Are these appropriate as a means to explore the imagination? or should our children not be exposed to them. My question includes unicorns.

many thanks!
Rivka

Unicorns? What's wrong with unicorns?

I don't know if anything is. A friend and I were having a conversation about this. She was saying that she would not introduce any of these to her children - including unicorns. Our conversation got me thinking; so I decided to post and inquire.

We see the concept of "unicorn in Shabbos 28 (as paraphrased by Kolle Iyun Hadaf

1. (Rav Yehudah): The ox that Adam offered had one horn
on its forehead - "V'Sitav la'Shem...Makrin".

So, what about my question? now excluding unicorns .

I think it all depends on how they are used.

For example, fairies and elves and even trolls may be very nice and kind and gentle - it's all up to the child's and parent's imagination.

Speaking of that, is it kosher to tell the child that a fairy is a form Hashem gave to some of the mal'achim?

By the way, there is no Chanukkah without a story of a smart Jew who outsmarted a troll; Ashkenazic (especially Chassidic) Jewish folklore is full of stories of how the Rebe from a far-off shtetl extorted a dybbuk from a possessed person; so by precedent I think it's OK, as long as it is in a certain context, and as long as the child does not get scared of these imaginary creatures.