The Illustrated Treasury of Classic Children's Stories: Featuring 14 Classic Children's Books Illustrated by Charles Santore, acclaimed illustrator (Charles Santore Children's Classics) Hardcover – Illustrated, 22 Oct. 2019

Being a longtime Santore fan myself, I bought this anthology with aview to introducing my book-obsessed 2 1/2 year old son to the work of Santore when he was a little bit bigger. As it happens, I didn't need to wait - he was immediately captivated by the illustrations in what he (quite rightly) calls "the heavy book" and wanted to start on it straight away. He's particularly enjoying being read Snow White, The Night before Christmas and the Down the Rabbit Hole chapter of Alice in Wonderland. The pictures have to be seen to be believed -realistic, vibrant and detailed, the full colour spreads positively leap off the page. The book is absolutely massive, so won't fit on a normal bookshelf, but it doesn't need to - no one is going to allow something this beautiful to be taken off their coffee table. Astonishingly good value given the number of stories - target audience age probably 4-10, but it can appeal to younger children and even adults as well because of the incredible illustrations. If you buy one book this year, make it this one!