From Pinocchio to The Chronicles of Narnia to Charlotte's Web, classic children's tales have shaped generations of young people. In recent years, homeschoolers and new classical schools have put these masterpieces of children's literature at the center of their curricula. And these stories continue to be embraced by parents, students, and educators alike. In Tending the Heart of Virtue, Vigen Guroian illuminates the
power of classic tales and their impact on the moral imagination. He demonstrates how these stories teach the virtues through vivid depictions of the struggle between good and evil, while he also unveils components of the good,
the true, and the beautiful in plot and character. With clarity and elegance, Guroian reads deeply into the classic stories. He demonstrates how these stories challenge and enliven the moral imaginations of children. And he shows the reader how to get "inside" of classic stories and communicate their lessons to the child. For more than two decades Tending the Heart of Virtue has been embraced by parents, guardians, and teachers for whom the stories it discusses
are not only beloved classics but repositories of moral wisdom. This revised and expanded second edition includes three new chapters in which Guroian interprets such stories as Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly
Duckling, the Grimms' Cinderella, and John Ruskin's The King of the Golden River. The concluding bibliographical essay has also been expanded.
From Pinocchio to The Chronicles of Narnia to Charlotte's Web, classic children's tales have shaped generations of young people. In recent years, homeschoolers and new classical schools have put these masterpieces of children's literature at the center of their curricula. And these stories continue to be embraced by parents, students, and educators alike. In Tending the Heart of Virtue, Vigen Guroian illuminates the
power of classic tales and their impact on the moral imagination. He demonstrates how these stories teach the virtues through vivid depictions of the struggle between good and evil, while he also unveils components of the good,
the true, and the beautiful in plot and character. With clarity and elegance, Guroian reads deeply into the classic stories. He demonstrates how these stories challenge and enliven the moral imaginations of children. And he shows the reader how to get "inside" of classic stories and communicate their lessons to the child. For more than two decades Tending the Heart of Virtue has been embraced by parents, guardians, and teachers for whom the stories it discusses
are not only beloved classics but repositories of moral wisdom. This revised and expanded second edition includes three new chapters in which Guroian interprets such stories as Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly
Duckling, the Grimms' Cinderella, and John Ruskin's The King of the Golden River. The concluding bibliographical essay has also been expanded.
Acknowledgments
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
1 Awakening the Moral Imagination
2 On Becoming a Real Human Child: Pinocchio
3 Love and Immortality in The Velveteen Rabbit and The Little
Mermaid
4 Friends and Mentors in The Wind in the Willows, Charlottes Web,
and Bambi
5 Evil and Redemption in The Snow Queen and The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe
6 Heroines of Faith and Courage: Princess Irene in The Princess and
the Goblin and Lucy in Prince Caspian
7 The Triumph of Beauty in The Nightingale and The Ugly
Duckling
8 The Goodness of Goodness: The Grimms' Cinderella and John
Ruskin's The King of the Golden River
9 Obedience and the Path to Perfection in George MacDonald's The
Wise Woman: A Double Story
Conclusion: A Bibliographical Essay
Notes
Index
Until his retirement in 2015, Vigen Guroian was Professor of
Religious Studies in Orthodox Christianity at the University of
Virginia. He is now a Permanent Senior Fellow of the Russell Kirk
Center for Cultural Renewal, Senior Fellow at the Center on Law and
Religion at Emory University, Distinguished Fellow of the John Jay
Institute, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum. He also is on
the faculty of Memoria College online and is the author of
ten books including The Orthodox Reality: Culture, Theology, and
Ethics in the Modern World.
We need this book because we need children's books, but we have
forgotten how to read them. Guroian writes for humbled giants who
want to understand how stories develop the virtues and nurture the
souls of children—and their parents
*Andrew Kern, President, CiRCE Institute*
It's hard not to treasure this book. Guroian conveys profound moral
and spiritual truths with impressive scholarship and startling
insight in prose as pure and lovely as a child's tale.
*David V. Hicks, author of The Emperor's Handbook*
Not only is this book a delight to read, it will also help
educators and parents navigate the principles that make reading the
classic stories to children so vital to their development. This is
a must-read for religious or secular educators and parents.
*Carroll Smith, Founder, Charlotte Mason Institute*
Tending the Heart of Virtue...promises the surest fruits for
Christian teachers and parents, although his focus on mythopoeic
writers (including C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald) and the moral
imagination will draw a larger audience.
*Sarah O'Dell, Mythopoeic Society*
Guroian's book remains a must-read for those interested in
children's literature.
*Choice*
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