Refresh your Night Routine - Bedtime Books

There are four bedtime books that never leave our bookshelves:
Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish by Lorie Ann Grover
I'll See You in the Morning by Mike Jolley and
Lullabies by Usborne Books

The reason they never leave the shelves is because we both have them committed to memory.  Each night we turn off the lights and recite them, culminating in singing the lullabies.  It is a soothing routine and sometimes she is asleep before the end of the second book.  On the rare times when she is not asleep by the last lullaby, I know something is amiss.

Some days you need a routine before your routine.  Or a backup routine.  So I always look for some good books to fill in those needs.

My new favorite is Yawn by Sally Symes.

 I love that a children's book attacks the subject of extreme contagions, like yawns.  It starts with a baby, running uncontrolled through a cast of very cute animal friends, and SPOILER ALERT ends with all of them snuggling  fast asleep in bed.  It can change a bouncy, high-on-speed-seeming toddler into a yawning, cuddly squish-fest.


For older children, I really like When I Woke Up I Was A Hippopotamus by Tom MacRae

An active child has an active day, pissing just about everyone off in the process.  But he is reasonable, makes amends, and learns from his mistake.  This book would be an awesome tool for diffusing an active and imaginative child close to bed.  My girl loves it.

When all else fails, we sing a song that I used to sing when she was a very small infant.  It basically is "Sleep Baby" over and over again.  Someday, when that fails, I'll be buying a copy of Go the F@k to Sleep!