Fantastical Bedtime Stories

Posted by David | Filed under Literature

As an avid reader throughout childhood, it sometimes amazes me to learn that people haven’t even discovered, much less read certain books. That changes today. For all you kids out there (including those only at heart), consider this a required reading list each night:

  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
    The original fantasy bedtime story, written by Tolkien for his own son.
  • The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
    Similiar only in plot to its 80s film adaptation, this book is so magical, encountering hundreds of different places and characters, that your imagination will carry the story long past the final page.
  • The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren
    Two brothers face death and a magical afterlife together, showcasing true agape love like no current story could.
  • Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
    No real explanation needed, except that the book beats Disney’s version and all the stage productions out there, hands down.
  • Redwall by Brian Jacques
    Woodlanders, Abbeydwellers, Warriors, Sailors all — all animals, that is. This is the best anthropomorphic fiction to date (yes, it beats Watership Down).
  • Dinotopia by James Gurney
    Written in the style of a castaway’s journal, this simple picture book opens a whole world for you to explore, where dinosaurs still exist, working alongside a very artistic and old-fashioned mankind.
  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman
    The witty screenwriter of the same-titled film insists that his inspiration came from this childhood book, originally written in Florinese by S. Morgenstern. It contains, as he puts it: “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.” So yeah.

Permalink | September 5th, 2003

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