Fairy Tales

FAIRY TALES AND SCIENCE: Potions, Flying Carpets, and How to Fake a Fairy

	From Live Science, The Science of Fairy Tales is a reader-friendly look at the science of Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid, and 1001 Arabian Nights. Could the prince have climbed a rope of Rapunzel’s hair? How would a scientist silence a mermaid? And can a carpet fly?
	Physics and fairytales? See The Faulty Thermodynamics of Children’s Stories for a scientist’s take on the temperature of the Three Bears’ bowls of porridge and Spinning Gold for a physicist’s suggestions on just how a science-minded Rumpelstiltskin might have done it.
	The Chemical Wizardry of J.K. Rowling from the Journal of Chemical Educationis a detailed look at the chemistry behind such fairy-tale features as colored fires, magical inks, and transformations.
	Mary Losure’s The Fairy Ring, Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World (Candlewick, 2012), which takes place in England during World War I, is the (true) story of the Cottingley Fairy Photos, devised by two young girls who used photography to fool (among many others) Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. For ages 10 and up.
	FairyTale: A True Story (1997) is a film version of the story of the Cottingley fairies, with Harvey Keitel as Houdini and Peter O’Toole as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Rated PG.
	Discover the science behind fairy rings – it has to do with the way mushrooms grow.

ABOUT FAIRY TALES: For Older Readers

	Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim in The Uses of Enchantment (Vintage, 2010) explains how fairy tales allow kids to deal with emotional dilemmas in their inner lives. This means don’t soften it up; the bad stuff has to happen. For older teenagers and adults.
	Psychologist Sheldon Cashdan’s The Witch Must Die: The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales (Basic Books, 2000) points out that fairy tales were not meant originally as children’s entertainment and analyzes familiar classics as they relate to the seven deadly sins. For older teenagers and adults.
	Jack Zipes’s The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre (Princeton University Press, 2012) is a 250-page account of the origin, evolution, and uses of fairy tales, with many fascinating examples.
	By Joan Acocella, Once Upon a Time from the July 23, 2012 issue of The New Yorker magazine is a fascinating history of fairy tales and fairy tale scholarship.
	J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay On Fairy-Stories defines “fairy tale,” and discusses the origins and value of fairy tales and fantasy for children and adults.
	See The Journal of the Mythic Arts for an archive of informative articles on a wide range of fairy-tale topics.