My children and I enjoy reading books. Even though a couple of them are too young to read yet, they like to listen. My youngest especially likes to look at the pictures and pick out animals from the pages. She sometimes takes over story time by labeling everything she sees on the page. I let her because the others seem to like her little narratives too. Soon she will be retelling her version of the story in her own words as I turn the pages.
There are several bedtime books we’ve enjoyed reading and exploring this month:
*Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang is sort of like a “Good Night, Moon” book, but it is a bit more interesting for toddlers because there is the typical counting book theme overlapping a bedtime story theme. The colors are bright like most books of this kind. The story is of an African American girl counting down until bedtime.
*Hushabye by John Burningham is a bedtime book, specifically for children who have a harder time falling asleep. The story is rhythmic and repetitious. My toddler is lulled to sleep by the sleepy baby, fish, goose, and frog from the book’s pages. The book’s artwork is line drawings on colorful pages, which is great to promote imagination.
*Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest features a bear family. The mother bear puts her little Sam to bed. She tucks him in, brings him a glass of milk and reads a story. Sam can’t go to sleep just yet. Then the mother bear realizes he is waiting for her kiss.
*Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton is a board book, which creates a story around different animals trying on different pajamas before attending a pajama party. The book is colorful and your toddler can turn her own pages since they are nice and thick.
You might also like to read about some of Tricia’s favorite bedtime books for baby. Tricia has also put together a great list of books for Spring.