
The message of a universal connection makes sense, something to keep in the forefront of our minds, though not all kids will relate to every connection we try to make. (I feel safe in saying that.)
SO...another question: why must we always make the MC in PBs the only driving force in solving a problem?
In the case of the traditional Cinderella, she didn't solve the issue; she did, however, illuminate taking the high road in the end. (Good message.) Chicken Little wasn't the one who figured out the sky wasn't falling. It was an apple that bonked him on his noodle, something he had to be told, yet the issue at-hand ended up providing him food to eat. (I get tons of messages from that story, as an adult.) Both old examples, granted.
I'm asking because life is something that sometimes just plain happens (especially for kids!)--and it doesn't happen in a vacuum with tidy endings. They can't always save the universe, but with the help of their friends (or magic or a monster or a....), they can save a little corner of it--or learn how to by examples and/or experience.
What are current examples of PBs where the MC isn't the super-hero who saves the day? (I can't think of one, not that their aren't any----what about Nugget and Fang?)
Maybe I shouldn't try to exercise skills in writing PBs--I like a connection to the real world, even if the MC might be a cloud made of cotton candy who fears dark clouds for threat of being melted by their rain, only to find, that by chance, he was saved through natural circumstance out of his control by the clouds' cover.

Mmmm. So in the off-the-cuff example above, there's a universal theme (fearing a threat produces angst and confirms your beliefs) and a message (passive circumstances can over-ride a normal, logical threat, we have to learn how to assess a situation).
This hurt my head. I'm over-thinking, I guess. Time for bed.