Fables and Fairy Tales Books

This is a great book for ages 5-15. I read it a long while ago, when I was at the elder end of this age group (the older version of it!) and I absloutely loved it. It brings all the factors of growing up into a purely fun and adventure-like childrens novel. I adore this book for kids!

The book is interesting and funny. It's all about four children, two of whom must go to their cousin's house because it is close to the hospital where their dad will be treated. Suddenly, one the children's toys comes to life and starts talking. He tells them about a magic world and offers them a wish. They want their father to be well, but for that to happen, they have to earn the wish by living in the toy's world - in the time of Robin Hood!
As the children play in the world, they end up messing up history. They even play baseball with the Saxons.
This was a funny book. There were so many funny parts, that I don't have a favorite

Four children and a magical toy castle, what could happen? Everything! When Ann and Roger visit their cousins in Baltimore, Roger is given a toy castle, with toy figures from Ivanhoe and other legends. But the tables turn when they find they can become part of the world that Robin Hood, Rebecca, and Maurice De Bracey inhabited. Can the children solve the problems that they cause as they change the plots of these famous stories? If you like history, and fantasy this book is a definite read. I absolutely adored it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've read all books by Eager from the Magic Box set, and I would rate them in this order (from best to worst):
1)Half-Magic
2)The Time Garden
3)Magic by the Lake
4)Knight's Castle

Knight's Castle was confusing and not as funny as it tried to be. It is about 4 children that live in the story of Ivanhoe and Robin Hood at night. However, there were some good moments between Roger and his sister Ann.
If I were a child between 9-12, I think I would have loved all of them. However, Eager's books are not as modern as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, and won't be enjoyed as much by adults.

...This is a simple little tale of a group of children who discover a little bit of magic in an old toy soldier. In Eager's work, magic has fairly strict rules (in _Half-Magic_, the charm granted any wish--but only in halves), and here the rules work as a kind of companion to the idea that magic can only work if you continue to believe in it (that is, if you start to think of the creatures you are interacting with simply as dolls, they revert to being dolls again). The plot achieves its urgency through a possible problem in the family, but, with a little help, everything can be solved. A little more moralistic and straight-forward than some of his others, but well worth reading--especially if you've never tried Eager before.

This classic story carries a message, not only for children that don't want to help with their chores, but for anyone who hasn't quite got into the gardening mood. This book is all about helping, sharing, and making an effort in your own behalf. I bring it along with me when doing presentations on gardening and food security, and the grown ups pick it up read it, and they really get it. Great for families and class rooms . . .

This fable tells about the lazy animals who did not want to help the hen. They let her do all the work, but did not do a thing themselves. Then at the end when the hen reaps of the fruit of her labor, all of a sudden they want to share in that fruit. However, the hen gets it all to herself and they get nothing.

This version is a classic one. The story and illustrations are very inviting for any child. I love the classic moral of the story too.

I purchased this book for my children and did it bring back memories! I had it read to me when I was little. So the story line is cute and teaches a valuable lesson with the moral the lazy cat, dog, and mouse do not get the snack. All of my children from 2-6 love this story, it never grows old.

Her ability to cook empowers this little red hen to motivate her housemates. Help me with some of the housework if you want cake. A final illustration shows all the animals working, sweeping and dusting!

After reading the story as it is written, follow along with Heather Forest's Little Red Hen from the album, Sing me a Story. End on that final illustration with her words, "Sharing the work makes working fun."

Different versions may use different characters. This one uses the traditional Dog, Cat, Mouse.

Playwright Jeremy McGuire presents O'Shaughnessey: A Boy and His Leprechaun, a chapter book for young readers that brings a legendary Irish creature to life. Young Bobby Mahoney has real-world problems - his parents are divorcing, and his little sister is sick; when he befriends a leprechaun that calls himself O'Shaughnessey (because faerie names cannot be pronounced by most humans), he is drawn into a magical world on the flip side of his own. Events in each world are interconnected with one another, and Bobby's journeys will lead him to confront hostile fairy folk and cave-dwelling Ban-Shees, and even take him to the depths of the fearsome Mountain of Shadows. A handful of black-and-white illustrations grace this modern-day fairy tale, highly recommended.

