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The Cautionary Tales for Children contains stories of 11 different children. The stories have a similar theme in that the actions of the children produce extreme effects which are undesirable and even terrifying. The tales were written a while ago so some of them are embedded in modern folklore.. In my view, the Cautionary Tales for Children challenge my ideas about children’s literature. Children’s literature is characterized by a couple of elements. Stories are usually simple and straightforward but still maintaining some senses of intrigue. The main character of such stories is always a child with the story basically expressing the worldview of a child. Children stories are also optimistic with a “happily ever after” ending common. The feature of contrast extremes is also common for example the good and the bad. Based on this, I analyze the tales in the book to determine their suitability to my notion of what children’s literature should look like. The tales which I find challenging to my belief are Jim, Henry King, Matilda, and Franklin Hyde. The tales mentioned have a sadistic feel to them. The actions of the children, which are often negative, are paid back with disastrous outcomes. The disastrous outcomes include being eaten by a lion alive, and burning to death in a house. The sadistic approach taken doesn’t reflect as appropriate to children’s appropriate. It is more of negative reinforcement which might not actually work with children.

The introduction to Cautionary Tales for Children is a poem by the author. Hilaire Belloc converses with the book’s reader. The question raised by Belloc is one that the reader would raise too whether the tales are actually true. Belloc affirms that they are not true and that is important since it enables them to achieve their function. According to him, if they were true we would all be dead. The tales generally feature bad deeds, mostly death, being the end result. As such, the results in a non- fictional world would be disastrous. The introduction definitely affects my perspective of the book. With the introduction, I can view the tales as moral teachings rather than sadistic insights from a full- grown man which can be quite disturbing. It also gives an insight into the attitude towards children and childhood at the time. It is a period when childhood is glorified in British literature. Children are viewed as sacred, without blemish. This is a period before the outbreak of war when childhood was tarnished by the adult world.

Stories in the Cautionary Tales for Children include morals, though some are so nonsensical that they lose their purpose. It is, however, important to appreciate the various morals passed on by Belloc in the tales. Matilda teaches against telling lies, Franklin Hype teaches against playing in mud while encouraging playing in the sand, Godolphin Horne, on the other hand, teaches the importance of good manners and respect towards elders. Morals are an important component of any society. Morals are part of the development and are important in ensuring that kids lead ethical lives in future. By learning morals, they can maintain and even enhance their purity and sincerity.