3 Keys to Excellent Bedtime Stories - Plus Examples

Bedtime stories have a special place in our hearts. If you can think back to a time your mother or father, or maybe a loving aunt or grandparent told you a bedtime story, you probably remember a few of the details. But what you likely remember the most is the feeling of security and warmth as you drifted off to sleep.

People have been telling bedtime stories for thousands of years, and it’s really no different today. In this article, we’ll share three keys for telling simple, engaging, and effortless stories that are sure to become family favorites. Think of them as the keys that unlock the door to dreamland. At the end, we’ll give you four story ideas to get you inspired, then ask you to finish them with your own children (or create your own).

The Three Keys

The first key to a good bedtime story unlocks your soft but constant voice. This isn’t the time for rollicking adventures or big surprises. Think back to high school, when you fell asleep in history class. That monotone voice is what we’re looking for, because it allows your child to drift away from the meaning of your words into the comfort and security…of your…yawn…own voice.

The second key unlocks your own creativity. This is a subtle door, because when we tell children’s stories we often think we need to speak at a child’s level. What’s more important is taking steps to ensure we don’t bore ourselves. Why? Because if it feels boring, or like work, then you’re not likely to repeat it. But if you feel the magic yourself, then you will look forward to doing it again. This, not memorization, is what makes stories feel effortless. So, look for themes that interest you.

The last key unlocks a universal or repeatable theme. You may have noticed your child already falling in love with certain characters in books, movies, or stories. They want to return again and again, because they access that imaginary world in the blink of an eye. A good bedtime story does the same thing. It becomes episodic. Think of it as a shortcut into your child’s imagination, and this is precisely what we want as we fall asleep – to drift into the imagination and away from our five senses.

You Are a Key Holder

You are a storyteller. You have always been, even if you do not know it. Storytelling is not a skill for experts. It is something all of us do. It lies deep in our genes and culture, and it is deeply bonding. Everyone is good at it, like walking, even if we have a unique gait. So have confidence. Make it a practice. No one tells a story quite like you. Your children will love you for it.

Bedtime Story Ideas:

Yellow and Blue

In the forest, there lived a soft little being named yellow. She was always bright and cheerful and loved to sing and dance. Wherever she showed up, the world became joyful and everyone laughed. But yellow got lonely. It was fun being a bright shining light but she longed for a friend.

Near the forest stream stood another little being named blue. He was a bit shy and cried whenever he saw a little bug that was hurt or a worm getting eaten by a bird. He just couldn’t help it. “Stop crying,” cawed a Magpie from above, “otherwise no one will want to play with you!” Blue was sure that Magpie was right, so he hung his head and cried. As he did, tiny blue tears drip-dropped into the stream.

When yellow saw the little blue drops floating in the stream, she grew curious. Following their trail, she discovered little Blue sitting sadly beside the river. She got so excited that she went up and gave him a hug without even asking! And you would not believe what happened! They turned green.

Yellow and Blue quickly became friends, and whenever they went on adventures the whole forest would turn emerald green. And when they departed, sometimes Blue grew sad. But he always knew they would see each other again.

Now, their first adventure happened to be when they found an owl feather lying near the stream. “This must be from old Grandfather Owl,” said Yellow. “But I have never seen him here,” said Blue. “Well, we must find him then!” said Yellow, and just then a whoosh of wind picked up the feather, with Blue and Yellow holding on for dear life.

Finish the story with your children…

Storytelling Seeds

At the hardware store, there was a seed package with about 24 sunflower seeds. They had been sitting on the shelf in a little paper packet for a long time, whispering to each other and dreaming of the beautiful garden in which they would one day be planted. After all, that’s where they had come from.

But the store shelf was a hard place to live. There were no bird sounds, only the squeaky wheels from the shopping cart. And no rain, just the sound of the mop at night. But every time a human took the seed package into their hand to look at it, the seeds became excited. They could feel the warmth of the hand through the paper. “This is it!” they thought, but then they were put back on the shelf and soon the seeds gave up hope to ever see a garden again.

One day two little children saw the seed pouch and said, “Mom can we buy these? They’re sunflowers!” The mother hesitated for a moment, then said, “Sure, why not?” and placed them into the squeaky shopping cart. Squeek, squeak, squeak. The seeds started to giggle. Finally, they had hope again.

What the family didn’t know was that these were special seeds, tended by the fairies themselves! When the children planted them outside their window, a little fairy came whistling through the wind to tend them, and a little gnome moved in to take care of the roots. The rain fairies came the next day and danced around the little sunflowers, and soon they began to grow.

