The Bedtime Boat is a beautifully illustrated bedtime story which uses mindfulness techniques to help children relax and fall into a restful sleep.
The Story: At the end of an exciting day Chandan has a bath, brushes his teeth and gets into bed. But once Mum turns out the light Chandan’s imagination goes into overdrive and he can’t sleep. Mum puts the bedtime boat on his tummy and tells Chandan to watch it rise and fall. After an imaginary voyage fraught with adventure, Chandan’s breathing becomes calmer and he finally drifts off to sleep.
The Bedtime Boat with its bright red sail drifts gently through the story as Chandan is distracted by a whale, pirates and a shark. The text’s repetitive refrain ‘Watch the boat, Chandan, it floats on the ocean. It rises and falls with your breath’s gentle motion.’ is calming and rhythmic and can be used to calm an overtired or overexcited child at any time of the day.
We love Anastasia Suvorova’s soothing illustrations which perfectly complement the dreamy rhyming text. The boat’s bright red sail provides a splash of colour in the predominantly blue pictures which are calming and beautifully atmospheric. We also love the endpapers which mirror Chandan’s sleep state at the beginning and end of the story.
And at the end of the book there are step by step instructions for you to make your own bedtime boat.
The Bedtime Boat is a joy to read aloud and can be read in any situation where a child needs calming. Children can join in with the repetitive refrain as it’s read aloud – as long as the story hasn’t already lulled them to sleep!
Age Range: 3 +
Author: Sital Gorasia Chapman / Illustrator: Anastasia Suvorova
Thank you to Catherine Ward PR for sending us a review copy of this gorgeous book 🙂
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