Another book that needs no introduction, Goodnight Moon was part of my oldest’s bedtime routine for about a year, beginning when he was around six months old. We hoped the hypnotic words, the coziness of the pictures, and the unchanging routine would help him (finally) go to sleep. And, as he got older, we enjoyed looking for the mouse hiding in each picture of the room.
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Clement Hurd
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Posted in Board Books, Picture Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, Clement Hurd, Goodnight Moon, I read this as a kid, knitting, Margaret Wise Brown
This funny story is entirely narrated by a deadpan wombat (an Australian marsupial that look like a brown bear cub that somehow got mixed up with a koala and groundhog). Initially, her days are unvaried; she spends her time sleeping, eating grass, and scratching. But when some new neighbors move in, her life (and theirs!) starts to change. After some consideration (and a lot of carrots) she decides “that humans are easily trained and make quite good pets.” (One suspects the humans have reached a rather different conclusion about wombats.)
This story, with its brevity and constant sleeping, is perfect for bedtime.
Author: Jackie French
Illustrator: Bruce Whatley
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, Australia, bedtime, Bruce Whatley, Diary of a Wombat, food, garden, Jackie French, series
It was Kitten’s first full moon.
When she saw it, she thought,
There’s a little bowl of milk in the sky.
And she wanted it.
Kitten tries (and tries) to reach the little bowl of milk that she wants so much. Things do not go well. (Poor Kitten!) But, as you might expect, there is a happy ending waiting.
This soft, sweet, short story is perfect for just before bed.
Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, Caldecott Medal, Charlotte Zolotow Award, food, Kevin Henkes, Kitten's First Full Moon, New York Times Best Illustrated Book, New York Times Notable Children's Book
By the time Old Bear
fell asleep for the winter,
it was snowing hard.
Soon he was dreaming.
Old Bear leads us through a winter’s worth of beautiful dreams, one for each season of the year. This is another short, quiet, dreamy book that is perfect for just before bed.
Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
My friend Rabbit means well.
But whatever he does,
wherever he goes,
trouble follows.
This is another quick, funny, unexpected book with beautiful illustrations. Both boys love to chime in on the (frequently repeating lines) and happily anticipate the next wild (slightly disastrous, mostly humorous) event. A perfect treat before bed.
Author: Eric Rohmann
Illustrator: Eric Rohmann
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, Caldecott Medal, Eric Rohmann, Machines, My Friend Rabbit
The girl was small and the cat was big.
And on certain nights
she rode on his back
to the place where
the Milk-Pool was.
Another simple and beautiful bedtime tale. This has role reversals, great illustrations, and lots of creativity. Perfect for a quick and cozy read before bed.
Author: Lane Smith
Illustrator: Lane Smith
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, beach, bedtime, Diverse Books, Lane Smith, out of print, The Big Pets
I’ve been meaning to write about a number Christmas books this holiday season, but somehow this sweet book keeps slipping to the front of the queue. In short, a lot of otters find a baby and a book that belong to a very unusual (and yet ultimately very relatable) mother. But the seemingly simple story quietly addresses being lost and found, bold and safe, curious and content (often all at once).
A Lot of Otters seems to have been inspired by a legend about otters and books that Ms. Berger explored in an earlier work, Animalia (which I expect will also show up here someday). It is calming and soft, with beautiful illustrations that are perfect for for kids who are enthralled by otters (like my youngest). I especially recommend it for bedtime.
Author: Barbara Helen Berger
Illustrator: Barbara Helen Berger
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged A Lot of Otters, Animalia, Animals, Barbara Helen Berger, bedtime, Diverse Books
Silly Sally went to town,
walking backwards, upside down.
This book is all kinds of silly. There are silly words, characters, pictures, and plot lines. There are lots of chances for silly voices. And tickling the listeners is all-but required.
If pure silliness isn’t enough to close the deal, there’s also plenty of repetition that makes it extra fun for the kids to join in and rollicking rhythms that it makes it a pleasure to read aloud. And it is a great choice for a bedtime story when you want to end the day quickly, but on a high note.
We don’t have the big board book version (yet?), but it would a great choice for a reader not quite yet ready for paper pages.
Author: Audrey Wood
Illustrator: Audrey Wood
A panda cake, a panda cake,
Mama is making a panda cake.
Panda Cake is, as far as I can tell, is Rosalie Seidler’s only book. (I hope I’m wrong and will discover another one someday.) It is quietly lovely, gently humorous, and makes me wish that I could somehow bake “that wonderful cake/That only a panda knows how to make” with my boys. Some combination of the lilting cadence, soft black-and-white pictures (perfect for pandas!), and gentle message always draws us in. Great for before bed, or any time at all.
Author: Rosalie Seidler
Illustrator: Rosalie Seidler
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, fable, food, out of print, Panda Cake, Rosalie Seidler
An easy way for me to get a “yay” from the boys is to pick out The Maggie B. as their bedtime story. A little girl begins the book by wishing on a star:
North Star, star of the sea,
I wish for a ship
Named after me,
To sail for a day
Alone and free,
With someone nice
For company.
When she wakes up, she finds that she is “in the cabin of her own ship” and spends the day joyfully taking care of the ship and her “dear baby” brother (the nice company). This book is always a favorite. Both the words and the pictures are scrumptious and story is a perfect mix of the fantastic and the matter-of-fact. (My youngest also enjoys the counting rhyme that ends with a nibbled little finger.) I was lucky to find this book through raves on other sites (one look at the pictures and I was hooked) where the word that came up over and over to describe it was “cozy.” I completely agree; we love ending the night snuggled up with The Maggie B.
Author: Irene Haas
Illustrator: Irene Haas
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, food, garden, Irene Haas, Machines, The Maggie B.