Bedtime stories about the moon and stars
20 stories for a clear night
The moon gets a lot of attention at bedtime, and in these stories it gets looked after too. Its reflection is rowed across a river in a tin bath in Mo Rows the Moon Across, it is lent a very long scarf in Rosie Lends the Moon Her Scarf, and in Up You Come, Moon it is wound up out of a castle well in a silver bucket, until the night it is too full to fit.
There are stars as well: one falls, warm and humming, into a snowy lane in Two Hundred and Eleven Stars, and in A Step a Day to the Third Star a tidy man builds a staircase one bread step a day to give a star back its teaspoon.
Read one on a clear night, and look out of the window afterwards.
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.
Mo Rows the Moon AcrossEvery night Mo rows the moon’s reflection across the river in a tin bath, until a big, loud goose who always lands in the wrong place comes down right in 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.
Up You Come, MoonEvery evening Rosa winds the Moon up out of the castle well in a silver bucket, but tonight the Moon is too full to fit.
Rosie Lends the Moon Her ScarfRosie has fallen asleep three Novembers running before the geese fly over, and this year, when she should be watching the sky, she spots a shivering Moon and gives it her grandma’s scarf, which is three times too long.
Hattie and the Hundred and Twelve StepsHattie is a very old tortoise who lives at the bottom of a lighthouse, and she has spent a whole winter working out how to get up a hundred and twelve steps to watch the star come down.Four Odd Socks for the Glass HillA fallen star has to be carried to the top of a hill made of glass, and the slowest donkey in the kingdom thinks she knows how to do it.
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.
The Bit of Moon in the Marmalade JarEvery night Benny tells his whole day to the bit of moon his grandpa caught in a shrimping net, until the night of the full moon, when he finds the marmalade jar empty.
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.
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.
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.
Hattie and the Moon in a JarNine-year-old Hattie has a perfect timetable for her first night in charge of bedtime, but her little brother won’t go to sleep while his jar of moonlight is nearly empty.