Calm bedtime stories for sleep
49 quiet stories to fall asleep to
When the day has been loud, a quiet story helps. These are the shelf’s sleepiest tales, hushed, moonlit and slow, gathered by their tone.
In Ned Jumps for the Sheep, Ned’s sheep are too tired to jump the fence at the end of his bed, so they make him a deal. In The Moon’s Quiet Bucket, the moon lets down a tin bucket every night for the noises nobody will need till morning, and Moss needs somewhere to put his giggles. The Last One to Bed is about a young rabbit who can fall asleep in the middle of anything and has to stay awake long enough to sing the whole burrow to bed.
Many are narrated, so you can turn the lights down and let the voice carry on. They are good for children who take a while to settle, and for grown-ups who do too.
Toes In, Big NedWhenever the kindly giant on the hill gets cold toes, he sneezes, and all the washing in the kingdom goes flying, so the quietest girl in town sets out to tuck him in.
The Littlest Wind in the Bears’ DenOn the first night of the long winter sleep, a baby wind blows into a bears’ den and whistles a tune with its last note missing, and nobody can sleep until it ends.
Ollie and the Goose-Feather PillowAfter seven cloudy weeks, Ollie finally gets a clear night to float on his grandma’s moon-goose pillow, and then finds that someone else has it.
Mags Brings the Clouds HomeOn a farm where the clouds are let out every morning and brought home every night like sheep, a girl sets out to bring in all forty by herself, the dawdlers and the sulkers included.
Ned Jumps for the SheepNed can’t fall asleep without his sheep, but tonight the sheep are too tired to jump, so he will have to jump the little fence himself.
Mr. Plump Warms the SlippersEvery morning Sam’s rabbit slippers are waiting side by side and toasty warm, and three nights in a row he tries to stay awake long enough to see who does it.
The Moon’s Quiet BucketOn the giggliest night of his life, Moss and his mom sneak out to the square in slippers to ask the moon for a place to put his giggles.
Slow Feet, Flat WaterNell has never done anything slowly in her life, but tonight she has to carry the moon up a hundred steps in a bucket.
The Long Way to the SofaWhen Grandpa’s stiff neck won’t let him turn round, Bea sets off at night to carry him her pillow for ideas, through a house that has stretched to its full night-time size.
The Breeze That Wouldn’t Be FoldedMolly can fold anything, until the last and smallest breeze of the summer refuses to stay in its drawer.
Two Miles by StarlightWhen a cart wheel knocks the foot off Ivo’s two-mile stone so that it reads seven, Ivo has to recut it by night before the morning walkers come up the road, and a lamp with hardly any oil in it isn’t going to last.
Dot and the Full StopIn Comma-on-Sea a day only ends when someone puts a full stop at the end of it, and tonight little Dot has lost hers.
Ruby Folds Up the DayIn a house where the day hangs on the washing line every evening, a girl who can only fold things into lumpy triangles wants to keep the funniest hour of all under her pillow.
The Coat in the Board BagMaren won’t wear a coat and won’t admit she’s cold. Then fog rolls up the east road, and in the humming grass a fleck of star wants a game of cards.
Forty-Seven Jumps the Wrong WayWhen eighty-one-year-old Mabel falls asleep halfway through counting a sheep, he lands on her bedroom rug holding the top rail of the fence, and she has to count him home.
The Harbour Moon Won’t Lie StillOn the night her dad is out with the late boats, the moon on the harbour water gets up and wanders off, and Nell has one hour to get it lying still again.
Dilly Takes Everyone Home AsleepDilly is a sleepy dormouse who works as guard on the valley night train, and she never wakes a passenger. Tonight she finds a sleeping bear cub with no label on his blanket, and nobody knows where he lives.
The Bell That Rang ItselfWhen the old bell on top of the round hill starts ringing in the middle of the night and nobody can sleep, the smallest girl in the village climbs the tower with a blanket and a wooden spoon.
Nell and the Moon-Flour LoafNell wants to bake a birthday loaf for the sleepless old king, but all the flour in the mill is moon-flour, and moon-flour bread floats away.
The Pillow Cloud and the Rain CloudToby rushes to send off all the clouds by himself, and now Nan’s pillow has the hiccups and her best soft cloud is drifting down to a farmyard.
The Smallest Blows the Candle OutKit has the best job in the castle: the smallest person blows out the bedtime candle and sends everyone off to dream. Then a new baby prince arrives who is even smaller.
The Tortoise Who Stayed Up a Hundred YearsA fairy gets carried away with a christening gift and puts a whole castle to sleep, all except one slow, careful tortoise, who decides to keep everything ready for when they wake up.
Kites Down by MoonriseOn a windy hill where the moon rises close enough to touch, a boy who always wants five more minutes keeps his kite up past moonrise and catches the moon on his string.
Cold Toes for Mrs. HuffOn the first cold night of autumn, a small boy with very fluffy socks has to get his toes cold enough to wake up the sleepy old kitchen stove.
Why the Swans Fly Low Over the MillMara has practised all week to stay awake for swan night, but just as the swans are due, a tired little swan lands in the millpond below.
Grandpa and the Warm SquareEvery evening the last square of sunshine climbs the stairs and lies down on someone’s bed, and in forty years it has never once picked Grandpa.
Mr. Button’s Sunday SnoreOn a lane where everyone owns their snores, old Mr. Button lends out his grand Sunday snore to help a crying baby next door, and it keeps getting passed along before Sunday comes.
Tuck Sings Pudding to SleepAn old dormouse with a voice like a creaky gate needs a winter bed, and the only one going is for whoever can sing a wide-awake badger cub to sleep.
The Foal Who Set the Last LanternFen the foal has legs that are always in a hurry, and tonight he wants to hang the very last lantern, filled with pink sunset from a jam jar that smells of plum.
Rooster Puts the Foal to BedThe rooster with the loudest voice on the farm promises a tired mother horse that he’ll get her wide-awake foal to sleep, but every loud idea he has just makes the foal want more.