Skip to main content

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.

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.

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. 

 










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Mixed-Up Owl

The Mixed-Up Owl  Written by Marzena Sowa Illustrated by Joanna Lorno New York : Hippo Park, 2025. Picture Book. When Owl can't sleep at night, he heads off to see if any forest animals can help him understand why, and even more so, how to fix it!  Unfortunately, all the animals Owl runs into at night are asleep and all the animals he meets during the day are too rude or too busy to answer him.  Will Owl give up or will a chance meeting with a grumpy hedgehog provide all the solutions Owl was looking for? The premise of an owl trying to stay awake during the day because all the other animals around him do is very fun. Kids who know that owls are nocturnal will get a kick out of Owl's confusion and be quick to try to tell him what's going on.  Readers who don't know many facts about owls (or nocturnal animals in general) will get a brief introduction to the different ways animals sleep. The illustrations are charming, especially cute Owl and his expressive body langua...

Display: Be A World Traveller

Real Castles Around the World Written by Kaitlyn Duling Vero Beach, Florida : Rourke Educational Media, 2025. Informational. 48 pages Take a trip around the world as you read about the most impressive castles ever built! Explore fierce fortresses, castles that have inspired stories, uniquely colorful castles, and the history behind them all as you Travel to Real Castles Around the World! Part of the Travel to Children s Book Series, this 48-page nonfiction book explores castles both past and present, the kings that inhabited them, and knights that fought to protect them! Lower the drawbridge, cross the moat, and travel to real castles from all around the world as you learn about our magical history with fun-filled facts and vibrant photos. History Book Features: Before- and after-reading activities. Extension activity. Glossary About Rourke Educational Media: We proudly publish respectful and relevant nonfiction and fiction titles that represent our diverse readers, and are designed to...

Review: Grounded for All Eternity

Grounded for All Eternity By Darcy Marks New York : Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2022. Fiction. 375 pgs. Malachi, Crowley, and Lilith are just your average, normal, middle-school kids. That is, if you consider living in the suburbs of Hell and having black feathered wings normal. They want to enjoy their school free vacation, but Hell is on lock down after the soul of Reverend Samuel Paris, leader of the 1693 Salem witch trials, escapes. Malachi and his friends travel to Earth, looking for some fun, but accidentally bring the Reverend's soul with them to modern day Salem, Massachusetts. Chaos ensues, and Malachi meets many new types of characters, such as witches, angels, and humans. Malachi and his friends must work together to return Reverend Sam's soul to Hell, or else all of Salem will be destroyed. Or worse, be grounded for all eternity.  Read this book for the ultimate Halloween experience, and if you want to revisit the ...