Cute Bedtime Tales for Owls and Bears in 2019/2020 Picturebooks

Myra here.

One of the best ways to put little creatures to sleep is through bedtime tales, be they owls or bears – as can be seen in these recently published picturebooks.

Little Owl’s Bedtime (Amazon | Book Depository)

Written by Debi Gliori Illustrated by Alison Brown
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing (2020)
ISBN: 1547604492 (ISBN13: 9781547604494). Borrowed from Singapore’s NLB Overdrive. Book photos taken by me.

Little Owl has trouble falling asleep. One story does not seem to be enough, and there are endless excuses why it is just so hard to fall asleep: from feeling too hot, to a lumpy pillow, to more bedtime stories, please.

Young ones (and their caregivers, most especially) would most likely resonate with this story. Mummy Owl, however, is a model of patience and virtue. She never lost her cool, she was gentle, kind, and reassuring, despite Little Owl’s repeated cries in the middle of the night.

I especially enjoyed the image above with Little Owl reading aloud to her thorny-but-plushy companion, Hedge. Children often do this, mimic their mothers and pretend being parents themselves. While I would not consider myself a fan of the art, this remains a quick and cute bedtime story.

You Are My Happy (Amazon | Book Depository)

Written by Hoda Kotb Illustrated by Suzie Mason
Published by Harper Collins (2019)
ISBN: 0062887890 (ISBN13: 9780062887894). Borrowed from Singapore’s NLB Overdrive. Book photos taken by me.

While there are no bedtime tales in this happy story, there is a poetic invitation to share things that made Parent bear and cub happy throughout the day:

This ritual is reminiscent of some families who share the things that they are most grateful for at the end of each day.

As most of you who have been reading our posts for awhile now may know, I am not a huge fan of rhyming text on picturebooks, but this one I did not mind so much. Maybe because I also liked the illustrations.