Short bedtime stories for busy nights
› Add their age and what they love
Age
Loves
Optional
Who else is in it?
Optional
Length
2–120 min
4 spreads, written as you read
Mood
gentle third-person narration, a timeless setting, a small kindness at its heart. Unhurried and warm, like a story that has been told for years.
Pictures
Drawn as you reach each one, in the cover's style.
Anything else for this one?
Optional
Free to start. Just a first name, no card. Or read one first
Made on Nightstory
Real stories, written and drawn the way yours will be. The child's name has been changed in each.
The Super-Tidy Hero and the Cake That Wouldn't Fit
Nell puts on her superhero cape for a birthday party where the biggest, wobbliest cake in the world has other ideas. A funny, cozy story about tidying up, making room, and one very stubborn cake.
Read it →
The Fairy Who Lost Her Glitter
When Arlo follows a trail of tiny lights into the garden, she meets a fairy whose wing-glitter has gone missing, and together they wait for the fireflies to return one by one. A soft, drifting bedtime story about small wonders and quiet patience.
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The Mermaid's Comb and the Parrot's Path
Suki sets sail on a quiet pirate adventure to return a lost comb to a mermaid, following the directions of a helpful parrot. It's a gentle, cozy journey with small discoveries and a safe return home.
Read it →
Some nights there is time for a chapter. Most nights there is time for five minutes. A short bedtime story is not a lesser one: it has a beginning, an adventure and a soft landing, just closer together. The trick is that it still has to be about them, or the five minutes will be spent negotiating for a longer one.
Ours come in a quick three-minute length and a short five-minute one, chosen with one tap. Each is written for your child by name, illustrated, and finished with the same gentle ending as the long ones. Tomorrow's short story remembers tonight's.
Written by the people who make Nightstory.
What makes it work at bedtime
Pick the length before the story
Choose quick or short and the story is written to fit, rather than cut short. A story that ends on purpose feels finished; one that stops feels stolen.
One friend, one place, one thing
The best short stories have one of each. Put a friend in the cast, name a place they love, and let the story do the rest.
Same ending, every night
Short or long, every story here closes with the child safe and sleepy. The consistency is what makes a five-minute story enough.
Questions parents ask
- How short is a quick story?
- About three minutes read aloud, or two or three pages. A short one is about five minutes. You can choose any length up to a thirty-minute epic on every story.
- Can I make it longer if they want more?
- Yes. Any finished story can keep going: tap for another chapter and it continues from where it ended, in the same world, with the same characters.
- What does it cost?
- The first page is free, with no account. A free account finishes that story and brings one more free story. After that, a story costs 20 stars however long it is, and Nightstory Plus brings 840 stars a month.
Make tonight's for your child
Their name is all it takes. The first page is free, with no account.
Create tonight's story