BestBedtimeStory.com is a free collection of bedtime stories for children, teens and grown-ups. Here you’ll find original stories, classic fairy tales and fables, all chosen with one goal in mind: to give children and parents a calm, cosy end to the day.
Hi, I’m Rune Breinholt Andersen, the founder, writer and editor behind the site.
The story behind BestBedtimeStory.com
For many years I made up stories for my own children when it was time to sleep.
Some evenings they were short and funny. Other nights they grew into small adventures with animals, magic, strange creatures and new worlds. The stories didn’t have to be perfect. What mattered was the quiet moment we shared before the day was over.
In 2020 I started collecting the stories in Danish on Godnat-historier.dk. If my own kids loved hearing them, maybe other children and parents would too. In 2024 I brought the idea to English with BestBedtimeStory.com, and today the site has more than 340 stories.
Who is behind BestBedtimeStory.com?
I’m Rune Breinholt Andersen, a father and storyteller from Denmark. I run the site myself, from the first idea and the writing to editing and publishing.
Many of the stories are ones I’ve made up myself. Others are classic fairy tales and fables that have been read aloud to children for generations.
My goal isn’t for every story to teach a lesson. First and foremost, a bedtime story should be cosy, exciting, funny or magical, and it should work well when it’s read aloud.
How the stories are made
The original stories on BestBedtimeStory.com are written and edited by me.
Some start with an idea of my own. Others begin with a theme, a character or a situation children love, like dragons, dinosaurs, princesses, Christmas or Halloween.
I also get ideas and requests from children and parents through YouTube and Spotify: a type of story, a favourite character or a topic they’d like to hear about. I use those wishes as inspiration for new stories.
Before a story is published, I read it through myself and check the language, the plot and whether it works well as a read-aloud story at bedtime.
Stories for every age and every evening
Children’s taste in stories changes as they grow, so the site covers many ages and moods. There are bedtime stories for kids, from toddlers to teenagers, and stories by length, from a quick 1-minute story to a calm 5-minute story or a longer read.
You’ll also find classic fairy tales, including stories by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Aesop, so children can discover both new stories and the classics many parents remember from their own childhood.
And because bedtime stories aren’t only for children, there are also romantic bedtime stories for adults to share with a partner.
Made to be read aloud
Bedtime stories are usually shared: a grown-up reads and a child listens. That’s why I care about how the stories sound when they’re read aloud, not just how they look on a screen.
The language should feel natural, the story should be easy to follow, and the rhythm should suit a quiet moment before sleep. Some stories are funny, others are exciting, magical or more thoughtful. There is no single recipe for the perfect bedtime story.
Reading aloud at bedtime is more than a nice routine. Experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, point to shared reading as one of the simplest ways to support a child’s language development and wellbeing. That’s a big part of why the site stays free.
More than a website
Many of the stories are also published as videos on the BestBedtimeStory YouTube channel, where children can watch and listen, and as audio stories on Spotify for car rides and nights when the lights are already off.
That way every child can enjoy the stories in the way that suits them best: as text, audio or video.
Submitted stories and ideas
You’re welcome to submit your own bedtime story. I read every story that’s sent in before it’s published. Not every submission makes it onto the site. I look at whether it suits children and the site, and whether it works as a good story.
If your child has an idea for a story, a character or a topic, send it my way. I can’t promise every idea becomes a story, but I read them all, and many new stories start exactly like that.
Contact
Questions, ideas or a story to share? You can reach me on the Contact page. You can also follow BestBedtimeStory on YouTube and Spotify to hear when new stories are out.