Preschool to Grade 2
Counting Kisses by Karen Katz
BR 51191; web-braille not available.
BR 51710; web-braille not available.
LP 2051
A family says goodnight to the baby by playing a kissing and counting game. Print/braille by Wolfner volunteers. Print/Uncontracted Braille. 2001.
Dusk by Uri Shulevitz
LP 2417
Boy with dog and grandfather with beard watch holiday lights turn on in the city. 2013.
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
DB 74274
Read by Erik Sandvold. Reading time: 9 minutes.
Tough trucks work all day long puffing smoke, lifting big metal beams, and moving dirt at a construction site, until they get tuckered out and go to sleep for the night. 2011.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.
BR 13012; web-braille not available.
BR 50363; web-braille not available.
BR 51480; web-braille not available.
DB 24603
LP 2291
LP 50084
Read by Kay Bergen. Reading time 2 minutes.
A little bunny already tucked into his bed says goodnight to the familiar things in his room as the light dims gently until all is dark. Print/Braille. 1947.
I Said, "Bed!" by Bruce Degen
LP 2531
A little boy who is not ready for sleep goes on a bedtime adventure. An I Like to Read book. 2014.
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
BR 51564; web-braille not available.
LP 2126
MDB11043
Read by Dan Deidrich. Reading time: 5 minutes.
Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale. Building Block Award nominee, 2011-2012. 20010.
La Primera Biblioteca del Bebe: Buenas Noches, Luna; Mi Mundo; El Conejito Andarin; El Gran Granero Rojo by Margaret Wise Brown
DB 74988
Read by Maria Pino. Reading time: 22 minutes
Collection of classic bedtime stories for infants and young children originally published between 1942 and 1954 by American author Margaret Wise Brown. Spanish language. 2001.
Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Kate Banks
BR 51835; web-braille not available.
At bedtime, a little llama worries after his mother puts him to bed and goes downstairs. Contracted and uncontracted braille in one volume. PRINT/BRAILLE. 2000.
Lena's Sleep Sheep by Anita Lobel
LP 2348
Lena wants the sheep she counts at bedtime to meet another of her nighttime friends, but they think the moon is a monster and are afraid. 15 point Bookman font. A Going-to-Bed book. 2013.
Mitchell's License by Hallie Durand
MDB11210
Read by Mary Grace Newman. Reading time: 8 minutes, 45 seconds.
Mitchell never wants to go to bed until, at the age of three years, nine months, and five days he gets his license so that he can drive there--at least until he and the car have a disagreement about what fuel goes in the tank. A Building Block Picture Book Award winner. 2011.
My Big Boy Bed by Eve Bunting
BR 51559; web-braille not available.
LP 1280
A little boy celebrates all the things he can do now that he has a big boy bed. Illustrated by Maggie Smith. Print/braille by Wolfner Volunteers. The text was set in 20-point Gill Sans Bold Condensed. 2003.
Northern Lullaby by Nancy White Carlstrom
BR 08975; web-braille not available.
In sparse, rhythmic verse, a young Native American child in the far North bids good night to earth and her family--including Papa Star, Mama Moon, Sister Owl, and Brother Bear. PRINT/BRAILLE. 1992.
The Silver Moon: Lullabies and Cradle Songs by Jack Prelutsky
LP 2361
A compilation of lullabies and Cradle Songs. Illustrated by Jui Ishida. 18 point Chalet font. 2013.
The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town by Judy Sierra
BR 19006; web-braille not available.
It's sleepytime in Alphabet Town, but some of the little (lower-case) alphabet letters don't want to go to bed yet. A rhyming story. PRINT/BRAILLE. 2009.
Stars by Mary Lyn Ray
DB 74511
Read by Guy Williams. Reading time: 6 minutes.
Explores the wonder of stars both near and far, whether they are in the nighttime sky, on a wand making wishes come true, or in your pocket for those days when you don't feel shiny. 2011.
