I am always on the lookout for new relaxing bedtime stories for my children. Over the years we have read hundreds of books together. I am listing a selection of 10 bedtime stories that you will all enjoy. They are sweet, calming yet uplifting tales, with an eye on inclusion and diversity. They are all suitable for children up to age 7. I am mindful that my audience is multilingual, so I have chosen books that are available in several languages. If I don’t name the language you are looking for, try doing a search because I am not doing a deep one myself.

I am always on the lookout for new books: please leave your recommendations in the comments section below.

The Worrysaurus

The Worrysaurus by Rachel Bright is one of the most beautiful and precious books we own. It is about fear and anxiety, a topic that it is rarely discussed with children. Yet anxiety is one of the difficult feelings children often struggle to process. They need adult guidance and this book is an excellent tool for parents to offer it. I also love the illustrations of this book: colorful, detailed, and simply so cute. The Worrysaurus is a great bedtime story to placate the excitement of the day and reassure children on their fears.
The Worrysaurus is available in English and Italian. The author Rachel Bright has published other books in several languages, including Finnish, German, and French.

The I Love You Book

If one is looking for sweet, uplifting, and inclusive stories, Todd Parr always makes the list. Parr is always mindful of representing diverse characters (animals included), blended and non-traditional families. The I Love You Book is a celebration of unconditional love, the reassuring words your child needs before drifting to sleep. The I Love You Book is available in English and Italian. Several of Todd Parr’s books were translated in other languages, including French, Finnish, Swedish, and German.

No matter what

This great classic by Debi Gliori regularly pops up in my book charts. Like the previous title, this is another celebration of unconditional love. Repeat to your child you’ll love her no matter what. One secondary aspect I love about this book is how the author represented a family situation that can suit all readers: the main characters are two foxes called Maxi and Mini, whose gender and precise relationship are unclear. This representation fits traditional families as well as foster, same-sex, and adoptive ones. A lovely touch that didn’t go unnoticed.
No Matter What is available in English, Italian, Finnish, French, German, and many more languages.

The Color Monster

Anna Llenas is an author as well as an art therapist. She writes delicate yet deep stories for children. The Color Monster is her first and most successful book. It’s a short story about emotions and how hard it can be to sort them out. This is one of our favourite bedtime stories when there are feelings still up in the air at bedtime. Talking them out calms my children down and helps them find peace of mind before sleeping. The Color Monster was translated from Spanish into multiple languages, including English, Italian, and Swedish.

A Bear Called Mur

A Bear Called Mur is a lovely tale for the the not-so-great sleepers. The author Kaisa Happonen and illustrator Anne Vasko are from Finland. Their story on the sleepless baby bear Mur conquered many hearts all around the world. Mur is a young bear who simply doesn’t want to hybernate. Her sleeping pattern seems to be opposite of what it should be! A story about feeling different and proud of being such. Originally in Finnish, this book is available in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and many more languages.

Tizan et l’Arbre à Bonbons

Why not travel with your imagination and hear a story from somewhere else in the world? Tizan et l’Arbre à Bonbons (Tizan and the candy tree) is the work of love of French author Véronique Massenot and Mauritian author Amarnath Hosany. Originally published in French, it was then translated to Italian and hopefully it will be soon available in English too. Tizan’s family is not rich but he gets a a weekly reward every Saturday: two candies. The first gets eaten right away, but he’s unsure on how to store the second. After few failed attempts, he decides to bury it and… well, you can guess what happens. A warm and imaginative tale that doesn’t slips into stereotypes.

Il Pinguino Che Aveva Freddo

Philip Giordano is an awarded Italian author and illustrator that lives in Tokyo. Il Pinguino Che Aveva Freddo (“The Penguin Afraid of Cold”) is a a great bedtime story that speaks about feeling different from everybody else and finding out that, no matter how different, we are never alone. It’s a tale about finding and owning your true self. The book was published in Italian and it’s available in French and Chinese.

Splash! Anna Hibiscus

You and your children will fall in love with Anna Hibiscus. Born of a Canadian mother and an African father, the literary character Anna lives in Africa. Anna is the brainchild of Atinuke, a Nigerian author, and illustrator Lauren Tobia. They have curated an entire series to his character. Atinuke was a child in a multicultural family herself and lived in Nigeria as well as UK and France. All her books are a must-read, but if you are nostalgic of summertime like I am, you can start from Splash! Anna Hibiscus. This book is available in English. This is the only read in this list that was not translate to other languages (to my knowledge). Yet the storyline and text are simple and can be translated on the fly. It is so hard to find books featuring multicultural families and a child of colour as main characters, so I wanted to make sure this lovely story had space in my recommendations.

The Wolf Who Wanted to Change His Color

It can be hard to accept yourself for who you are. That’s the case for Wolf, the character of French author Orianne Lallemand illustrated by Eleonore Thuillier. The Wolf Who Wanted to Change His Color is one of our favourite bedtime stories and I’m sure you will love it too. Wolf tries on several colours but ends up going back to the original black fur after he discovers that’s what suits him best after all. This book was published in French but you can find it in English, Italian, German, and Spanish.

We Found a Hat

We Found a Hat is a tale of friendship and of putting our love for others in front of our selfish wishes. Two turtle friends find a hat in the desert. They love it, but they cannot wear it both. How will they solve this pickle? American author and illustrator Jon Klassen has a love for hats. He’s written a series of books called “The Hat Trilogy” and We Found a Hat belongs to it. This story is available in English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German (and possibly more languages!).

I hope this list will help you discover new wonderful stories to read with your children at bedtime.

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Featured Photo by Bastien Jaillot on Unsplash.