Margaret Wise Brown’s classic children’s book Goodnight Moon has been named as The UK’s Favourite Bedtime Book.


Exclusive research conducted by bed retailer Happy Beds as part of its campaign to celebrate World Book Day on March 7th found that the 1947 Two Hoots picture book, which is illustrated by Clement Hurd and features a rabbit saying “goodnight” to everything around it, was the most popular book to read at bedtime.


Happy Beds collated more than 26 online lists of ‘Best Bedtime Books’ from national newspapers, book review sites and literary bloggers and compiled a list with 399 different titles. Margaret Wise Brown’s novel came top of the list, beating the Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s The Gruffalo.


1. Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
2. Where the Wild Things are - Maurice Sendak
3. The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
4. The Going to Bed Book- Sandra Boynton
5. Guess How Much I Love You - Sam McBratney
6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
7. Time for Bed - Mem Fox
8. Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone - J.K Rowling
9. Bear Snores On - Jane Chapman
10. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site - Sherri Duskey Rinker



Other notable entries in the top 10 were Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar, Sam McBratney and Anit Jeram’s Guess How Much I Love You and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.

Surprisingly, only two of the top ten were published in the 21st century – proving that a true bedtime favourite can take decades to tuck itself into the national psyche.


The Top 10 Bedtime Books, As Researched by Happy Beds

A full list of the books can be found on Happy Beds’ website.

Julia Donaldson was the most-featured author, with 15 different books in the list, while her long-time illustrative collaborator Axel Scheffler was also featured 15 different times.


The research also saw female writers outperform their male counterparts in the list, with 50% of books written by women, 46% by men and 4% by couples. More than half (58%) of all books were about animal characters, while just 4 of the top 20 didn’t include any furry friends – proving once again that the UK is a nation of animal lovers.


A spokesperson for Two Hoots said:
“Two Hoots, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books, and the publisher of Goodnight Moon are delighted that this classic book, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, remains the favourite bedtime book for children.


“Over 70 years old, the magical artwork and that hypnotically soothing text still lull children across the world to sleep to this day. We couldn't be more proud to be the UK home of this sleepy classic.”


Joy Richards, Sleep Specialist at Happy Beds, said:
“For years, psychologists and parents have sworn by a good book at the end of a busy day to help children’s development and guide them serenely to the land of nod.
“Our research shows that there’s a huge market still for newer books – just over a third of those on our list have been published in the last 10 years.


“However, when it comes to favourites, it seems we still adore the old slumbersome classics – the most popular books like Goodnight Moon and Where The Wild Things Are are old enough to have been passed down through generations and have truly passed the test of time.”

ENDS

View the campaign page here: https://www.happybeds.co.uk/blog/world-book-day-our-exclusiv...

To view the list in full: https://www.happybeds.co.uk/blog/the-best-bedtime-books-the-...


About Happy Beds


Happy Beds is an independent bedroom and furniture retailer based in Batley, West Yorkshire. Founded in 2010, Happy Beds originally began as a third-party seller on Amazon and eBay before launching its own domain www.happybeds.co.uk in 2012.


Since then it has grown into a business with a turnover of more than £3m. Based entirely in the UK, all of Happy Beds‘ products are built to order and sent from its Manchester distribution centre.

Happy Beds’ products have recently been voted as Best Bunk Bed and Best Storage Bed by the Independent, and one of The Best Mattress Guide’s 10 Best Mattresses.

For more information about Happy Beds, or for further quotes, please contact Emma Hull at emma@libertymarketing.co.uk or call 07478709450.