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Children's stories are no longer seen as simply frivolous tales meant to amuse the younger generation. At a recent conference at the Open University on the topic "Children's Literature: from the Brothers Grimm to Harry Potter," lecturers discussed aspects ranging from how Arab-Jewish hostilities are expressed in children's literature to the development of Disney films based on children's stories. Their research illustrates how literature aimed at children has changed over the years

from the time of the Brothers Grimm to modern times, how in some ways it remains the same and how seriously the discipline is taken today.

According to Dr. Rima Shikhmanter of the Open University, who organized the conference, "Children's literature is now considered a legitimate academic field all over the world, including in Israel. This conference was a result of the growing interest in the subject."

One group of books which has certainly contributed to an interest in children's literature is the Harry Potter series. Dr. Nurit Buchweitz, head of the Literature Department at Beit Berl College, examined the Harry Potter phenomenon, in order to define some of the factors which have contributed to its success.

Among the original features of J.K. Rowling's books are the

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Has children's literature improved since the time of the Brothers Grimm? In spite of the many adaptations of these classic tales over the years, it is hard to say that it has. From the Brothers Grimm to Disney and Harry Potter, the world of children's literature is one of exceptional creative fantasy, alongside the distinct constraints of successful commercial products.

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animated adaptations of books towards original screenplays.

According to Dr. Hanna Livnat, head of the Yemima Center for Children's Literature at Beit Berl College, one reason that children may be less attracted to some children's books currently on the market may be because their quality is simply not the same as that of classic children's stories, such as those written by the Brothers Grimm.

Comparing the Grimm's version of Cinderella to Four Roses, a modern version written by superstar Madonna which has been translated into Hebrew, illustrates how shallow many such contemporary books are.

"In Madonna's version, the story line lacks sense and literary quality, the drawings are stereotypical and the message didactic," says Dr. Livnat. "Unlike the traditional fairy tale, this version spoon-feeds children. By contrast, the Grimm fairy tale is challenging and complex. It provides the reader with a cognitive and emotional challenge. There are many contemporary books, however, that do offer a rich intertextual literary experience. One example is Laila Beli Yereach (A Moonless Night) by Shira Gefen and Etgar Keret, which recalls the classic Hebrew work VaYehi Erev (And the Evening Was) by Fania Bergstein; another is Miligram by Nurit Zarchi, which recalls Morris Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.The Harry Potter books also have echoes of earlier classic tales, such as The Ugly Ducking, Cinderella and the King Arthur legend.

"In brief," Dr. Livnat notes, "it is important to expose young people to the best literature rather than to texts that are banal, clichéd and didactic, so that they will learn to love reading."

ways they change traditional modes of depiction: "Children's series are generally conservative in terms of the way they depict the relationship of parents and children; in general, parents are the ones who know better. In J.K. Rowling's books, however, there is a very distinctive satiric element. Grown-ups can't see any further than banal reality.

"Rowling uses fantasy as her essential literary mode, but here, too, she rewrites it. Usually, fantasy is depicted in a genre called two-world fantasy, in which the bulk of the novel is set in a fantasy land, but the novel begins in our reality. Alice in Wonderland, set in Oxford, and The Wizard of Oz, in Kansas, are examples. Rowling, on the other hand, seemingly writes a two-world fantasy, but actually, her worlds collide and become one. The "real" people, the Muggles, for example are blind to magic and won't see it, even when it is under their noses. At the train station, ordinary people see platforms 9 and 10, but only wizards see platform 9 3/4. Magic is depicted in realistic terms.

"Part of the virtuosity of J.K. Rowling, who has created this incredible phenomenon, is thus rooted in her poetics," Dr. Buchweitz said.

Dr. Rachel Weissbrod of Bar Ilan University, speaking on "From Story to Picture: Disney Films and their Literary Sources," pointed out that most Disney animated versions of classic children's literary works are very different from the original source book. In many cases, such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, the animated versions bear little relationship at all to the original. They have been transformed in order to turn them into a successful commercial product.

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What are the values that Disney films impart and advance? According to Dr. Weissbrod, "For the most part, they reflect a conservative world view in terms of social order, acceptance of the ethnic "other," and the image of women. They are not avant guarde, but reflect the spirit of their times. Even so-called feminist heroines, such as Belle in the Disney version of "Beauty and the Beast" may be intelligent, but in the end, what they want is a husband." The classic Disney films that date from the 1930s are a reflection of their times, and, as such, could not continue forever. Eventually, they became parodied in films such as "Roger Rabbit" and Disney turned away from

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In many countries, the level of children's magazines is not much above comic books in terms of serious content. This is certainly not true in Israel, where according to research conducted by Dr. Rima Shikhmanter, Hebrew children's magazines in the 1950s were an important, influential institution within Israeli culture. Dr. Shikhmanter studied three of the most popular magazines, which were central to the culture of the time: Davar Leyeladim, which was published by the Mapai party, Mishmar Leyeladim, which had the socialist, pro-Soviet orientation ofthe Mapam party, and Haaretz Shelanu, a liberal, non-political, middle-class publication. "These magazines reflected the world of adults and culture that interested children; a world view that disappeared with time," she said. "They were a platform for literary texts and they were much more political than magazines today. In the 1950s, children were involved in politics and assumed to be interested in serious issues such as aliya,

poverty and security. Ideology was not avoided and the magazines encouraged them in supporting Zionist values of the new state."

According to Dr. Shikhmanter, magazines differ from books in that they can respond to recent events in a timely manner, while at the same time remaining sensitive to changes in public opinion and the needs and tastes of their readership. They create an ongoing connection between their writers and the children and among the children themselves, and thus, unlike books, have the potential to create a community of readers.

The 1950s marked a transformation in Israeli culture, she notes. A major change was the shift from communal values to those of a more liberal-individualist character. In parallel, change began to be felt in children's cultural perceptions and in the assumptions regarding the extent of politicization of the child's world. Children's magazines attempted to bridge the growing gap between the educational, ideological and political interests of adults regarding the world of the child and the desire to give

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Dr. Yael Darr, who teaches at Tel Aviv University and Sapir Academic College, is a specialist in children's Hebrew literature during the pre-State era and in the early decades of Israeli statehood. In her lecture "No War Here? The Jewish-Arab Quarrel in Israeli Children's Literature," she raised the question of why Israeli children's literature today barely mentions the

subject of the Arab-Israeli (or Jewish-Palestinian) dispute.

Until the Six Day War and beyond, she notes, much children's literature referred to the Arab enemy, but after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, this changed. There was a sense of unease with the ideological position that we were "right" and that was reflected

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legitimacy to the needs, tastes and preferences of the children themselves.

"The children's magazines of the 1950s played a dual role and served different functions for two different audiences, children and adults. For the adult, they imparted knowledge and values to the children, they were tools that offered ideological and political attachment and they were a means of achieving cultural standardization. For the child, the magazine served as a group to which the child belonged - a community of readers. It was a platform from which the young reader could express an opinion, involve other children in his experience and obtain a glimpse into the lives and world of other children-readers. It answered children's social and emotional needs and was, for them, a friend."

In spite of the indoctrination aspect of these magazines, Dr. Shikhmanter notes that the adults of today who grew up with them tend to remember their cultural and informational aspects rather than the ideological ones. In spite of the price paid for ideology, their memories tend to be positive ones.

Children's Magazines in Israel:

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in children's literature too. Today, we prefer to tell our children stories which do not have Arabs or disputes about borders or reference to the Intifada in them. Perhaps, said Dr. Darr, that may be because we are not sure enough of the justice of our position. The subject is too difficult, too painful and not black and white enough to explain to children.