How To Pick The Right Bedtime Book

You would think that it’s not that complicated to pick a bedtime book, right? It’s not as easy as picking up your child’s most beloved book and reading that (although it can be). A good bedtime book has to have a few elements and trust me, when they finally come together in the perfect book you’ll get why this article exists. Lets explore what elements make a great bedtime book so you can get to choosing your child’s next favourite!

Your Child’s Interests

First and foremost the key to picking a well loved bedtime book is picking a book that talks about your child’s interests. Do they love construction vehicles? Alphabet letters or forest animals? Colours, numbers or firetrucks? No matter what your child is interested in, theres a book for that. When picking a bedtime book make sure you pick one that your child is actually interested in. This will hold their attention for longer at bedtime and avoid the dreaded sillies.

Themes

Themes of the book are also an important factor. Does the book deal with complicated topics like deep emotions? (grief, jealousy or anxiety), Interpersonal themes like friendship dynamics or the birth of a sibling? Broader social themes like LGBTQ rights, homelessness and race? Fictional or extinct (and sometimes scary) creatures like dinosaurs, dragons and griffins? Although books that cover complex topics have their time and place, consider your child’s age and understanding, and whether or not you’re ready to introduce these topics to your child. Books that have very exciting or silly themes should also be avoided to keep your child calm and not too excited right before bed.

It is perfectly ok for your child’s bedtime book to not be sleep themed but keep in mind the overall theme of your choice and if your child has any base knowledge of the topic. When introducing new topics to children its always best to do it during the day, not right before bed.

Cadence

Something a lot of people don’t often pick up on, even though they read books every day is the cadence of the book. Cadence is the rhythm of the words as you read them. If you read Brown Bear Brown Bear aloud you’ll notice the sing-song in which you would read the book (assuming you know the lyrics – er I mean words). Cadence is very important in maintaining a child’s interest in the book. If the book has beautiful illustrations, an interesting theme but the cadence is off, it can derail your child’s overall interest. If your book choice doesn’t have much cadence, try engaging your child by using a different tone of voice or emphasis on certain words (I often do this when reading The Night Frolic, which is stunning but lacks cadence).

Word Count and Variety

Another good thing to pay attention to is the word count and variety of words in the book. If a book has longer paragraphs and big unfamiliar words, you’re less likely to engage your young toddler in the story and they’re more likely to engage in bedtime sillies. Make sure your book isn’t too long or too short for the age of your child, give it a test read during the day to see if they are interested before introducing it at bedtime.

For example the cadence and fun of Sandra Boynton’s “The Going To Bed Book” will engage most children from the age of 1, sometimes all the way to 2.5 or 3 years old (although most older toddlers lose interest and find the book to be too short as they approach preschool age). As your child ages you want to introduce longer books to practice and lengthen their attentions span.

Illustrations

Illustrations are also important when picking a bedtime book. You want to pick a book with darker pages like most night or bedtime themed books or books that have softer less stimulating images. Older books and classics are great for this as theres just enough imagery to keep your child interested but isnt so much of a colour blast right before bed.

Variety

The last key to keeping your child engaged at bedtime is having a variety of bedtime books and switching it up every now and then. If they’ve read their favourite story a thousand times, it would be a good idea to introduce some new bedtime stories while keeping the favourites on a rotation to preserve interest.

Now that you know what to look for in a bedtime story your can confidently go out into the world knowing which stories suit your family best. What was your favourite story growing up? Which stories does your child like best? Let me know in the comments! (Im always on the hunt for new books).