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Winding-down using a bedtime routine can make getting your child to bed one of the most peaceful times of your day. A common element of the bedtime routine for parents, children, and professionals is the reading of favorite bedtime books to help your child settle down both the mind and body.
Lori once led a previous life as an elementary school reading specialist and I as a speech-language pathologist before we discovered our callings as sleep consultants. We are some of the biggest champions of reading to your kids from the earliest age possible. You probably already know that this sacred time with a caregiver is also all but guaranteed to support your child’s language and literacy skills, as well as nurturing your relationship with your child (which in turn also, itself, benefits cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development).
We reached out over Facebook and Instagram to some of our favorite parents to find out their go-to reads, and compiled them here with our own tried and true bedtime stories for infants all the way up to elementary-school-aged kids for your perusal. We’ll start with our top picks for baby’s first year.
Baby Books to Read at Bedtime
Avid readers will notice that most of these books have been around for years (decades for some). Books are one of the many places in life and child-rearing where new is not necessarily better! While there are plenty of great new titles hitting the shelves every single month, you can’t go wrong with any of these oldies but goodies.
Most board books that babies love most share the same common characteristics: repetition of simple themes, repetition of key sounds and words, concrete topics, high-contrast pictures, and brevity. This is no accident. While you may be ready to pull your hair out after the 37th reading (this week) of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, your baby most likely cannot get enough. This is how your baby builds pre-literacy skills (the precursors needed to eventually learn to read), speaking and listening skills, and the repetition and predictability is exactly what you need to cue your baby’s body and brain to prepare for sleep.
Lori’s Favorites:
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
This book showcases parent/baby pairs as the day is ending and they are preparing for sleep. Strong on sleepy vibes, emphasizing safety and security, this book has particularly beautiful artwork as well.
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton – All the classic Sandra Boynton animal characters show up to go through their bedtime routine together. Hilarity ensues. I can all but guarantee that your child will never get enough of this one.
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Sometimes this book throws parents off because it’s almost entirely wordless. Trust us: push past your discomfort and remember that there is no wrong way to “read” it and your child is not judging you (except in that way where he or she is utterly fascinated by every word that is coming out of your mouth). This style of book is worth its weight in gold for the linguistic payoffs for your child. Yes, repetition and predictability is important, but these kinds of open-ended books teach narrative skills that are just as vital to your child’s language development. Plus, the gorilla gets up to some hysterical hijinx and you and your baby will laugh at the surprise ending.
Sara’s Favorites:
But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton – This was the Sandra Boynton favorite of my household. The silliness is contagious and you may have to actually take this one off the bedtime rotation and read it at other times of day if it proves to stimulating for your child. We would always read this one first to our daughter, then follow it with more sober reads. It’s that good.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – This is another book cemented in the category of children’s classics. Eric Carle books are very recognizable both for their artwork and for their simple stories that captivate kids and are priceless for building pre-reading skills. I can still remember my now 11-year-old pointing with me at each food the caterpillar gobbled up as I read.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown –
There’s a reason a spoof of this book exists. One of the older classics on our list, this is a perfect choice for last book of the night. Babies around 12 months are language sponges and could spend much longer than their parents’ attention span will allow pointing at things for you to name. Goodnight Moon is perfect for this activity, and often spurs families to do their own Goodnight ritual around their baby’s nursery, saying “goodnight” to each object in turn.
Our readers’ favorites:
Hush-A-Bye Bunny by Nosy Crow & Holly Surplice
The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood & Renata Liwska
Llama Llama Nighty-Night by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney & Listening Library
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and Steam Train Dream Train by Sherri Duskey Rinker & Tom Lichtenheld
Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton
Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton
Bedtime Peekaboo– DK series
Of course this is the tiniest of samplings of the wide, wide world of quality children’s books out there. Let us know if any of these are also on your family’s favorite bedtime books list, and maybe take our list with you on your next trip to the library to try some that are new to you and your kids! Stay tuned for our post about our favorite books for toddlers and older kiddos!