Booklists | August 5, 2024

5 Best Bedtime Books for Children: Tips for Reading at Nighttime

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Help your kid fall in love with reading by exploring our five best bedtime books for children and tips for reading at nighttime.

Bedtime stories

Children love bedtime stories! They help parents create a calming bedtime routine so their kids can fall asleep gently. Reading to your children at night has multiple positive effects. It relaxes children, fosters your bond with them, and naturally teaches them new words and values.

Are you looking for new stories and books to read before bed? Below we have listed our five favorite books for bedtime reading, all free of cost and accessible around the globe on the BookSmart app.

Did you know that:

  • Bedtime stories have a calming effect on children. And it’s not just the story that makes them snooze away gently. Your voice helps your child’s brain visit a pleasant place to disconnect from daytime adventures.
  • Its never too early or too late to start reading bedtime stories to children! While reading to children from an early age has many benefits, it’s never too late to enjoy bedtime stories. Even when children begin reading on their own at around age eight, they still enjoy bedtime stories read to them by their favorite family members. Continue until they have grown out of it and your child or teenager naturally communicates they’re ready to stop.
  • Ideally, children should read bedtime stories every night. And all parents know this – they never get tired of the same favorite stories and books. The routine and recurring narrations provide a sense of security and comfort. It’s the regularity of reading every night, not the type of story you tell or book you read that matters. Still, every kid is thrilled to discover a new book once in a while. Libraries to borrow books or digital tools like Worldreader’s BookSmart are great places to explore new stories for any age, free of cost.
Parent reading with child at night

Our Bedtime Recommendations

Sleep Tight, Tiger

Sleep Tight Tiger

Wind down with this delightful, rhyming bedtime story that will surely become an instant classic. Children and caretakers alike will rejoice reading it together, time and time again.

Into the Wild

Into the Wild

A creative and sweet book for children of any age. Joe loves wild things but can’t find any in the city. When the Wild invites him to explore the night-time city, he is going to learn that nature can be found just about everywhere. Awards: Included in The Sunday Times Best Children’s Books of 2023.

Zuri's Gift

Zuri’s Gift

A beautifully illustrated book for any age. On her birthday night, Zuri saves a special gift to open last. What magical adventures await? Join Zuri in a tale of bravery and wonder!

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book

This is a classic children’s book for older kids. Run wild in the jungles of India in this adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book! The book centers on the story of Mowgli, a lost ‘man-cub’ who is raised by wolves. Join in his extraordinary adventures as he learns the Laws of the Jungle.

A Day in the Park

A Day in the Park

This is a no-text wordless children’s book. You have to narrate the story of a carefully illustrated day in the part for and with your child. Wordless books help children’s imaginations and vocabularies to grow. And it’s also a lot of fun to invent the story with your child!


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