Harry Potter vs. Huckleberry Finn: Why the British Tell Better Children’s Stories Than Americans - The Atlantic

It all goes back to each country's distinct cultural heritage. For one, the British have always been in touch with their pagan folklore, says Maria Tatar, a Harvard professor of children%u2019s literature and folklore. After all, the country's very origin story is about a young king tutored by a wizard. Legends have always been embraced as history, from Merlin to Macbeth. "Even as Brits were digging into these enchanted worlds, Americans, much more pragmatic, always viewed their soil as something to exploit," says Tatar. Americans are defined by a Protestant work ethic that can still be heard in stories like Pollyanna or The Little Engine That Could. Americans write fantasies too, but nothing like the British, says Jerry Griswold, a San Diego State University emeritus professor of children's literature. "American stories are rooted in realism; even our fantasies are rooted in realism," he said, pointing to Dorothy who unmasks the great and powerful Wizard of Oz as a charlatan.