Christmas, Character, and Creative stories combine for a Merry Goodnight! Savannah Bloom’s newest, long-awaited volume of modern bedtime stories has arrived in time for the holiday season! ** UPDATE. All 5-Minute stories now include beautiful illustrations! ** Just like the hit 5-Minute Modern-Day Bedtime Story series, this Christmas read-aloud bedtime story collection is unique. It contains fourteen stories that are: relevant, fun, contemporary, short, and geared toward essential virtues. As a parent of young boys, Savannah Bloom found read-aloud stories to either be 1) antiquated fairy tales, 2) too cheesy, or 3) contemporary and fun, but without a moral lesson. So, Mrs. Bloom set out to write 5-Minute Modern Day Bedtime Stories to fill a void for parents wanting to use the vital bedtime routine to both entertain modern children AND teach valuable character to their little ones, especially geared for ages 5-8. Her Christmas collection promotes character traits such as: Generosity, Sincerity, Integrity, Tolerance, Leadership, Impartiality, and more, all while containing several features that parents will appreciate: - Fun and serious questions to discuss with your child to ensure the lesson hits home. - Human protagonists only , because research shows that kids learn character best from other kids – not anthropomorphic animals (Larsen, Lee, Ganea. Developmental Science , 2017.) - All original stories , though some parallel old favorites (example: a Scrooge spin off). - Whimsical and fantastic vibe through use of technology (robots, portals, holograms, etc) with just enough plausibility to spark STEM dreams. - Beautiful illustrations that can allow young imaginations to soar (or can be ignored, to motivate kids to lay in bed, close their eyes, and fully engage their imaginations rather than ask you to show them every picture.) If this sounds like what you’re looking for, then click the buy button today. Also, please leave us a review if you would like MORE stories like these! Let Savannah know if you want another volume! What ages are appropriate for the 5-Minute Modern-Day Bedtime Collection? I believe any 6, 7, and 8-year-olds will love these with no hesitation. Your 4 or 5-year-olds will most-likely love these, but there area few elements that may be intense (i.e. reference to death, a solar flare, missing/injured father). I'd advise a quick scan of the stories before you read-aloud to those younger ones. Are there illustrations? Yes! Previously, I omitted illustrations to provide parents and caregivers a stress free bedtime in which imaginations could run free and sleepy eye-lids could close. By reader request, all stories now include 4-5 beautiful pictures to give readers the option of showing them to their young readers. Parents and caregivers know best! Is this a Christian book? Yes and no. I am a Christian, but I wrote this book for everyone. The values that Jesus teaches are beneficial for all. So, while Christians will recognize many of Jesus' teachings, there's no mention of God, Jesus, the Bible, or any of the thorny social issues. There is a Christian volume available for those interested, though! What's wrong with classic fairy tales? I do not have anything against them, except I believe their usefulness and relevance are continuing to drop. It seems many of them do not teach any meaningful lessons, and even more are so out-of-date that kids just don't understand what they mean. For instance:   Little Miss Muffet sat on a...what's it? - Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...then his helpers give up. - Jack fell down the hill and broke his crown(?) and fixed it with vinegar and brown paper. What? - This old man, he played one, he played knick-knack on my thumb. Odd! - Jack goes up a beanstalk(?) and robs a giant...three times? Yes, they can be entertaining, cute, and popular to the culture at large, but I feel there can be something better that can accompany the classics.