A noted psychologist shows how fairy tales are a powerful aid to growing up, banishing fears, resolving conflicts, and conquering the darkness that dwells within us "A dazzling tour de force for anyone interested in the inner world of children and parents."

-Henry Biller, author of The Father Factor In The Witch Must Die, Sheldon Cashdan explores how fairy tales help children deal with psychological conflicts by projecting their own internal struggles between good and evil onto the battles enacted by the characters in the stories. Not since Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment has the underlying significance of fantasy and fairy tales been so insightfully and entertainingly mined.