Title The Book of Goodnight Stories Series --- Author Vratislav Stovicek Illustrated By Karel Franta Publisher Royce Publications - 1982 First Printing Orbis Publishing - 1982 Category Children Warnings None Main Characters --- Main Elements Wizards, witches, fairies, anthropomorphic, dragons

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This is one of my childhood books. It has an interesting format. Every day of the year is assigned a story. I guess this way a child can't ask for more, because that would be jumping ahead to the next day's tale! But because of this, the tales are all very short, with the longer ones split across multiple days. But even then, the classics like Cinderella are abridged to fit the daily format. On the other hand, the book covers a large number of stories, whether they be from Hans Christian Anderson, the Brother's Grimm, Charles Perrault or coming direct from Russian folklore. There is something for everyone here, a hugely varied collection of fairy tales and fantasy stories.

The artwork is unusual and not quite to my tastes. Often I can't even figure out what story the image is supposed to be associated with, but I don't recall disliking it as a child. I was probably more interested in listening to my parents read me the stories than worrying about the art quality! This is a book to listen to rather than attempt to read oneself (it is also heavy, not easy to hold for little hands). But it is perfect for tucking your little one into bed. When they get a little older you can help them track down the complete version of their favorite tales.