The Going to Bed Book
by Sandra Boynton · first published 1982
8mentions
8recommended by
8HN commenters
2017–2025first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
A short, rhythmic board book for toddlers and young kids, read nightly. Its playful, sing-along feel pairs well with other Boynton favorites at bedtime.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
An assortment of animals on a boat take a bath, put on their pajamas, brush their teeth, and exercise before going to bed.
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This was one of my favorite books to read to both my children. Others have touched on all the reasons why so I'll throw out another couple books for any aspiring parents: - The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton - The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey Wood (or The Strawberry book as we called it) I'm extremely fond of the Strawberry book. I don't…
on “The Radical Woman Behind “Goodnight Moon”” ↗…your regular list you should add it. We also loved Pond by Jim LaMarche (older audience, but beautifully illustrated and told), the Boynton books are fun to read aloud especially Barnyard Dance, and The Going to Bed Book. There are more, but these are the highlights from that age range
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗Yep! My daughter (16 months), loves Snuggle Puppy and Going to Bed Book. She makes me sing it to Eric Stoltz[1] tune. [1] https://open.spotify.com/track/0DtUUNXVc0768qe6ADtaas
on “Sandra Boynton's whimsical animals have been delighting kids for 40 years” ↗Try The Going to Bed Book, or Pajama Time (I actually watched a youtube vid on how to "sing" that one because I couldn't work out the metering myself, but it's now another of her favorites). She also likes Dinosaur's Binkit for…
on “Sandra Boynton's whimsical animals have been delighting kids for 40 years” ↗We really enjoy "But not the Hippopotamus" and "The Going to Bed Book". If you don't like those, I think you're probably not going to enjoy others. For younger kids, Blue Hat, Green Hat, and it's quite adorable when little kids complete the "Three singing pigs say..."…
on “Sandra Boynton's whimsical animals have been delighting kids for 40 years” ↗Yeah, I can see most kids just respond: "huh? Mom, can we read 'The Going To Bed Book' again?"
on “A Hacker Writes a Children's Book” ↗…are songs and she has collaborated with tons of musicians to make them very special. Perfect Piggies [1] is a total ear worm and here is a song done by the Bacon Brothers [2]. While we do ready The Going to Bed Book every.single.night, I think my favorite is Snuggle Puppy - A Little Love Song [3]. I read it a little different than how that video is, but its really sweet and pure. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x0aUhUJDBE [2]…
on “The Radical Woman Behind “Goodnight Moon”” ↗Moo Bah La La La is a favorite. I also like The Going to Bed Book.
on “Sandra Boynton's whimsical animals have been delighting kids for 40 years” ↗