Maria Tartar's _Off With Their Heads_ is a brillilant analysis of European folklore and fairytales, showing not only the surreptitious way in which familar stories were "sanitized" for publication by notable folklorists such as the Grimms, but also the way in which the messages of the stories subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) were manipulated to become cautionary tales and to frighten children into behaving as adults want them to.
As D.Blankenship points out, much of Tartar's analysis is through a feminist lens; this makes sense, as many of the stories examined have female protagonists (from Rapunzel to Cinderella to the lesser-known "Mother Holle.") The gist being that girls are taught from a young age (old enough to listen and understand children's stories) that (1) beauty wins over ugliness, (2) minding your parents - especially your father - is rewarded, and (3) not minding your parents typically results in a horrible punishment disproportionate to the act. Later chapters are analyzed with a more psych-analytical lens, but with similar conclusions regarding wish-fulfillment and child-parent relations.
What struck me most powerfully was the way in which folktales, which were originally very scatalogical and "earthy" were modified and re-written to become not only cautionary tales, but also tales to "improve the moral standing" of children. That particular emphasis was put on breaking the spirit of the child - the earlier the better - in order to make them malleable and manageable I found particularly interesting (and appalling.) Given the early stages of industrialization when many of these tales were put to print, this makes sense. Tartar doesn't go far enough, I think, in drawing the parallel that these ideas remain in some parenting books and in the way in which some children are instructed even today.
A fascinating read, and one which I strongly recommend, particularly to those who have children or teach.
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