“The structure of fairy tales is so much a part of our cultural vernacu­lar that many storytellers are afraid to simply repeat the old patterns. Com­mon knowledge of the structures gives us the freedom to ironize or subvert them (and Terry Pratchett’s Witches Abroad does this very well). We’ve all spent enough time in fairy-land to be genre-savvy.”

Who are those “we”? The children who are hearing the tales for the first time haven’t spent any time in fairy-land, and nowadays quite a lot of grown-ups haven’t spent any time there either. Quite a few children’s books are written ironically because it is assumed first, that children know what is being ironized (did she make up that word?) and second, that they appreciate irony. I noticed this phenomenon when baby boomers came of an age to write children’s books. It is a self-centered attitude meant to show their peers how clever they are rather than to entertain and instruct the children at whom their creations are ostensibly aimed.

When creators of art and literature became “afraid to simply repeat the old patterns,” our culture got lost amid the piles of cleverness and innovation pouring down on us. Come to think of it, educators have long suffered from the same sickness.