Keep on reading! (International Children's Book Day)

Today we celebrate the International Children's Book Day! The date was chosen to honor Hans Christian Andersen, who was born on April 2nd in Odense, Denmark and who was famous for writing some of the most well-known fairy tales we've enjoyed so far.
As it is said, once a child, always a child - we can grow up but the child we were once will always be inside of us and in a very secret place he/she will keep doing the same things we used to do...playing the same games, going to the same favorite places, enjoying the same food (mostly candies) and mainly having fun with the same stories and heroes. It will follow us and even influence us during all our life.
That's why it's so important to help our children developing the joy of reading - it will help them to be more creative and we know creativity is the key word to survive in this world. One of this blog goals is exactly that, bring suggestions of links, sites, posts to stimulate our reading habit. And, of course, receive your suggestion about it too!
When I was a child, my grandfather used to give me many books. One of them I still have it with me (like a treasure) and it had three stories: 1st - The Pied Piper of Hamelin (O Flautista de Hamelin - click here to read the story), 2nd - The Ugly Duckling (O Patinho feio - click here to read the story) and 3rd - The Three Little Pigs (Os Três Porquinhos - click here to read the story). They were my favorite childhood stories and bring me very nice memories. All of them ended with the same sentence: "And they lived happily ever after!"  How important it was...it shows that no matter what happened, at the end everything would (and will) be fine. It brings HOPE and God knows how we need it in our lives. I know there are a lot of educators who think this story end is not good because it is what they call "far from reality - nobody lives happily ever after"! I do respect their opinion, although I strongly disagree. I prefer quoting the Brazilian journalist and writer Fernando Sabino: " No fim tudo dá certo, e se não deu certo é porque ainda não chegou o fim!" ( In the end everything works out, and if it did not work out well it's because we haven't come to an end yet.) In the end, everybody is happy (or at least is trying to be!).
And what about you, what was (were) your favorite childhood story(ies)? Why? What did you learn from it?
Remember: Keep on reading! Reading is cool!