what book to read at bedtime that will make my child sleep

[angel24711]

Anyone have any recommendations for books that will encourage/ make my 2.5 year old boy sleepy that I can read to him at bedtime. He's just moved to a toddler bed and we've found - 'a bed of your own' - Kelly Mij quite good, but we've done it every night for 2 weeks now.

I'm currently doing 3 books a night a the mo, I'd love it to be less, but he's used to 3 currently. So we read something short first ( like 'the very busy spider'), exciting next (like 'the snail and the whale' and then I need recommendations for books that will make him sleepy and help me exit the room with minimum grumbling/protests!!

We've tried book after book with our DS (2.2) including the Rabbit who wants to fall asleep and Goodnight Moon, which I love. None of the ones we've tried make him sleepy so now I just sit quietly in his room while he chatters himself to sleep. Any kind of interaction just keeps him awake.

Do you do songs? My LOs are a bit bigger now (5 and 3) but we have always done stories and then songs. Last song is always Twinkle Twinkle and they know it means sleep time.

There is nothing I could have read DS at bedtime until around 3.5 that wouldn't have had his brain zinging and any chance of sleep receding over the horizon. He had hundreds of stories during the day but we just couldn't do it at bedtime as it had absolutely the opposite of the desired, soporific effect. He had bath, milk, quiet chat then we sat with him in silence.

He is fine with a story now but still never falls asleep or even gets sleepy while we read. He gets himself to sleep afterwards.

The Margaret Mayo books are quite good - there are ones on trains, diggers, (Dig, Dig, Digging) animals (Roar), (and possibly more?) but the last page is usually nighttime: "brakes on, engines off, it's time to rest" which my DS loves.

Definitely dita's suggestion

Ssssh! Duck don't wake the baby is good. There is a page in it that always makes me yawn!

Goat drives duck's truck round and round
The motor makes a humming sound
And baby falls fash asleep.
Goodnight baby.
Goodnight duck.

We love Kiss Goodnight Sam about a bear going to bed - especially when Sam's mum kisses him. It's just lovely & ds 2.9 knows that means bedtime. Also Bedtime Baby which is a book he's had since he was tiny & it's really a baby book but it still does the trick

It's probably more to do with the tone of your voice than the book. If you have a husky "late night DJ" voice then that might get the child sleeping.

Along came a bedtime is good, and Peace at Last. We are reading Green Eggs and Ham atm but that isn't remotely soporific!

Both my boys loved Hello Goodbye at that age. It's a lovely simple bedtime story. Even now I'm not allowed to charity shop it.

When my daughter is hyper (frequently) I give her a back massage or hold her hand. Even if I need to leave before she is asleep, it calms her right down.

With my eldest, Good night moon was her absolute favorite!
But now my youngest and eldest prefer the stories their dad tells them, he has a few characters that he always puts in the stories and they both love them so much

Maisy or Kipper (the dog, not the Oxford Reading Tree children). The shorter Julia Donaldson books when they are ready - 2.5 or 3 (the rhyming is quite soothing).

It's Time To Sleep My Love by Nancy Tillman works here. Well, anything by Nancy Tillman, really...