Sweet Dreams, Curious George by H. A. Rey
LP 2413
George as he looks to the sky for a starry solution to his bad dreams! A Curious George book. Illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young. 2013.
Where Are the Night Animals? by Mary Ann Fraser
DB 59590
Read by Mitzi Friedlander. Reading time 12 minutes.
Describes the nighttime activities of various nocturnal animals including the opossum, brown bat, and tree frog.1999.
Kindergarten to Grade 3
Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole by Wong Herbert Yee
DB 66482
Read by Erik Sandvold. Reading time 21 minutes.
Mouse and Mole arrive early for Minkus the Magnificent's magic show, but Mole is disappointed that Minkus only tricks the audience. Mouse presents a special show for her friend Mole to see the nighttime magic all around them. Four-chapter beginning reader. 2007.
Again! by Emily Gravett
BR 20042; web-braille not available.
At bedtime, Cedric the dragon wants his mom to read his favorite book again, and again, and again. PRINT/BRAILLE. 2013.
Amanda Pig and the Awful, Scary Monster by Jean Van Leeuwen.
DB 57241
Read by Terry Hayes Sales. Reading time 15 minutes.
Amanda Pig sees monsters at night, so her parents and brother, Oliver, keep reassuring her that there are no such things. Beginning chapter reader. 2003.
Black Out!: Animals That Live in the Dark by Ginjer L. Clarke
BR 51968; web-braille not available.
Interesting facts about animals we never get to see during the daytime, such as the barn owl, the blind cave fish, the vampire squid, and the trapdoor spider. All Aboard Science Reader: Station Stop 2. 2008.
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
BR 20014; web-braille not available.
Twelve poems invite readers to the cool breezes of the nighttime forest to learn about the moon, mushrooms, trees, raccoons, snails, porcupines, crickets, moths, owls, spiders, efts (young newts), and bats. Natural history facts accompany each poem. PRINT/BRAILLE. Newbery Honor Book. 2010.
Desert Animals at Night by Lynn M. Stone.
LP 0574
Describes the behavior of desert animals that are active at night, including bats, owls, foxes, and toads. 1997.
The Dream Collector by Troon Harrison.
BR 50828; web-braille not available.
It is the Dream Collector's job to collect the night's dreams before sunlight touches them and makes them real. But his truck has broken down. Can Zachary and the Dream Collector beat the dawn before the neighborhood is overrun with dreams? Print/braille. 1998.
Mercy Watson Fights Crime by Kate DiCamillo
DB 64121
LP 2049
Read by Anne Hancock. Reading time 21 minutes.
Mercy, a pig, loves buttered toast. One night her cravings lead her to the kitchen, where she finds a thief trying to steal the Watson's toaster. Beginning chapter book. 2006.
Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb
LP 2214
As he gets into bed, Timmy bear asks his mother to play a game with him in which they remember everything he did during the day, but in reverse order. Illustrated by David McPhail. 2011.
Splat the Cat Storybook Collection by Annie Auerbach
DB 77103
Read by Colleen Delany. Reading time: 25 minutes.
Six previously published Splat the Cat books: Splat the Cat Sings Flat, Back to School, Splat!, Good Night, Sleep Tight, The Perfect Present for Mom and Dad, Splat the Cat and the Duck with No Quack, and Splat the Cat Takes the Cake. 2013.
Stars Above Us by Geoffrey Norman
BR 51583; web-braille not available.
LP 2131
MDB11046
Read by Dan Deidrich. Reading time: 10 minutes.
Amanda's father is a soldier, but before he leaves for war, he teaches her not to be afraid of the things that live in the dark--which includes fireflies and crickets--and about the stars. Show Me Award nominee, 2011-2012. 2009.
Grades 2 to 4
The Barefoot Book of Animal Tales from Around the World by Naomi Adler
DB 62058
Read by Anne Hancock. Reading time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Nine traditional folktales from India, China, Australia, Germany, Thailand, Africa, Canada, and Brazil. The Cherokee story "Grandmother Spider" explains how animals in the northern lands brought light from the other side of the world to their dark space. 2004.
