Wakey wakey! It’s National Sleepyhead Day!
Sleepyhead Day originates in Finland where the last person sleeping in a household is given some sort of watery awakening on July 27th – be it a bucket of cold water thrown over them or a dunking in the local lake!
But what if you have trouble getting to sleep in the first place? Picture books are an integral part of a child’s bedtime routine and there are so many wonderful stories to calm children as they get ready for bed.
These picture book characters have found some innovative ways to help them drift off…
I can’t sleep by Gracia Iglesias & Ximo Abadia
A little girl is struggling to get to sleep so she starts to count sheep. Ximo Abadia’s quirky illustrations and a humorous counting text combine to make a fun bedtime story, perfect for sheep lovers and anybody that needs a little help with calming down!
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Wide Awake Wolf by Georgiana Deutsch & Megan Tadden
Wide Awake Wolf can’t sleep!
This beautifully illustrated night time adventure follows Wolf and his friends as they try and find sleep. But what exactly does sleep look like? This gentle, heartwarming story is perfect to include in a child’s bedtime routine and we love the way that Wolf discovers the answer to his question 🙂
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The Bedtime Boat by Sital Gorasia Chapman & Anastasia Suvorova
The Bedtime Boat is a beautifully illustrated bedtime story which uses mindfulness techniques to help children relax and fall into a restful sleep.
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Goodnight Sleepy Babies by Janet Bingham & Sebastien Braun
Goodnight Sleepy Babies with its soothing rhyming text and beautiful illustrations has the quality of a lullaby, it’s a fabulous choice for a bedtime story or simply for those times when children (and parents!) need a calming read.
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We have some fabulous bedtime story collections on our bookshelf…
The Faber Book of Bedtime Stories By Seventeen children’s authors
The Faber Book of Bedtime Stories is a wonderful collection of bedtime stories that convey messages of bravery, hope and kindness in a variety of situations. Seventeen children’s authors introduce readers to a diverse cast of characters and take us on amazing adventures in short stories which are beautifully illustrated by Sarah McIntyre.
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Old Bear’s Bedtime Stories by Jane Hissey
Old Bear, Little Bear, Ruff, Duck and Bramwell are joined by Spotty Ben, The Warm Snowman and Toby Small in this collection of stories and poems. The stories are the perfect length to be read at bedtime (although we can’t restrict ourselves to just one!) and include a range of familiar childhood experiences and seasonal activities.
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Sleeping Beauty is one of the most famous sleepyheads of all!
Sleeping Beauty
This edition of Sleeping Beauty incorporates stills, sketches, storyboards and concept art from the original studio artists who worked on the Disney film. It provides a fabulous insight into how the films were created and developed.
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Isn’t it interesting that most of these covers are a calming blue?
What will you be reading on National Sleepyhead Day? Or will you be snoozing?
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