If you are a teacher, parent, or friend of the Waldorf school movement and would
like to know why the role of the fairy tale is so important in the earliest years of
Waldorf School, please consider opening this book. Within you will discover the
wisdom that lies behind the imagery, symbolism, and events woven into classic
fairy tales, as well as the relationship between the history of story and of visual
art, and how together they reveal volumes about human consciousness and the
Spiritual mission of humankind.

Gold explains the great importance of these pictures being brought and shared
with the souls of the little folk in particular, who live in the world of imagination
and how the stories “offer the seeds of guidance for balanced growth and well
being.” We are also invited to take a closer look into the world of the small child
through a study of their drawings, and how, like fairy tales, they create images
rich with metaphor. We can see in these pictures how the child incarnates and
develops, and are invited to witness the world of cosmic consciousness, the
source from where the fairy tale originates.

If you have wondered how there can be meaning in such simple stories, or
whether stories with such scary characters are really appropriate for children
- or why there seems to be a growing fascination in Hollywood and popular
culture with fairy tales these days – this book will surely guide you to the
wisest answers.

“This is an extraordinary book: it weaves together fairy tales,
children’s drawings, and the history of art with the deepest
questions of spiritual development of man and mankind.”
-Thomas H. Meyer