Bedtime Story: Don't Let the Beasties Escape this Book! by Julie Berry & Illustrated by April Lee

Read for: Requested Review/Netgalley

Synopsis: "It’s no ordinary day at the castle! This beautifully illustrated, silly picture book is a fun introduction to the medieval world and the illuminated bestiary 

Godfrey, a peasant boy who works for the lord and lady of the castle, finds a bestiary, or illustrated book of beasts, on the way to do his chores one morning. He begins inventing his own story, placing “Sir Godfrey” at the center of numerous heroic deeds. Sir Godfrey battles a lion, tames a unicorn, defeats a griffin, conquers a bonnacon, and triumphs over a dragon. Godfrey does not realize that each time he says the name of an animal, it magically emerges from the book, causing mayhem and inadvertently accomplishing his chores. The laughs pile up and the tension mounts: When will Godfrey realize that all this outrageous stuff is going on?

This book also contains engaging backmatter with information on life in the Middle Ages and a mini-bestiary drawn from original 13th-century manuscripts. Don’t Let the Beasties Escape This Book! is a humorous introduction to the medieval world."

My Review: This is such a fun children's book, I loved the art style, it really suited the story's setting. It is a great book to read with slightly older children as opposed to very young toddlers, as they will be able to grasp the lesson in the book better. Kids will see that their chore list might not be so bad since they don't have to clean up the barn or start the fire for dinner, but they will also see that imagination can make the job go quicker and make it a whole lot more fun. We really had a fun time with this book, and loved that at the end there are some great descriptions and history on the various beasties released in the book.

My Rating: We really enjoyed this one, even though Munchkin is pretty much done with picture books, he was still really able to get a lot out of this story! The illustrations were beautiful and fun to look at the details of the beasts.  We give it a rating of Four Paws!

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. The above is my honest opinion and review.

You can find out more about Julie Berry and her books on her Goodreads Page or Website

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book releases on Sept. 10th but you can pre-order your copy in print format now on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or request it at your local library or bookstore.