'Ihe1e is, however, a distinct manner in which the Grimms'talfs were engendered as equilibrium of the genre, and it inv-olved.oralprocreation oitrl.r that becarne very relevant for the strrvival of-people inipecific societies, the interaction of oral and literary tales, and the writingdown, repetition, and hansformation of relevant tales. To a great exlent,this proclss can be traced in the works o[ Straparola, Basile, d'Aulnoy,Lh6ritier, Perrault, and others in this anthology

Through the medium of stories, adults can talk with children about whatmatters in their lives, about issues ranging fi'om fear of abandonment anddeath to fantasies of revenge and triumphs that lead to happily-ever-aftercndings. While looking at pictures, reading episodes, and turning pages,adults and children can engage in what the cultural critic Ellen Handler-Spitz calls "conversational reading," dialogues that meditate on the story'seffects and offbr guidance fcr thinking about similar matters in the realworld. This kind of reading can take many different turns: earnest, playful,meditatirre, didactic, empathetic, or intellectual.