Honors Project II

From generation to generation and country to country, stories have been passed through the centuries. Each nation and culture has left a distinctive mark on the tales, spoken or written, that it distributes. Once for the general audience of the elderly, adults, and children, fairy tales and other stories have been modified to fit the interests and needs of children as a group by themselves. The emergence and make up of literature for children and its purposes can be traced through the format, content, and presentation of books over time.

Fairy tales were the first stories that were told, and they were heard by adults and children alike. Few people outside the church were literate during the time of fairy tale telling. (Sale, Pg. 24) Thus, an oral tradition was the established means of transmitting these tales. The unusual thing about these stories was that several tales from varying cultures were remarkably alike. Comparable characters, events, and motifs could be found in tales from India, Japan, France, Germany, and Ireland. (Sale, Pg. 24) Of course, each country’s version contained different twists and emphases, and even within the country, local or native differences were added. Robert Sale names a few tales that are similar: from Japan, “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” is similar to the Grimm’s’ “The Fisherman and His Wife;” and the English tale, “Goldilocks” is much like the Grimm’s’ “Snow White” in the central episode (the girl finds a house in the woods and falls asleep, then is awakened by the inhabitants of the home.)

Eventually, these fairy stories were collected and written down by such authors as Perrault, Countess d’Aulnoy, the Grimm Brothers, and Madame de Murat. Each writer modified the tales to his own tastes and to his own culture. This may be somewhat unfortunate because as the oral tradition was discontinued, some of the original material was lost and unable to be recovered. So, fairy tales as they are known today can be quite different from their original make up. Robert Sale states, “Sharing [oral tradition] helped free the literature from being a matter of individual taste.” (Pg. 25) When writing, however, the author was free to add what he pleased to make the tale wittier, more aristocratic, and/or more tragic/appealing to sympathy.

One aspect of literature that clearly shows the emergence of children’s literature is how the audience is addressed in the story. In oral tales, the narrator never called attention to himself or to details of the story. The narrator did not offer to explain or interpret any of the story’s elements. The audience, those listening to the telling of the tale, was not limited in any way. Tales did not indicate if the story was to be told to children, adults, one individual, or a large group of people. As much as cultural elements altered many aspects of the story, the relationship of the teller to the tale remained the same, and the receiving audience remained unnamed.

This lack of consideration of the audience is a strong contrast to how things work in literature today. This society wants to know the meaning of everything. It presumes there to be a ‘schedule’ of human life – some things are “too much” for children, or some children are “too old” for some things. Parents choose books for particular children of a particular age. They adjust stories to be ‘easier’ or more ‘grown up’ or ‘up-to-date.’ What tales are told and how they are told is dependant upon the intended reader or listener. In schools, teachers tell students that in order for their speech or paper to be effective, they must first identify their audience, and adjust their work accordingly. Speeches and books must be written for the intended audience, and in the case of fairy tales, the audience is not indicated by elements such as length, vocabulary, or motifs. (Sale, Pg.25-26)

Charles Perrualt is considered to be the first person to write stories specifically with children in mind. (Sale, Pg. 49) In 1697, Perrault published a book containing the stories which are now known as “Mother Goose Tales.” This date is one of origin and change for the production of literature for children.

Perrualt was not the only, and probably not the first person ever, to write down oral fairy tales. Many collections of tales were found in France at this time. Authors included the Countess d’Aulnoy, Madame de Murat, and Madame de Villeneuve, plus several others. The Countess became known as “Mother Bunch,” an attempt to imitate the already respected name of “Mother Goose.” (Opie, Pg. 62) Of all these authors, however, Perrault is the one who most clearly wrote his stories for children. His tales were relatively short because he had children in mind as his audience. The other authors wrote much more ornately; their stories were far too intricate and too full of complex plots, and the psychology of the characters was too in depth. (Opie, Pg 62, Sale, Pg. 50.) Another “Mother” figure appeared in 1805 – Jim Harris, an author who did write for children, published “The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog.” (Opie, Pg. 52)

It is also possible that fairy tales were intended for children even before Perrault’s book of children’s tales. From 1700 to 1850, a battle to ban fairy tales (the oral kind) was fought, on the grounds that they could not teach anything. The danger that these tales posed was for children, for it was assumed that no adult or parent would want to hear or read fairy tales. (Sale, Pg. 30) This shows the possibility that the intent of fairy tales had all long been to be told to children.

It was after Perrault’s publication, however, that many authors began to write books primarily meant for children. Plain text books began to include hand-drawn illustrations. Many books were hand written with a pen. Eventually, books could be typed, but the illustration was still done by hand. The 18th century brought greatly illustrated books: alphabet, fable, rhyme, and riddle books. (Opie, Pg. 52) Engraved plates of wood or copper were made for children. In the mid 1700’s, the harlequinade appeared. These types of books were the forerunner of today’s pop-up books. The harlequinade’s pages are described as follows: two picture pages are placed on top of each other, attached at the bottoms and the tops. The top picture is split into panels across the middle, and the child could lift the panels to view the picture and words underneath. Usually, the picture and text underneath provided a continuation of the story, sometimes appropriate, sometimes not. (Opie, Pg. 50)

With the harlequinades came many new innovations in the making of children’s books. Publishers were inspired to use plates containing both text and pictures in the printing of the books. Colored illustrations were also introduced. Most of these were done by hand at first. (Opie, Pg. 52) In the 1780’s, a publisher in London, “Tringham,” offered plain as well as hand colored children’s books. (Opie, Pg. 52)

