Ellen Weinstein  Ellen Weinstein (Ellen Weinstein / June 9,
2009)  Enchanted Hunters  The Power of Stories in Childhood
Maria Tatar  View/Submit Comments for this story  W.W. Norton:
296 pp., $26.95  "Enchanted Hunters" is a well-intended book,
but I'm not certain for whom it was intended (though it might do
some real good in an education curriculum). Its argument is, I
think, inept and often unclear, but it's at least lively, in
contrast to the gray hash, the mud porridge most writers of
education texts make of thought and language.  Maria Tatar's
discussions of themes such as magic and horror are well
illustrated by examples and quotes from other theorists, and her
analysis of beauty in children's books -- emphasizing color,
brilliance and radiance -- is interesting. Strangely, however,
she seems to expect our expectations to be so low that we'll be
surprised to find literary power in kiddie lit. Discussing human
"fear and fascination with mortality," she writes: "And,
unlikely as it seems, the authors of