Fibles: 10-Minute Children’s Bedtime Stories for modern-day kids!

M R Everette's Fibles is a bundle of quick animal bedtime stories for 5 year olds, each one built around a fib, a fuss or a daft plan.

What happens

Every story stars a different animal with a very punny name. Erlee the bird wants to beat Wisee the wise owl to the front of the queue for free Saturday pancakes. Potter the otter would much rather play in the stream than do his homework.

Ewe Wee has never tried vegetables. Then she hears everybody in the buffet queue moaning about peas and carrots, and she's too scared to eat them.

Most of the stories turn on somebody getting it a bit wrong first. Moonie the calf swaps his school bell for a "rare antique coin" that turns out to be worthless. Roebuck the buck won't have a simple haircut before school photos (and ends up with no hair at all). McKoo the cuckoo is told to clean his clock and goes off to play mini golf instead.

Each one is short and ends on a little twist, usually a joke on the character's own name. Fraidy the cat, who's too scared to make friends at camp, finishes up not-so Fraidy after all.

It's a very modern animal world too. There are iPaw computers, tweets from Mum and photos posted for friends to comment on. Your reader will probably spot bits of their own week in here.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The wordplay is VERY heavy, and plenty of the jokes (getting "buffaloed", having your clock cleaned) are really for the grown-up reading aloud. Most five-year-olds will enjoy the silly names and the story without catching every pun. You might get a few groans in, which is half the fun!

One fish also gets hooked by a fisherman for a fish fry. It's over in a sentence, but a very tender-hearted listener might notice.

What to read next

If your reader likes a short animal story with a lesson tucked inside, try Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny. Isabel the bunny is the best at bunjitsu in her school, and each little tale ends with her working out a cleverer way than fighting.