One day a few weeks later, the sunflowers began to peek through the window. “Hello!” said one of them. The mother hadn’t noticed, but the children did. “What did you say?” asked the children. “I said hello!” answered the sunflower. “We are very special story sunflowers, and if you come to the window once a day, or even sit outside under our golden petals, we will tell you a story. Each one of us has a different tale.”

“Today, I will tell you about my grandfather. His name was Sunny, and he lived long ago in a village far away from here. Everybody loved Sunny, because underneath his yellow petals he had a long white beard. He was my Grandpa, after all. Well one day, the farmer came to harvest the sunflower seeds and Grandpa Sunny decided to play a trick. Every time the farmer got near, Sunny mooed like a cow. ‘Who let those cows out?’ said the farmer, and off he went to check the barn.”

Finish the story with your children…

Bumble’s New Hive

Bumble the bee was a bit lost. She had left her beehive when a big storm blew in, and she got carried all the way to town where she did not know her way around. “Oh no! I lost my beehive!” she said, “How can I find my way home?”

“Go to the spelling bee,” said a coyote, who wanted to trick the little bee. He thought it was funny that she was lost. “Where is the spelling bee?” asked Bumble. “It’s in the zoom room!” said Coyote, and he fell on his back laughing with all fours up in the air.

Now little Bumble understood that he was making fun of her. But she remembered not to get angry and sting him, for that would be a bad thing for her. All of a sudden, a dragon fly came by and told Bumble to follow. “The queen bee sent me to bring you home,” he said. “She has gotten sick and you need to start a new hive. The old one has been damaged in the storm.”

Bumble did become a queen bee, and you would not believe where she built her hive! Maybe it was near a school, where children practice spelling bees. Or maybe it was outside of a house where a child once went to school in the zoom room? Follow Bumble in your imagination as she searches for the best place for your child.

Finish the story with your children…

Grandpa’s Train Set

Christopher was sad the day his Grandpa died. He loved him so much. Every time he would visit Grandpa’s old house, he and Grandpa would spend hours in the basement playing with his old electric train set. It had little houses and villages, all hand carved by his grandfather, with people and traffic lights that moved. It was like magic.

“Well, I guess this is yours now,” his Grandmother said after the funeral. Christopher was surprised, but it still didn’t make up for Grandpa being gone. Christopher missed sitting on Grandpa’s lap under the old checkered wool blanket, red, gray and black. The two of them would smile as they dunked cookies in Grandpa’s coffee and watch the trains roll by.

He and his parents took the train set home. It took weeks, but finally they set it up in the attic, and by then Christopher knew every little control and how to set everything just right. He could spend hours up there just by himself, remembering how his grandfather had carved each piece.

One night, as he was snacking on one of mom’s cookies (minus the coffee), he saw an old man walk out of the tiny village store. “Funny,” he thought, “I don’t remember him being there.”

“Well, you wouldn’t,” said the old man, “because your Grandfather made me as his last wish.” Then the old man smiled and winked. “He knew he wouldn’t be around forever.”

“But…how?” said Christopher, a little stunned.

“Oh, you’ll see,” said the old man. “My name’s Engine Pete. Hop on.” And with that, Engine Pete pulled a lever near the side of the track. The train came to a stop with a kshhhh!! As he climbed on, Engine Pete took off his hat and waved it in the air. Suddenly, the train and the village grew larger and larger, and Christopher found himself standing beside the train. He looked up at the huge attic window, the moon just beginning to rise, and realized that it was he, Christopher, that had grown tiny.

Engine Pete smiled kindly from the train. “Come on,” he said, “We don’t have much time before your mom comes looking for you.” Christopher climbed on the train, not quite sure what was happening. But Engine Pete’s smile was reassuring. He pulled another lever near the track, and the train began to lift into the air. “Full steam ahead,” said Engine Pete, then picked up a blanket and tossed it to Christopher. As Christopher spread it over his lap, he noticed the familiar red, gray, and black checkers. It smelled like Grandpa.

“What’s this for?” asked Christopher.

“Where we’re going,” said Engine Pete, pointing to the night sky, “we’re going to need it.”

Christopher watched in amazement as the train flew toward the attic window, which suddenly opened, revealing the starry sky above. Engine Pete was right, even in the midst of summer it was cool. Just below, Artie the dog watched silently as a tiny train, puffing steam, flew out the attic window and past the moon.

Finish the story with your children…

Sleeping child photo by Stine Moe Engelsrud from Pixabay

Joe BrodnikSeptember 8, 2021