3 Bedtime Stories That Teach Valuable Lessons
When it comes to stories that teach valuable lessons, there are plenty around that are easily accessible and easy to read to children from as early as a few months old. Here are 3 bedtime stories that teach valuable lessons to children from various creative and well-loved authors. They are prefect for little ones between the ages of 0-6 years. Are there any other stories that you regularly tell to your children as they settle in for a good night’s sleep?
You can find all of these books via The Book Depository (hooray for free shipping!). I’ll pop the links below.
Bedtime Story 1: Corduroy by Don Freeman
Corduroy is the story of a little stuffed bear in a department store. A girl wanders by and asks her mother if she can take Corduroy home. The mother replies that she doesn’t want to spend anymore money and that the bear has a button missing anyway, so it would be a waste. That night, the little bear (named Corduroy) decides to try and find a button to replace his missing one in the hopes that he might find his forever home. He walks all around the store until he makes a loud noise and is taken back to his usual shelf by a security guard. The next day, to Corduroys delight, the little girl comes back and buys him with her own money from her piggy bank, proving that he didn’t need to be perfect in order to find his home and someone to care for him. What a beautiful lesson for children to learn.
Pick up Corduroy here via The Book Depository.
Bedtime Story 2: The Lorax by Dr Seuss
The Lorax is a Dr. Seuss classic! It follows the story of The Lorax as he tries to save his forest home from destruction. With many memorable quotes and messages relating to caring for our environment, taking a stand for what we believe in and doing the right thing to help others, The Lorax can be read to children of a wide age range.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” – The Lorax
Buy The Lorax via The Book Depository here.
Bedtime Story 3: Elmer by David McKee
Elmer is an elephant who looks a little different to the rest of his herd. He’s covered in rainbow and white squares, making him look like a patchwork elephant. He is playful, fun and loves practical jokes. One day Elmer decides that he wants to blend in with all the other elephants, so he paints himself grey and, lo and behold, nobody recognises him! He stands still until he can no longer take it and then yells out “boo!” at the top of his lungs and that’s when everyone realises that the new grey elephant was, in fact, Elmer the practical joker!
It begins to rain and Elemer’s grey paint washes off and he is delighted to find that his friends prefer him just the way he is. They love him because of his differences. They all decide to switch it up and paint themselves rainbow while Elmer paints himself grey again and celebrate each other’s differences. Embracing multiculturalism and loving people for who they are, not what they look like, are always wonderful things for children to learn from a very young age!
Grab a copy of Elmer here at The Book Depository.
As always, sleep sweetly and deeply knowing that you’re teaching your children some wonderful life lessons!