Books to Read... When You're Sleepy

Need a little help winding down at the end of the day? Brain buzzing with questions? Let the soothing illustrations, silly hijinks, and gentle language of these books get you in the right mindset to drift off to dreamland.

The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions

Written by Isabel Thomas

Illustrated by Aaron Cushley

New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2023. Informational. 95 pages.

Have you ever lain awake at night because you couldn't stop thinking about a certain topic or question? Everyone has been there. Enters The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions to set your mind at ease. Loosely encyclopedic with whimsical illustrations, this book sets out to answer impossible questions, such as: "How do we know that unicorns never existed?," "Do wasps know they hurt people when they sting?," and "How big is the universe?" So whether it's you personally or an inquisitive young one, prepare to have curiosity appeased and the stage set for a more restful night of sleep.

Good Night, Body

By Britney Winn Lee and Borghild Fallberg

Nashville: Thomas Nelson, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2023. Informational.

Sometimes finding a way to calm down a restless body is integral to being able to peacefully head to dreamland. Good Night, Body ushers the reader through a series of motions chosen to help in this bedtime process. Individual parts of the body are addressed throughout the book, for example: "Hello, face. May you be slouchy like a blanket. Smooth any forehead wrinkles and fluff out those cheeks," culminating in a consciously relaxed body.

The Night Tent

By Landis Blair

New York: Margaret Ferguson Books, Holiday House, 2023. Picture Book.

The Night Tent offers a peculiarly magical take on the nighttime journey of a young boy after he takes refuge under his quilt and finds a fantastical land. Following a path illuminated by stars, his adventure becomes increasingly wonderous until he journeys back home, comes out from under his quilt, and immediately falls asleep.

The Stack

By Vanessa Roeder

New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022. Picture Book.

The Stack begins with a girl on a determined mission. Her mission? To stack items as high as possible. But what could she possibly be trying to reach that requires her to stack her neighbor's house, a whale, and her grandpa's station wagon? Sweetly rhyming text combined with humorous dialogue bubbles scattered throughout, this book is sure to be a repeat read aloud request.

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