Reading a bedtime story is an age old tradition that has been around for ages. Many adults today can remember a time when they were tucked under the covers and their mom, pops, grandmom or other caregiver read them a story.
Listening to the spoken word has benefits not just for the imagination but for language development and understanding of tone, inflection and complex ideas like story and character development, climax and story settings. It can be a wonderful bonding moment and a baseline for developing reading comprehension and composition skills later on down the line.
It is wonderful to select a bedtime story that focuses on the night time. There are classics that every parent is gifted at the baby shower but each year children’s books authors come up with some amazing new titles. Here are 5, curated from a past post, to start you off if you’re starting to read bedtime stories to your little one or if you simply need new ideas for other books:
1. Pajama Time! by Sandra Boyton
This is one of my faves! I enjoy all of Sandra Boynton’s books but this one made the bedtime ritual sound fun. “It’s Pajama Time! Jamma, Jamma, Jamma Jamma, PJ!” Sandra Boyton’s books are favorites of many children. This is a fun board book for little kids. It makes putting on pajamas a game or a party. With it’s fun mantra, “It’s pajama time,” and the little pajama dance called the “pajammy,” kids have fun with this book.
2. Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan
Here’s a book for animal-lovers. Little Owl spends the night visiting his nighttime animal friends throughout the forest. The artwork is fantastic, and this is a good choice to introduce new animals to your child, like the possum, the raccoon, moths, and crickets. Little owls asks his mother how the night ends, but as she tells him, day breaks and he has fallen asleep.
3. The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson & Beth Krommes
Who doesn’t love an award-winning book. This is the 2009 Caldecott Winner. It takes you through the house and the things found within a house, to a little sleeping boy who flys out into the nighttime on the back of an owl. After seeing what happens at night, he is returned to the house. The short sentences are good for younger children with shorter attention spans, and the detail in the pictures give children plenty to explore.
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4. I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll & Howard McWilliam
And for older children, especially those that might be struggling with fear of the dark, here is a good one. In this story, a little boy gets a note from the monster under his bed saying that the monster is going on vacation. The little boy realizes he can’t sleep without his monster. So, he interviews other monsters for the position, but there is a problem with each one that makes them funny rather than scary. In the end, his monster returns and he can fall asleep.
5. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
This classic children’s book is a bedside staple in many homes. In this simple story, a little bunny says goodnight to all the things he sees on his way to bed. Don’t be surprised if your child starts saying goodnight to the objects in your house on his way to bed after reading this book for several nights. The book is so loved by children, that there is even a plush bunny in striped pajamas that you can buy for your child.
