As Max is still 4 we read him about 3-4 picture books each night. Not only is is lovely to snuggle up and read a short and sweet book, but it's also great for engaging them in a story and helping them learn to read. We go through so many books that I thought I would share some of our favourites at the moment.



First up is Max and the Won't Go to Bed Show by Mark Sperring. We love this book as it is our Max down to a T. Max won't go to bed, he has a spectacular show and other great excuses as to why it's not time to sleep. The First Hippo On The Moon is a great story by David Walliams. It tells the tale of a hippo that goes to the moon (bit obvious!) but as you can imagine a hippo may not be the best astronaut. Talking of animals, if you haven't added You Can't Take An Elephant On The Bus by Patricia Cleveland Peck into your basket then do! It's such a hilarious book about what a fuss it would be if you tried to take an elephant on a bus. William Heads to Hollywood is a great sequel by Helen Hancocks and follows up on our favourite cat detective as he heads to the lights of Hollywood to solve yet another mystery.



Grandad's Island by Benji Davies is a beautiful story about loss. In the book the small boy loses his grandfather but this would be perfect for any situation surrounding the theme of loss. Oi Frog is a hilarious book about rhyming nonsense. Kes Gray does an amazing job at thinking up so many funny rhyming patterns that even parents will be rolling about laughing. Sticking with the theme of animals we still adore Blown Away by Rob Biddulph. A penguin decides to sail a kite but ends up in the most unexpected of places and must find his way home. Going a bit off tangent, The Dinosaur That Pooped the Past by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter is a firm favourite of ours. Not just because it's got poo in it, but it's also so incredibly funny!


There are some books that we can't put down years later. One of those is The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales by Heather Amery. I remember reading these at a young age and love the fact that max has the collection too. They're great for learning to read.  Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers is still one of our favourites and picked up at least once a week. A tale about a boy who finds a lost penguin and takes him home will tug at everyone's heart strings. If you haven't read We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen then you need to add it to your shelves. An amazing tale of adventure to find a bear through the winds and woods. Finally our favourite book, Where the Wild Things Are is a book that actually gave us the inspiration for Max's name. Maurice Sendak tells the tale of a wild boy called Max who meets the wild things and becomes their king, all before dinner.


What are your favourite bedtime reads at the moment?