Even more of an enigma is some of the students are reading picture books and seem to be quite fascinated. The answer is quite simple. Fairy tales are stories filled with wonder. They have been passed from one generation to the next for centuries. They can further be classified by identifying common elements or characteristics.
Characters represent good and evil or beauty and ugliness.
Heroes claim prizes, and villains vanish forever or are killed. Princes have been turned into frogs. Young girls have gone from rags to riches with the wave of a wand. A princess' kiss breaks an evil spell, or children suddenly inherit magical powers. There are a variety of approaches for using fairy tales in the classroom.