Classic Bedtime Stories: a perfect book for families, an illustrated collection

Hello there! I thought I'd take a break from the Cybils reviews for a moment to tell you about a book I'm enchanted by.

I've been thinking a lot about bedtime stories, as I've been working on Story Club, so when I was contacted about this book I couldn't resist it. I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Classic Bedtime Stories
Scott Gustafson

So here is my honest review: I loved this book!

1. The illustrations are gorgeous. I think they fit right in with the "golden age of illustrating" that is mentioned on the back flap. Scott Gustafson's art reminds me of some of my favorite picture books from when I was a child. It is fully painted, with deep colors and intricate details. The art isn't paneled, sometimes it's on the same page as the text and sometimes it takes up the whole glorious page. (See below.)

Levi shows off his favorite page in the book.
Check out all those pancakes!

2. The stories vary widely in length, which surprised me at first, but I like it! Some of them only take up a two page spread, and others go on for a while. You know sometimes you go to do a bedtime story and you're like, "Let's make this quick." Other times you're like, "If I try to turn out the lights right now, they're just going to be hopping out of bed before I can even shut the door. Let's take our time with the stories tonight." That flexibility was great.

3. I loved the stories that were chosen. Little Sambha and the Tigers was included! Grandpa Craig is always making up variations on this story and so it was cool to have an illustrated version to read to the kids. In the endnotes, Scott Gustafson explains whe he chose to include the story, and how he did so thoughtfully.

The Bremen Town Musicians was also included and Benjamin did his 1st grade program around that story just last week. So it was cool to be able to read the story beforehand. Because you know on the actual night we were mostly just laughing at the kids who were misbehaving.


What stories are included in Classic Bedtime Stories?

• The Country Mouse and the City Mouse
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Tortoise and the Hare 
• The Story of Little Sambha and the Tigers 
• The Bremen Town Musicians
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff
• The Lion and the Mouse
• Jack and the Beanstalk

So here's the final word: 

I'm thrilled to have this book in our collection. So thrilled that I'm going to be giving it to some of the cousins for Christmas this year. (Shh! Maybe they won't read this review.)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this big gorgeous book is reasonably priced -- under $20. And I feel like it is the sort of gift that the whole family can enjoy. I don't feel like I'll be disappointing anybody, any age, with this book. Solid.

shop @ Amazon

shop @ Barnes and Noble

If you decide to shop through these affiliate links, I can earn a small commission. And hey, Black Friday and thereabouts is a great time to do that sort of thing. 

Which of these stories would you be most excited to read? Or, which one do you *wish* was in the collection?