Who doesn’t love a good bedtime story?
Finding the time to read a bedtime story to your child has huge benefits, both for the child and the person doing the reading. Not only does it encourage children to relax, but it can become an important bonding experience.
Child psychologists also point to the cognitive benefits for young people who are raised with bedtime stories, including higher-than-average literacy rates and an emotional connection to reading.
However, no two children are the same, which makes it difficult to truly list the best bedtime stories for kids. What makes the best bedtime stories for 3-year-olds won’t be relevant for older children. With that in mind, we’ve identified the best books for children split into different age groups.
1-3 Years (Toddlers)
Pajama Time! By Sandra Boynton
Children will love the brightly coloured illustrations and playful rhymes found in this quirky classic, while parents will appreciate the positive message that bedtime is important and fun.
Pajama Time! is a good-night book with the irrepressible language, the inimitable illustrations, the irresistible cast of characters only Sandra Boynton could create.
3-5 Years (Preschoolers)
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Mr Twit hates his wife. Mrs Twit detests her husband. They like nothing more than playing wicked tricks on one another. Sooner or later, things are going to go too far…
The Twits, first published in 1980, may be about a pair of horrible twits, but it also features some of the most-quoted phrases in all of Roald’s books.
Quentin Blake’s legendary illustration helps bring the characters to life.
5-8 Years (Key Stage 1)
The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas by David Almond
Multi-award-winning author David Almond’s pleasingly eccentric story of a ordinary boy who embarks on an unusual adventure.
Full of surreal, fairy-tale touches, this is a joyful and warm story of self-discovery, perfectly accompanied by the quirky illustrations by Oliver Jeffers.
8-11 Years (Key Stage 2)
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
The Iron Man, his head as big as a dustbin, his chest the size of a cattletruck, his arms like cranes, is devouring the tractors, fences and ploughs. Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron Man… but can they?
The Iron Man masterfully mixes science fiction with a modern fairy tale and remains among Ted Hughes’s best known books for children.
Free Bedtime Stories
There’s also a wealth of free books available online. We’re big fans of Storyberries, who have an excellent of 5 minutes stories section covering every possible theme a child could enjoy.
Any finally, one for the mum’s: Tom Hardy reading bedtime stories
You’re welcome 🙂
Love,
Lucy
