5 Short Bedtime Stories for Children
Bedtime is a complicated time of the day for many young children because they want to stay up longer. Often, reading a story will help them relax and fall asleep happily, letting their imaginations run wild. You can also enjoy nice quality time together by reading short bedtime stories to them.
Below, we’ll share a series of short bedtime stories that we’re sure you’ll enjoy reading with your little ones.
Short bedtime stories
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Demonstrations of love between a small hare and her mother have made this book a definite bedtime go-to. This story is recommended for children ages three and up.
It’s a simple and short story that you can use to read to your children before bed. The story begins with the small hare’s bedtime. She needs to fall asleep to rest and have amazing dreams.
This plot of the story will help your child imitate the small hare. This way, once they’re asleep, they can develop their imagination and have great dreams.
A Taste of the Moon by Michael Grejniec, a wonderful short story
The protagonist of this story, the moon, is the star that most draws the attention of younger children. Thus, it’s a recommended read for children ages three and up.
The moon appears when night falls and it’s time to go to sleep. Thus, you can play with this plot to encourage your child to go to bed.
In this story, some animals want to discover what the moon tastes like. Although they try really hard, they can’t reach the moon. Then, suddenly, the turtle has a very good idea: to get on each other’s back and make a ladder in order to reach it.
In addition to addressing the issue of the night and the moon, your children will love the fact that animals are the stars of this story. The repetition of phrases and animals will help your child develop their imagination.
Cuando a Matías le entraron ganas de hacer pis la noche de Reyes (In English: When Matías Needed to Pee on the Twelfth Night) by Chema Heras
This book has become a classic because it addresses very educational issues. The Twelfth Night, the importance of going to bed early, and the need to pee at night are some of the topics this story recommended for children aged five and up covers.
And that’s precisely what happens to Matías on the Twelfth Night: he feels the urge to pee and has to urgently get up from bed. But the problem is that he realizes that he can’t get up because, otherwise, the Three Magi won’t visit him to leave him his gift: the train he asked for! A funny story that will delight young and old with the protagonist’s adventures.
More short bedtime stories
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Here’s a book that’s totally different and asserts the figure of women, their aspirations, and their achievements.
It’s a series of short bedtime stories that show that little girls no longer want to be princesses and their aspirations and achievements in the world of justice, sports, science, or cuisine, among others.
100 short stories come together in this book to make known famous women throughout history who have been key to the development of the world as we know it today. This book is recommended for older children between the ages of 10 and 12.
Short bedtime stories by Beatriz Doumerc and Pedro María García Franco
If you want to find several short bedtime stories in one book, don’t hesitate to buy this collection that has three volumes to date.
This way, you’ll have a different bedtime story to read every night to help your children let their imagination run wild and start dreaming.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Sam McBratney. (2019). Adivina cuánto te quiero. Editorial Kókinos.
- Michael Greniec. (2007). ¿A qué sabe la luna? (libros para soñar). Editorial Kalakandra.
- Chema Heras y Kiko Dasilva. (2019). Cuando a Matías le entraron ganas (Obras de autor). Editorial Kalakandra.
- Elena Favilli. (2017). Cuentos de buenas noches para niñas rebeldes: 100 historias de mujeres extraordinarias (Otros títulos). Destino.
- Beatriz Doumerc. (2002). Cuentos cortos para dormir. Editorial Bruño.