Fairy tales and fantasy stories transport the reader into other worlds that are fresh with wonder, surprise, and danger. They challenge the reader to make sense out of those other worlds, to navigate his or her way through them, and to imagine oneself in the place of the heroes and heroines who populate those worlds. The safety and assurance of these imaginative adventures is that risks may be taken without having to endure all of the consequences of failure; the joy is in discovering how these risky adventures might eventuate in satisfactory and happy outcomes. Yet the concept of self is also
...more
