I'm feeling inspired by the wonderful new book by David Ezra Stein, called The Interrupting Chicken. My children and I are going to list a few other of our favorite bedtime stories.
Bedtime for Mommy, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Turnabout is fair play in this uproariously funny, topsy-turvy tale.
Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep is a wonderful way to address children's fears at bedtime, plus teaches a healthy way to cope with these troubles. Also, there is a touching relationship between the big brother and his little sister.
We found the adorable Sleepyhead inside our Cheerios box at breakfast one day. Very charming, very snuggly.
As anyone whose read my blog already knows, I'm slightly obsessed with books by Sandra Boynton. Here's her silly, but soothing, bedtime classic, The Going to Bed Book.
With very few words, Peggy Rathman leads children on a fabulous bedtime adventure in Goodnight Gorilla.
Artscroll publishes a whole series of wonderful, wholesome anthologies full of very short stories, just right for bedtime reading. They are widely available in Jewish bookstores and online.
This story is perfect for a Friday night: Hanna's Sabbath Dress. The original Hebrew version of this book has long been a favorite of my children. Hanna is a little girl who has just received a new, white Shabbos dress from her mother. When she does an act of kindness, there are unforeseen consequences. How will she ever bring herself to face her mother?
Last, but not least: the brand new, absolutely fabulous Hashem is Truly Everywhere by Chani Altein, with pictures by the fabulous, local-to-L.A. artist, Marc Lumer!
Put in your bedtime story suggestions in the comments below.
I really like Becca's suggestions and want to add a few of my own.
ReplyDelete1) A little-known book that my toddler loves is _Kisses for Daddy_ by Frances Watts and David Legge. It's a story about a little bear-boy who doesn't want to kiss his father goodnight. It goes through their evening routine, with Daddy Bear asking for different kinds of animal kisses (since he isn't getting a big bear hug or kiss from Baby Bear). The accompanying illustrations are vivid and clever, containing images of the animals Daddy Bear mentions. I bought this book for my husband's first Fathers' Day, last year. My son liked it from the first read, but now, a year later, he really appreciates the humor of the tale. My husband and I like finding the animals hidden throughout the illustrations, too. I'm a pretty keen observer, but I just finally found the bat!! I think that the "treasure hunt" aspect of looking for the animals in the pictures will help extend the fun of this book for years to come.
2) A lesser-known Sandra Boynton book that my family also loves is _Snoozers_. It has several 2-page, super-short illustrated poems on bed-time themes, including one at the end with musical notation that can be sung as a truly ridiculous lullaby. Each story is tabbed, so that kids can turn to precisely the story they want.
3) I don't know what this series is called, but they are books about different places where different famous sites are visited over the course of a day. My son has _Goodnight, California_ from this series, and I know that his PJ Library-receiving friends also have gotten the excellent _Goodnight, Israel_.