A little bedtime reading...

Some things just go together...

Chips and Dip.

Rainy Days and Naps

Cake and Ice Cream.

Movies and Popcorn.

Books, and Bedtime.

I love bedtime. Not just for the eventual silence, peace and calm that it brings, but also because it promotes quiet time with my kids, reading, telling stories, snuggling and hopefully helping to end the day on a calm, happy note.

I am a big fan of books. Even though it may feel like it at times, you can never read to a child too often.

Bedtime is a special time for books. There are so many written especially for this time of day, and I have many favourites.

Bedtime Books Basket.

Love You Forever, Love Song for a Baby, Sleepyhead Bear, Pajama Time, The Going to Bed Book, Guess How Much I love you, Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Blue, Lullaby Classics, Bialosky's Bedtime, Big Bed for Elmo, Barbie's Big Bed Book.

We have two bedtime books by the great Sandra Boynton; "The Going to Bed Book", and "Pajama Time"

"Hop into Bed, turn out the light, let's have a party in our dreams tonight"

Margaret Wise Brown penned the timeless classic "Goodnight Moon"

"Goodnight Room...Goodnight Moon...Goodnight Cow, jumping over the moon..."

And of course, no childhood is complete until they have memorized:

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be".

~ Robert Munsch

I love this book so much that I have copies of it in both kids' bedrooms.

We have plenty of books that we read at bedtime that have nothing to do with going to bed too. In Jack's room we are usually reciting the alphabet with Elmo, or Thomas, or Dr Seuss. You would be amazed how many ABC books we have, and read on a daily basis.

While in Makenna's room we could be escaping to Narnia, or to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, or maybe watching as Horton Hears a Who. We have followed Ralph the mouse's adventures on a toy motorcycle, and empathized with Peter about his annoying little brother "Fudge".

But every now and then, we pull out the books especially reserved for this time of day.

Books that have taught Jeff and I various timeless lullabies to rock our babies to, and books that have helped us transition those babies into big kid beds. Books that remind us to brush our teeth before bed, and books that assure us that our Mommies and Daddies will always, no matter how big we get, no matter what we do, love us forever.

You can never spoil a child by giving them too many books. Or reading to them too often. If you are ever looking for a gift for that "hard to buy for" child, consider a book. Or a Gift Certificate to a book store for an older child. If you aren't sure what to buy your little neice, grandchild, or friend's toddler, consider a collection of bedtime books.

Read to your little one as often as you can...and one day, if you're lucky, you may walk in to find them...

Makenna age 5, Jack 20 mos

or...

Makenna, age 4

So, What are your family's favourite bedtime books?

For descriptions about some of these books, or any of the books I have recommended in the past, click on the book cover in the widget entitled "worth reading" to the right of this post.