Bedtime Stories for 5 Year Olds

Bedtime stories for 5 year olds can carry a little more adventure than stories for toddlers, as long as the excitement comes early and the last part slows right down. Most five-year-olds can happily listen for about five minutes, they are starting to enjoy a real joke, and they still like a line they can say with you.

Fear of the dark is still common at five, and storms and strange sounds can feel big. Stories that show a small character coping, with help from someone who loves them, give a child a picture to take into their own dark room.

The Dragon Who Guarded the Bakery is the one to read when you want a giggle: Bramble is a very fierce guard dragon until the bread starts baking. The Sleepy Little Train makes one last delivery up the hill, a toy rabbit for a girl who can’t sleep without it, saying goodnight to the sheep and the ducks on the way. In The Littlest Dragon’s First Flame, Wick’s tiny warm puff turns out to be just the right glow for a stormy night.

All three are 5-minute bedtime stories. Ready for something longer? Try our bedtime stories for 6 year olds.