What Grandpa Told Me: Bedtime Stories for Kids

Tonight Leo has knocked over Grandpa's jar of marbles, and they've rolled into every corner of the room. He feels like he wrecks everything he touches. So Grandpa tells him how the night sky got its stars, back when somebody dropped the whole lot at once. A story for any child who's made a mess and feels terrible about it, and for the grown-up helping them pick up the pieces. For ch...

Tonight Leo is counting the sleeps until Mum comes home, and he doesn't feel like doing much of anything. So Grandpa sets a small brown bulb on the table and tells him an old story: a mother who could make the whole world grow, the daughter she loved, and where all the flowers go when winter comes. Where the flowers go in winter is one of the oldest questions, and the Greeks answered it with...

A bedtime story for children about that sinking feeling when you try something over and over, keep failing, and start to think you're just no good at it. At the park, Leo couldn't get across the monkey bars. Everyone else could. By bedtime he has given up on himself, until Grandpa points to a web on the dark window and tells him about a tired king, a little spider, and a thread of silver...

Tonight, Leo can't settle. At playtime his friends wouldn't let Oscar into their game, and Oscar spent it alone by the wall, and it has left Leo with a funny feeling in his tummy that won't go away. So Grandpa tells him about a single red mitten, lost in the snow, and the cold little animals who come knocking at it one after another, each asking the very same thing: is there room fo...

Leo can't stop thinking about tomorrow, so Grandpa tells him about a little hare who believed he had to hold up the whole sky, all by himself, or it would come crashing down.  He pushed and propped and never rested, until the night he finally let go.  A gentle story for the child whose worries won't switch off at bedtime, and a quiet reminder that some things hold themselves up.  For chi...

A children's bedtime story about bad dreams, inspired by the old shadow-puppet theatre of Java and Bali. Last night, Leo had a bad dream, and tonight he keeps finding reasons not to go up to bed. By the lamp in the front room, his grandpa tells him about an old shadow show from across the sea, a giant on a white sheet, and the girl who once stepped behind it.  For children 4 to 8, and whoever...

A children's bedtime story about big anger, and about not being alone in it. Grandpa finds Leo under the kitchen table. He doesn't say calm down, and he doesn't say it was only a drawing. He just sits down on the floor beside him, close enough to talk, and tells him about a little dragon who could breathe fire. The little dragon had a clever trick: whenever the anger came, he would...

A children's bedtime story about feeling small, inspired by a famous West African tale of a hat with two colors.  Leo came home from the birthday party with a storm on his face: he did his best jump ever, and the new boy jumped right over it. On purpose, Leo is sure. On the front steps at dusk, his grandpa tells him about two best friends, one road, and the finest hat that ever walked between...

A children's bedtime story about losing a pet, inspired by the old country custom of telling the bees.  Leo's goldfish Captain died this morning, and the little stone castle in his bowl is too still tonight. At the kitchen table, his grandpa tells him about a beekeeper's house with one strange rule, a hive that went quiet, and the small brave walk that brought the humming back.  For...

A children's bedtime story about being too excited to sleep, inspired by an old Chinese parable about trying to hurry what grows in its own time.  Tomorrow, for the first time, Leo is going to the sea, and one more sleep feels far too long. In the garden at dusk, his grandpa tells him about a little squirrel, and the one golden apple that was worth a whole summer's wait. For children 4 t...

A bedtime story for children who are afraid of the dark.  Tonight, Leo doesn't want to go up to his dark room, so Grandpa tells him an old tale of how the very first night came to the world, and why the morning always comes back. Inspired by a Brazilian folktale. For children 4 to 8, and whoever sits beside them. About the tale: this one comes from Brazil, an old folktale about how night firs...

A children's bedtime story about feeling ordinary, inspired by an old tale of an eagle raised among chickens. Leo came home from school sure he wasn't good at anything special. By the fire, his grandpa tells him about a bird who felt like the clumsiest chicken in the yard, and the one thing that was his all along. For children 4 to 8, and whoever sits beside them. About the tale: this is...

A children's bedtime story about change, inspired by an old folktale of a farmer and his horse. Leo is moving far away tomorrow, and he doesn't want to go. On his last evening at home, his grandpa sits beside him and tells him the story, and a few words worth remembering: maybe good, maybe bad, we'll see. For children 4 to 8, and whoever sits beside them. About the tale: Grandpa&apo...