These technological changes encouraged authors of children’s books to take nonstandard, inventive approaches in their writings. This led to a large number of innovations in children’s literature, and ideas were produced one right after the other. (Opie, Pg. 51) One such original idea was that of pull-tabs. Pull-tabs allowed the reader to move the characters in the illustrations by pulling on small tabs on the pages. This idea was introduced by Dean and Son. “The Moveable Mother Hubbard” was one of the first books that they published with their new invention in 1857. (Opie, Pg. 71)

Children’s literature also inspired games for children. Toy makers used nursery rhymes themes as inspiration for many of their toys, including painting books, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, and dolls. (Opie. Pg. 71) Children’s literature was beginning to become very meaningful to society, in contrast to the days of oral story telling and the ambiguous audience. Authors began trying to get into the mind of the child, writing in language that they would understand, using materials thought to be appropriate for them, etc. It was very obvious by this point when literature was intended for children, and it was better known how that literature should be written.

One may wonder, however, at the reason for needing literature written specifically for children. Many adults may think that it is pointless for children to read stories that are not educational, realistic, literal, or sensible. But according to Robert Sale, children need fairy tales and such because they have the “natural and normal need…to be imaginative…to discover and explore their own fantasies and those of others.” (Sale, Pg. 31) These stories are fun and interesting to children. So, even stories in which events are unrealistic or lack blatant educational content are good for children to read. Unrealistic stories can still teach morals, and seemingly uneducational stories can still help in teaching a child literacy skills. As children read more, they will be able to read and write better. Children’s literature can also convey other information, like why it is important to brush their teeth. It can be used to teach them facts about science, biology or music (many nursery rhymes can be sung). These reasons, and many more, are why literature for children came into existence and why it is still being developed today.

What sorts of morals did fairy tales teach? Perrault provided morals at the end of each of his tales in the form of a brief poem. For example, the moral of “Sleeping Beauty” is that girls should be willing to wait to find suitable husbands, and that they lose nothing in waiting a little extra time to wed. (Perrault, Pg. 15) The moral of “Little Red Riding Hood” is for children to not talk or listen to strangers (Perrualt, Pg. 77), and the moral of “Cinderella” is that grace, spirit, courage, and common sense are more important than beauty. (Perrault, Pg. 70)

It is of some significance that there seem to be many common themes in fairy tales. Stories by Perrault and those collected by the Grimm Bothers are mostly about kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Many tales are about a child in the woods. Several are about wives who desperately wish for a child. A wife in one of these stories typically die during childbirth, and her child will be of greater importance in the tale's events and outcome than she. These recurring themes symbolize different things. Kings and Queens convey importance and prestige. Most of the fairy stories are about Kings and Queens finding wives for their sons or husbands for their daughters. How these spouses are chosen is essential for the survival of the whole kingdom. After all, who wants an incompetent King or Queen in charge? Usually, the future spouse is chosen on grounds of kindness and virtue rather than beauty, and because this spouse is of such great importance, the story implies that virtue is more important than beauty.

The woods are a symbol of the unknown. In the woods, a child can encounter many dangers as well as a thousand interesting things. In the forest, a one can meet animals, good and bad; find houses made out of candy and cake, inhibited by grandmothers, dwarves, witches, bears, or giants; or discover princesses in towers, either sleeping or with long hair.

Motifs in children’s literature are much the same today as they were in the days of oral fairy tales. Enchanted animals grant wishes, turn into princes, and lead the way out of trouble. Magical mirrors are common, as seen in “Snow White” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and they are probably symbols of mystery and glimpses into other worlds. Godmothers and little trolls like Rumpelstiltskin make deals with young girls. Magic is also a big part of fairy tales. Most old fairy tales have some form of magic in them. Many of them were also about romance, but this motif began to fade away as literature focused on topics more relevant to young children. The central characters also began to shift from adults to children. This change is significant because, as mentioned earlier, oral fairy tales implied no particular type of audience. The teller of the tale did not consider his listeners to be much different from himself, and did not attempt to find appropriate language, characters, or topics for them. (Sale, Pg. 64)

At present, there are many forms of literature for all ages. Picture books, pop-ups, books for coloring in, books for babies, books for school ages, books for young teens, and many more cover shelf after shelf in bookstores. These books can be about anything: big red dogs, superheroes, talking animals, pokey puppies, children with big imaginations, children who run away, and annoying younger siblings. Child-appropriate versions of “grown up” books, such as the Bible, are available. The vast selection of children’s literature available today shows the many steps forward that traditional oral tales of early centuries have taken.

The development of literature for children has influenced countless aspects of society, most notably education and parenting. Educational books are available on any topic, and are written on a level best for the child's learning abilities. At certain ages, parents can read fun, interesting stories with their children, helping them to acquire literacy skills as well as to learn about life and important values.

Children’s literature has indeed come a long way. This essay barely scratches the surface of research done on development, morals, themes, and formats of children’s books. It is likely that these elements will continue to evolve over the years, conforming to cultural needs and technological advances. Just as this century embraces the fairy tales of the past, hopefully generations beyond the 21st century will continue to pass along many of the stories of today. Hopefully, hundreds of years down the road, present day tales are still touching the hearts of adults and children alike in the same way that centuries-old stories have sentimental value today.