Literature is awash with children who rush in to save the day.
The stories are mostly maudlin and patently ridiculous. When I was younger, I read a book about a young girl who marches to Washington, D.C. with a flag. When she gets there and meets with the president, oh, he is soooo touched, he changes his opinion about everything immediately.
Even as a youth, I didn't buy it (I found the pressure from news outlets to meet with the girl believable, not the president's change of mind).
The mindset that produces such a plot probably would have applauded the Children's Crusade: innocent children will quell the barbarians!
It should come as no great surprise, that the children of the Children's Crusade drowned, were enslaved, and returned home.
So are there good examples of children who rush in and save the day?
In general, children who save others are far less irritating when they are actually doing something--not simply existing (and blessing their surroundings). Children whose innocence is the operative factor are almost wholly annoying.
Edmund, Eustace, and Jill will always be far more interesting than sweet children thinking pure thoughts--as will Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender (animated series).
A state of innocence is part of the equation--we are watching young folks make decisions without the memories and actions and investment of the grown adult. The willingness to act, to even be ruthless, in that innocent state is part of the attraction.
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