Bedtime stories for every kind of night.
Free stories for bedtime, written to be read aloud to kids tonight. Each one takes about two minutes and ends somewhere safe and sleepy. Pick a world your child loves.
27 short storiesabout 2 minutes eachages 3 to 8updated
3 topics
Gentle adventures
3 topics
Magic and make-believe
3 topics
Animals and nature
A story series
Stories that remember.
Three longer narrated bedtime stories in one world, free to listen to or read: Pimlo meets a shy fox called Sprocket, and the lantern, the river stone and their promise come back night after night.
Listen to or read Pimlo and Sprocket
Bedtime stories for kids, by age.
The best stories for bedtime grow with your child. Every story here is written for ages 3 to 8; this is where to start.
Ages 3 to 4
Short, rhythmic and familiar
The youngest listeners love a gentle rhythm, familiar animals and words they can join in with, like counting stars or saying goodnight to every friend. Two or three minutes is plenty.
Stories about dinosaursStories about forest animalsStories about trains
Ages 5 to 6
A small adventure with a friend
Now they're ready for a little journey, with a helper or a new friend along the way, as long as everyone is safe and home by the end.
Stories about dragonsStories about the oceanStories about space
Ages 7 to 8
Wonder, magic and a little mystery
Older children enjoy spells, maps and quests, and love to imagine what happens next. Keep the excitement early in the story and the ending calm.
Stories about magicStories about piratesStories about unicorns
No book tonight?
Make one up in five steps.
A simple method for telling a calm bedtime story, with two connected examples and twelve starters.
How to make up a bedtime storyQuestions parents ask.
What are good bedtime stories for kids?
Short stories with a gentle pace, a kind main character and a calm ending. Animals settling down for the night, slow journeys home and small, kind magic all work well, and every story here is written around them.
How long should a bedtime story be?
There is no single right length. Each story here takes about two minutes to read aloud at a slow, bedtime pace, which leaves room for a cuddle, a question or one more story.
What makes a good bedtime story?
A gentle pace, a small adventure and an ending that comes to rest. Every story on these pages ends with its characters safe, warm and asleep, so the story and your child wind down together.
Are these bedtime stories free to read?
Yes. Every story on these pages is free to read aloud, with no sign-up needed.
How is Pimlo different from a book of bedtime stories?
In Pimlo, stories happen in your child's own world. Characters, places and moments from one night can return the next, so bedtime becomes a story that continues. Pimlo is coming soon.
Tomorrow, the story continues
A story can be written anywhere. Pimlo remembers the world.
Every Pimlo story happens in your child's own world, so the characters and places from tonight are there again tomorrow.
Parents set the age band and what to avoid, and stories are checked before playback.
For parents and caregivers. No child information needed.