Storytelling games for families.

Six quiet games for telling stories together, each with what you need, how to play, a worked example and a calm way to finish at bedtime. Your child can join in as much or as little as they like; every game also works with the grown-up telling and the child listening.

6 gamesno materials needed for mostages 3 to 8free printable

Download the games sheet, US Letter PDF (164 KB)Download the games sheet, A4 PDF (164 KB)

Six games

Quiet story games for bedtime.

Game 1

One sentence each

You need: Nothing at all.
How to play: The grown-up starts with one sentence about a character. Then you take turns adding one sentence each, carrying on from the last one. Keep going until someone says the story's last line.

An example

Grown-upOnce there was a hedgehog who couldn't find her hat.
ChildShe looked in the pond, but there was a frog in it.
Grown-upThe frog said, "Is it green and woolly?"
ChildIt was! The frog had been using it as a bed.
Grown-upSo the hedgehog let him keep it for the night, and went home to sleep.

Easier version: Let your child add just one word, or one sound, each time, and you fill in the rest.
In the daytime: In the day, try it on a walk or in the car, and let the story be as silly as it likes.
At bedtime, finish like this: At bedtime, the grown-up takes the last turn and brings everyone home to sleep: "And the hedgehog curled up in her bed, and that was the end."

Game 2

An object's day

You need: Any object in the room: a sock, a cup, a toothbrush.
How to play: Choose one ordinary thing together, then tell its day from morning to night: where it went, who used it, what it saw. The object is the main character.

An example

Grown-upLet's tell the toothbrush's day. This morning, it woke up in the cup by the sink.
ChildThen I brushed my teeth with it and it got foamy.
Grown-upThen it waited all day, looking out of the bathroom window at the birds.
ChildAnd now it's tired.
Grown-upSo after tonight's brush, it goes back in its cup and has a rest until morning.

Easier version: Hold the object while you tell its day, and let your child show where it went.
In the daytime: In the day, follow the object around and do what it did, like a treasure trail.
At bedtime, finish like this: End with the object back in its place for the night, just like your child in their bed.

Game 3

This place or that place?

You need: Nothing, or two pictures from a book.
How to play: Offer two places, such as a lighthouse or a treehouse. Your child picks one. Tell a short story set there, and every so often offer another small choice: a cat or a dog? Rain or stars?

An example

Grown-upIs tonight's story in a lighthouse or a treehouse?
ChildTreehouse!
Grown-upIn the treehouse lived a small owl. Did she have a blue blanket or a red one?
ChildBlue, with stars.
Grown-upShe tucked herself under her blue star blanket and listened to the leaves rustle until she fell asleep.

Easier version: Offer just one choice, the place, and tell the rest yourself.
In the daytime: In the day, offer bigger choices: a castle or a spaceship? A dragon or a robot?
At bedtime, finish like this: Make the last choice a calm one, such as which blanket or which star, then end the story there.

Game 4

A familiar friend

You need: A character you've already made up together, or one from a favorite book.
How to play: Choose a character your child already knows. Ask what they might be doing tonight, then tell a new small story: same friend, same home, a new little task.

An example

Grown-upDo you remember Button, the mouse who lives in a teapot?
ChildWith the red scarf!
Grown-upTonight Button wants to visit his friend the firefly. What should he bring her?
ChildA crumb of cake.
Grown-upSo he wraps it in his scarf, visits the firefly, they share the cake under the apple tree, and he walks home to bed.

Easier version: Retell the same story you told before, exactly as it was. A favorite story again is still storytelling.
In the daytime: In the day, draw the character's home together, or make it from a box.
At bedtime, finish like this: End with the familiar character back in their familiar bed, and say goodnight to them by name.

Game 5

Three drawn things

You need: Paper and pencils, or the story idea cards from the story-making guide.
How to play: Each draw one thing on a small piece of paper, or take turns until there are three. Turn them over. Then tell a story that includes all three, in any order.

An example

ChildI drew a balloon, a cat and a moon.
Grown-upOne evening, a cat found a red balloon caught in a tree.
ChildShe climbed up and got it.
Grown-upShe tied it to her basket, and it bobbed above her as she watched the moon come up.
Grown-upThen she curled up underneath it and went to sleep.

