*NOW CLOSED* What's your favourite bedtime story of all time? Do tell (and you could win a bundle of children's books worth £100) *NOW CLOSED*

Asked the dcs;
8 year old - dinosaur roar
5 year old - burglar bill and monster and frog
10 year old - monster and frog mind the baby
14 year old - bills bucket

I love the monster and frog books, and burglar bill is fantastic for doing silly accents etc.

For under 5's I loved reading Each Peach Pear Plum to my daughter.
5-8 my favourite would be The Magic Faraway Tree, by Enid Blyton.
8-11 is a very little known one called The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater. Amazing story. I remember reading it as child.

My all time favourite book though is the 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith.

Mmm
Under 5s - to the beach- Thomas Docherty. Magical illustration .
5-8 my naughty little sister was a hit with me and my daughter but
I can't wait to introduce her to "the Bullerby Children" by Astrid Lindgren-8-11 I read it so much I word the words out!

Peepo!!

• favourite book for under 5s (babies to 4 year olds) - Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett
• favourite book for 5-8 year olds - Clockwork by Philip Pullman
• favourite book for 8-11 year olds - The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
• overall favourite bedtime story of all time - Kiss Goodnight Sam by Amy Hest

Under Fives
"Go To Sleep Sheep" by Julie Sykes & Melanie Wilkinson.
After reading it nearly every night for a couple of years (now on second copy as it has been loved so much)
You've got kisses goodnight, counting down from 5, pop ups, sighing, yawning, whispering & shouting all in a story that takes less than 5 minutes to read.
Both my son & I are now unable to read this book without yawning on the appropriate page, even if we read it in the middle of the day.
You even get a little cardboard sheep to tuck into bed on the last page!

Older kids and my favourite as a chil are Enid blyton

The very hungry caterpillar for the little one

5-8 year old has to be George's Marvellous Medicine. I think it might be because my husband does the most fantastic voice for Grandma!
8-11 year old is Harry Potter, especially the earlier books.

Under 5 - Cuddlebear by Claire Freedman
The Little Engine that could by Watty Piper

5 - 8 Years - My naughty little sister by Dorothy Edwards
The Adventures of Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Proysen

8-11 Years - The Borrowers - Mary Norton
Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

My favourite bedtime story as a child was Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree.
It was full of bizarre characters, different worlds and adventures!!

My favourite to read with toddler dd is Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo in Scots. It rolls off the tongue and we both think its very funny.

Under 5's- a collection of Mick Inkpen stories. DS(now 10.5) always like Lullabyhullaballoo, whilst DD1 (7 on Friday) liked Billy's Beetle. DD2 still likes The Very Hungry Caterpillar, she's nearly 3.

5-8's DD1's favourite Hairy Maclary stories, and currently 'The Magic Finger' by Roal Dahl (end of term pressie from school Ds (not so keen on stories at bedtime at that age), used to like Horrid Henry, and anything Roald Dahl, especially the Twits. He usually reads to himself now- especially Mr Gum books and anything by Michael Morpurgo(not really bedtime books, though).

8-11-For me, Noel Streatfield's 'Ballet Shoes' which I read til it fell to bits. At that age I used to read 'Charlotte's Web' every night to my younger sister.

And thank you for the 'necklace of Raindrops' reminder above. Beautiful book, used to get it from the school library a lot when I was 7/8. Agree the silhouette drawings are gorgeous.

For littlies, i love Bear Hunt, Click Clack Moo, Hairy Maclary, Stick Man, Gruffalo and Room On The Broom.

For slightly older, the Happy Families stories are fab. Also Charlie and Lola, and Dr Seuss. These are all brilliant stories once they are reading.

For independent readers, Harry Potter is a favourite here. Also loving the Moomins at the moment.

No all time favourite here, I'm afraid. Lots of favourites instead!