Be Brave, Willa Bean! by Cecilia Galante
LP 2376
Cupid Willa Bean does not want to admit that she does not like flying high, or in the dark, but during a sleepover she has to face her fears. Illustrated by Kristi Valiant. Little Wings series, book 2. 2011.
Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas
BR 12775; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
One night in a faraway kingdom, three lonely dragons keep the Good Knight running back and forth from his watchtower to their dark cave, helping them prepare for bedtime. Even after all three are tucked in, they call him back for one last thing. 2000.
The Moon by Elaine Landau
DB 67109
Read by Erin Jones. Reading time 29 minutes.
Presents facts about the brightest object in the night sky--the Moon. Explains the phases of the lunar month, conditions on the Moon's surface, and the formation of the Moon. Answers questions about how astronauts survive in space and whether people could live on the Moon. 2008.
Turtle Dreams by Marion Dane Bauer
BR 13125; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
In this chapter book, Young Turtle's great-great-great-grandmother warns her that she must gather dreams to prepare for winter. So Turtle asks an otter, a squirrel, and a bird what they dream about and gets a different answer from each one. 1997.
What You Never Knew about Beds, Bedrooms, and Pajamas by Patricia Lauber
DB 64613
Read by Michele Schaeffer. Reading time unknown.
Traces the history of sleeping habits from Stone Age nights around an open fire and Egyptian, Greek, and Roman "day beds" to group sleeping arrangements of the Middle Ages and the concept of private bedrooms. Discusses mattresses, blankets, and nightclothes through the ages. 2006.
Grades 3 to 6
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
BR 20014; web-braille not available.
Twelve poems invite readers to the cool breezes of the nighttime forest to learn about the moon, mushrooms, trees, raccoons, snails, porcupines, crickets, moths, owls, spiders, efts (young newts), and bats. Natural history facts accompany each poem. PRINT/BRAILLE. Newbery Honor Book. 2010.
Don't Give Up the Ghost: The Delacorte Book of Original Ghost Stories by David Gale
DB 39092
Read by Bob Askey. Reading time 4 hours 7 minutes.
A dozen ghost stories--ranging from horror to humor--by contemporary authors who offer a brief, first-person statement about their lives and work. Includes "Things That Go Gleep in the Night" by Walter Dean Myers; "The Face in the Rafters" by Janet Taylor Lisle; and "The Sounds of the House" by Gary Soto.
The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman
DB 70105
Read by Annie Wauters. Reading time 59 minutes.
Eight-year-old Susana, a plucky Mexican girl, tries to get her dream back from the chili-pepper-eating dream Stealer. He takes her to his castle, where countless dreams and even more adventures await. 2009.
Herbie Jones and the Dark Attic by Suzy Kline
BR 51806; web-braille not available.
When he is told that he has to sleep in the attic while his grandfather is visiting, Herbie invites his friend, Raymond, to sleep over. To complicate matters, a strange animal has been seen in the neighborhood. Herbie Jones series, book 4. 2004.
The Moon of the Owls: The Thirteen Moons by Jean Craighead George
DB 38467
Read by Celeste Lawson. Reading time 30 minutes.
The great horned owl is a magnificent bird of prey. On a cold January night in the Catskill Mountains, an owl awakens under the full moon. He stares at the six square miles of property-- forest, fields, and swamp--that he claims to be his own. Suddenly, he feels an exciting need to be on the move. It is the stirring to mate during January, the moon of beginnings.
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
BR 19068; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
DB 71190
Read by J. Michael McCullough. Reading time 1 hour 53 minutes.
Flory, a tiny night fairy, loses her wings to a hungry bat when she is very young and lands in a human's garden. Unable to fly, Flory resides in a birdhouse, befriends a squirrel and a hummingbird, and adapts to daytime. Then the bat reveals a secret. 2010.