Bobby Mahoney suddenly finds himself friends with a leprechaun that was perched on his bedpost one early morning. This witty and friendly leprechaun, O'Shaughnessey, takes Bobby on small adventures of a lifetime.

But when trouble lurks within Bobby's own house, it is Bobby who has to convince O'Shaughnessey to go on the ultimate adventure to save a young life.

This entertaining story about friendship and family is brought to life by the colorful pictures drawn by the author himself, Jeremy McGuire. McGuire creates a tale that entwines fantasy and the real world. This short children's novel is sure to be a fun and exciting read for all kids.

Reviewed by: Steph

Bobby Mahoney woke up one morning to find a leprechaun sitting on the bedpost. Not knowing what to do, the young boy stayed silent as the little man chatted on about nothing. Bobby was quite glad when his mother called him.

Later that day, Bobby and his little sister Maggie were scheduled to have a day out with their Dad. Bobby's Dad had recently moved out so Bobby was looking forward to spending some time together. If only Maggie didn't have to come. She was such a pain.

Their day was cut short, because of Maggie. At first, it seemed like she'd just eaten too much junk food but once the doctor examined her everyone realized that Maggie's condition was quite serious. Only Bobby understood how dire the situation really was and only he could do something about it.

Bobby Mahoney was a young lad, seven years of age to be exact. Still young enough to believe in mythical creatures but old enough to know that he has the power to change the world if he wished it.

Upon waking one morning Bobby finds a small little man perched on his bedpost. The little man proclaimed himself Shaughnessey as leprechauns never gave out their real names because it beheld too much power in the wrong hands. Shaughnessey and Bobby were about to have the adventure of a lifetime, by taking on a mission to save his sisters life.

Bobby was growing up, his mother and father had a few months past gotten divorced and now his sister came down with Scarlet Fever. Enlisting the help of the little leprechaun, Bobby must face the screaming Ban-Shee, the Spriggin and the Death Coach in order to make sure his sister Maggie did not die because of his wish to be an only child; through this he found he actually loved his sister. Miracles do happen and come to those well deserving, but no matter how much money or gold you may possess you can not always make things perfect...as the story goes.

Jeremy McGuire's children's/early teen book is whimsical and magical. His characters were full of color and life, even if the illustrations were in black and white. Mr. McGuire paints that fairy tale fantasy that children will love, and parents will enjoy reading at bedtime on a regular basis. 5 Hearts

Available where books are sold

REVIEWED BY: Wayne S. Walker
This engaging tale is told as if by a traditional Irish shenache, a traveling storyteller who earned his room and board by spinning yarns in family cottages. Bobby Mahoney is a seven-year-old boy who wakes up one morning to see a leprechaun named O'Shaughnessey sitting on his bedpost. Very few human beings have "the gift" to see the faerie folk. Bobby's parents are divorced, and he lives with his mother and his sister Maggie, but the children get to be with their father once a week. That same day, Bobby's dad arrives to take him and Maggie to the fair, but when they return home Maggie is very sick. That night, Bobby and O'Shaughnessey take a trip in the leprechaun's magic hat to visit another leprechaun named O'Sullivan. While there, Bobby hears a Ban-Shee wail, meaning that someone he knows is dying.

It turns out that Maggie has scarlet fever and is not doing very well. So the next night, Bobby and his leprechaun go to the cave of the Ban-Shees so that Bobby can see if something can be done to save Maggie. The Ban-Shee tells Bobby that the Coachman of death will take Maggie unless Bobby can keep it from leaving his fortress at the Mountain of Shadows on time, "when the first light paints the eastern sky...not a moment sooner, not a moment later." So the following night, Bobby and O'Shaughnessey take O'Sullivan to see if they can stop the Coachman. Will they make it in time? Will they be able to achieve their goal and save Maggie? Will Bobby's actions have any effect upon his family?

The author, who has been an actor, director, and teacher, is primarily a playright. This is his first work of narrative fiction. There is much to appreciate about this book. Anyone who is interested in novels based on Irish folk will surely enjoy it. It might also be helpful for children who are having to deal with a situation of divorce in the family. Unfortunately, not everything in life turns out exactly the way we would want, but we can learn to adapt and try to make things better. While there are lessons about love, courage, truth, self-awareness, discovery, the worth of money, and the importance of family, most of all it is just a fun book to read. It gets kudos from me.

