Bedtime · ages 9–10
Bedtime Stories for Kids Ages 9–10
A quiet story to read in bed, about a boy who can’t fall asleep because his head is full of worries — and the trick his grandmother teaches him.
Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________
Sample story written by the KidTales team
Bruno’s Paper Boats
It was half past ten and Bruno’s eyes were still open. Outside, the city was making its night sounds: a faraway dog, a car driving slowly by, the fridge humming in the kitchen.
Inside his head, though, it was chaos. Tomorrow was the science presentation. What if he forgot what to say? What if the volcano model fell apart on the way? What if everyone laughed?
The door opened a crack. It was Grandma Chela, who was staying with them that week. “I can hear you thinking from the hallway,” she whispered, and sat on the edge of the bed.
Bruno told her everything at once, like a faucet turned all the way on. Grandma listened without interrupting. Then she said, “When I was a girl and couldn’t sleep, my dad taught me to make little boats.”
“Paper boats?” “Imaginary paper. Close your eyes. Think of your first worry. Now fold it like a sheet of paper: once in half, then the corners down… and there’s your boat.”
Bruno closed his eyes. He folded the worry about the volcano. His boat came out a little crooked, but it floated.
“Now imagine a calm river of warm water flowing past your bed. Put the boat in the water. Don’t push it. Just watch it go.”
The little boat drifted away slowly, rocking, until it was a tiny white dot and then nothing at all. Bruno took a deep breath without noticing.
He made another boat out of the worry about forgetting his words. And another out of the one about everyone laughing. The river carried them all away, one after another, toward a place where the water turned silver under the moon.
“Where do they go?” he asked, his voice already heavy. “To a harbor where they wait until morning,” said Grandma. “If you need them, they’ll be there. But hardly any of them ever come back.”
Bruno wanted to ask something else, but he couldn’t remember what. The river kept flowing, warm and slow. Grandma pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
The last things Bruno heard were the faraway dog, the fridge in the kitchen, and his own breathing, coming and going like the water.
The next day, the volcano didn’t fall apart. And although he forgot one word, he remembered a better one.
Reading comprehension questions
Literal · what the text says
Why couldn’t Bruno fall asleep?
Who taught Grandma Chela the paper-boat trick?
Inferential · what you can figure out
What does it mean that inside Bruno’s head “it was chaos”?
How do we know Bruno was falling asleep?
Critical · what you think
Do you think the paper-boat trick would work for you? What else helps you calm down before bed?
Answer key for grown-ups · Bruno’s Paper Boats
- He was worried about the next day’s science presentation.
- Her dad, when she was a girl.
- That he had lots of thoughts and worries at the same time, even though the house was quiet.
- His voice got heavy, he couldn’t remember what he wanted to ask, and his breathing came and went like the water.
- Open answer. A good chance to talk about what’s on their mind.
Sample story written by the KidTales team · Free to use at home and in class · https://www.kidtales.app/en/bedtime-stories-for-kids-9-10/