Books At Bedtime

My husband and I often joke that if we’d been looking for love on a dating website, we would never have been matched (me: ardent vegan with a penchant for period dramas and Tolstoy, him: carnivore with a taste for jazz and long-distance running)! Luckily we’ve both mellowed a bit since we were eighteen! He still doesn’t enjoy period dramas, but he does like my cooking, and I’ve learned to enjoy jazz and even go for the occasional jog!

One thing that we’ve always had in common and that has kept us talking for the last ten years (which have included two babies, two international moves, and a needy dog) has been a passionate love for reading. We’re also both passionate about passing that love on to our kids. My husband and I both read with the children at night. Sometimes we read a book as a family; at other times, one or the other reads with one child. We really love these quiet moments in the evening and especially the interesting questions that the books inspire.

If you love reading aloud at bedtime, here are some of our favourite books that you might enjoy too!

For younger readers (ages 3-7)

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
This charming story was a favorite of mine, and now my kids love it too! I can’t tell you how many times we read the original book about the eponymous and endearing heroine- it even accompanied us on our first holiday to Paris! We have recently added Madeline in London to our collection because we enjoy spotting landmarks we know!

Every book by Julia Donaldson
This might be cheating a little, but we love everything Julia Donaldson has written. Our favorites are The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child, Stick Man, Room on the Broom, Superworm, and Tiddler. Her simple rhyming stories are so enjoyable (plus the illustrations by Axel Sheffler are wonderful!) and are perfect for new readers. Younger children will enjoy listening while older siblings may even want to try reading the stories aloud to you!

For elementary readers (age 7-11)

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst
I bought this for my daughter, and it quickly became a bedtime favorite. I enjoy a Disney princess as much as the next person, my daughter even wanted to be Anna from Frozen for about three years, but I loved that this book gave her real-life heroines to look up to. We enjoyed reading about each of these women, and my husband and I learned a lot too!

Matilda, The Witches and The Twits by Roald Dahl
I have to admit that I don’t always love Roald Dahl (is that sacrilege for a book blogger!?), but I think that these books best capture his sly humor, which appeals to children. We started reading Dahl on a family holiday: we were staying in a beautiful cottage by the sea, and we would sit by the fire every night and read The Twits. It is one of my favorite family memories! We then moved swiftly through all of Dahl’s books. I personally believe that The Witches is the best of his books- we read The Witches over Halloween last year, and it gave us all the creeps!

Also recommended for 7-11-year-olds:

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
Winnie the Witch Series by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul