ABSTRACT
While the formal elements of the plot and characterization of these texts closely resemble those of folk fairy tales, the style of narration does not. The Wizard of Oz is distinctly more of a children's novel, much longer and more elaborated with narrative details (such as the various colors that Baum assigns to the different regions of Oz) than the traditional fairy tale. The Cat in the Hat is a poem; the story is told in rhymed and metered verse. While traditional fairy tales do frequently include rhymes, they are never presented exclusively in poetic form. And Where the Wild Things Are is shorter than a traditional tale (it is only nine sentences long) and is told in an elliptical form that approaches poetry as well. Thus, in style all three texts show evidence of alternation that derives presumably from the different medium in which they are being presented. While the texts borrow freely from the fairy tale genre in matters of the plot, characters, and themes (as we shall presently document), in the matter of stylethe choice of sentence structure, syntax, diction, dialogue, and the use of poetic devices-these texts depart from the traditional forms and formulas of fairy tales and incorporate stylistic options popular in other literary texts.
