Our top 10 bedtime reads

Can’t you sleep little bear?
Martin Waddell, Barbara Firth (illus)
Walker Books
Age 3-7

It is night time but Little Bear cannot sleep because he is scared of the dark. Big Bear understands his worries and tries to help with a tiny lantern, but it is too small to take away the ‘dark all around’ so Big Bear brings bigger and bigger lanterns. Nothing makes a difference, until that is, he carries Little Bear outside to show him that the dark isn’t really that scary with the bright yellow moon and twinkly stars there to light it up. Reassured Little Bear settles happily to sleep and Big Bear is left in peace to read his book.

The Dream Train – Poems for bedtime
Sean Taylor  illus. Anuska Allepuz
Walker Books

The Dream Train is an absolutely beautiful collection of poems for bedtime. It contains thirty original poems organised into three sections, night arriving, time to close your eyes and dreams.

A wide range of poetry styles and moods from humorous to lyrical, with poems to reassure that everyone goes to sleep, that you are surrounded by those that love you, poems to evoke the magic of twilight, nighttime and dreaming. Each poem is given a double page spread with beautifully soft and magical illustrations. A book to treasure and dip into families are likely to develop their own favourites as they share them at nighttime.

Goodnight Already!
Jory John, Benji Davies (illus)
Harper Collins
Age 3-5

Bear desperately wants to go to sleep, but Duck (his neighbour) desperately wants company. Goodnight Already is very amusing story with two appealing characters, poor sleep deprived Bear and irrepressibly attention seeking Duck.

When children are familiar with the story they can join in; each of you could take turns being Duck or Bear and have fun repeating some of their conversations.

Watch a trailer here

Goodnight Everyone
Chris Haughton
Walker
Age 0-5

Visually stunning with a vibrant palette, this is a delightful picture book likely to become a favourite at bedtime. It is night time in the forest. All the animals are sleepy, stretching and yawning with heavy eyes, ready for bed. All that is except Little Bear who just wants to play. The build-up of the sleepy animals’ yawns make this story fun to share and join in with.  Older children (5+) and adults will also enjoy the end papers which show the constellations of the night sky and planets in our solar system.

Goodnight Spaceman
Michelle Robinson, Nick East (illus)
Puffin
Age 3-7

As two young boys get ready for bed they look out of the window at the starry night and think about their daddy, an astronaut, in his rocket ship and imagine what they would see and do if they were in space as well. In no time at all they find themselves having an adventure of their own as they blast off from earth and meet their dad in space.

Goodnight Spaceman is a rhyming bedtime story with striking illustrations inspired by British astronaut Tim Peake and his young sons who watched him take off for the international space station. Produced in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and with a foreword by Tim Peake, this is a story to inspire lots of space themed fun.

See our ideas for daytime story fun here

Guess how much I love you
Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram (illus)
Walker Books
Age 0-5

It is bedtime and Little Brown Hare desperately wants to get Big Brown Hare’s attention and impress him ‘Guess how much I love you?…..as high as I can reach!’ but no matter what he says and does Big Brown Hare can stretch further and jump higher.  It becomes a game with ever more amazing claims, will Little Brown Hare ever win? Eventually, as he dozes off to sleep he seems to, but who will have the last word? A warm and appealing story, perfect for saying goodnight.

Max at Night
Ed Vere
Puffin
Age 0-5

Sleepily getting ready for bed, a tiny kitten called Max drinks his milk and brushes his teeth. Then he starts to say goodnight to everything around him, and wants to say goodnight to Moon, but cannot find him so decides to go looking. But no matter how high he climbs he still cannot see Moon and gets very frustrated until Wind blows the clouds away. Moon reassures Max he can hear him from his bedroom so there is no need to go out searching (parents will be pleased to hear!) The story ends with a contented Max curled up fast asleep.

This is a delightful bedtime adventure story perfect for repeated readings and a great way for young children to start to think about the wonder of the moon and the night sky depicted beautifully in the gorgeous illustrations.

See our activity page for Max the Brave in our heroes and villains section.

Owl Babies Martin Waddell, Patrick Benson (illus)
Walker
Age 3-5

This gently humorous picturebook deals sensitively with childhood fears. Three baby owls, Sarah, Percy and Bill, awake one night to find themselves alone in the dark forest. Their owl mother has flown off in search of food but they worry she may not return. Each has a different way of coping with their fears. All is well when the family is reunited at the end of the story, to the visible delight of little Bill. Black backgrounds beautifully evoke the night time setting.

See our ideas for daytime fun with Owl Babies and animation here.

Peace at Last                                               Jill Murphy
Macmillan
Age 3-7

It’s late and everyone is tired and wants to get some sleep. But Mr Bear can’t sleep. Every noise keeps him awake and, whatever he tries, he still can’t sleep. This classic picturebook follows him through the night, telling his story with gentle humour. The repetition encourages children to join in with Mr. Bear’s, “Oh NO! I can’t stand THIS!” with great relish.

Here’s a book that’s great for chiming in with sound effects and talking about family experiences.

See our ideas for daytime fun with Peace at Last here.