Bedtime story reader
Early Readers | Bedtime Stories
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Find free quality phonics books to help your child learn to read, including abc books and early readers, here at Storyberries.
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Bedtime stories for children. Read online with pictures.
In this section we have collected interesting fairy tales from all over the world that are suitable for reading before bed. These small instructive and kind stories will help children calm down after a stormy day and tune in to rest.
In bedtime stories you will not find cruelty and frightening characters. Only light plots and pleasant characters.
At the bottom of each fairy tale there is hint for what age it is intended, as well as other tags. Be sure to pay attention to them when choosing a product! You do not have to spend time reading a fairy tale to find out if it suits your child or not. We have already read everything, sorted and compiled short descriptions of fairy tales.
Enjoy reading and good dreams :)
bedtime stories for children read
An interesting fairy tale is that part of childhood that stays with us forever, even when childhood is gone.
This is a magical world that is wide open in front of the baby, and acquaintance with it begins with a short and sweet bedtime story.
At what age to read fairy tales to a child
There is no strict age limit in reading fairy tales to a child. Reading for a child is primarily an opportunity for emotional intimacy with an adult. Even if not a word is clear yet, the familiar timbre of the voice, the measured rhythm soothe the baby and stimulate its development. That is why psychologists recommend reading fairy tales even to babies. The main condition: the process should bring pleasure to both the adult and the baby.
The benefits of reading fairy tales
A bedtime story read by a parent is a powerful stimulus for the development of the child, the child has ample opportunities in the following areas:
- imagination;
- fantasy;
- creative thinking;
- language skills;
- emotional development;
- the ability to find a way out of problem situations.
Unlike cartoons, a fairy tale does not present the child with ready-made images and the world invented by the artist, but invites him to think, think out and imagine what is not in the illustrations.
Simply put, we read to children at night and at the same time unleash their creativity. The next step is the first children's tests of themselves as an author and artist, but that will come later. And now such familiar and at the same time amazing short bedtime stories come to the aid of parents.
Bedtime stories - what should they be?
It often happens that every day a baby asks for the hundredth time to read a familiar fairy tale to him, not wanting to listen to any others.
Do not argue and try to read something new - a bedtime story exists for this, to cradle and give pleasant dreams. So, it should be:
- short;
- calm;
- kind;
- without dynamic details in the plot, but with a happy ending.
Repeated repetition of the same situation (a familiar room, a favorite blanket and soft toy, next to it is a mother reading a familiar fairy tale) turns into a kind of ritual for the baby, which has a calming effect.
It helps relieve the emotional stress that has accumulated over a long day.
Short stories on our website
The Short Bedtime Stories section presents famous works by Russian and foreign authors that have become favorites for children all over the world.
Magic little men created by Astrid Lindgren, kind tigers by Donald Bisset, inseparable Hedgehog and Bear cub by Sergey Kozlov - these and other characters are looking forward to meeting young readers.
Here you will also find folk tales and illustrated works by Vladimir Suteev. Kids will be delighted with simple instructive stories and colorful pictures created by a real Master.
Tips on the website
The free bedtime stories presented on our website are so diverse that sometimes it can be difficult to find the right one. To help parents, we have developed a convenient search engine that allows you to view the parameters of a fairy tale without opening it:
- readers' age;
- reading time;
- short description;
- popularity indicator;
- illustration.
Secrets of reading bedtime stories
In order to replace the evening fairy tale with a sweet dream, it should be a short fairy tale, which should be read online in a calm and familiar environment.
Read in a low voice, without haste. Remember, we read to children at night not to give them new knowledge - there is daytime for this. In the evening, it is important to create a relaxing atmosphere and a sense of peace. For this, it is important to choose the right bedtime story, which is why our site is always open for you, dear parents!
Three Little Pigs - Mikhalkov S. The Tale of the Three Little Pigs.
A fairy tale about three brothers-piglets who built houses for themselves. One brother built a house out of straw, another out of twigs and twigs, and a third out of bricks.
Once upon a time there were three little pigs in the world. Three brothers. All of the same height, round, pink, with the same cheerful ponytails. Even their names were similar.
The piglets were called: Nif-Nif, Nuf-Nuf and Naf-Naf.
All summer the piglets tumbled in the green grass, basked in the sun, basked in the puddles. But now autumn has come.
- It's time for us to think about winter, - Naf-Naf once said to his brothers, waking up early in the morning. - I'm shivering from the cold. Let's build a house and winter together under one warm roof.
But his brothers didn't want to take the job.
- We'll make it! Winter is still far away. We'll take a walk, - said Nif-Nif and rolled over his head.
— When necessary, I will build a house for myself, — said Nuf-Nuf and lay down in a puddle.
“Me too,” added Nif-Nif.
- Well, as you wish. Then I will build my own house, - said Naf-Naf.
Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf were not in a hurry. All they did was play their pig games, jump and roll.
“Today we will take a walk,” they said, “and tomorrow morning we will get down to business.
