The impact of scary illustrations in children books

It's exciting to see how frightening some illustrations in children books can be. Normally, parents read picture books to their children before they go to bed. So, that they become calm and tired. But what happens to them if parents read them scary children books?

Some of the illustrations are horrible

Just to remind you of some of the Struwwelpeter's illustrations which I found in the Special Collections of the Milner Library, I will put them along this article. It's about cutting thumbs, killing animals, getting doused by hot soup, being drowned and getting shot by a rabbit. (To read more about the Struwwelpeter in general see our previous blogpost or the Struwwelpeter site of the New York Public Library.

It's not for morality's sake

Some authors write that the stories of the Struwwelpeter "play upon some of the worst fears which can torment a child". For example, Freeman critizises that some of the stories tell that children don't have to behave in a right way for morality's sake. It is just about behaving to improve one's own situation, Freeman says - that it doesn't backfire on oneself.

But it is about justice

Other authors (like Dyhrenfurth or Wiegand) have a different opinion about the Struwwelpeter. They say that the stories help children to satisfy their need for justice. It is more or less "harmless satire", "comic epic poetry", but still "well-intentioned".

The picture books do not have the biggest impact on the child's behavior

All in all, researchers found out that misbehavior of children grounds on what they experience at home. If they live in an aggressive environment, it is likely that they also become aggressive. So, picture books might not have a huge impact, even if they are as cruel as the Struwwelpeter. But Freeman states that books could reinforce existing anxieties and aggressions.

It depends on the child's situation

I would agree on this opinion. I had a lovely childhood, so I probably read the book with a kind of amusement. It was satire and exaggeration, not reality. But if a child always fears that these consequences could happen to him or her, I can imagine that the book can have a negative, scary impact. To summarize, I would propose that depending on the child's situation, the Struwwelpeter can be a wonderful picture book, but it can also be too scary. For this reason, it should not be a required reading for every child, for example in kindergarten or primary school.


Source: Freeman, Thomas (1977): Heinrich Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter: An inquiry into the effects of violence in children's literature, in: The Journal of Popular Culture, pp. 808-820.