Once upon a time, a doting mother asked Albert Einstein what she should read to her son to help him grow up as brilliant and intelligent as the famous scientist. "Fairy-tales," he said, wisely nodding his head. Why? Why would Albert Einstein -- the Nobel Prizes winning physicist recommend reading fairy-tales? Was he joking? All the evidence suggests he was deadly serious. He also said, "When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking." Childhood is one of the factors that blur   the distinctions between the self and other objects. Thus fantasy stories appeal to children and appear to make sense to them.  There are several commonly accepted genres   of fantasy, "Animal Fantasy" which centers around the lives of lovable talking animals and "Modern Fantasy" which focuses on adventures in other worlds and magical events. I am inclined to add a third genre "Human and Animal Fantasy", which mixes human and animal characters. Another genre of fantasy may be "High Fantasy" which features heroes who combat evil and save the world from destruction.  Fantasy feeds a child's imagination and encourages creativity. The enjoyment that the genre engenders   promotes reading and enhances literacy. Moreover, the fantasy genre may be used for teaching purposes. For example: A story about cruelty to animals would limit appeal to a child; however a fantasy celebration of closeness between the children and their pets may give an element of excitement as the children are able to save animals from someone with cruel intentions.  Children love the Harry Potter series, and if they only see the movies they miss a great opportunity to develop their reading skills by spending time with the lovable young wizards and witches  of the Hogwarts community. A student who likes reading about heroes will probably read   _  .
Animal Fantasy Modern Fantasy Human and Animal Fantasy High Fantasy