Into the Forest & Out of the Palaces

Description: Should we read Fairy Tales to our children? If, so – which ones? We could go back to Charles Perrault’s Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals (1697) to get a flavour of the first incarnation of the folk-tale turned fairy-tale stories of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. In this Masterclass on Fairy Tales Dr Sibylle Erle (Reader in English Literature) and Dr Amy Webster (Senior Lecturer in Education Studies) will consider the history, function and place of Fairy Tales in children’s literature. Our journey will navigate from Perrault’s moral tales to the grisly stories of the Brothers Grimm (as well as the subsequently sanitized versions) to the plethora of different ways that Fairy Tales are experienced in the 21st Century, which is heavily shaped by Disney. Along the way we will explore Fairy Tales in relation to key topics in children’s literature scholarship by considering their role in language development, their portrayal of the relationship between humans and nature and the messages they communicate to child readers.

Join us on this interactive journey to engage with forms of Fairy Tales from texts to toys and to appreciate the enduring power and importance of these various ‘happily ever afters’.
If you have any questions, or favourite versions of either Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood you would like us to incorporate into our exploration of Fairy Tales, please email: [email protected]