But the next day they said the same thing.
It was getting colder and colder every day. And only when a large puddle by the road began to be covered with a thin crust of ice in the morning, the lazy brothers finally got to work.
Nif-Nif decided that it would be easier and most likely to make a house out of straw. Without consulting anyone, he did just that. By evening, his hut was ready. Nif-Nif put the last straw on the roof and, very pleased with his house, sang merrily:0008
You'll get around half the world,
You'll get around, you'll get around,
You won't find a better home,
You won't find it, you won't find it!
Singing this song, he went to Nuf-Nuf. Nuf-Nuf, not far away, also built a house for himself. He tried to finish this boring and uninteresting business as soon as possible. At first, like his brother, he wanted to build a house out of straw. But then I decided that it would be very cold in such a house in winter. The house will be stronger and warmer if it is built from branches and thin rods.
And so he did. He drove stakes into the ground, intertwined them with rods, heaped dry leaves on the roof, and by evening the house was ready.
Nuf-Nuf proudly walked around him several times and sang:
I have a good house,
A new house, a solid house,
I am not afraid of rain and thunder,
Rain and thunder, rain and thunder!
Before he could finish the song, Nif-Nif ran out from behind a bush.
— Well, your house is ready! - said Nif-Nif to his brother. "I told you we'd get it over with quickly!" Now we are free and can do whatever we want!
— Let's go to Naf-Naf and see what kind of house he has built for himself! - said Nuf-Nuf. "We haven't seen him in a long time!"
— Let's go see! Nif-Nif agreed.
Naf-Naf has been busy building for several days now. He dragged stones, kneaded clay, and now slowly built himself a reliable, durable house in which one could hide from wind, rain and frost. He made a heavy oak door with a bolt in the house so that the wolf from the neighboring forest could not climb up to him.
Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf found their brother at work.
— What are you building? - the surprised Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf shouted in one voice. - What is it, a pig house or a fortress?
- Piglet's home should be a fortress! Naf-Naf calmly answered them, continuing to work.
— Are you going to fight with someone? Nif-Nif grunted merrily and winked at Nuf-Nuf. And both brothers were so merry that their squeals and grunts carried far across the lawn. And Naf-Naf, as if nothing had happened, continued to lay the stone wall of his house, purring a song under his breath:0003 Don't break through that door!
Of course, I'm smarter than everyone,
Smarter than everyone, smarter than everyone!
I build a house from stones,
From stones, from stones!
— What animal is he talking about? - Nif-Nif asked Nuf-Nif.
— What animal are you talking about? - Nuf-Nuf asked Naf-Naf.
- I'm talking about the wolf! - answered Naf-Naf and laid another stone.
- Look how afraid he is of the wolf! - said Nif-Nif.
- What kind of wolves can be here? - said Nif-Nif.
- There are no wolves! He's just a coward! - added Nuf-Nuf.
And both of them began to dance and sing:
We are not afraid of the gray wolf,
Gray wolf, gray wolf!
Where do you go, stupid wolf,
Old wolf, dire wolf?
They wanted to tease Naf-Naf, but he didn't even turn around.
“Let's go, Nuf-Nuf,” Nif-Nif said then. “We have nothing to do here!
And two brave brothers went for a walk. On the way they sang and danced, and when they entered the forest, they made such a noise that they woke up the wolf, who was sleeping under a pine tree.
— What's that noise? - the angry and hungry wolf grumbled with displeasure and galloped to the place where the squealing and grunting of two small, stupid pigs could be heard.
— Well, what kind of wolves can there be! - said at that time Nif-Nif, who saw wolves only in pictures.
- Here we will grab him by the nose, he will know! added Nuf-Nuf, who also had never seen a live wolf.
- Let's knock down, and even tie, and even with a foot like this, like this! Nif-Nif boasted.
And suddenly they saw a real live wolf! He stood behind a large tree, and he had such a terrible look, such evil eyes and such a toothy mouth that Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf had a chill running down their backs and thin tails trembled finely. The poor pigs couldn't even move for fear.
The wolf prepared to jump, snapped his teeth, blinked his right eye, but the piglets suddenly came to their senses and, screeching throughout the forest, rushed to their heels.
They have never run so fast! Flashing with their heels and raising clouds of dust, they each rushed to their home.
Nif-Nif was the first to reach his thatched hut and barely managed to slam the door in front of the wolf's very nose.
— Unlock the door now! the wolf growled. “Or else I’ll break it!”
— No, — grunted Nif-Nif, — I won't unlock it!
The breath of a terrible beast was heard outside the door.
— Unlock the door now! the wolf growled again. “Otherwise I’ll blow so hard that your whole house will fly apart!”
But Nif-Nif, out of fear, could no longer answer anything.
Then the wolf began to blow: “F-f-f-w-w-w!” Straws flew from the roof of the house, the walls of the house shook. The wolf took another deep breath and blew a second time: “F-f-f-u-u-u-u!”. When the wolf blew for the third time, the house was blown in all directions, as if it had been hit by a hurricane.
