Bedtime stories to read aloud
Short, calm and written to end well. Each one tells you honestly how long it takes to read, because at bedtime that is the number that matters.
Goodnight, Little Duck
A duckling says goodnight to everything on the pond before she goes into the nest. Built to be read slowly, with a lot of repetition and one warm wing at the end.
3 min read · ages 2–4
A Small Cloud Goes to Bed
A little cloud carries her rain all day, puts it down over one garden, and goes to sleep along the top of a hill. Quiet, rhythmic, good for a wound-up toddler.
3 min read · ages 2–4
The Smallest Spoon
Four spoons live in the second drawer, and only one of them has no job yet. A gentle story about waiting your turn and then being exactly the right size.
3 min read · ages 3–5
Otto and the Quiet Wings
A young barn owl is loud when he is meant to be silent, and keeps trying until he isn't. For a child who gets cross when a new thing does not work first time.
4 min read · ages 5–8
Ada's New Window
First night in a new house, when everything is on the wrong side. Ada finds four things out of her window and decides she can live here. For any child who is new somewhere.
4 min read · ages 5–8
The Letter That Took Its Time
Sam posts a letter to his grandmother across the sea, and then has to wait. About missing someone, and about the fact that they are missing you back.
4 min read · ages 5–8