The Power of Bedtime Stories

One of my family's favorite activities for spending QUALITY time together is reading with the kids before bed.

It’s my favorite time of the day – snuggling on the bed and reading a story that makes us smile or giggle. It's a great way to unwind. If your kids have been challenging all day, snuggling together on the couch with a good book works miracles to make all the bad feelings go away. Even though my kids are older now, we still read chapter books together before bedtime by taking turns reading out loud.

You can read about all of the wonderful benefits of reading to your kids to make them smarter in this article by Heather Feldstein. But, I say read with your kids because it's FUN!

Here’s a great article from Mo Willems, the author of the silly book Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus, with wacky, playful tips on how to read to your kids to encourage a love for books. His idea of “reading the book wrong” was always a huge hit with my kids. They loved pointing out where Mommy made a mistake in the book.  My kids also loved when Daddy read to them because he is the master of funny accents.

In addition, my friend Nili Yelin, the Storybook Mom, offers some great tips on reading to kids in this article. She has some fun book lists and other resources on her site, TheStorybookMom.com.

My husband and I both love to read and we're thrilled that we have created that same passion in our kids. It's never too early to start reading with them. We started reading to our kids right after they were born which was soothing to both of us.

So to get started tonight, here's a list of my family's Top 10 Toddler Bedtime Stories. There are so many great toddler books out there but these were the books we read so many times, my kids had them memorized.  Next week, I’m going to create a list of the funniest books to read to kids so if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to include your picks.

Top 10 Toddler Bedtime Stories

1. Pajama Time -Sandra Boynton

2. Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball - Vicki Churchill, Charles Fuge

3. When Mama Comes Home Tonight - Eileen Spinelli

4. Bear on a Bike - Stella Blackstone

5. Mama, Do You Love Me? - Barbara Joosse

6. Fox in Socks - Dr. Seuss

7. Kiss Goodnight, Sam - Amy Hest and Anita Jeram

8. Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown

9. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? - Eric Carle

10. I Know a Rhino - Charles Fuge

Click here to see more of our favorite books, especially for older kids. What are your favorite toddler books?