Hi, furends! 🐾
Mom found a book that was published way back in 1996 called Bedtime Stories for Dogs, and obviously I had to investigate. I mean, bedtime stories AND dogs? I have some professional experience in both of those areas.
Author Leigh Anne Jasheway says right in the introduction that this book is meant for people to read to their dog children. Finally, an author who understands her audience!
Bedtime Stories for Dogs takes fairy tales you probably already know and turns them into stories for dogs. There’s The Three Little Pugs, Goldilocks and the Three Cats, Snow White and the Seven Chihuahuas, Jackie and the Beanpole, Hans and Greta, Red, Riding to the Dog Show, Princess and Peabody… and my personal favorite:
CinderDane.
Obviously.
CinderDane is a tall, beautiful, pure black Great Dane who lives with three little dogs who trip her and laugh at her because she’s so big. When they’re all invited to a party at the local kennel, CinderDane doesn’t even want to go. There are never any dogs her size there, and she wishes she could be small like everybody else.
After the little dogs leave for the party, CinderDane falls asleep and dreams that her fairy godmother grants her wish. She gets to be SMALL!
And nobody notices her.
Well. That didn’t work out.
CinderDane decides she would rather be big again. When she wakes up, she goes to the party just the way she is—and meets an Old English Sheepdog named Prince. They fall in love.
I believe the moral here is quite clear: being a Great Dane is always the correct choice.
Okay, that might not be the exact moral. But I like mine.
That’s one of the things Mom and I especially enjoyed about this book. The stories are amusing and creative, but just like the fairy tales that inspired them, each one has a good moral. We happen to be rather fond of stories that can make you laugh and still leave you with something worth remembering.
There are also some familiar nursery rhymes that have received the dog treatment. Then, at the end, the book shifts paws.
The final story is called Angel Dogs. It’s a sweet story about the idea that dogs really are angels, and it ends by reminding you that your own dog is an angel, too.
Mom says this portion of the book may cause spontaneous dog cuddling and kissing.
I see no problem with this side effect.
If you love dogs and know the classic fairy tales, Bedtime Stories for Dogs is a wonderfully fun little book. Nearly 30 years after it was published, Mom and I were still laughing at Leigh Anne’s clever doggy twists—and then getting a little misty-eyed at the end.
But this review has an extra-happy ending!
While Mom was looking through the book again, she thought the author must be a nice, interesting person. So she found Leigh Anne on Facebook and sent her a message.
And Leigh Anne wrote back!
We exchanged dog pictures, and now we’re exchanging books, too. I pawtographed a copy of Puppy Bedtime Stories: Sig Dreams for Leigh Anne and her three fur kids, and she’s sending me The Dogs’ Guide to Human(Kind), a book of wisdom written by seven of her dogs—including some who have since crossed the Rainbow Bridge—and I can hardly wait to get my paws on The Dogs’ Guide and read it cover to cover.
Apparently, authors whose dogs help write their books eventually find one another. 🐾❤️
Sig’s verdict: If your human has been neglecting to read you a bedtime story, Bedtime Stories for Dogs provides an excellent opportunity to correct that behavior.
And if there happens to be a Great Dane in your house, start with CinderDane.
Trust me on this one.
🐾 Sig Shue
Great Dane • Author • Bedtime Story Professional • Firm Believer in the Literary Importance of CinderDane