Children's Books discussion

I know that we've a couple of discussions about Monsters, but I just read a book that would help children who are anxious at bedtime but don't need to shown books that might backfire and make them even more scared.

Noises at Night is entirely upbeat, except for the little doggie that is just a bit nervous near the beginning. The child has a terrific imagination, but he uses it to think of happy adventures rather than scary monsters. And, yay!, he doesn't imagine a pirate - but rather a brave & honest sea captain!

(I hate pirates.)

What other children's books do you like that might help children appreciate the night time?

Mm, yes, The House in the Night is a nice book, probably a good fit for many children.

One book I really loved, both the text and the illustrations is Enchanted Lions, a fantastic and poetic journey of one little girl through the nighttime constellations astride an friendly, "enchanted" lion. Not scientific at all, but pure fantasy (meeting and interacting with the constellations, and the little girl even has a chance to become a heroine), just lovely.

Only the Cat Saw is a lovely story about a cat that explores during the night. It also shows some of the things a family does during the night (i.e., mother getting up to nurse the baby) so it shows nighttime as a generally very interesting and gentle time.

ooh.. more 'to-reads' :)

Thanks to all for the suggestions. My 5 year-old recently started asking for all the lights in her room to be on at bedtime (yes, the dreaded bad dreams, with a variety of themes), so I'm going to try some of these ASAP.

Oh my. Let us know, if you don't mind, what helps.

Just ran across a mention of Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?. Don't know anything about it except I like the publisher, Candlewick Press.

Cheryl, I know you love poetry, and this wonderful and gentle little book based on a poem by L.M. Montgomery is just lovely, sweet, imaginative, but with the final message that no matter what, the best and loveliest way for a child to get to sleep, is through and with a mother's goodnight kiss.

The Way to Slumbertown

And what about The Tomten? Most of the story takes place at night and shows in a gentle and poetic way how the tomten keeps loving and loyal watch over the farm, the animals (and even the people who mostly are unaware of his presence).

Ooh, lovely ideas, thank you so much!

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Ooh, lovely ideas, thank you so much!"

I think you would really like The Way to Slumbertown

i did put it on my wishlist - the library doesn't have it, but someday I'll buy it. :)

More ideas on the Sept 2013 master list in the picture book club elsewhere in this group: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

How about Dr. Seuss's ?

It's a little longer than most picture books, but long enough to wind down children who always seem to get that burst of energy right before bed. It has the signature Dr. Seuss silliness, so it's a great way to end the day with a smile.

I've not yet read these by Jim Aylesworth but they might fit: Jim Aylesworth's Book of Bedtime Stories and (though probably not exactly) The Bad Dream.

Tiger vs. Nightmare is a fantastic graphic novel, for about age 6-8 especially. that explores the 'monster under the bed' and 'nightmare' themes from a deeper and larger perspective. It's both recent and award-winning, so it should be in most libraries.

I'm including it on this list even though it doesn't really fit just because it's so special.

No Such Thing is a charmer, and very funny. Of course it does have monsters in it, but they're not particularly scary, imo. It doesn't quite fit the original query but still belongs on this list, imo.

Mr. Putter & Tabby See the Stars does fit very well. I love the description of the grumbling tummy and then of the moonlit walk and (...).

Oh, how could I forget The White Marble and The Moon Jumpers!

The Dark by Lemony Snicket. picture book a boy afraid of the dark explores it and overcomes his fear. picture book.
Blackout by John Rocco shows the positive effects of a summer power outage at night and how it brings a family together. picture book.
Night Animals by Gianna Marino Nocturnal animals out and about are scared of running into night animals until they realize that they themselves are night animals. Funny. Picture book

The Dark
Blackout
Night Animals

Terrific examples, thank you!

The Scariest Kitten in the World is also meta, funny, and it shows my favorite theme, Another Point of View. I gave it four stars.

Five stars to Beatrice Likes the Dark because it fits this category, and is so much more, too.

Discovered because I wanted to see more work by the illustrator. Turns out the story and themes are even better than the art! Teaches empathy and Another Point of View very effectively, in an enchanting fable that is about two sisters, and also about any peoples that don't understand each other's cultures or histories.