A book for children, like the myths and folktales that tend to slide into it, is really a blueprint for dealing with life. For that reason, it might have a happy ending, because nobody ever solved a problem while believing it was hopeless. It might put the aims and the solution unrealistically high – in the same way that folktales tend to be about kings and queens – but this is because it is better to aim for the moon and get halfway there than just to aim for the roof and get halfway upstairs.
Diana Wynne Jones (here), whose work I discovered this year and have really enjoyed. Having just recently moved house, I’m hoping (unrealistically, perhaps) to have some more time in weeks ahead to finish some half-written posts on recent reads (including DWJ).