Bedtime For Batman, a super good night book for 7 and under

Our criteria for a great good night book is that it has big pictures, is short enough to re-read if you need to and is interesting enough for young kids. Using our qualifiers there has not been a good night superhero book for the younger ages until now. Bedtime For Batman has bright, big art featuring the caped crusader and his parallel tract with a 4 year old boy who is preparing for bed.

Coincidentally we have a 4 year old-and he absolutely loves this book. One reason why big art with lots of details is advantageous in a good night book is that it provides opportunities for new vocabulary or the possible extension of bed time, without reading the book again.

Bedtime For Batman is something that our 6 year old can easily read, but allows for additional conversation with his younger brother. If it’s my wife or I reading the book we’ll read it slowly, asking questions about what’s happening in the background or reinforcing basic lessons, like brushing his teeth or cleaning up.

This is not an origin story for Batman. It simply takes a snapshot of what he does in a typical night, much like a young boy has to do. Batman puts away the villains, while the boy puts away his toys. The boy has a goldfish that depends on him and the people of Gotham depend on Batman to help them in various ways.

We’re big fans of superheroes and pop culture in this house. Having said that, neither of our sons has seen ‘Batman’ on television. They have read the comic book Batman 66 on a couple occasions, but that is it. That is worth mentioning because our children like this book and they’re not resident fans of Gotham or any of its inhabitants.

The sweet spot for Bedtime For Batman is 4-7 years old. Even though our 6 year old can read the book he still likes reading each line and then commenting or talking about the pictures. He’ll talk about the book with his brother, learn about the DC bad guys and hopefully emulate what the boy in the story is doing. Bedtime For Batman is written by Michael Dahl with the illustrations by Ethen Beavers.