Best Bedtime Books

When I was younger, my mom used to read me books each night. And when I started to grow up, I would read some of these same books to my younger brothers each night. Sometimes we’d be in tents, sometimes we’d be in hotel rooms, sometimes we’d be cuddled in bed – it didn’t really matter. When I think of reading bedtime stories aloud to little kids and tucking them into bed, there are a few kids’ books that come immediately to mind. You know, the classics. The books that still, at age 21, you’d love for someone to read you aloud at night.

1. Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak

This story describes the imaginary adventures of Max, who’s angry after being sent to bed without supper (which seems like bad parenting in retrospect). In his adventures, he wears a wolf suit and encounters these great, vicious-looking creatures that “gnash their terrible teeth and roar their terrible roars.”

2. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown

The story, probably the most famous on my list, shows a child saying goodnight all the objects around a room, including a light, red balloon, and cow jumping over the moon. They even have a Goodnight Moon game for kids to play now.

3. Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey

A pair of mallard ducks decides to raise their family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden. I can vividly remember really wanting to have pet ducklings after my mom would read this to me, in the same way that I always wanted pet penguins after reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

4. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton

Threatened by competition from modern shovels, Mike proves the worth of his trusty old steam shovel, Mary Anne. The best picture in the book is the last one, where Mike sits smoking his pipe with Mary Anne by his side.

5. The Tomten, Astrid Lindgren

This tells the Swedish tale of the tomten, a gnome-like creature that stands watch while the rest of the world is sleeping. Even now, I still like to imagine that a tomten creeps around our house at night, watching over our woods and cats.