Strollerderby

I love fairytales. They're dark and scary, sometimes, but kids often imagine dark and scary things on their own. I'd much rather give my child the real, traditional version of these tales -- most of which are imparting a moral of some sort -- than some sanitized, too-happy version.

We actually read our son the original Grimm's fairy tales...which are a lot darker but more interesting and instructive (and creepy and fun) than the sanitized versions.  I read them when I was a child, and I managed to turn out ok! And untraumatised.

I read the orginal Grimm's fairy tales as well! and I still love them!  

See, I always thought that Little Red Riding was a 'bad influence' because she walked alone in the woods...but I used it as a lesson. And you are totally right, Hillary. Kids imagine MUCH scarier things all on their own.

Babble pretension strikes again!

There’s no such thing as an “original” when it comes to fairytales.  They are collective stories told and passed on and altered by each teller. They aren't owned by anyone and there is no correct version.

I enjoy the Grimm versions but they are not the original ones.  They are simply the versions the Grimm brothers collected and published.  They only represent a small portion of oral folktales from Germany.  They are no more authentic than any other version out there.  Even the Grimms later edited their own collection to accord with certain cultural expectations of the day.  Do you know if you are reading a version from their first publication (which was intended to preserve and distribute local folklore) or one of the later edited versions after editorial changes were made?

Despite what you might think of Disney, foreign, modern or funny versions, all fairytales are a response to our culture.  You can enjoy Grimm’s Little Red Riding Hood (or Cap), Dahl’s hilarious version and the movie Hoodwinked.

Or are you all such purists that you even read the racist and anti-semitic Grimm stories to your children?

...was that honestly necessary, June? you speak of pretension and then troll away. how hypocritical.