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Just like the article mentioned, he has become almost synonymous with fairy tales associated with stories for kids, but for anyone who has ever read from a coll
by Systemic33 1y ago
Just like the article mentioned, he has become almost synonymous with fairy tales associated with stories for kids, but for anyone who has ever read from a collection of his stories, a majority of them are most certainly not appropriate for kids. Some of them are incredibly sad, and as another comment says, the fate of the characters often can change for the worse in the last paragraphs, when you least expect it.
I can only recommend reading his works, they are deeply profound.
- dr-detroit 1y ago[dead]
- mbustamanter 1y agoI read The Steadfast Tin Soldier for the first time when I was a kid but it didn't have a special meaning for me until my late teens, when I first fell in love.
- secondcoming 1y agoA story having a tragic twist doesn’t automatically make it inappropriate for kids.
- fifticon 1y agoI wonder what dr detroit did wrong to be bombed into oblivion; he is not fully wrong. As an example, the HCA story 'tinderbox' is clearly built from earlier borrowed cloth. As a dane myself, it is apparent that HCA didn't even have a danish term for the demon dogs, so he just calls them 'dogs' to avoid issues with his audience.
- xxs 1y ago> a majority of them are most certainly not appropriate for kid I did enjoy them as kid - as sad as they were. Many years after I can't think of a reason to consider them: "most certainly not appropriate". That's being overprotective. In the light of the current events - they should introduce an age check verification to readers, right?
- loughnane 1y agoI agree with you that OP is being overprotective, but its natural that we all draw slightly different lines about what's appropriate when. FWIW, when (spoiler alerts) the little girl gets her feet cut off in red shoes my 8 and 10 year olds were shocked at the turn events, but hardly shaken. Likewise when the little match girl died in the cold they were sad, but not permanently so. It's the same deal with grimm fairy tales, or even pinocchio (pinocchio gets hanged).
- xxs 1y ago>grimm fairy tales Indeed, Max and Moritz ending up in the meat grinder (literally). Also reminds me of 'little riding red hood' originally lacks a happy ending at any rate. (As for age, I think I was 6-7 when I first read Han C. Andersen)
- FridayoLeary 1y agoThose are absolutely horrific endings. They would have given me nightmares as a kid. I guess if your kids can handle it then great there's no need to coat them in bubble wrap.
- MangoToupe 1y ago> They would have given me nightmares as a kid. This is not always the easiest thing to guess. The things that gave me nightmares were people looking at me through mirrors (i.e., Snow White), animal brutality (which featured prominently in 90s family movies), and adoption (i.e. getting adopted into the "wrong", abusive family). Meanwhile I ingested astonishingly violent material and slept like a baby. I think it's hard to figure out what kids will identify as fantasy and what they'll see as a real, yet-unknown risk.
- MrDresden 1y ago> for anyone who has ever read from a collection of his stories, a majority of them are most certainly not appropriate for kids. That really depends on the culture you are coming from. There is a deep divide between how European and USA culture views what is appropriate material for children. Being from the nordics, H.C.A's whole collection was part of mine and every friends childhood, from as early as kindergarten, and I vividly remember feeling deep sadness and empathy towards some of his characters at an early age.
- vintermann 1y agoNever mind the kids, "Story of a mother" is very much "adult fear".