Good book. The little kids love this book, and I do too. I first read this book when I was a little kid. This book has all the great stories.

I liked the book just fine, but for some reason I ended up with 2 instead of the one I ordered.

So many mother goose out there, and most are very nicely done. This one, however, caught my attention because it utilizes the familiar busytown characters which I feel children so easily identify with as opposed to books with illustrations of children from long ago. Those are great too but this one should not be overlooked.

We had a lot`s of fun reading the book.It contains 50 well known nursery rhymes, has funny pictures and was not too long even for my 2 year old.There are days he wants me to read it twice in a row.

This beautiful version of Mother Goose first came to my attention 39 years ago as a baby gift for my first child. The bright and clever illustrations capativated her attention as she enjoyed the traditional verses so familiar to many generations of children before her. The book became part of the bedtime ritual for our daughter and her two younger siblings, and we have passed it on as a favorite baby gift to family and countless friends. Because the illustrations feature animal characters, children of all backgrounds can identify with them. Richard Scarry has indeed provided the Best Mother Goose Ever.

The storyline is awesome although my 5 year more then likely doesn't understand the real meaning of the story yet! Great read - highly recommended.

My daughter (9) loves this book! She says that it is very creative!

What a find! This is a beautifully illustrated book. The story is so magical that the entire family was eager to hear every word.

There is not much not to like about this work. The author has given us a great folk tale, well written, wonderful illustrations, a work full of lessons and just a pure simple fun story to read. Like all good fables this one not only entertains, but teaches some very valuable lessons in life and living (something most of we adults could use a dose of now and again). This is a great book for a child to read on her or his own, a wonderful book to read with a child and a great book to read to an entire class. It is absolutely amazing the amount of discussion this book can create in a class room. I certainly am not going to go into the story line here, other reviewers here have done a grand job of that, but I do say the book is well worth owning and well worth using with children and/or young adults. I do wish more of our folk tales and lore could be so well presented. This particular edition is well constructed, sturdy and can last through many little hands. Highly recommend this one.

This is a charming little folktale about two sisters Ð one mean and greedy, the other generous and kind Ð and their encounter with a strange, magical old woman. In the end, the good sister is rewarded and the bad one punished. A nice story with a good message.

But this isnÕt just a nice book, it is an extraordinary one. One thing that makes it special is the way the author uses language. Robert San Souci draws on an African American storytelling tradition and a southern rural dialect that just makes the language sing! The book is full of wonderful, poetic lines and great rhythmic language. ItÕs a joy to read aloud. The words feel good in your mouth. And any parent or teacher who reads aloud a lot knows what a rare quality that is. Even when IÕm tired, I feel like I canÕt read this book badly. The words just flow.

And the illustrations are gorgeous. Jerry Pinkney is one of the best illustrators around and this is one of my favorites of all his work. The composition, the subtle colors, the intricate detail Ð you rarely come across art this fine in childrenÕs books.

I bought this book for my daughter a couple of years ago, and weÕre still reading it over and over again. ItÕs so good, I hope in a generation sheÕll still be reading it to my grandchildren.

My four year old girl has been enamored with dragons for a couple of years, and has lately gotten very interested in knights, castles, etc. I quickly found that there is very little out there that is appropriate for smaller children, on the subject of knights. Either the information is too complex, or more likely, too gruesome for my taste. When I discovered this sweet series, I immediately wanted all of them.
I really like the way the verses flow and how the author repeats the action over and over. The knight hears a roar, and "left the crumbly, tumbly tower. He climbed down the very tall wall. He jumped on his horse. "Away!" he said He galloped through the king's forest. Clippety-clop. Clippety-clop.". He finds each dragon, one trip at a time, then at the end all three, requesting the typical things a kid asks for when avoiding sleep-a glass of water, a story, etc. Then he goes back to his castle, "through the king's forest. Clippety-clop. Clippety-clop. He got off his horse. Thud. He climbed up the very tall wall to the crumbly tumbly tower.", where he watches and over and over hears a roar, that he follows back to the dragon cave. Each time the description is the same and my child loves that! "Clippety-clop. Clippety-clop." is fun to say and all of the rest of what I wrote above, is fun to anticipate. With each roar heard by the knight, she gave me a knowing look and said, "uh oh!", and we laughed and said the words in unison, once she had them memorized.
These are just fun books. I'm glad my library has them, but we are buying them too, so we can read them whenever we want! It is a refreshing angle to the knight and dragon relationship. Nearly everything else I found was adversarial, and since we love dragons, I was sorry about that.
If you have a child who loves knights and dragons, also check out Tomie Paola's The Knight and the Dragon, about a knight reading up on how to fight dragons and a dragon reading up on how to fight knights. The "fight" is hilarious and the end has a clever twist that delighted my child and me too!
The Reluctant dragon, by Kenneth Grahame, is either for an older child who can read, or a great read aloud that my four year old enjoyed, and there is a neat old Disney movie based on this book. We loved this too.

