling skills, can now look to the Internet as a vast treasure trove for information about stories that are suitable for their children to read and listen to.
Traditional literature for children contains certain unique characteristics that may explain their long-lasting appeal. The settings are often vague and the characters follow a certain stereotype that makes them interchangeable. The Boy Who Cried Wolf, for example, is a fable can take place in just about any rural setting where wolves or other scary predators may live. The name of the boy is irrelevant, and he may even be substituted for the girl. These elements aren’t relevant, but the pace, tone and moral of the story should not change radically.
Most popular children stories involve animals or objects affected with anthropomorphism, like The Ant and the Grasshopper or Pinocchio. Children are very receptive when human traits are assigned to animals or humans, as it fuels their imagination and helps them to understand the human spirit.
