Hanah Ehrenreich makes a powerful argument for why children should not be shielded from dark or difficult stories. Using the original Cinderella — where the stepsisters cut off their own toes to fit the glass slipper — as an example, she explains that high-stakes stories invite children to think critically, question decisions, and process complex emotions like anger, jealousy, and grief. The result is not just a love of reading, but the development of critical reasoning skills that every adult still needs.
