Books For Independent Reading
Books for the Library Corner
What the Sun Sees/What the Moon Sees- by Nancy Tafuri
Greenwillow 1997 (32p)
Large illustrations and simple text contrast what the sun sees during the day and what the moon sees at night.
- A Good Night's Sleep
- by Allan Fowler
(Science)
Childrens 1996 (32p) also paper
Photographs and brief text explain why sleep is important and show animals and people sleeping.
- Good Night, Mr. Night
- by Dan Yaccarino
Harcourt 1997 (32p)
In this calming tale, Mr. Night slips into a boy's bedroom and helps him fall asleep.
- Night House, Bright House
- by Monica Wellington
Dutton 1997 (32p)
As ten mice and a cat chase each other through the rooms of a house, objects in the rooms wake up and talk in rhyming verse.
- Putting the World to Sleep
- by Shelley Moore Thomas
Houghton 1995 (32p)
As dusk falls, the world outside gets ready for nighttime and a mother rocks her baby to sleep.
- Some Sleep Standing Up
- by Susan Stockdale
(Science)
Simon 1996 (32p)
Cut-paper pictures reveal the many ways animals sleep, including standing up, underground, and upside down.
- Can't Sleep
- by Chris Raschka
Orchard 1995 (32p)
The moon comforts the bedtime fears of a little dog who can't sleep
Books for Teachers to Read Aloud
- Sleep Is for Everyone
- by Paul Showers
(Science)
Harper 1997 (32p) also paper
Bright pictures and simple text show how animals and people sleep and what happens when they don't get enough rest.
- Northwoods Cradle Song: From a Menominee Lullaby
- by Douglas Wood
(Multicultural)
In a poetic adaptation of a traditional Native American lullaby, images of the natural world reveal a timeless sense of night.
- The Boy Who Wouldn't Go to Bed
- by Helen Cooper
Dial 1997 (32p)
After a boy announces to his mother that he's going to stay up all night, he zooms off in a toy car so his mother can't catch him.
- Possum's Harvest Moon
- by Anne Hunter
Houghton 1996 (32p)
One autumn evening when the moon is full, Possum decides to throw a party, but his animal friends seem too busy getting ready for winter to attend.
- Night Gliders
- by Joanne Ryder
(Science)
Bridgewater 1996 (32p)
Four flying squirrels leap and glide through the night, feeding and playing until daylight arrives.
- Oliver's Wood
- by Sue Hendra
Candlewick 1996 (26p)
Oliver the owl stays up so late one night that he sees the sun come up.
- Harry and the Terrible Whatzit
- by Dick Gackenbach
Houghton 1978 (32p) also paper
Harry musters his courage to go into the dark cellar to look for his mother.
Available in Spanish as Harry y el terrible quiensabequࢹ.
- Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?
- by Martin Waddell
Candlewick 1988 (32p) also paper
At bedtime, Little Bear is afraid of the dark until Big Bear shows him that the moon and the stars bring light to the night
Books for Shared Reading
- Time to Sleep
- by Denise Fleming
Holt 1997 (32p)
With a chill in the air, Bear spreads the news to the other animals that it's time for their winter sleep in this circular, repetitive story.
- Little Donkey Close Your Eyes
- by Margaret Wise Brown
Harper 1995 (32p)
As day comes to a close, various animals from around the world and a child end their busy day and prepare to sleep.
- A Mouse Told His Mother
- by Bethany Roberts
Little 1997 (32p)
As he is coaxed through his bedtime rituals by his mother, a mouse imagines having all sorts of exciting adventures.
- Fireflies, Fireflies, Light My Way
- by Jonathan London
Viking (32p) 1996
Fireflies lead a child through a nighttime world of leaping bullfrogs, playful otters, and squawking ducks in this rhyming story.
- Hush! A Thai Lullaby
- by Mingfong Ho
(Multicultural)
Orchard 1996 (32p)
A mother tries to hush elephants and mosquitoes and other animals whose sounds threaten to wake her baby.
- Good Night, Dinosaurs
- by Judy Sierra
Clarion 1996 (32p)
Pteranodons put their nightgowns on and other dinosaurs get ready for bed in a rhyming story about prehistoric bedtime.
- Ten Flashing Fireflies
- by Philomen Sturgeon
(Math)
North-South 1995 (32p)
One summer evening, a brother and sister catch and count ten fireflies before letting them go again.
Now Available in Paperback
- How Many Stars in the Sky?
- Lenny Hort
Mulberry
- Going to Sleep on the Farm
- by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
Puffin
- K Is for Kiss Goodnight: A Bedtime Alphabet
- by Jill Sardegna
Dell
- Moondance
- by Frank Asch
Scholastic
- Midnight Pillow Fight
- by Jan Omerod
Candlewick
Now Available in Spanish
- Bedtime for Frances (La hora de acostarse de Francisca)
- by Russell Hoban
Harper
Now Available as a Big Book
- Time for Bed
- by Mem Fox
Harcourt
Now Out of Print
- In the Still of the Night
- by Jennifer Selby
Simon
- All Night Near the Water
- by Jim Arnosky
Putnam
- Still as a Star: A Book of Nighttime Poems
- by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Little