A short history of bedtime stories

Stories told near sleep have never had one purpose. They pass on family memory, explain unfamiliar noises, make a room feel shared, and give the imagination somewhere to go after the day is finished.

Printed bedtime stories often became more orderly than spoken ones. A book can be closed at the same place each night. A familiar voice can return to the same cadence. Repetition becomes part of the comfort.

Our stories borrow more from the meandering spoken tradition. They allow side roads, long descriptions, and endings that do not insist on being reached.