The elements of a good story don’t change whether the target audience is a child or an adult. But some specific types of stories like fairy tales seem to appeal more to a younger reader. Kids love to read stories of adventure, faraway lands, and good triumphing over evil so they can experience life and excitement from a safe distance through the eyes of all kinds of characters like a clever fox, a talking frog, or even a mystical beast.
Everyone Loves a Good Fairy Tale
Every culture worldwide has its own versions of magical fairy tales for children that fall under this whimsical category. In fact, the lasting impact of these fairy tales has bubbled over into adult literature and modern storytelling platforms like movies and television.
Adults and children alike have been mesmerized by the yellow brick road and ruby red slippers so prominent in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a modern take on fairy tales, and gallant tales of King Arthur and his court have regaled children and adults for centuries. But stories like Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid have all been transformed from children’s books into everything from a Broadway Show to the featured attractions at Disney World.
And even a trippy tale like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has found its way into pop culture through music, movies, and other seemingly adult-focused versions far from the innocent children’s books where the fairy tales originated.
What Are Fairy Tales?
Children’s books are beloved by young readers for their creative storytelling methods, but fairy tales take these books to a different level altogether. Classic stories in this genre have a few unifying characteristics identifying these types of books.
1 Fairy tales are stories written expressly for children with an improbable happy ending.
2 Fairy Tales includes forces with some otherworldly or magical abilities.
3 Imaginary creatures like fairies, wizards, and goblins are often part of fairy tales.
4 Many fairy tales were first passed down orally before taking on a written form.
Fairy Tale Lessons for Children
These enchanting stories are more than just tales that entertain children with captivating characters who take readers on a surprising adventure. Fairy tales play an important role in children’s book printing because these charming tales provide young readers with timeless stories of adventure and magic along with important life lessons.
Fairy Tales Teach Positive Values
One of the unifying traits of these magical tales is that the characters endure moral and ethical challenges and must learn how to navigate these trials. As a result, a fairy tale can teach children such complex values as honesty and courage as well as kindness. Characters must also learn to live with the consequences of their actions as they make choices that affect their lives and those of others they know and love.
Learning about some of life’s biggest lessons through the experiences of enchanting characters in an engaging story helps children make their own good decisions when facing some of life’s tougher challenges.
Fairy Tale Characters Model Personal Growth
As fairy tale characters face challenges and overcome obstacles in their adventures, children can learn from the relatable situations that the characters find themselves in. The fantastical world of a fairy tale presents obvious good and bad characters as well as often clear-cut moral dilemmas that characters must work through.
Young readers observe how making it through problematic situations with grace and bravery in situations of all kinds may apply to their own lives, even if their life’s challenges don’t include magical characters from faraway lands. Children learn these coping skills by watching engaging characters go through their own trials, making a fairy tale story more impactful, because it helps kids learn how to grow into smart, discerning adults.
Fairy Tales Spark Imagination
Part of why fairy tale books are so impactful for kids is because the stories encourage young readers to use their imagination. Tales of fantastical worlds inspire children to learn about their world by increasing their sense of wonder and curiosity. As a child is transported to magical settings by reading about the surprising adventures of a tale’s characters, they create their own magical stories that will bring the fairy tale experiences to life.
Developing a fairy tale where the child is the pivotal character is a common occurrence, as costumes of noble princesses, valiant knights, and mystical characters dominate the most popular options for children’s dress-up clothes and costumes every year. And since the standard expectation for a fairy tale is that good triumphs over evil in the end, these positive stories create a safe but engaging role-playing opportunity for even the youngest of readers.
Fairy Tales Expose Children to New Cultures
Often, a fairy tale is set in a distant land, with unfamiliar cultural and social norms for many young readers. And since just about every culture around the world has its tradition of fairy tales, dozens of people groups, societies, and customs are represented in the hundreds of tales that fall into this genre of books.
Children can be transported into these fascinating worlds when they open a book, opening their eyes to the ways that different cultures live, speak, and relate to the world around them. While most young children may not reach for a nonfiction book that explains the differences between cultures or societies, they will excitedly turn the pages of a fairy tale of a king and queen ruling over a long-ago world, exposing them to unique and often historically accurate truths along the way.
These stories can also expose young readers to the rich traditions and cultural heritage of other societies in their reading. Experiencing traditions through the eyes of a character can be more meaningful and impactful than simply reading about them, and a child’s exposure to diversity and different beliefs will foster a greater cross-cultural understanding of the world around them.
Children Experience the Classics
The history of the fairy tale goes back centuries as stories were initially passed down through the generations orally before they were captured in the print form that we see today. Children who read these classic tales will be sharing in a literary tradition shared by millions of other young people whose lives have been shaped by the lessons, experiences, and creativity of these stories.
And reading stories that engage the mind, teach us how to be better humans, and enjoy the differences and similarities of those in the world around us create an excellent pathway for children to become lifelong readers.
Create a Fairy Tale Book for Children
The influence of fairy tales is undeniably a strong part of children’s literature, so the publication of kid’s books in this genre is always popular with self-publishing authors.
Whether your book project is a traditional tale or only integrates aspects of the magical world and its enchanting characters, self-publishing a book for children is an excellent way to create a lasting literary impression. Partnering with a trusted printer like Dazzle Printing can ensure that your book looks gorgeous so the little ones and their parents and friends will be able to read it over and over through the years.
To get started with the self-publishing process for your fairy tale book, first start with a great idea.
- First, read as many fairy tales as you can to make sure you understand what makes the genre so attractive to children.
- Then, rough out your storyline, paying careful attention to the characters and setting of your story.
- Consider where the magical or fanciful aspects of your tale come into play and how they affect the overall feel of the story.
- Think about utilizing a different kind of “beta reader” by telling your story to a target audience of children volunteers to help you hone the plot details so that you will be able to create a loveable and meaningful tale.
- Use a book template to help you format your manuscript so the printing process will go smoothly.
- Engage the services of a professional editor to navigate the final draft’s form as well as a cover design expert to craft a book cover that will appeal to your target audience, blend in with the genre norms, and capture the essence of your unique tale.
- Send your first order of your new book off to the printer and begin working on a marketing plan so you can get your self-published fairy tale into the hands of readers.
