Looking for bedtime stories that are contemporary, whimsically fun, and written with Christ-centered parents in mind? These are for you! A collection of fourteen beautifully illustrated read-aloud stories that feature relatable children with relevant (and often adventurous, imaginative) challenges that put their character to the test! Savannah Bloom’s Modern Bedtime Stories veer far from antiquated fairy tales or the overly-cheesy takes on children’s stories. Instead, she aims to engage the child and equip the parent with shared source material for both light-hearted and purposeful discussion. At the end of each story are a fun question, an optional paragraph-long Biblically-based lesson, and a serious question to help guide the conversation toward the story’s theme. The themes in this volume include: God Pursues Us, Love Your Neighbor, Unlimited Forgiveness, Share the Good News, Showing Honor, Riches Fade, Jesus Restores, Absolute Truth, We are Not Our Worst Mistake, All God's Creatures are Beautiful, Follow God’s Commands, Using our Gifts for Him, Helping Others, and Unconditional Love. Savannah desires for every child to know God, love God, and enjoy Him forever. Her hope is that these stories are a small tool to help parents shepherd their kids in that endeavor. If this book sounds like a good addition to your bedtime routine, click BUY…and ENJOY! :) 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. bank robbery, walking toward doom, parent's past jail time). 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, though the values that Jesus teaches are beneficial for all! In this volume, each story has an optional theme verse to go with the character value, as well as an optional paragraph-length Bible lesson for application at the end. This is in addition to the typical fun and serious discussion questions that other volumes include. More options for parents and caregivers to flesh out the character value and draw out the discussion as much as they are awake to do so! 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.