The idea is overcoming adversity. The stories used to be lost and found children, literally or back to yiddishkeit, but this storyline became too predictable. Happily ever after can’t be the basis of a long saga, and even for an ending we now have stories that don’t really finish – supposedly to engage the reader even after the story is over by forcing them to think. I hate thinking ; ) and love happy endings – I guess I’m in the minority nowadays.
However, I don’t think kids are fooled about real life from these stories. They have friends, family and neighbors to base their perceptions of life on, mostly positive, some sad.