Bedtime is the one story slot that has rules. The plot cannot be too exciting, or you have undone the bath. It cannot be too long, or someone falls asleep on page four and wakes up at the tuck-in. And it has to be something a tired adult can read without hating it by the third night.
Five is a particular age for this. Most five-year-olds are still being read to, but a good number are starting to read a few words themselves and want to. So the best bedtime books at this age do two jobs: they calm the room, and they have at least a few lines a child can read back to you.
Here are eight from our catalog that do both, all free to read online. I have put the calmest ones first.
The calm ones
Grandpa’s Wooden Train. A rainy afternoon, a toddler named Wren, and a wooden train set that will not go round because one curved piece is missing. That is the whole plot, and it is enough. The sentences are two to four words long and the same phrase repeats on most pages, which is exactly what a kindergartener can read along with. Ten pages, and nothing happens that would keep anyone awake.
Counting Stars with Grandpa. A child and a grandfather in a backyard at night, finding constellations and planets. This one is written a level or two up, so it is a listen-to book for most five-year-olds rather than a read-it-yourself book, but the subject matter is about as bedtime as it gets. If your child asks what the stars are called, this answers a few of them.
Why Do I Need Sleep?. A child finds out what the brain and body do during sleep. It is gentle rather than preachy, and it gives you a straight answer for the nightly “but why do I have to go to bed.” Whether it works as an argument is another matter.
Amelia’s Magical Dream Adventure. Amelia falls asleep and visits a dream world full of friendly creatures. It was written to be a settling-down story and it reads like one. Short sentences, soft pictures, nothing scary.
The ones for a worried night
Some nights the problem is not energy, it is a thought that will not go away. These three are about that.
Thunder Doesn’t Hurt. A child who is scared of storms learns what lightning and thunder actually are. Children who get the explanation tend to want to repeat it back at the next storm, which is the point.
The Worry Monster Under My Bed. A child’s worries turn into a monster, and the child has to learn how to shrink it. Written for early first graders, so a five-year-old will be listening, but the idea lands at any age. Good for a child who lies awake going over the day.
Big Sister Boot Camp. A new baby arrives and an older child is not thrilled about it. If there is a new sibling in your house, this gives the older one a story where the jealousy is allowed and then something better follows it.
One with a little more going on
Emma’s First Day of School. Emma is nervous about starting school and it turns out fine. Not strictly calm, but for a five-year-old with a first day coming, reading it the night before does more than talking about it does. Simple sentences, a clear problem, a kind ending.
What makes a story work at bedtime
This is what I look for.
Short. Ten pages is right. Twenty is a negotiation.
One problem, solved gently. A lost train piece, a loud storm, a first day. Not a chase, not a villain, not a cliffhanger. The child should know by the last page that everything is fine.
Something to read back. At five, a line the child can read on their own (“The train goes round and round”) is worth more than a beautiful sentence they cannot. It ends the day with a small success.
Familiar places. Bedrooms, backyards, grandparents’ kitchens. Fantasy is great at 4pm. At 8pm a child settles faster in a world that looks like theirs.
If none of these fit
The catalog has a kindergarten collection sorted for this age, and a family collection if you want more grandparents and siblings. If your child wants a story about their own bedroom, their own dog, or their own worry, you can make one with them in about ten minutes and read it the same night.