We do bedtime stories almost every night after bath time and all the shenanigans related to actually getting into bed are winding down. My first born, Olivia, is almost four and is a book lover. She is pretty strict about ensuring that story time happens. Our second baby, Joanna is nearing two years old and has only recently permitted us to read to her. Our youngest, Sam, is only 6 months old but he seems to be following in his eldest sister's footsteps, as he enjoys story time also. 

As you can imagine, I have read a great number of books in the past almost four years and some of them I dread reading and some I really enjoy reading. I have compiled a short list of my favorite books to read aloud at story time in this post to pass along some recommendations to add to your nightly repertoire: 

#1. Corduroy by Don Freeman - a classic and one of our favorites. Corduroy is such a kind little bear who just wants to be loved and also to find his lost button. My oldest called Corduroy "Cod-rie" for the longest time, but she wanted to hear about Cod-rie almost every night. 

  

#2. The Napping House by Audrey Wood - This is a relatively new one for our collection but was an instant favorite as it tells the tale of a growing pile of sleepy heads and how they all have the misfortune of waking up suddenly! There is a lot of repetition in this book so it's a fun one to read with little ones because they can sometimes learn to follow along with telling the story. 

#3. King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently and Helen Oxenbury - This is a great read aloud book as it rhymes and has some moments of suspense and surprise! A sweet story of imaginary dragon conquests and the reality of bedtime. 

#4. Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton - I probably love everything by Sandra Boynton actually, but this one I can recite to you....ahem.... "Hello Little Person! How are you today? Is your mood quite terrific, or only ok? Are you happy as a hippo? Or angry as a duck?...." I could wax on... It's a great little book about moods - everyone can relate. 

#5. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown - Of course, this one made the list. This was the first book I ever read to all of my children (tears). It has a magical quality to it that makes you sleepy as you read (yes, it makes you, the Mom, sleepy). I do have one question though: Goodnight Nobody? Does anyone know what that means? It's totally forgivable, just wondering. 

#6. My No, No, No Day by Rebecca Patterson - We got this one from the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program and it is such a perfect picture of life with a toddler for any family. It makes the kids laugh at themselves and see how difficult they can be when they have a bad day. But it reminds us that everyone has a bad day sometimes and maybe we will be more cheerful tomorrow! 

#7. The Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett - I hesitated to put this one on here. Not because it is a bad book...because I'm lazy. And this book is one of my kids (and my husband's) favorite books. Probably the most requested book at bedtime. Why? Because it requires a LOT of tickling to get through it. It's a good read aloud story too as it rhymes and is very cute. But again, I'm lazy. And at bedtime, I don't love getting the kids all hyped up - my husband does though so, it made the list. 

#8. I Was So Mad by Mercer Mayer - I love the Little Critter books. This one is probably my favorite because poor Little Critter can't do anything he wants to do! And he is so mad. I feel like a lot of days I am telling the kids to stop doing things like coloring on the walls etc... and this book is very relatable for kids when dealing with the frustration of being told no!

#9. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter - Ok, so this is my favorite story. I admit that I probably like it more than the kids. It is just so properly written, I love the sound of it! The words just weave together the tale of a naughty Peter Rabbit who did not listen to his mother and almost got caught by Mr. McGregor! To this day, whenever I hear of Chamomile Tea I think of Peter Rabbit's Mother who put naughty Peter to bed with a dose of Chamomile Tea because he had caught a cold from sitting in the damp watering can hiding from Mr. McGregor.