Reading a story or two to your kids before bedtime is the perfect end to a day. It is a special treat for them and maybe even more for you. It’s a great way to spend time together, and it’s a surefire trick to get the kiddies to drift off into peaceful slumber without too much effort. We found ourselves a children’s librarian to help sort the good from the bad, the sad from the happy, and the scary from the funny.

Chickens to the Rescue! By John Himmelman.

Who doesn’t love chickens? Nobody, that’s who. This quick but very funny book is likely to please kids of all ages. Each day of the week, disasters large and small befall the Greenstalk farm and each time the family chickens swoop in with cries of, “Chickens to the rescue!” and through teamwork and chicken ingenuity they manage to save the day. Among the best rescues are Wednesday when the duck drives off with the truck, and Thursday, when the son’s homework is eaten. The simple pictures are hilarious: the image of chickens in chefs hats wielding knives and chickens writing research papers are fantastic and memorable. Ages 4-8.

Ten Little Mummies: an Egyptian counting book by Philip Yates. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

“Deep underground in a dreary old tomb, 10 little mummies were stuffed in one room.” Where most counting books I find too boring to get through more than two or three times, Ten Little Mummies is loads of fun to read. I’ve read it many times with my son and even by myself more than once. Ten bored mummies get into crazy adventures in the Egyptian night and one by one, as you can imagine, they disappear: one gets unraveled sliding down the pyramids and runs off to hide; another gets adopted by a family of baboons. The cartoonish pictures which look like crayon or pastel and the rhyming text add to the lighthearted feel of this fantastic book. Ages 3-6.

Tags: bed, bedtime stories, book reviews, Books, Children, family