Bedtime Story Pick - BORED

"I'm booooooored,"

If you have kids who can talk, you've heard this before.

I distinctly remember my own parents' reactions when I would say this as a kid. My Mom would give me 3 ideas of things to do (2 of which always included some sort of cleaning), and if I didn't like her ideas, I had to come up with my own. Smart lady....

My Dad, a man with a degree in psychology, would happily remind me of the developmental benefits of boredom... "Being bored now will make you more creative later!" (While this didn't cure my boredom, he did have a point. A 2024 Child Mind Institute article explains that boredom does indeed encourage creativity, as well as problem solving skills, and independence.)

Regardless of how you react to your own child's boredom, I've got a phenomenal BORED book to share:

Bored by award-winning author and illustrator Felicita Sala

"Rita is bored. So, so, so bored.

She’s tried stretching her body across her bedroom, side-eyeing herself in the mirror, stomping her feet and swinging her arms. Time drags on, and there she remains: catatonic with boredom.

In her tragic and weakened state, her mind drifts to the beginning of a daydream. What if all the bored people in the world gathered together and got onto a bus? What if the boredom filled them up like balloons, with tiny heads and arms sticking out? What if they floated into the sky, bobbing along until they each spied something exciting enough to make them toot the boredom out?

By the time Rita’s mother calls her for dinner, she’s very, very busy." - Penguin Random House Website

My own kids (6 and 9) really enjoyed this book, not just for the story but for the fun, weird, super-expressive illustrations. They asked me to read it to them a few times, and one Saturday morning, I even found my son reading it to my daughter.

Here are some other bedtime stories we're really enjoying:

How to Pee Your Pants the Right Way by Rachel Michelle Wilson

Adorable, hilarious and heartwarming. (And the bubble-wrap scene if based on the author's real life!)

The Fitz and Cleo Series by Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox

We discovered this series at our local book festival last month. The author-illustrator duo were lovely, and so are their books! Cute stories, fun characters, and short chapters!

Holes by Louis Sachar

Such a classic. I'm reading it to my 9 year old at bedtime, and he always begs for one more chapter. If you never read this as a child, read it now. It's STILL so good.