The 15 best bedtime stories (that are actually fun to read aloud)

Kids love a book at bedtime – and it certainly helps if parents can actually enjoy reading it too. Here are some surefire winners for your bedside bookshelf…

by Misti Traya

Bedtime stories are a nightly ritual in our house. My husband and I started it very early on in our daughter’s life. We began reading aloud to her when she was a baby, far before she could talk. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t understand what we were saying. She knew tell that whatever we were saying, we were saying it to her and that helped strengthen our bond. The older she got, the more she learnt about expression and emotion based on how we read words on the page.  

If you read to children, they will make connections without even knowing. Simple things like how to use punctuation correctly will seep in the more you read together. Exclamation marks will become associated with volume, surprise, and intense emotion, just as commas and dashes will be represent an audible pause.   

There are lots of wonderful children’s stories, but admittedly, some are better than others when reading aloud. Lots of well loved classics are quite clunky if you read them anyway other than on your own. Sentences can require loads of air, far more than my lung capacity will allow. Other favourites have characters who speak in regional dialects. I’ll admit it, my terrible Yorkshire accent completely ruined Martha’s charm in The Secret Garden. All I’m saying is: know your limits.  

So what makes for a good story, you ask? Here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way…

Tip 1: Go for rhyme

First on my list is to look for smooth, mellifluous verse. Seek out text that flows like a river. Rhythm is key. It’s one of the reasons why Julia Donaldson’s books are so great, especially Room on The Broom. You can tell the author read the text aloud whilst writing. This matters. It will keep whoever is reading from tripping up. It will help build momentum and move the story along.

Tip 2: Act up

Books with colourful characters lend themselves to funny voices. Everyone loves funny voices. If your child can read, include them. Assign them a character. Assign one to whoever is around. Even teddies and toys can get involved. Honestly, the more the merrier.

Don’t be embarrassed to get a bit theatrical. Reading bedtime stories is the best time to bust out your amateur dramatics. My husband reads the Frog in Oi Frog like Ray Winstone as an east end gangster. He reads the Bear in I Want My Hat Back very much the same way. You know the voice, the scary whispery one. It’s amazing how softness can sometimes be more effective than shouting (see Al Pacino in The Godfather II).  

Take direction from the text. Make your voice as big as a ship’s horn or as small as a mouse depending on what you’re reading. Stop and act out actions if appropriate. In our house, a minute long rumpus must always occur when reading Where The Wild Things Are.

Tip 3: Make it a two-way thing

Most importantly, encourage your child to ask questions. Engage them with the story. Have them guess what’s going to happen next. Or ask them what they see. Sometimes stories are told through illustrations as much as they are with words.

Author Philip Pullman wrote, “Reading aloud is an activity that everyone can take part in. It sharpens the intellect, invigorates the imagination and enlarges the scope of human sympathy. If we all read aloud every day, the world would be a better place.” I quite agree.

So with all that in mind, here are 15 books that are sure to make bedtime a treat.

1) Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown – Every child should own this classic. Its simplicity is poetic, almost existential. A bunny says goodnight to the objects in his room.

2) I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen – My husband and I read this together. He does the voice of the Bear and I do all the other animals. Each one has a distinct personality. The illustrations are great as is the twist at the end.

3) Please Mr. Panda by Steve Antony – One is never too young to start learning about manners. This book emphasises the importance of saying please and features lots of colourful characters whose voices are fun to do.  

4) Kitchen Disco by Claire Foges – Sometimes before bed, you really need a good bounce about to shake that last bit of energy out of your system. In our house, we call this Getting Your Monkeys Out. This book is perfect for that. I dare you to read it without rapping or singing–it’s almost impossible to do.

5) Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak – Nothing is more reassuring than knowing that you can be naughty and get sent to bed without your supper, but that when you wake up, your supper will actually be there and still hot. The moral of the story: Parents love you even when you’re stroppy.

6) Oi Frog by Kes Gray – The dialogue in this book is some of the best and funniest around.

7) Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne – I bought an original copy for my daughter when she was three and hid it in my closet until she turned six. These were some of the first poems and stories she read by herself.  

8) Winnie-The-Pooh and…

…9) The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne – Some books are classic for a reason. Read this and you’ll know why.

10) The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson – For years, I couldn’t get through this without crying. It’s one of the sweetest books about mothers, children, and memories.

11) Dogs Don’t Do Ballet by Anna Kemp – An important lesson is learnt here. Anyone can be anything. This book is so much fun to read aloud. The Little Angel Theatre in Islington turned into a children’s play.  

12) Lost & Found by Oliver Jeffers – Friendships like the one between the boy in this story and the penguin who mysteriously shows up at his door are so heartwarming. Read this if you want to send your little one off to sleep with a fuzzy feeling.

13) Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak – A bit of nonsense is good sometimes. This offers just the right dose. Carole King sang it. Listen to her version for an alternate take.

14) Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen – My husband reads The Big Bad Wolf in this with an Austrian accent, inspired by our family in Vienna. If you don’t know what an Austrian accent is, imagine German just a little more fabulous.

15) The BFG by Roald Dahl – This is the ultimate book when transitioning from pictures to chapters. The dialogue is hilarious. Young ones will howl with laughter and the language is so vibrant that painting a picture in your head isn’t hard to do.

So… what’s your favourite?

Misti Traya is a writer (and former actor!) from London and mum to a 7-year old daughter.

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