Perfect books to read to four year olds at bedtime

[Loopyloop86]

Just that really! Any longer books you can recommend? We just read a short picture book a night at the mo. Maybe that's just right? But wondered if a longer book (a chapter per night) might work at this age and - if so - what?

My 4 yo DD was mad about The Rainbow Fairies series. It's not great literature but got her onto chapter books.

Sounds great - he loves magical stuff. We will borrow from the library!

Would love more recommendations to get from the library!

Anyone else?

My nearly 4yo has really enjoyed The Twits and Fantastic Mr Fox.

Ooh love Roald Dahl!

Roald Dahl's Matilsa, or any Roald Dahl really. Mine also loved The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton

If he likes dinosaurs I can recommend Dinosaur Cove as starter chapter books

We've done some Roald Dahl but watching this with interest!!

My 4 year old loves Aesop's fables, traditional fairy stories and the Just So Stories (I simplify the language a bit).

There is a series of books called 5 minute stories, we have the Star Wars ones, they also have a Disney/Pixar ones too, there's 11 chapters in the Star Wars book all short tales from the movie. My 5 yo now sits up and reads a chapter a night with his torch after we've read together.

We loved Jonny Duddle's The Pirates Next Door books. There are three chapter books with the same characters as the picture books. Great to read and still got lots of illustrations too. We found it quite a tricky age when our DS had outgrown picture books but wasn't quite ready for full blown chapter books. These books were perfect, along with Paddington, Michael Morpurgo's Mudpuddle Farm stories and Roald Dahl

Ooh these are such excellent ideas!!

Julia Donaldson- What LadyBird series, Funnybones, Snatchabook ( can't remember the author but story with a message),Rachel Bright "Lion Inside"

Just a thought: don't feel your child has to 'outgrow' picture books at any point - there are many beautiful longer and more complex picture books for older children, and age 4 is still very young. My DD is coming up for 7 and we still read picture books and I fully intend to keep on with them throughout primary! Chapter books are great for suspense but picture books are also great for the imagination. Julia Donaldson covers a fair age range - stories like Stickman, Snail and the Whale, Sugarlump are good for a 4 year old. Maybe look at John Burningham, Shirley Hughes, Babette Cole, James Mayhew, Janet and Allan Ahlberg, Anthony Browne.

I introduced DGD to Milly-Molly-Mandy and Teddy Robinson at that age, classics from my childhood. She loves a gentle, domestic story and they went down a treat.

Sharing a Shell. No idea who is it by but my daughter (and us) loved it for years.

We're reading The Faraway Tree books. DS is fascinated.

For an exciting sounding read I loved reading the Dr Suess books especially Fox in Socks. It turned into a completion of how quickly I could read it without any mistakes much to the delight of my DS !

The magic faraway tree here too (although moonface had to be a girl which made it complicated to read), plus fantastic mr fox and other roald dahl. We mix these up with picture books still.

I think a short picture book is best at four years. My DD who is five now used to love looking at the pictures while I read it to her Big books hardly have any pictures and they should be started maybe around six years IMO.

My Naughty Little Sister was a huge hit for us. Individual stories and just the right level of detail.

My 3.5 and 5 year old love Oi Dog. The Smartest Giant in Town and Zog the dragon by Julia Donaldson. Mog books. There are loads. I tend to go to the library to trial them and buy their favourites. CBeebies bedtime stories may also offer a few good ones.

And Lilywil 4 isn't too young. Following a narrative without pictures is a really important skill and is part of the EYFS framework.

I have heavily edited where necessary, and recapped the story, but it really improves vocabulary and concentration, as well as allowing me to share some cracking stories.

OP other ideas include Dick Kingsford-Smith, Charlotte's web, Flat Stanley, decent adaptations of Grimm's fairytales and the Ladybird abridged series - DD is just 5 and we've read Alice in Wonderland, the secret garden and Peter Pan in this series

We do picture books in the week (as it's joint bedtime stories with her 2.5yr old sister) and chapter books at the weekend (one parent per child so separate bedtime stories)

Picture books popular at the moment:

The enormous crocodile
The polar express
Winnie the Witch
The Pirate Cruncher
Alfie stories/Dogger
Various Julia Donaldson
Owl who was afraid of the Dark
Funnybones
Ahlberg Mr & Mrs series
The Giant Jam Sandwich

Chapter books:

Magic Faraway tree
Wishing chair (very similar)
Various Dahl (but not Twits or Witches yet)
Dick King Smith
A Necklace of Raindrops