NO MORE FAIRY TALES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 862, 4 January 1930, Page 11

NO MORE FAIRY TALES

U.S. CHILDREN MUST HAVE FACTS “MAWKISH SENTIMENT” The three little pigs who went to market, Uncle Wiggly’s talking rabbits and the three garrulous bears, are being drastically revised to make them conform to modern theories of child psychology in a new programme under way at Teachers College, Columbia University, U.S.A., says the “New York Times.” Miss Alice Dalgliesh, one of the leaders in the movement, explained the reasons for bringing all the old fairy tales up to date. In place of the traditional bedtime stories in which birds, animals and flowers talk like humans, Miss Dalgleish explained, child experts are preparing tales designed to give young children significant experiences which will last them through life. All the mawkish sentiment and frequently poor English of the old stories must also go, she said. Herodotus, Shakespeare, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Nathalia Crane figure prominently in the additional literature now being prescribed for children. The new' literary diet, combining classic authors with educational stories, was exhibited at Teachers College in hundreds of volumes illustrating the ■ new trend in child literature.

Among the advanced fairy stories which infants will be encouraged to read next year is the story of little Peter and his horse Trott Trott. Peter, the tale goes, was very happy with Trott Trott and the two friends had good times together. But the little boy often regretted his inability to lift his horse. Many times he stopped to try his prowess, but though he tugged and tugged, Trott Trott would not be budged.

At last, the tale continues, Peter went to his mother and confided his problem to her. She advised him to •Jat lots of cereal so that he might grow big and strong and fulfill his d,esire. The story adds that Peter “ate and ate and ate,” and that at last he had eaten so much that he succeeded in lifting Trott Trott high over his head.

Another story discloses the trials of a scraggly kitten that envied its playmates because they were so sleek and plump. The kitten finally finds happiness in the story by drinking plenty of milk every day. The old alphabet books have also been revised to conform to the new standards. Instead of standing for “apple pie” or “acorn,” “A” now stands for adding machine, axle and similar practical objects, which are carefully defined and their uses explained.

Most typical of the new trend, it was pointed out, is the story of

junior's pyjamas. Instead of having the pyjamas walk off by themselves or fly about the room as in the old stories, this tale opens with a description of coloured men picking cotton on the plantations and mentions in turn all the necessary operations before the cotton becomes junior's new pyjamas.

The new literature of childhood, it was also pointed out, places particular emphasis on the achievements of heroes of aviation, like Lindbergh and Byrd. There is one elementary picture hook of flying, aud maps explaining in detail the ground covered by Colonel Lindbergh in his South American flight. Miss Marie Duggan of the Bureau of Education Service at Teachers College explained the evils of the old fairyland that modern educators are attempting to abolish. "We must do away with the sentimental in child literature,” she said. “We must remove from the nursery aud the kindergarten those utterly ridiculous fairy tales iu which auimais and birds are endowed with human qualities and talk like human beings. A child's reading must be regulated in the same way as his diet. Just as a child is conditioned at an earlv age to eat spinach aud turnips and similar foods at which he might later balk, so he should be conditioned to appreciate good books, even though he may not realise until much later just how good his books are aud why they are good. “A child’s very early reading forms one of the most significant of the experiences which later go toward defining his attitude toward the world. It is an even more vivid experience for him than walking in the street or through the park. Does it seem logical to implant in him through the books lie reads sentimental mythologies which he will have difficulty in forgetting when he enters grammar school?

“The children who read about the three funny little pigs are often those who graduate into a reading class that sets its literary standards by Zane Grey and Henty. It is just as easy and infinitely more reasonable to tell children stories of the living, breathing life about them. We have found here that such stories not only give them valuable experiences and add to their stock of essential knowledge, but that they really interest the children just as much as the others.”