Remember the day you saw those beautiful positive pregnancy tests (who really can take just one)? As soon as that little + comes into view you immediately picture your pregnancy, the first time you hold your baby, the sweet, sleepy feeds, and all the fun traditions and routines you get to develop as a family. One of the most amazing routines starts in those first few weeks and continues on through the years: bedtime. Blessed bedtime is full of squeaky clean, smell-good, yummy snuggles. Maybe you have tea or milk, maybe you watch a show, maybe you get your final wiggles out by jumping on the bed; there are so many bedtime routines that perfectly fit each family.
The part of bedtime I know we look forward to most is storytime, and after three kids, we definitely have our favorite bedtime books for toddlers! We get lost in the wonderful worlds and beautiful pictures of the best stories each night. Reading books before bed always brings our day to the perfect close. For three straight years, these bedtime books continue to be fan favorites:
Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton
We adore Sandra and own a great many of her books. They’re full of fun rhyming songs and the same familiar animal faces. Pajama Time is about a little animal slumber party and walks you through how each animal has different jammies and routines, but at the end of the night, they end up snuggly in bed as the lights turn off and the silence comes on.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
The bedtime classic that I am sure most everyone has read. As you flip through the pages you explore the great green room and tell all the things goodnight. Somehow there is a sleepy magic through these pages that makes you feel so snuggly and tired by the time you close the last page. If ever there was a book that could drug you to sleep it is this one. I often think of it as the melatonin of books!
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama is a great little furry friend who teaches lesson after lesson for parents and kids alike in all of his books. Red Pajama is all about how Little Llama gets tucked into bed, but decides that he needs his mama, who is trying to get all the mom jobs done now that her baby is in bed. It reassures kiddos that mommy (or daddy) is always close by.
The Good Night Train by June Sobel
As Good Night Train leaves the station, it goes through the routines of the evening: brushing, washing, and getting snuggly in bed. The train continues on its fun adventure as the train and kids are getting sleepier and sleepier. It ends with the train and passengers back at the station all asleep. My kids love to find things in the pages of the books they read and this book is full of cool things to look for (like shapes in the clouds).
Sheep Go To Sleep by Nancy E. Shaw
This fun tale is about five little sheep who each need something special before they can go to bed—sound familiar to anyone? I wish my kids actually just needed one thing. The doggie who looks after the sheep is nowhere to be found, so a collie steps in to get the sheep what they need. He even sacrifices his very own blanket. We like to count and check the sheep on each page to get a little math lesson in.
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
This is our newest addition! You take a journey with Max as he has an evening adventure to the land of wild things. He is so wild that he is crowned king of the wild things, but he realizes that he misses his mom and the civility of his non-wild life. We hope he learns to be a better listener over his adventure.
Time For Bed by Mem Fox
A sweet rhyming tale about a variety of parent and baby animals as they snuggle and cuddle their littles to bed. The flow of this book is one of my favorites. The lullaby in the pages and the beautiful watercolor-like images really set the stage for a calm bedtime. Each page focusing on the animal by saying “it’s time for bed,” such as, “It’s time for bed, little snake little snack, good gracious me you’re still awake.” I giggle every time at this line!
Go To Sleep, Little Farm by Mary Lyn Ray
As nighttime begins to fall on this sweet little farm, we follow animals as they fall asleep. My kids love to find the “zzzz’s” on each page. This is one of those books that charms you with beautiful pictures and heartwarming rhythm. It was even reviewed by The New York Times.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
We do not discriminate when it comes to Eric Carle; we have and adore so many of his books. Although they are not bedtime specific, they are classics. The sweet pictures, the adorable stories…they are just magic and the perfect close to a busy day. These books have been huge helps in my boys learning about animals and their sounds. The most recent of these that we’ve fallen in love with is From Head To Toe; it is a really good way to get those last-minute wiggles out.
I Love You Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
Such a silly story about a little boy who tests his mother’s love by coming up with crazy stories and asking if she would still love him. She has a witty answer to each challenge and we are reminded that a mother will do anything or move anywhere just to be with her baby.
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
This book is a fan favorite all around from folks everywhere. It is a very sweet story about how much love there is between Little Nut Brown Hare & Big Nutbrown Hare. This is where the ever-popular saying “I love you to the moon and back” came from. We read it occasionally, but it is not one that my boys pick often. Prepare for a longer read if your little ones choose it.
Pete the Cat: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by James Dean
Pete the Cat is a silly and fun-loving character that has many a story under his belt. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star takes you through the verses of twinkle twinkle little star (which I had no idea had so many) as Pete the Cat ends his day and gets ready for bed.
What The Sleepy Animals Do At the Audubon Zoo by Grace Millsaps
This is a fan favorite in our house. I don’t know if it’s the NOLA roots or the silly story of how animals stay awake and party all night long, but we adore this bedtime tale. We extra-appreciate the New Orleans fun when the animals crown a carnival king!
Your Own Big Bed by Rita M. Bergstein
This was a random Amazon purchase that I knew nothing about, but grabbed really quickly when we ordered a duvet insert and bed rail to make the transition from crib to big boy bed. We follow a little boy who learns about animals as they grow and become bigger just like him.
What A Wonderful World by Bob Thiele
This beautiful and classic song by Louis Armstrong is turned into a peaceful, colorful, and frankly wonderful children’s book. You can’t help but feel calm every time you read it. The pictures in this book are one of my all-time favorites!
Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA by Jimmy Fallon
Although this is not a bedtime book, it is always one book my kids will choose for a bedtime story. I swear this book taught them animals and their sounds. And it is really funny! Dada is a quick little story about how all the daddy animals want is their babes to say “dada” but instead, they say their animal sound.
“Harrison’s” Night Night Book from “Cousins Louis & Adele” (Written by Marianne Richmond)
This was a very thoughtful gift that Harrison’s cousins gave him for his first birthday. It is one of those customizable books that talks about all of Harrison’s things, from his toys to his puppy, Liuzza. It is a cute and simple read.
What are some of your favorite bedtime books for toddlers? Comment below!
