The most popular bedtime stories around the world

Reading a book to your child at bedtime is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. A bedtime story helps in creating a bedtime routine for your child to wind down after a long day playing, helping them snuggle into their bedding, relax and drift off to sleep. Bedtime stories are also important in helping your child learn not just new words but important life lessons and help develop their imagination too.

With so many children’s books to choose from, from fairy tales to picture books, parents and children alike are spoilt for choice, but which are the most popular bedtime stories around the world and in the UK? The experts at Sleepseeker have delved into the data to find out. 

The most popular bedtimes stories around the world

1. Little Red Riding Hood

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 4,970

Little Red Riding Hood is the most searched for bedtime story in the world, with just under 5,000 searches per 100,000 people in 2021. The classic fairytale has many different versions which vary between European cultures but the most popular is the version recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Little Red Riding Hood serves as a cautionary tale for children, warning them of the dangers of trusting strangers.

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 4,200

The first picture book on our list, The Very Hungry Caterpillar takes second place with over 4,000 searches per 100,000 people in 2021. Instantly recognisable for its bold colourful illustrations, it also features simple text that teaches children to count, the days of the week and colours too. 

The book has been translated into more than 62 languages and is so popular a copy is sold every 30 seconds!

3. Where The Wild Things Are

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 4,168

Taking third place is Where The Wild Things Are, which tells the story of Max, a little boy in a wolf costume who is sent to bed without supper, so sails to a faraway land inhabited by monsters, becomes their king and leads them on a playful romp. 

The picture book by Maurice Sendak has sold over 19 million copies since its publication in 1963 and had a search volume of over 4,000 per 100,000 people in 2021. 

The countries reading the most bedtime stories

1. The United Kingdom - 9 bedtime stories

A Bear Called Paddington, Gangsta Granny, Jack And The Beanstalk, Superworm, The Colour Monster, The Gruffalo, The Highway Rat, Zog, Zog And The Flying Doctors

The UK can be crowned as the country reading the most children's books, being the top nation for searches per 100,000 people for 9 of the children’s books we looked at with The Gruffalo by the prolific children’s author Julia Donaldson being the most popular of these children’s stories. The UK also tops the rankings per 100,000 people for the classic fairytale Jack And the Beanstalk. 

2. Australia - 4 bedtime stories

Little Red Riding Hood, The Day The Crayons Quit, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Three Little Pigs 

Australia takes second place, taking the top spot for 4 bedtime stories, two of which are classic fairy tales, Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. Although the most popular of the 4 is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, at 732 searches per 100,000 people in 2021. 

2. The United States - 4 bedtime stories

Bear Snores On, Goodnight Moon, Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Also coming top for 4 bedtime stories is the US. Goodnight Moon, the most popular bedtime story per 100,000 people in the US, sells around 800,000 copies every year and has been popular with both children and parents for over 70 years, thanks to its ability to lull children to sleep. 

The most popular bedtime stories in countries around the world

The UK’s most popular bedtime stories

1. The Gruffalo

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 32,799

Taking first place in our ranking by UK county is The Gruffalo, the picture book that tells the story of a mouse outsmarting potential predators and scaring them off by describing a monster called the Gruffalo. 

Since its publication in 1999, the book has delighted children from all over the world, selling 13 million copies and still had over 32,000 searches in 2021. The book has been adapted into both a short film and theatre production too. 

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 25,152

Taking second place, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has a combined search volume per 100,000 people of over 25,000 in 2021. As well as teaching children about counting colours and the days of the week, the moral of this classic picture book centres on self-control and teaches children about growth and change too.

3. Little Red Riding Hood

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 24,354

In third place, with a combined search volume of more than 24,000 per 100,000 people is Little Red Riding Hood. The story is one of the best-known fairy tales and popular with parents all over the world thanks to its universal messages used to teach children to be wary of strangers, with a happily-ever-after ending.

The UK counties reading the most bedtime stories

1. Berkshire - 19 bedtime stories

A Bear Called Paddington, Bear Snores On, Jack And The Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, The BFG, The Gruffalo, The Tortoise And The Hare, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Three Little Pigs, Where The Wild Things Are, Daughter Of The Deep, Gangsta Granny, Gangsta Granny Strikes Again, Superworm, The Colour Monster, The Day The Crayons Quit, The Highway Rat, Zog, Zog And The Flying Doctors

Taking the top spot by a very wide margin is the South Eastern county of Berkshire, with the most searches per 100,000 people for a whopping 19 of the children’s books we looked at. The Gruffalo is the highest-ranking children’s story of this 19, at 3,654 per 100,000 people, which is no wonder as it is one of the most popular children’s books in the UK. 

