We’ve heard the most imaginative folk tales ever told when we were about a year old. From the colorful adventures of animals to the delightful lives of princes and princesses, we have once listened to our parents’ voices telling the tales of the cute characters before we fall into a deep slumber. Now that you are a mommy or a daddy, it is time to accompany your sweet little children to a whole new world of imagination. Embark on a journey with them without having to take a step outside by adding storytime to their night schedule.
Lighten Up Your Toddler’s Bedtime Routine with These Kid’s Bedtime Stories
1. Llama Llama Red Pajama
A rhyming story by Anna Dewdny, Llama Llama Red Pajama, features the bedtime drama of a Baby Llama. In this simple narrative, Mama Llama tucked Baby Llama into his bed. However, Mama Llama needs to go downstairs for a while. The little time Baby Llama spent waiting for his mama seemed like forever. His sniffles grew into hollers as he waited and waited. He was worried. He was scared. He wanted his mama to return. And then just at the right time, Mama Llama came back to comfort her baby so he could peacefully sleep. Mama Llama assured Baby Llama that she’s always there for him and that she loves him more than anything else in the world.
The sweetness of the story and the portrayal of how a mother’s love can calm her child makes it one of the best short bedtime stories you can read to your toddlers. Aside from that, you can also start teaching them new words stated in the story or how the color red and other colors look like.
2. Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon is another rhyming children’s bedtime story that focuses on a rabbit’s bedtime routine. The author, Margaret Wise Brown, uses rhymes and repetitions; thus, creating rhythm and giving life to the story. Moreover, Goodnight Moon is also a picture book with illustrations full of vivid colors that help expand the imagination of a child. This adorable story talks about a little rabbit who says goodnight to everything around him before he sleeps. If you are inside the rabbit’s room, you would hear, “Goodnight, room. Goodnight, moon.” How cute must that be?
While the story’s main character is a rabbit, it still reflects the life of a child in the real world: A parent securing his or her child in bed, and a child saying goodnight not just to his parents but also to other things or even the moon. Furthermore, this story reminds older people to recognize and be more grateful for everything we have, just like how a child values all the things surrounding them.
3. Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book
Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. You know how contagious a yawn is, right? When you see other people do this, you start to yawn yourself. I bet you’re yawning now.
Written by one of the most famous children’s authors in America, Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book revolves on a series of events of different characters as they try to drift off to sleep. The story starts with a small bug named Van Vleck, who started to feel sleepy. As he yawns, everyone around him starts to yawn and feel sleepy too. The book then followed the tales of different characters, such as Foona-Lagoona Baboona, the Chippendale Mupp, and the Sleepwalking Curious Crandalls, who are also preparing to go to the dreamland. As you close the book tonight, this great read will surely leave your babies yawning and snoring.
4. The Going to Bed Book
The Going to Bed Book is another classic bestseller written by Sandra Boynton. The story circles on a series of bedtime activities of animated animals in an arc. According to the review from Amazon, the goofy animals’ routine includes taking a bath in one big tub, brushing their teeth, and wearing their pajamas.
With this “silly” book, you can implement a wonderful bedtime routine in your home that starts with watching the sun go down and ends with sleep. And your little one will wake up to a lovely sunrise in the morning. Remember that having a sleep schedule and bedtime routine will help you and your child handle sleep regression.
5. Ladybug Girl Says Good Night
Remember when we were young and we didn’t want to go to sleep? Our sweet little toddler may be like that too. But Ladybug Girl has her ways to make bedtime fun. An adorable bedtime story by Jacky Davis, Ladybug Girl Says Goodnight follows the story of a girl who had so much fun reading her books and saying goodnight to all of her plush friends. This picture book that’s popping with colors and creativity is a result of two people working hand-in-hand: Jacky Davis and her husband, David Soman. Davis writes the story and Soman makes a creative interpretation of it for kids to enjoy.
With the depiction of how enjoyable bedtimes can be with bath-time bubble beards and pajamas with wings, this book will help you make your child appreciate the beauty of sleep. And when they’re old enough, you can encourage them to plot their bedtime ritual.
6. Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?
When we were young, we slept in the comfort of our homes tucked into bed by our parents. But what about the diggers? Where do they sleep at night?
Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? is a unique personification of diggers and dump trucks, who, after a long day in the construction site, need to rest and go to sleep. Written by Brianna Caplan Sayres, this delightful picture book tells a story about how bedtime is like for different trucks like fire engines, tractors, and monster trucks. What makes this short narrative close to reality is that mommy trucks tell their babies bedtime stories, and daddy trucks sing them to sleep. This book is perfect for toddlers who want to play with trucks during their playtime. Apart from telling them a bedtime story, this book also gives you the avenue to teach your children the different types of trucks, which can be both enjoyable and educational.
7. What! Cried Granny
Authored by Kate Lum, What! Cried Granny centers on Patrick’s sleep-over at Granny’s. It could have been a perfect story about bedtime, but it’s Patrick’s first time sleeping at Granny’s House, and he couldn’t just sleep. It’s bedtime, but he doesn’t even have a bed. Not just that, other things are also missing: a pillow, a blanket, and more. Granny, being the loving person that she is, does everything she could to fill out everything that is missing. In this almost bedtime story, will Patrick be able to doze off to sleep?
The thought that grandparents love their grandchildren so much is true to many, although there are some toxic grandparents. The thing that makes this bedtime story relatable is the struggle of a child to go to sleep, especially when he or she is in an environment that’s new to him or her. Nevertheless, there will always be someone who will save the day.
8. How do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
Ever since we were young, we hear the words goodnight before we close our eyes and dream. Although not every time. Humans have the ability to form meaningless sounds into words that establish communication. In a world where imagination has no limits, how do dinosaurs say goodnight? How can a writer represent the bedtime schedule of a dinosaur?
In this fictitious tale by Jane Yolen, you get to uncover the playful homes of baby dinosaurs as they go to sleep with their parents. And as these baby dinos go to sleep, they give their moms and dads hugs and kisses, tuck their tails in, and whisper “Good night.” Do you expect them to roar? Not this time.
9. Little Owl’s Night
A break from the usual bedtime stories, Divya Srinivasan’s Little Owl’s Night features the life of an owl at night. As he wakes up from his deep sleep during the day, Little Owl watches his friends in the forest enjoying the night. Hedgehog, Skunk, Frog, and Cricket have their own fun thing to do as the moonlight envelops the forest. Little Owl has a different sleep schedule, which makes him wonder what daytime is like. Would it be as magnificent as the night? Mama Owl then helps her baby discover how the mornings are.
Like the little owl, children sometimes wonder what happens to everything that surrounds them as they go to sleep. Their curiosity expands their knowledge of the things they have yet to uncover. As long as the parents are there, everything will go smoothly.
Parents can learn from their children as much as their children learn from them. The pureness of a child’s heart and their positive outlook in life radiates happiness to their mommies and daddies. As they grow older, one of your responsibilities as a parent to instill in them the values you want them to possess. You can start by telling them stories of love and appreciation as they go to sleep tonight. While a survey from Littlewoods shows that out of 2,000 mothers, only 13% of them include reading bedtime stories to their children in their nightly routine, make sure that you are one of the numbers.
Oops, it’s getting late now. Goodnight!
Thankfulness to my father who informed me regarding this web site, this weblog is really amazing. Tandi Thoma Davita