This is, I believe, the first in the Good Knight series. We borrowed it from a friend while we were in California, because we simply Did Not Have Enough Books! (In our household, 400 books isn't nearly enough by far, so how we thought we'd live a week with only 7, I don't know.)

As you can guess, some of the humor in this book comes from the fact that Good Knight and Good Night sound alike - my five year old niece pointed that out to me several times, and then asked why "Knight" has a K in it. (I didn't point out that it also has a g and an h. Why confuse the matter?)

The knight makes four trips to help put some baby dragons to sleep. Every aspect of the story is explained with simple, repetitive adjectives. His tower is, twice in every trip, "crumbly tumbly". His horse goes "clipety clop" and he shouts "Away!". He stands on watch for ten minutes, five minutes, one minute before heading towards the roar again.

And the dragons are repetitive too. First one dragon wants a drink of water. Then one wants a story, and the first wants ANOTHER drink of water. Then one wants a song, one wants another story, and the first wants YET ANOTHER drink of water. And then... they want... a kiss. (This is going too far!)

But he's a good knight, the Good Knight, so he helps tuck them in every time to get them ready for bed, before finally snuggling into his own bed at the end.

My nieces loved it, and still talk about it a few weeks after coming home. We'll have to get our own copy. I found the style very easy, and the story just long enough for older children, but just fast enough for those days when you really need everybody asleep NOW. A bit much in parts (especially the umpteenth time through), but after you've read it that much you can demand that *they* read (or "read") it to you!

Maybe not a must-have, but very, very close.

Product arrived in good condition, as stated, promptly. Great communication and service by seller. Would definitely use this seller again.
Pam Pate

I love to read this to my son. It's a sweet little story and the illustrations of the dragons make you want to reach out and hug them. This book has a repetitive scene, which I really like. Similar to a song, each part of the story is a different stanza bound together by a repeating chorus. It allows my son to anticipate what the Knight is going to do. I throw in some sound effects and it makes the "chorus" a favorite part.

We love most books about dragons and knights. This one is very sweet and my 4 year old loves it. I can't wait til he's the one that begins to read it. The dragons need help going to sleep at night and the knight in shining armor is the one for the job even though its not what he expected. Its silly and fun and is great bedtime reading.

The illustrations in this are clever, detailed, and beautiful. It's a very fun twist on an old favorite story.

The Three Little Javelinas (Reading Rainbow Book)
I BUY THIS BOOK FREQUENTLY FOR BOTH MY ENGLISH AND SPANISH FRIENDS. IT IS PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH AND IS A WONDERFUL STORY. MAKES A GREAT GIFT

This story has a multitude of educational features included in an updated story of 'three little critters' and their adventures facing adversity-together- with a good ending for the three little ones- and justice delivered to the 'bad guy'-

Living in the southwest this is one of my favorite baby gifts to give. This and a little stuffed Javelina from the toy store make such a cute pair.

Who hasn't heard of or read the classic story for children, The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf? In this retelling, the pigs are javelinas, and the wolf is the trickster, the coyote. Instead of houses made of straw, sticks, and bricks, the houses are made of tumbleweed, cactus ribs, and adobe bricks.

The ending won't surprise you. There's a reason coyotes howl like they mean it.

This is a cute retelling, with gorgeous illustrations by Jim Harris. There's a lot of opportunity to put some vocal variety into your reading when you have that favorite kid sitting by you. And if you like this type of retelling, don't forget to look up the book The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig!

THis is a beautifullly designed book, with a very cute story. My Granddaughter loves books and unicorns, so it is just right for her. Actually I love it for myself!

