What were your favorite children’s bedtime stories to listen to? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy? Or was it maybe The Wizard of Oz? Providing a beautiful way to nurture a child’s love of reading, bedtime stories also help grow their vocabulary, communication skills, imagination, and creativity. Then, the unique bond develops between the parent and child as they set off on an adventure together each night!
But with so many wonderful children’s bedtime stories available, where should you start? We’ve put together a list of what we feel are the nine top bedtime stories young children will enjoy listening to.
9 Favourite Children’s Bedtime Stories
What makes a great bedtime story? It provides enough excitement to keep their attention. Still, it does not prevent them from winding down. Has characters your child can relate to, has beautiful illustrations, is short in length, and has a satisfying and happy ending. Here are our recommendations for the nine best children’s bedtime stories:
1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar –
packed with gorgeous illustrations and holey pages, this is one of the world’s favorite bedtime stories. Featuring lots of repetition and interactive experiences, almost all children could relate to having eaten so much that they felt like they would pop!
2. Little Red Riding Hood –
a classic fairy tale written in 17th century France, come along on Little Red Riding Hood’s adventure-filled journey to her grandmother’s house. There’s trouble brewing along the way, but the tricky wolf is outsmarted.
3. The Gruffalo –
you don’t need to be big to be clever is the lovely message in this story. The little mouse outsmarts those he meets by describing a monster, which, in the end, he meets!
4. Goodnight Moon –
a gentle and soothing story, Goodnight Moon tells the tale of the Little Bunny as he says goodnight to some special things.
5. Goldilocks and the Three Bears –
if someone has been eating your porridge lately, it may be Goldilocks! It is a popular story with relatable characters, and nobody can resist not reading this tale again and again.
6. The BFG –
Roald Dahl takes children into a world of whimsical language and splendiferous imagery with The BFG. A great bedtime tale for older children and an ideal introduction to the joys of chapter books.
7. Jack and the Beanstalk –
another popular fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk, holds just enough suspense to keep things interesting but with a happy ending that helps tie things together nicely.
8. Where the Wild Things Are –
let us sail away to where the wild things were with young Max when he was sent to bed without supper. Finding solace with monsters from a faraway land, Max tames them and becomes their King, all while having fun.
9. Three Little Pigs –
your child can huff and puff along with the naughty wolf as he tries to blow down the homes of the Three Little Pigs. Packed with repetition and a predictable storyline, this remains one of our favorite children’s bedtime stories!
Does your child have a favorite story? Is it the same as yours when you were little? Maybe you could create your list of bedtime stories and share it with a friend so they, too, can begin to grow their lifetime love of reading!
