Locke and Children's Literature

Who would have thought that children's literature was designed as an educational tool?  That it was intended as a means of creating well rounded, God fearing, polite, and well mannered children; with the hope of them becoming functioning adults?  Children's literature was actually developed in response to the need of an educational system.  This explains why fairy tales contain life lessons and morals.  John Locke was one of the main people who founded children's education and literature.  He used common sense when writing for children, his goal was to not only make them literate, but to also teach them to succeed and be better people.  It seemed that every children's book reinforced the ten commandments, even the alphabet books.  Early children's books were some what intense and focused on the ABC's and rhyming.  This promoted literacy, developed sentence structure, and interestingly forwarded the Puritan movement.  Some of the early works were The House that Jack Built and The Burial of Cock Robin.  I remember reading these myself as a child and even discussing The House that Jack Built in my syntax class over the summer.  The early forms of lesson books were known as horn-books and battledore.  Chapbooks were small cheap books that preserved fairy tales and were popular because of their price.  The book Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1659) reminded me of an early college textbook.  This book was suppose to be for small children and teach them how to read.  What I found interesting was that when a student learned to read they didn't have to attend school anymore.  Although this is probably redundant, if pupils stayed in school till, say 8 years old, and became literate; does that mean at 8 years old that child was considered an adult?  What I found most interesting about the chapters in Lerer was that Winnie the Pooh and Where the Wild Things Are were based off of Robinson Crusue, I had never known that.       

Fairy Tales

          Fairy tales are a part of every culture.  People from all walks of life have heard some version of the informational tales and Disney has profited greatly from them, while altering the meaning of the tales.  In "Perrault's Stories or Tales from Times Past, with Morals (1697)," Sleeping Beauty and her children are almost devoured by the Prince's mother, who is part ogre.  Disney has left this out of their version of the tale.  "Puss in Boots," is the standard story of a cat that benefits it's owner.  Ironically, no one seems to mind that the cat in this story has on a pair of boots and has the ability to speak to humans.  
          "Blue Beard," was a puzzling, gruesome fairy tale.  It involves an older, strange man that seduces, and ends up marrying his young neighbor.  While her husband is away on business, the young wife is given full run of the house.  He husband gives her only one warning, don't enter the small closet.  As curiosity has killed the cat, the young wife unlocks the closet door, finds all her husband's dead former wives, she then notices that the key is magical and stained with blood.  These fairy tales all involve some form of magic and control/power struggle.  Blue Beard murdered his former wives because, they disobeyed him.  This tale ends with Blue Beard being murdered by his current wife's brothers, as he is attempting to kill her.  This fairy tale has no real moral.  The disobedient wife lives, while the disobeyed husband is murdered.  There is a slight  lesson in karma toward the husband.
          Most interesting are the difference variations of "Little Red Riding Hood."  The Grimm version is the one closest to the American version, although every tale has a different ending.  The Italian version has the harshest ending of all.  An ogre plays the part of the wolf and savagely eats Red Riding Hood.  "Little Thumb," is similar to "Hansel and Grettle."  The only difference is that Little Thumb and his brothers return to their parents every time they are abandoned in the woods.  This brings up the question: Why? How do you return to and take care of people that don't want you?