This is Stephen J. Brooks's fifth published title and it's one your children will cherish and love. The illustrations are brilliantly done with what look like water color backgrounds that offset the vivid illustrations of the characters by Linda Crockett, who has received several awards and honors for her illustrations in children's books.

Unicorn Races takes children into the magical world of Abigail's imagination as she travels to a marvelous feast for a princess. Abigail watches the elves and fairies make preparations for the Unicorn Races as unicorns in every color of the rainbow come to compete before the royal princess Abigail. When the race begins, unicorns fly through the night sky, circle around the moon, dance on the stars, travel to the ocean, glide inches above the waves, and zip around a lighthouse before returning to the magical clearing where Princess Abigail waits to announce the winner. After the feast, Abigail rides home on one of the magical unicorns and falls fast asleep until the next Unicorn Races.

UNICORN RACES is the sweet story of young Abigail, princess to the elves, fairies, and unicorns.

After arriving amidst the dark woods, Princess Abigail presides over the Unicorn Races, in which six beautifully colored unicorns will participate. To the second bright star, around the moon, among the waves, to the lighthouse -- the unicorns race happily, and Blue is declared the winner.

All enjoy a feast of cookies, cakes, and sundaes, but it is soon time for Abigail to return home upon her unicorn steed, Lord William.

The story is one that will appeal to young girls, with it's magical creatures and a girl who yearns to be a princess. It's the wonderful illustrations by Linda Crockett, however, that make this a true winner, to be enjoyed by children and parents alike.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

This book is a wonderful story of a little girl whose imagination whisks her away to a fantasy land full of adventure and promise. The illistrations are terrific and full of detail. My grandaughters keep asking me to read it againg and again to them at night. The middle grandaughter,(5) "reads" it to her favorite stuffed animals. This book makes a wonderful present or just an anytime gift for your favorite princes.

Each page of this exceptional book is magic. Along with colorful unicorns, your child will love the elves, fairies, and the pixies. The story is enchanting; the illustrations are sprinkled with stardust.

It is intriguing in this beautiful book how the illustrator has managed to make the main protagonists look like matryoshka dolls or Baboushkas as I always thought they were till I read the lovely Magic Nesting Doll story. The attention to detail in the costumes give this retelling a richness and a Russian feel that makes it an absolute delight to read. I had to read it twice as soon as I got it. As I love dolls as much as books and have a huge collection of rag dolls this story of the courageous girl and her little industrious doll will have to be one story I don't give away and keep to read on special occasions to my grandkids.As a child I often imagined one of my dolls was really alive and it would keep me entertained while travelling for hours so finding such a story is like a dream come true!!!:)

basic plot outline (so if you'd wish to remain oblivious please skip over the first paragraph)-

this is the story about a girl who is sent by her step mother to the evil witch in the woods to borrow a light. it starts off like the cinderella story with the father remarrying a woman with two daughters and then dying, leaving his daughter to be mistreated by the stepmother and stepsisters. the stepmother is jealous of the girl's beauty and sweet disposition in comparison with her own daughters so she sends the girl out into the woods to seek out the evil baba yaga to ask for a light. the thing about the witch is that very few people who meet her live to tell about it. the witch eats people and has a house built out of their bones. so the girl goes obediently to the witch and she takes with her a doll her mother made her before she died, and the doll is magical, because it was made with her mother's love. so when she gets to the witch and asks for a light the witch agrees to give her a light if she can complete the tasks set before her, which are to cook huge meals and clean everything. the baba yaga leaves and the girl frets over what to do and then her doll comes alive and does most of the chores for her. the witch is satisfied and gives the girl one of her lights which when she presents to her stepmother, burns the stepmother alive. at this point, though she wasn't the strongest heroine ever, i'm hopeful for a strong ending, thinking maybe she won't need to get married at the end of the book to justify the plot... but she does, and it's not a bad thing, i'm just getting a bit bored with the same ending over and over (in both adult and children's stories).

