Folktales are timeless and universal. Folktales include fairy tales, fables, and many varieties of human archetypes — the wise fool or the clever rogue, the greedy, the cowardly, and the plucky. From culture to culture, all the trials and tribulations of very fallible human beings are passed down from generation to generation through folktales and folk music. There are traditional characters, often animals, who are perpetual winners and losers, sometimes too clever for their own good. There are predictable plots that usually have clear sympathies and morals, whereby justice eventually prevails.

Why are folktales and fairy tales so compelling and important to children? They appeal to their curiosity about the world and how to handle life’s many struggles. As child development expert Bruno Bettelheim wrote in The Uses of Enchantment, these tales “take a child’s anxieties and dilemmas very seriously and addresses itself directly to them. Further, the fairy tale offers solutions in ways that the child can grasp on his level of understanding.”

Folktales beg to be read aloud and repeatedly. They raise questions and promote discussion. Those with recurring characters, like Goha, Brer Rabbit, or Strega Nona, become old friends. Folk songs like “It Ain't Gonna Rain No More,” the inspiration for the children’s book I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!, pass on the joy and silliness of life.

When we read folktales and sing folk songs, we connect our children to centuries of humankind and the ageless struggles of the human experience. We are all folk!

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