Easier version: Draw the three things yourself, and let your child choose which one comes first.
In the daytime: In the day, use five or six drawings and see how long the story can get.
At bedtime, finish like this: Use the calmest drawing last: the moon, a bed, a lamp. Let it be where the story ends.

Game 6

A toy's journey

You need: One favorite toy.
How to play: Pick a journey the toy really made today: to the shops, to nursery, around the garden. Tell it as if the toy is speaking, describing what it saw from its small, low point of view.

An example

Grown-upRabbit says: "Today I rode in the shopping bag. I could only see the tops of things."
Child"I saw bananas!"
Grown-up"Very big bananas. Then we went home, and I sat on the windowsill and watched the rain."
Child"And now I'm in bed."
Grown-up"And now I'm in bed, the warmest place of all. Goodnight."

Easier version: Let the toy just say three things: one place it went, one thing it saw and where it is now.
In the daytime: In the day, take the toy on a real short walk and tell the journey as you go.
At bedtime, finish like this: End with the toy in bed beside your child, describing how soft and quiet it is.

Questions parents ask.

What are good storytelling games for bedtime?

Quiet ones with a natural ending: one sentence each, a toy's journey or an object's day. Save the sillier, longer versions for the daytime, and let the grown-up take the last turn at bedtime so the story ends calmly.

Does my child have to join in?

No. Every game works with the grown-up telling the whole story and the child just listening. Joining in is an invitation, not a task.

What if my child makes the story wild or scary?

That's fine in the daytime. At bedtime, gently steer: make the scary thing small and friendly, solve it early, and spend the end of the story somewhere cozy.

How long should a storytelling game last at bedtime?

Two to five minutes is plenty. Stop while it's still fun, and save the character for tomorrow night.

For grown-ups

Tomorrow, the story continues

A story can be written anywhere. Pimlo remembers the world.

The best story games bring the same characters back. In Pimlo, your child's own story world remembers them from one night to the next.

Parents set the age band and what to avoid, and stories are checked before playback.

For parents and caregivers. No child information needed.

Storytelling games for families.

6 gamesno materials needed for mostages 3 to 8free printable

Quiet story games for bedtime.

Game 1

One sentence each

You need: Nothing at all.
How to play: The grown-up starts with one sentence about a character. Then you take turns adding one sentence each, carrying on from the last one. Keep going until someone says the story's last line.

An example

Grown-upOnce there was a hedgehog who couldn't find her hat.
ChildShe looked in the pond, but there was a frog in it.
Grown-upThe frog said, "Is it green and woolly?"
ChildIt was! The frog had been using it as a bed.
Grown-upSo the hedgehog let him keep it for the night, and went home to sleep.

Easier version: Let your child add just one word, or one sound, each time, and you fill in the rest.
In the daytime: In the day, try it on a walk or in the car, and let the story be as silly as it likes.
At bedtime, finish like this: At bedtime, the grown-up takes the last turn and brings everyone home to sleep: "And the hedgehog curled up in her bed, and that was the end."

Game 2

An object's day

You need: Any object in the room: a sock, a cup, a toothbrush.
How to play: Choose one ordinary thing together, then tell its day from morning to night: where it went, who used it, what it saw. The object is the main character.

An example

Grown-upLet's tell the toothbrush's day. This morning, it woke up in the cup by the sink.
ChildThen I brushed my teeth with it and it got foamy.
Grown-upThen it waited all day, looking out of the bathroom window at the birds.
ChildAnd now it's tired.
Grown-upSo after tonight's brush, it goes back in its cup and has a rest until morning.

Easier version: Hold the object while you tell its day, and let your child show where it went.
In the daytime: In the day, follow the object around and do what it did, like a treasure trail.
At bedtime, finish like this: End with the object back in its place for the night, just like your child in their bed.

Game 3

This place or that place?

You need: Nothing, or two pictures from a book.
How to play: Offer two places, such as a lighthouse or a treehouse. Your child picks one. Tell a short story set there, and every so often offer another small choice: a cat or a dog? Rain or stars?

An example

Grown-upIs tonight's story in a lighthouse or a treehouse?
ChildTreehouse!
Grown-upIn the treehouse lived a small owl. Did she have a blue blanket or a red one?
ChildBlue, with stars.
Grown-upShe tucked herself under her blue star blanket and listened to the leaves rustle until she fell asleep.

