10 Best Bedtime Books in the UK 2024 | Julia Donaldson, Maurice Sendak and More

Originally published in 1947, Goodnight Moon is the ultimate book for lulling children to sleep. As you progress through the pages of this charming little board book, you'll first locate a series of items situated in the 'great green room', before bidding them all good night in turn.

Its easy-going, rhythmic pace works wonders for helping children to relax before bedtime. For extra good measure, the story even includes 'hushing', a sound  practically guaranteed to encourage your child to finally drift off! It's a delightful book that can be shared by everyone from great-grandma to baby, and that's why it's our number one pick.

One of the most wonderful (and terrifying) things about being a parent is looking into your child's eyes and imagining what their future holds. This book visualises some of these moments, considering everything from their future career to their nature and personality.

For parents, it's a celebration of your ability to set them up for a happy adult life, and for kids it's an opportunity to drift off to sleep dreaming of all the possibilities that their future holds. It's a heart-warming story that encourages individual expression, and a perfect means of bonding with your child. 

Sleep is incredibly important, but every parent knows that getting a full eight hours can sometimes be a struggle. If you don't laugh you'll cry, and this book makes light of a father's desperate attempts to get some shut-eye. 

A comic story that's been around for 40 years, Peace at Last is sure to bring a smile to the faces of children and parents alike. Who knows, they may even feel a little sympathy for you when you awaken bleary-eyed the next day!

Virtually every one of Julia Donaldson's books has been a hit (we're thinking in particular of a monster with a wart on his nose), but this one's our favourite. Described as a children's version of The Odyssey, Stick Man tells of a father's separation from his family and his desperate attempts to reunite with them.

Featuring a colourful cast of characters, and just the right amount of peril, it's hard not to fall in love with this story. It reinforces the importance of family and is a celebration of those little things that we should all take the time to appreciate a bit more.

The soft, child-friendly illustrations in this book are just so gorgeous that it's impossible not to get swept up in them. The simplicity of the sentences and stillness of each image gives this book an otherworldly tone that's perfect for relaxing them before they drift off to the land of nod.

The story itself is similarly undemanding. A boy dreams of catching a star, and after numerous failed attempts, eventually does - or does he? This book is a celebration of the world as seen through a child's perspective, where, with a little imagination, new friends can always be found.

First of all, it's worth mentioning the incredible illustrations in Ocean Meets Sky, each of which could very well be described as works of art. Otherworldly and dreamlike, they perfectly fit this story, in which a young boy dreams of the magical locations of his grandfather's stories.

It's sure to bring a tear to the eye of anyone who has a lost a loved one, but this tale is an uplifting one. It teaches us that our departed family members never really leave us, and that they live on in the memories we shared and the lessons they taught us.

Assuming you already own Eric Carle's time-tested classic, The Hungry Caterpillar, this book is a great next choice. In a world without limitations, a young girl asks her father to get the moon for her, and he does!

It's a heart-warming celebration of the father-daughter relationship, one where the child believes that there's nothing daddy can't do, and in which the father will go to any lengths for their child. The book even includes some fold out images, which are sure to further stretch their imagination.

If there's one thing that's sure to encourage a child to go to bed, it's hearing about how their favourite vehicles love to settle down for a snooze at the end of the day. Each page imagines the bedtime routine of everyone from tractors to fire engines as they enjoy a bedtime story and snuggle down next to mummy or daddy.  

The anthropomorphic images, and the series of unanswered questions that the story asks, are a perfect recreation of a child's imagination, in which friends are to be found everywhere and the realms of possibility are boundless. As they drift off to sleep, they'll do so safe in the knowledge that their favourite digger is doing the same thing!

Particularly suited to children that struggle with being separated from their parents at bed time, Owl Babies tells the story of three young owls who nervously await their mother's return while she is out hunting.

This book reinforces the idea that, although she may leave, mummy will always return. Siblings of different ages may enjoy seeing themselves in the reactions of the three different owls, whether it's the older brother who tries to reassure his younger siblings, or the baby who just wants his mummy!

It's the miracle of being a parent that while one minute your children might be driving you up the wall, the next you find yourself fawning over how much you adore them. Max, the star of Where the Wild Things Are, is a particularly naughty boy - so naughty, in fact, that he sails away and becomes king of the monsters.

However, it's not long before he yearns for home. Even the rowdiest of children reach a point where destruction loses its appeal and all they really want is a cuddle from mum. This book is a celebration of those treasured moments, no matter how few and far between they might be!