The wolf snapped his teeth in front of the little piglet's snout, but Nif-Nif deftly dodged and rushed to run. A minute later he was already at the door of Nuf-Nuf.
As soon as the brothers had locked themselves in, they heard the wolf's voice:
— Well, now I'll eat you both!
Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf looked at each other in fear. But the wolf was very tired and therefore decided to go for a trick.
- I changed my mind! he said so loudly that he could be heard in the house.
“I won’t eat those skinny piglets!” I'll go home!
Did you hear? - Nif-Nif asked Nuf-Nif. He said he won't eat us! We are skinny!
— This is very good! - Nuf-Nuf said and immediately stopped trembling.
The brothers became merry and sang as if nothing had happened:
We are not afraid of the gray wolf,
Gray wolf, gray wolf!
Where do you go, stupid wolf,
Old wolf, dire wolf?
And the wolf didn't even think of leaving. He just stepped aside and hunkered down. He had a hard time keeping himself from laughing.
— How cleverly I deceived two stupid little pigs!
When the pigs were completely calm, the wolf took the sheep's skin and cautiously crept up to the house. At the door, he covered himself with skin and knocked softly.
Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf were very frightened.
- Who's there? they asked, their tails shaking again.
- It's me, poor little sheep! the wolf squeaked in a thin, alien voice. - Let me spend the night, I strayed from the herd and very, very tired!
- You can let the sheep go! Nuf-Nuf agreed.
- A sheep is not a wolf!
But when the pigs opened the door, they saw not a sheep, but the same toothy wolf. The brothers slammed the door and leaned on it with all their might so that the terrible beast could not break into them.
The wolf got very angry. He failed to outsmart the pigs! He threw off his sheepskin and growled:
— Well, wait a minute! There will be nothing left of this house!
And he began to blow. The house leaned a little. The wolf blew a second, then a third, then a fourth time. Leaves flew off the roof, the walls shook, but the house still stood. And, only when the wolf blew for the fifth time, the house staggered and collapsed.
The door alone stood for some time in the middle of the ruins. In horror, the pigs rushed to run. Their legs were paralyzed with fear, every bristle trembled, their noses were dry. The brothers rushed to the house of Naf-Naf.
The wolf was catching up with them with huge leaps. Once he almost grabbed Nif-Nif by the hind leg, but he pulled it back in time and added speed.
The wolf also pressed on. He was sure that this time the piglets would not run away from him.
But he was out of luck again. The piglets quickly rushed past a large apple tree without even hitting it. But the wolf did not have time to turn and ran into an apple tree, which showered him with apples. One hard apple hit him between the eyes. A large lump jumped up on the wolf's forehead.
And Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf, neither alive nor dead, ran up to Naf-Naf's house at that time. The brother let them into the house and quickly bolted the door.
The poor piglets were so frightened that they could not say anything. They silently rushed under the bed and hid there.
Naf-Naf immediately guessed that a wolf was chasing them. But he had nothing to fear in his stone house. He quickly bolted the door, sat down on a stool and sang:
No animal in the world,
Cunning animal, terrible animal,0003 Will not open this door,
This door, this door!
But just then there was a knock on the door.
- Open without talking! came the rough voice of the wolf.
- No matter how! And don't think! - Naf-Naf answered in a firm voice.
— Oh, yes! Well, hold on! Now I'll eat all three!
- Try it! - answered Naf-Naf from behind the door, not even getting up from his stool. He knew that he and his brothers had nothing to fear in a solid stone house. Then the wolf sucked in more air and blew as best he could!
But no matter how much he blew, not even the smallest stone moved. The wolf turned blue from the effort. The house stood like a fortress. Then the wolf began to shake the door. But the door didn't budge either. The wolf, out of anger, began to scratch the walls of the house with his claws and gnaw the stones from which they were built, but he only broke off his claws and ruined his teeth. The hungry and angry wolf had no choice but to get out.
But then he raised his head and suddenly noticed a large, wide chimney on the roof.
- Yeah! Through this pipe I will make my way into the house! the wolf rejoiced.
He carefully climbed onto the roof and listened. The house was quiet.
I'm still going to eat some fresh pig today! - thought the wolf and, licking his lips, climbed into the pipe.
But as soon as he began to descend the pipe, the piglets heard a rustle. And when soot began to pour on the roof of the boiler, smart Naf-Naf immediately guessed what was the matter. He quickly rushed to the cauldron, in which water was boiling on the fire, and tore off the lid from it.
- Welcome! - said Naf-Naf and winked at his brothers.
The piglets did not have to wait long. Black as a chimney sweep, the wolf flopped right into the cauldron.
His eyes popped out on his forehead, all his hair stood on end.
With a wild roar, the scalded wolf flew back onto the roof, rolled down it to the ground, rolled over its head four times, and rushed into the forest.
And the three brothers, the three little pigs, looked after him and rejoiced that they had so cleverly taught the evil robber a lesson.
