Read a Book of Bedtime: A youngCanLit booklist

Getting a child to bed can be either incredibly easy or arduously difficult.  Whatever the situation at your home, try one of these books of youngCanLit to help ease the transition to sleep at bedtime while carrying your little ones off to dreamland.

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Animal Alphabed
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Jennifer Emery
Wordsong
32 pp.
Ages 2-5
2005

Bed Tales
Written by Brigitte Waisberg
Illustrated by Ariana Koultourides
Annick Press
20 pp.
Ages 2-4
2018

Bedtime 1 2 3
Written by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Orca Book Publishers
26 pp.
Ages 0-4
2017

Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk
Written by Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Kristi Frost
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 2-6
1998

A Bedtime Yarn
Written by Nicola Winstanley
Illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2017

The Big Bed
Written by Bunmi Laditan
Illustrated by Tom Knight
Farrrar Straus Giroux
32 pp.
Ages 4-6
2018
Reviewed here

Blanche Hates the Night
Written and illustrated by Sibylle Delacroix
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-6
2016

The Boy and the Blue Moon
Written by Sara O’Leary
Illustrated by Ashley Crowley
Henry Holt and Co.
40 pp.
Ages 5-8
2018

Dream Boats
Written by Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin
Simply Read Books
40 pp.
Ages 4-8
2013

Every Single Night
Written by Dominique Demers
Illustrated by Nicolas Debon
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 3-7
2006

Goodnight, Anne (Inspired by Anne of Green Gables)
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Genevieve Godbout
Tundra
40 pp.
Ages 4-6
2018

Goodnight, Canada
Written and illustrated by Andrea Beck
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2012
Reviewed here

Good Night, Good Night
Written by Dennis Lee
Illustrated by Qin Leng
HarperCollins
24 pp.
Ages 0-5
2018

Good Night Sam
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
24 pp.
Ages 3-6
2003

Goodnight, Sleepy Animals (A Nightlight Book)
Illustrated by Christine Battuz
CrackBoom
14 pp.
Ages 0-3
2016

Goodnight, Sweet Pig
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Josée Masse
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 2-5
2007

Goodnight, World
Written and illustrated by Andrea Lynn Beck
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)
32 pp.
Ages 2-6
2019
Reviewed here

Goodnight, You
Written and illustrated by Geneviève Côté
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 2-5
2014

Grandmother Ptarmigan 
Written by Qaunaq Mikkigak and Joanne Schwartz
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Inhabit Media
24 pp.
Ages 0-4
2013
Reviewed here

Hop into Bed!
Written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland
North Winds/Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 3 7
2018

I Dare You Not to Yawn
Written by Hélène Boudreau
Illustrated by Serge Bloch
Candlewick Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2013

If I Were the Moon
Written by Sheree Fitch
Illustrated by Leslie Elizabeth Watts
Nimbus
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2019

In the Sky at Nighttime
Written by Laura Deal
Illustrated by Tamara Campea
Inhabit Media
28 pp.
Ages 3-6
2019

Jeremiah and Mrs. Ming
Written by Sharon Jennings
Illustrated by Mireille Levert
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
1990

Midnight, Mimi
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2001

 


Moon Wishes
Written by Guy and Patricia Storms
Illustrated by Milan Pavlović
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 4-7
2019
Reviewed here 

Mortimer
Written by Robert Munsch
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Annick Press
28 pp.
Ages 5-8
1985/2018

Mouse Tales
Written by Philip Roy
Illustrated by Andrea Torrey Balsara
Ronsdale Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2014
Reviewed here

Nap Time
Written by Susan Hughes
Annick Press
14 pp.
Ages 1-3
2017

Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That
Written by Victoria Allenby
Illustrated by Tara Anderson
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 2-52013
Reviewed here

No Monsters Here
Written by Sharon Jennings
Illustrated by Ruth Ohi
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
24 pp.
Ages 2-7
2004

Ocean Meets Sky
Written and illustrated by Eric and Terry Fan
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
48 pp.
Ages 4-8
2018

Penelope and the Monsters
Written by Sheri Radford
Illustrated by Christine Tripp
Lobster Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
2005

The Pirate's Bed
Written by Nicola Winstanley
Illustrated by Matt James
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2015

Rokko
Written and illustrated by Paola Opal
Simply Read Books
24 pp.
Ages 0-4
2012

Scaredy Squirrel at Night
Written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-10
2009

Shadow Chasers
Written and illustrated by Elly MacKay
Running Press Kids
32 pp.
Ages 4-6
2014

Shh! My Brother's Napping
Written and illustrated by Ruth Ohi
North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2014
Reviewed here

Sing a Song of Bedtime
Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 0-6
2015
Reviewed here

Sleepers
Written and illustrated by Dayal Kaur Khalsa
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 2-5
1999

Sleep, Sheep!
Written by Kerry Lyn Sparrow
Illustrated by Guillaume Perreault
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2018
Reviewed here

Sleep Tight, Mrs. Ming
Written by Sharon Jennings
Illustrated by Mireille Levert
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
1993

The Sleeping Porch
Written and illustrated by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2008

Sleepy Bird
Written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard
Scholastic Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-5
2018
Reviewed here

Song for a Summer Night: A Lullaby
Written by Robert Heidbreder
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2015
Reviewed here

Sweetest Kulu
Written  by Celina Kalluk
Illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis
Inhabit Media
32 pp.
Ages 0-6
2014
Reviewed here

Thank You for My Bed
Written and illustrated by Doretta Groenendyk
Acorn Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-5
2011

Time for Bed: Baby’s Bedtime Routine (Baby Steps)
Written by Carol McDougall & Shanda LaRamee-Jones
Nimbus
18 pp.
Ages 0-2
2018

A Wave Came Through Our Window
Written by Zetta Elliott
Illustrated by Charity Russell
Rosetta Press
26 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015

Where's Bunny?
Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-3
2018
Reviewed here

Will Sheep Sleep?
Written and illustrated by Hilary Leung
Scholastic
40 pp.
Ages 0-3
2018

Who Is Sleeping in Aunty's Bed?
Written by Kathy Stinson
Illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis
Oxford University Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
1991