2. Gloucestershire - 4 bedtime stories 

Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The Going To Bed Book

In second place is Gloucestershire, with four bedtime stories coming top in the county. The Going To Bed Book is the most searched bedtime story in the county, with 495 searches per 100,000 people in the county. 

The Going To Bed Book has been helping to soothe children to sleep since 1982, written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton, the book is aimed at toddlers and follows wild animals on a boat, as they change, brush their teeth and get ready for bed. 

3. Stirling - 1 bedtime story

Mrs Frisby And The Rats Of Nimh

In third is the Scottish county of Stirling which holds the top spot for 1 bedtime story, Mrs Frisby And The Rats Of Nimh with 85 searches per 100,000 people. This children’s sci-fi novel is the first in a series, featuring a field mouse named Mrs Frisby and her successful attempt to save her home from being destroyed by a farmer’s plough. 

The most popular bedtime stories in UK cities 

1. The Gruffalo

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 26,191

The Gruffalo takes the top spot as the most searched children's book in cities across the UK, with over 26,000 searches per 100,000 people in 2021. The picture book penned by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler is so popular it has spawned spinoffs and sequels and won plenty of awards too. 

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 23,177

The Very Hungry Caterpillar takes second place, with a combined search volume per 100,000 people of over 23,000. Since its publication over 60 years ago, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has won numerous awards for its innovative design, including the collage illustrations and ‘eaten’ cut out holes in its pages.

3. Little Red Riding Hood

Combined search volume per 100,000 people: 22,113

Taking third place is Little Red Riding Hood, the most popular of the brothers Grimm fairy tales. The bedtime story takes inspiration from European folk stories with the moral that people are not always who they appear to be and has a combined search volume per 100,000 people in UK cities of just over 22,000. 

The UK cities reading the most bedtime stories

1. Cambridge - 10 bedtime stories

A Bear Called Paddington, Goodnight Moon, Jack And The Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, The BFG, The Gruffalo, The Tortoise And The Hare, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Three Little Pigs, Where The Wild Things Are 

Taking the top spot for UK cities reading the most children’s books is Cambridge. The city has the most searches per 100,000 people for 10 of the children’s books we looked at. The most popular of these stories is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, with 3,246 searches per 100,000 which comes as no surprise as the story is one of the most popular in the UK. 

2. Lincoln - 10 bedtime stories 

Daughter Of The Deep, Dog Man Grime And Punishment,Gangsta Granny, Gangsta Granny Strikes Again, Superworm, The Colour Monster, The Day The Crayons Quit, The Highway Rat, Zog, Zog And The Flying Doctors

Sharing the top spot with Cambridge is the East Midlands city of Lincoln. The top two most popular children’s books in Lincoln are written by Julia Donaldson, author of the Gruffalo, the most popular bedtime story on our list. 

Zog is the most popular children’s book in Lincoln with 2,499 searches per 100,00 people. It tells the story of a young dragon as he learns to fly, roar and breathe fire, all of which result in minor injuries treated by a mysterious girl who turns out to be a princess who really wants to be a doctor.

3. Gloucester - 3 bedtime stories

Bear Snores On, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Taking third place is Gloucester recording the most searches for 3 children’s books, Bear Snores On, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. 

The most popular of these bedtime stories is Zog With 1,611 searches per 100,000 people in 2021. The book, written by beloved children’s author Julia Donaldson tells the story of Zog the accident-prone dragon who becomes friends with a princess. The book has since been adapted into a short film that aired on the BBC in 2018.

Methodology

We wanted to find out which children's books and bedtime stories were the most popular around the world and in the UK. To do this, we created a list using information from list articles, choosing books that are more well known in print, as popular children’s stories turned into films, such as the Harry Potter series, or fairytales adapted by Disney would skew the results. We then used Google Keyword Planner to find out how many searches each children's book received per 100,000 people in each country, UK county and UK city in 2021. Population figures were taken from ONS and Worldometer.