Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Politically Correct Bedtime Stories | 1994 | James Finn Garner | Buy |
| 2 | Once Upon a More Enlightened Time: More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories | 1995 | James Finn Garner | N/A |
| 3 | Politically Correct Holiday Stories | 1995 | James Finn Garner | Buy |
| 4 | Politically Correct Holiday Stories For an Enlightened Yuletide Season | 1995 | James Finn Garner | N/A |
| 5 | The Politically Correct Ultimate Storybook | 1995 | James Finn Garner | Buy |
| 6 | Once Upon a More Enlightened Time | 1995 | James Finn Garner | Buy |
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories was one of the biggest humor books of the 1990s. James Finn Garner took classic fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and The Three Little Pigs and rewrote them using comically over-the-top politically correct language. The wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, for example, is not a villain but a victim of speciesism. The book hit the New York Times bestseller list in 1994 and stayed there for over a year, reaching number one and selling millions of copies worldwide.
Garner followed up quickly with two more books in 1995: Once Upon a More Enlightened Time and Politically Correct Holiday Stories. He also released The Politically Correct Ultimate Storybook, which collected material from the series. The books were translated into more than 20 languages. The humor works because Garner never breaks character. The narrator genuinely believes in the absurd language choices, which makes the satire sharper than if it were played with a wink.