Modern Fantasy (Chapter 6)

Modern fantasy, a favorite genre of text for many children, has roots in folktales, legends, and myths. Though some similarities exist between folktales and modern fantasy such as heroes that go on a dangerous adventure, folklore is "is grounded in cultural belief and shaped by the story teller, whereas modern fantasy is shaped by the author's artistic vision. 

There are two categories of modern fiction:

1. Low Fantasy: Stories take place in the real world but with magical elements that make them   impossible.  Example: Charlotte's Web and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
2. High Fantasy: Concepts and information from the real world are set in a story that is an "other world".  Examples: The Lion, The witch and The Wardrobe and The Lord of the Rings.

Categories in Modern Fiction:

• Animals: Attributes human thoughts, feelings, and language through animals that have human characteristics.
• Toys and Objects: Demonstrates belief in human characteristics children give their playthings.
• Miniature Worlds: Highlights human emotions by displaying them on a minuscule level.
• Time Warps: Focus on central character going through difficult adjustment periods, such as loneliness, alienation, and sensitivity associated with time travel. 
• Unreal Worlds: Setting of the story is in a fantasy land, although the great amount of detail makes the fantasy world believable to the reader.
• Ghost Stories: Stories about ghosts who haunt the real or imaginary world.
• Magic Powers: Characters possess magical objects, know a magical saying, or have magical powers themselves.
• Preposterous Characters/Situations: Characters developed through vivid and descriptive images of dress features, and actions.
• Quest Tales: Borrow magical settings and characters from traditional tales of heroism; a common theme is the victory of good over evil; often becomes a search for an inner enemy rather than an outer enemy.

There are many benefits of using modern fantasy in the classroom. For example, modern fantasy can allow children to think about and address complex philosophical topics that would other wise be difficult to get across. In the book Charlotte's Web children read about fear of death, friendship, selfishness, sacrifice, and death. Although the book is clearly not real because it includes personified animals, but the way the author explains death can allow a child to contemplate the sad subject.

Good modern fantasy creates an engaging and believable story, no matter what the setting. Though the reader may understand that the situations in the book are not feasible, they are able to remove themselves from the "real world" and enter the fantasy world of the story. In the fantasy world, the action and story must be believable. 

As a future teacher, including modern fantasy in my curriculum is important to me because children enjoy reading it and develop a passion for it. Naysayers deny the value of reading modern fantasy because they view it as make-believe and of little substance. However, upon reading about modern fantasy I can clearly say that is not true. The genre allows students to question the world around them and their own personal values. In the classroom teachers can use modern fantasy for reading aloud, clarifying the differences among different genres, discussing motifs, and learning about characterization, setting, and plot. Modern fantasy books are also great for teaching children to visualize what they are reading, since it is many times not something they have ever seen before.