Too many to choose really, I love all the julia donaldson, mick inkpen, shirley hughes ones at the minute (ds is nearly 3). Also really love the Snorgh and the Sailor.

If I have to pick a favourite:
Under 5's -where the wild things are (maurice sendak)
5-8 - something by roald dahl, probably matilda
8-11 - I loved Heidi at this age I think

Overall favourite : where the wild things are

Definitely 'Alfie lends a hand' both from my own childhood and now reading to dd. it's probably in the preschool category but I think older child still like the tale.

It's by Shirley Hughes

And overall... That's just too much to ask, I couldn't possibly pick a favourite!

Am going to look into the Dr Seuss one a precious poster mentioned, sounds right up our street!

Under 5s - What the ladybird heard by Julia Donaldson (especially if you do silly animal noises).
5-8s - probably something by Roald Dahl, picking one it would have to be Matilda (obviously not strictly speaking a bed time story).
8-11 - probably can't beat Harry Potter for this age group (also not a bed time story).

I don't know how many times we had to do the 'baby yoga' book at bedtime...

My overall favourite is 'Oh The Places You'll Go' by Dr Seuss My dd loves reading it when she has had a tough day at school and the first lines are brilliant.
'You have brains in your head,
You have feet in your shoes,
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.'

We also love 'No bot. The Robot With No Bottom' just because it always makes us laugh.

There are so many books that we have enjoyed over the years it's hard to choose but here goes:
Under 5 - Owl Babies, Guess How Much I Love You and Smiley Shark.

5-8 - Magic Faraway Tree Books, The Jolly Postman and Secret Seven Books

8+ - DS is 9 and so far we have loved The Railway Children, The 5 Children and It and Jacqueline Wilson's The 4 Children and It. Currently enjoying the Malory Towers Series.

Favourite book ever for both of us is - The Night Before Christmas!

Under 5: the elves and the shoemaker
5-8: Cette nuit la, it is a French book, a house in the forest has become the shelter for birds, rabbits, mice after its owner died, whenever a potential buyer comes fir a visit, these animals make noises and humans think there is a ghost, one night, Christmas to be exact, a homeless man uses the house for shelter against Snow and wind, he is so tired that he falls asleep/faints and the noises don't make him flee, the animals are so curious that they come closer, realizing he is frozen cold, they put on a fire, prepare food and stay close to him to warm him up, he eventually wakes up and gives the kindest smile that the animals are not scared, this is a beautiful xmas story, talking about generosity and care with no father xmas, for once !
8-11: les fables de La Fontaine, French literacy but so contemporary
Overall: Lords of the Rings

The foggy foggy forest, Stick Man, The Gruffalo, Tales from Acorn Wood
By Julia Donaldson
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Walking through the Jungle by Debbie Harter
I love you, Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chicester Clark
The Enormous Turnip
Rusty's Bone by Usbourne
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (abridged version from Usbourne)

We love books!

My 18month old and I love Peepo. He loves looking through the holes in the page, and when the baby goes to bed at the end, DS always whispers "night night" to me.

Under 5 and over all: The Gruffalo.

We seem to have been doing bedtime stories with the DCs for years and years...well at least 10 years. And contrary to perceived theory that surrounding your children with books and reading to/with them makes them love reading, ours don't.....;-(.

But anyway DD still has a book at bedtime. DW and I love reading the bedtime stories because it enables us to have a bit of a childhood book nostalgia-fest and read some good books from the late 20th/21st Centuries..

favourite book for under 5s (babies to 4 year olds)

For us it's got to be We're Going On A Bear Hunt....

• favourite book for 5-8 year olds

Any of the Roald Dahl stories but most favourite in our house is Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

• favourite book for 8-11 year olds

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pierce which is a nod to DW's and my childhood. The children love it too though - it's been read as a bedtime story to DS and DD and they both still love it as do we.

• overall favourite bedtime story of all time?

If it's not cheating the entire series of Harry Potter novels which we read to DS when he was younger.