Three Bedtime Stories

Three Bedtime Stories
Garth Williams ~ Golden Press, 1958

Another oversized Big Golden Book I came across last week, here, Garth has included three nighttime tales that feature characters of three: The Three Little Kittens, The Three Little Pigs & The Three Bears.... using the cover and end pages as an opportunity for them to interact. As soon as I saw it, I thought what a wonderful third birthday present it would make, but then, I'm a dork like that. I will admit that my favorite part is that Garth hasn't sugarcoated the Three Little Pigs story... the two lesser, lazy pigs do die at the hand (fangs) of the wolf while we actually get to see the bad guy getting boiled alive. Awesome. Preschool gore is always the most refreshing! And so...

The three little kittens, they lost their mittens, and they began to cry, "Oh Mother dear, we sadly fear our mittens we have lost!"

The second little pig built himself a house of sticks. He was just putting the finishing touches to the window curtains when the big bad wolf knocked at the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!"

One day a little girl, who was called Goldilocks because of her golden curls, went for a walk in the forest. And she came to the house of the three bears. Knock knock knock at the door went Goldilocks. But of course there was no answer.

As always, the fussy illustrations delight, and the stories do seem to connect in a way I'd never associated these tales before. Short, sweet, mildly horrifying, and to the point, these really are the perfect nightcap. (Particularly for those of us who are newly mourning the loss of nap times and look forward to that twilight time of day.)

Also by:
Wait Til the Moon is Full
Do You Know What I'll Do?
The Sky Was Blue

Big Golden Animal ABC

The Rabbit's Wedding
The Friendly Book
Amigo