A little jewel of a book on how great fairy tales and other
children's stories, with their vivid myths and metaphors, can
morally educate and refine young people. Theologian Guroian engages
in a close and sensitive reading of about a dozen children's tales,
including such well-known ones as The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio
and such largely forgotten ones as The Princess and the Goblin by
the 19th-century British writer George MacDonald. He notes that
contemporary "values education," with its often dry presentation of
moral principles, has at best limited appeal to children. In
contrast, the great children's stories graphically and memorably
present characters - human, animal, fantastical, and other - that
embody the struggles and joys of being human. Their focus is on
such enduring themes as deep friendship and love, suffering and
solitude, fear and courage, empathy and the "leap of faith."
Guroian writes crisply and perceptively about these and related
matters, such as this observation about love, faith, and tolerance
in The Princess and Goblin: "the hard troth [is] that we cannot
make even those whom we love believe, and that if we truly love
them, then we must permit them to come freely to that belief." His
interpretations sometimes may prove overly christological for many
non-Christian readers. For example, he claims that a "redrose
willow tree" that the Little Mermaid plants "alludes to blood and
tears and the passion of the cross," a symbolic link that seems far
too theologically freighted for most children. Still, this is a
book whose appeal goes far beyond the religiously minded; it will
interest parents and teachers of all backgrounds who want to help
their children to both grow imaginatively and achieve moral depth.
(Kirkus Reviews)
How to raise children to be moral, responsible, and productive citizens is one of the most debated issues in society today. In this elegantly written and passionate book, Vigen Guroian argues that our most beloved fairy tales and classic and contemporary fantasy stories written for children have enormous power to awaken the moral imagination.
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