By McKenzie Dillon
You’re searching for kids educational bedtime stories? You’ve come to the right place! Reading to your children at night is a great way to get them excited for bedtime, and it gives you a chance to share special bonding moments with them that you’ll both remember for a lifetime.
Read-aloud educational bedtime stories also hold great academic value since they play a key role in shaping language skills and promoting literacy development. If you’re wondering when the right time is to start reading to your child, the answer is it’s never too early!
Here’s the deal:
The Amerian Academy of Pediatrics suggests you can start as early as birth and continue with them until your child is around age 12. The key is to read age-appropriate material that challenges your children, but is still comprehensible for their skill levels. Grab a blanket and cozy up for these sweet story suggestions for your kiddos!
Appropriate Stories For Different Age Ranges
You might not choose to read “Goodnight Moon” to your 10-year-old child, just as you probably wouldn’t read your four-year-old the “Harry Potter” series, so make sure to choose bedtime stories based on your child’s age and capabilities.
- Infants and Babies: Children from zero to three years old need basic material with simple vocabulary, engaging illustrations, repetition and sing-songy rhymes. At this age, you won’t need to worry about a book being too easy.
- Toddlers and Younger Kids: Most kids from about four to six years old are just beginning to learn how to read. You can introduce bedtime stories with slightly more challenging vocabulary, more intricate plot lines and characters your child will identify with and seek guidance through.
- Kids and Preteens: Children who are seven and older need to be challenged a little more to keep them interested, and chapter books or “big kid books” will definitely do the job.
Best Kids Educational Bedtime Stories
Here’s a list of the top educational bedtime stories for each age range.
3 Best Books for Babies (Ages 0-3)
- “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle: Educate your baby about the different days of the week using a caterpillar who wakes up very hungry after hatching from an egg one Sunday morning. He munches on everything from ice cream to a slice of cherry pie, then transforms into a beautiful butterfly—teaching your son or daughter about one of nature’s most miraculous processes.
- Counting Crocodiles by Judy Sierra: Kids start getting excited to learn about numbers at a young age (usually around one-and-a-half or two years old. So make learning to count to 10 playful and fun with this rhymey bedtime story about a savvy little monkey who sets out to cross the crocodile-infested Sillabobble Sea in order to reach a juicy banana tree she spotted in the distance.
- Good Night! (Animal Sounds) by Ethan Long: Let your children interact with you during storytime by letting them mimic the animal’s different sounds, plus hear all sorts of wildlife tell their loved ones goodnight.
3 Toddler Bedtime Stories (Ages 4-6)
- “Ira Sleeps Over” by Bernard Waber: Learning doesn’t always have to be about counting and various school subjects. In this bedtime story, teach your children how to be themselves without worrying about the opinions of others and how to cope with first sleepover fears.
- “Great Women Who Changed The World” by Kate Pankhurst: This is a great bedtime story for girls and boys alike. It’s informational, illustrated with silly, kid-friendly drawings and teaches your children about the endeavours of history’s most influential women like Frida Kahlo and Rosa Parks.
- “David Gets In Trouble” by David Shannon: If your child is in this age range, she’s probably a big fan of excuses. Read her this bedtime story she can relate to about little David, who learns that he feels much better when he apologizes for his wrongdoing rather than makes excuses for it. Teach your child how to own up to her mistakes.
3 Bedtime Stories for Kids (Ages 7+)
- “Educational Bedtime Stories For 7-Year-Olds: Space Stories” by Aldous Williams and Leasa Casey: Lull your adventurous child to sleep with stories about interstellar travel and our solar system with this informational yet captivating book about everything space. It touches on more difficult theories (like the force of gravity) and discusses different components of our universe.
- “Ranger In Time: Rescue On The Oregon Trail” by Kate Messner: This book discusses important United States history through the eyes of a courageous pup whom your child will adore. Teach your child about history as you read him an entertaining story about Ranger, an adorable but brave golden retriever who’s on a search-and-rescue mission to help a family on the Oregon Trail.
- “Who Was Jackie Robinson?” by Gail Herman: If your child is already gearing up to be a sports fanatic, read him this inspiring autobiographical story about Jackie Robinson before he drifts off to sleep. Robinson was the first African-American to play baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Not only will your child learn some backstory about America’s favorite pastime, but about perseverance and how to be resilient when he’s faced with adversity.
Reading Kids to Sleep
There you have it: a few of the benefits of reading bedtime stories to your kiddos and great book suggestions. Here’s more information on the benefits of reading to your child. Enjoy this time of snuggling in a cozy spot with a blanket and your child. These are memories that will last a lifetime!
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McKenzie Dillon is a blogger and sleep enthusiast for The Slumber Yard, a leading online mattress reviews website. When she’s not sleeping, McKenzie likes attending comedy shows, hiking, and cooking.