this story had more of a classical fairy tale feel to it. it had a dark atmosphere to it with the beautiful illustrations, which at some points i could see very small children being afraid, of the baba yaga for example, but for the most part i felt they kept the story pretty clean. it could have definitely been very much more graphic, which i would have loved, but this is a children's book. what i enjoyed about this book was that things had to be a certain way, things HAD to get done, like in older stories. even though the stepmother treats her very poorly, the girl still obeys her and minds her, and from a feminist perspective this can be seen in a very bad light. a submissive girl with no back bone and no will of her own, an abusive relationship in essence. but, if you look at it as something produced a time long ago, when morals were different, and from a fairy tale perspective, where (if you know your mythology) everything has rules, very strict rules that must be followed, as the sequence is almost as important, if not more so, than the final product, it's more fanciful and exciting and much more archetypal, like the an old fairy tale. in most of today's stories we tell kids that nothing binds them and they can do whatever they want, and while it is good to leave an abusive relationship and all kids must learn that this is a good thing, people will always be bound by something, something that stays their hand or forces action, maybe sometimes against their will, and a lot of children today (myself included) don't really grasp this concept because all our lives we've been fed the fairy tale that we control our own destiny and what i say goes.. but that's not always the reality. lessons like this can be learned from fairy tales of this nature.

cratf's illustrations (as i think i've said already) are absolutely gorgeous and i wish there were more of them in this book. the subject matter had the potential to be scary, so i think the scenes depicted were selected carefully and on some pages only a small picture was provided in the corner... but this illustrator is so good that anything she does is magnificent. i wish the whole book was full pages of her illustrations. the prose was good as well though. it had a decent flow and was over all pretty well done.

This is a beautiful story, beautifully illustrated. The story is about how a mother's love can carry her daughter through the most dire situation. My daughters and I love this story, and although I've read the story again and again, it's still fresh and beautiful. I've decided to give it as a card with an inscription as one of my daughter's H.S. graduation gift. I know she'll read it again and again.

This was a gorgeously illustrated wonderful Russian Fairy Tale. We enjoyed it thoroughly.

I've enjoyed this story since I was a child and was very excited to find a book with the artistry to go with the story I loved so much. I read this book as soon as it arrived. The pictures are incredible, beautiful, and perfectly portray the story. And the characters are exactly as I had seen them in my mind's eye as a kid. However, the story itself was poorly written. There was no life or beauty in the words. It should never have been re-told in such a boring, bland manner. If you want a beautiful, perfectly written version (that doesn't even need pictures) look up author Post Wheeler's "Russian Wonder Tales", New York: The Century Company, 1912. Copyright has long expired, so you can find it online easily. The title of this story in his book is "Vasilisa the Beautiful". I've printed it out and put it inside this book. I'll use K.Y. Craft's artisty to look at while I read Wheeler's version of the story.

This book is amazing!!! My 5yr old found a book at the library about greek myths and loved them so much that I ordered this book. We have now finished it and she is still asking for more.
The nice thing about this book is it is broken up by ages so you can do what your child is ready for, our 5yr old just loved all the stories soooo much we finished the entire thing.

I bought this book when my daughter's class was teaching Greek Mythology. She was happy to see this book and finished it very soon, now she can relate most of them to me. And the best part is it has explanation and spelling hint. It makes our reading aloud very easily. I am going to buy the other two read aloud series. I think this opens the door for my kids to the classic literature.

Purchased as a gift for Christmas. We did not read this book ourselves, so can't review the quality of the composition. However, the book was well made and arrived on time from Amazon.

This book is NOT for 5-year-olds. I look forward to when my child is a couple years older but, for now, this volcabulary is beyond a kindergarten level and not at all geared to that age group. I totally agree with other reviews about it being well-written, and I'm sure that these people's seventh graders do indeed enjoy it, but I think it's ridiculous to advertise this as a book for 5 and up!

We have been planning our trip to Greece and Crete for several months and I thought it would be good to expose our boys 7 and 10 to the stories in Greek Mythology. After reading reviews on Amazon.com, I decided to buy this book. My boys absolutely love the stories in this book. We read about 20 minutes per night (it's nice that each story has an estimated reading time) and they beg for more after each story. Then we review the "A Few Words More" sections - which they also really enjoy and which give great insight such as the source of the phrase "between a rock and a hard place" which traces back to the Odyssey! For anyone planmning to expose their kids to Greek Mythology, I highly recommend this book and D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. I'd read the latter first for "introduction" and then follow with the Russell book. There may be some repeated stories -but trust me, the kids will love every minute.