I always see it as important to make time for a bedtime story with the children, and I’m always on the look out for good new books to share at bedtime. Mr T and Mr R are always quite happy to have the same ones again and again but Mr Z always wants something new so I like to find as much variety as I can especially for him. When I heard of the Bedtime Stories collection associated with Mumsnet and Gransnet I was really interested to see which stories would be inside. I am a long time Mumsnetter and I find Mumsnet brilliant as a source of parenting advice, support, and some great humour too. It’s a great community, so being affiliated with Mumsnet I did expect this book to be pretty good.
The ten stories were chosen by Poet Laureate Michael Rosen after being submitted by undiscovered authors, in a competition organised by Mumsnet and Gransnet, and Walker Books. Once the final ten were selected, ten new young artists were commissioned to illustrate each story so the end result is a lot of new talent to discover!
The ten stories included are:
- Time for Bed by Angela Eden
- When Polly Jumped Over the Moon by Jools Abrams-Humphries
- The Sheriff of Rusty Nail by Sophie Wills
- Bedtime at the Lighthouse by Philip Bell
- Celeste, Who Sang to the Stars by Kate Harper Wilson
- Allie to the Rescue by Helen Yendall
- Princess Imogen’s Independent Day by Christine O’Neill
- The Dancing Bear by Suzy Chisholm
- A Parcel for Theo by Claire McCauley
- The Night Thief and the Moon by Katherine Latham
These are quite a mix of styles and some are more suited to younger toddlers (like Time for Bed) and some are much more advanced in language and suited to an older child, like The Night Thief and the Moon. I found that mix ideal for me, having children between 2 to 5 there is something for all of them. The idea is that there will be the perfect story in there for every child and help to encourage families in the love of reading.
Some of our favourites are ‘A Parcel for Theo’, about a little boys cuddly Jaguar who goes missing – or perhaps he has just gone exploring? And ‘Princess Imogen’s Independent Day’ – a story that many little ones could relate to about wanting to do everything all by themselves, but then when bedtime comes she remembers that the best bedtime stories are the ones which are shared.
The Book of Bedtime Stories is a lovely collection, and one which will continue to be enjoyed and well loved in our house. I would recommend it to any parent looking to expand their selection of bedtime stories and try some new authors.
We were sent a copy of this book in order to do the review.
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