1. We’ll Live Happily Ever After: 200 Years and Counting of Grimm Tales

2. Some Elements Common to Fairy Tales 1) The tales are about children. 2) The tales have a strong sense of good and evil. 3) Characters are relatively flat -- often marked with one salient feature. 4) The ending is generally hopeful. 5) While they are unrealistic, they are not untrue. 6) The hero is rewarded, the foe punished. 7) Fairy Tale elements according to Tolkien

3. Some Ways Fairy Tales Contribute to Child Development 1) They appeal to the child’s mind and emotions and address emotional issues but removed in time and place. 2) They give implicit answers to questions of identity without stating them explicitly - child's fantasy applies them to his/her own needs. 3) They give examples of justice - children yearn for this. 4) They give hope that may be fantastical but can still be true. 5) They instruct through life lessons. 6) They provide more than a temporary refuge.

4. Here’s the Grimm ending of Snow White

5. Compared to Disney

6. The Frog Prince - 2012

7. Sources Bruno Bettelheim: The Uses of Enchantment J.R.R. Tolkien: Tree and Leaf G.K. Chesterton: “On Household Gods and Goblins” Nancy K. Jentsch: jentsch@nku.edu