Poppy by Avi
BR 52007; web-braille not available.
DB 42709
Read by Kimberly Schraf. Reading time 3 hours 19 minutes.
The deer mice know they must ask Mr. Ocax the owl for permission before they wander far from their home. Poppy's father says it is because Mr. Ocax wants to protect them against porcupines, but Poppy soon learns otherwise. While she and her boyfriend, Ragweed, are out for a forbidden night stroll, Mr. Ocax eats Ragweed. If Poppy cannot convince her father and the other mice of the danger, she must somehow protect them.
Grades 4 to 7
The Arabian Nights by Neil Philip
DB 47436
Read by Barbara Rappaport. Reading time 5 hours 3 minutes.
Once there was a king who married a new bride every night and had her beheaded the next morning. When Sheherazade marries this king, she tells him such wonderful stories that he spares her life each day to hear another. Fifteen of her tales are retold here.
Don't Go to Sleep! by R.L. Stine
BR 11154; web-braille not available.
BR 50356; web-braille not available.
DB 45225
Read by Terence Aselford. Reading time 2 hours 7 minutes.
Twelve-year-old Matthew Amsterdam, a geek according to his older brother and sister, has the tiniest bedroom in their house, so there is hardly room for him, let alone his books. There is a bigger bedroom, but it is supposed to be the guest room. One night Matt decides to sleep there anyway, and when he wakes up, he is older than his brother and sister. 1997.
Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
BR 18054; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
DB 65256
LP 1718
Read by Martha Harmon Pardee. Reading time 3 hours 33 minutes.
Quirky thirteen-year-old Primrose moves out of her fortune-telling mother's house and into an abandoned van. Nine-year-old David mourns his mother's death and resents his grandmother and absentee father. The two fragile kids forge a combative friendship through late night adventures and escapades. 2007.
A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children by Caroline Kennedy
BR 17614; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
Treasury of Caroline Kennedy's best-loved childhood verses about animals, seasons, adventures, and bedtime. Features familiar classics by Shakespeare, Basho, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Ogden Nash as well as contemporary works by Nikki Giovanni, Jack Prelutsky, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Kennedy's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier, among many. 2005.
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
BR 10971; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
DB 44005
Read by June Carter. Reading time 3 hours 8 minutes.
On Halloween night, eight boys arrange to meet their friend, Pipkin, at the haunted house outside of town. Before the others reach him, though, Pipkin is grabbed by a dark Something. 1972.
Night Creatures by Malcolm Penny
LP 50119
Describes the physical characteristics and behavior of such nighttime animals as the warthog, leopard, and raccoon.
Night of the Werewolf by Franklin W. Dixon
BR 04826; web-braille not available.
DB 16722
Read by Roy Avers. Reading time 3 hours 39 minutes.
A ferocious wolf-like creature appears in a small town during the full moon, attacking livestock and terrorizing residents. The natural suspect, a young man with a history of werewolves in his family, hires the Hardy boys to clear his name. 1979.
Space, Stars, and the Beginning of Time: What the Hubble Telescope Saw by Elaine Scott
BR 19348; 1 volume of braille. Volume 1.
DB 73167
Read by Patrick Downer. Reading time 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Recounts discoveries about the universe--seeing a star being born, tracking a galaxy light-years away, verifying the existence of dark energy--made since 1990 by scientists using the Hubble telescope. Discusses the 2009 mission to update Hubble so it could continue probing the mysteries of the cosmos. 2011.
Zzz…The Most Interesting Book You’ll Ever Read About Sleep by Trudee Romanek
DB 56392
Read by Cyn Delafield. Reading time: 1 hour, 5 minutes.
Explains the human body's need for sleep and the brain's functions during that time. Covers such topics as the body's clock, stages of sleep, and dreams. Presents information on famous persons' sleeping habits, animal sleep, and the loudest snore. Suggests experiments to determine needed hours of sleep. 2002.