Easier version: Offer just one choice, the place, and tell the rest yourself.
In the daytime: In the day, offer bigger choices: a castle or a spaceship? A dragon or a robot?
At bedtime, finish like this: Make the last choice a calm one, such as which blanket or which star, then end the story there.

Game 4

A familiar friend

You need: A character you've already made up together, or one from a favorite book.
How to play: Choose a character your child already knows. Ask what they might be doing tonight, then tell a new small story: same friend, same home, a new little task.

An example

Grown-upDo you remember Button, the mouse who lives in a teapot?
ChildWith the red scarf!
Grown-upTonight Button wants to visit his friend the firefly. What should he bring her?
ChildA crumb of cake.
Grown-upSo he wraps it in his scarf, visits the firefly, they share the cake under the apple tree, and he walks home to bed.

Easier version: Retell the same story you told before, exactly as it was. A favorite story again is still storytelling.
In the daytime: In the day, draw the character's home together, or make it from a box.
At bedtime, finish like this: End with the familiar character back in their familiar bed, and say goodnight to them by name.

Game 5

Three drawn things

You need: Paper and pencils, or the story idea cards from the story-making guide.
How to play: Each draw one thing on a small piece of paper, or take turns until there are three. Turn them over. Then tell a story that includes all three, in any order.

An example

ChildI drew a balloon, a cat and a moon.
Grown-upOne evening, a cat found a red balloon caught in a tree.
ChildShe climbed up and got it.
Grown-upShe tied it to her basket, and it bobbed above her as she watched the moon come up.
Grown-upThen she curled up underneath it and went to sleep.

Easier version: Draw the three things yourself, and let your child choose which one comes first.
In the daytime: In the day, use five or six drawings and see how long the story can get.
At bedtime, finish like this: Use the calmest drawing last: the moon, a bed, a lamp. Let it be where the story ends.

Game 6

A toy's journey

You need: One favorite toy.
How to play: Pick a journey the toy really made today: to the shops, to nursery, around the garden. Tell it as if the toy is speaking, describing what it saw from its small, low point of view.

An example

Grown-upRabbit says: "Today I rode in the shopping bag. I could only see the tops of things."
Child"I saw bananas!"
Grown-up"Very big bananas. Then we went home, and I sat on the windowsill and watched the rain."
Child"And now I'm in bed."
Grown-up"And now I'm in bed, the warmest place of all. Goodnight."

Easier version: Let the toy just say three things: one place it went, one thing it saw and where it is now.
In the daytime: In the day, take the toy on a real short walk and tell the journey as you go.
At bedtime, finish like this: End with the toy in bed beside your child, describing how soft and quiet it is.

Questions parents ask.

What are good storytelling games for bedtime?

Does my child have to join in?

No. Every game works with the grown-up telling the whole story and the child just listening. Joining in is an invitation, not a task.

What if my child makes the story wild or scary?

That's fine in the daytime. At bedtime, gently steer: make the scary thing small and friendly, solve it early, and spend the end of the story somewhere cozy.

How long should a storytelling game last at bedtime?

Two to five minutes is plenty. Stop while it's still fun, and save the character for tomorrow night.

A story can be written anywhere. Pimlo remembers the world.

The best story games bring the same characters back. In Pimlo, your child's own story world remembers them from one night to the next.

Parents set the age band and what to avoid, and stories are checked before playback.

For parents and caregivers. No child information needed.

Quiet story games for bedtime.

One sentence each

An object's day

This place or that place?

A familiar friend

Three drawn things

A toy's journey

Questions parents ask.

What are good storytelling games for bedtime?

Does my child have to join in?

What if my child makes the story wild or scary?

How long should a storytelling game last at bedtime?

A story can be written anywhere. Pimlo remembers the world.

Opening Pimlo...

Quiet story games for bedtime.

One sentence each

An object's day

This place or that place?

A familiar friend

Three drawn things

A toy's journey

Questions parents ask.

What are good storytelling games for bedtime?

Does my child have to join in?

What if my child makes the story wild or scary?

How long should a storytelling game last at bedtime?

A story can be written anywhere. Pimlo remembers the world.