RL Stine, on the other hand, got the sadist’s version of children’s tales.  The proper Grimm stories.  He talks about his mother reading him the original Pinocchio and how the wooden boy kills his conscience and then burns off his feet.  I really hope it wasn’t a shock to her that he grew up to be one of the leading writers of young adult and middle grade horror stories.  While I think children would actually enjoy the “true” fairy tales instead of the watered down versions, I wouldn’t want to read them to kids trying to sleep.  That might not end very well.

Me, my parents always read to me.  The stories I remember in particular were this series called Serendipity.  They were about magical animals.  That’s pretty much all I remember but my mom was adamant in saving them all these years because of how nice the books are so they’re in the garage right now.  I also used to pick up books whenever I went to the grocery store with my mom.  These, the ones I remember most clearly, were Disney and were mixed with education and story-telling.  Those were a favorite too.  I also remember Berenstein Bears and their soft-cover floppy books.  When my parents stopped reading to me before I went to bed, I took it upon myself to continue.  Why stop a good thing, right?

So what about you?  Were you read to as a kid?  What kind of books?  Did your parents do anything special when reading?  If you’re a parent, what do you read to your kids and do you dress up in princess dresses to heighten the experience?  Spill.