Home For Grown-ups

Goodnight, Forest

Coming soon

Goodnight, Emilia · Story 6

About “Goodnight, Forest”

Emilia and Pip camp out in a little tent in her backyard, by the woods, and whisper goodnight to the forest animals settling down: a bunny in her burrow, a deer and her fawn, a squirrel wrapped in her fluffy tail and baby birds in their nest. But one forest friend is just waking up at bedtime... A gentle bedtime story about nocturnal animals, like the owl and the hedgehog, who sleep all day and wake up at night.

This story teaches the word nocturnal by flipping the usual goodnight. Emilia and Pip camp in a little tent in her backyard, close enough to see the lit window of home, while the narrator whispers goodnight to animals settling down: a bunny in her burrow, a deer and her spotted fawn, a squirrel wrapped in her bushy tail, baby birds in a twig nest. A round shape in the old oak opens one eye wider on every page. A soft hoo gives it away: an owl, waking up and wishing everyone good morning. A hedgehog wakes too, and Emilia, who is not nocturnal at all, heads in to bed.

This story is coming to YouTube soon. You can read it below and print its coloring page now.

What Emilia learns

  • burrow
  • fawn
  • squirrel
  • nest
  • owl
  • nocturnal
  • hedgehog

Tips for grown-ups

  • Watch for the owl's eye in the oak behind each goodnight page. It opens a little more every time, so let your child be the one to spot it before the owl is named.
  • Use the ending to settle the night-or-day question: owls and hedgehogs wake up at night, but people sleep at night, like Emilia. When your child asks to stay up, "You're not nocturnal" makes a light, friendly reply.
  • Play a listening game once the light is off. Lie still together and name each soft sound you hear, the way Emilia hears the owl's hoo in the dark.
  • Zero to Three suggests a bedtime routine of quiet play, bath, books, songs and lights out. The forest goodnights make a good quiet-play step: tuck stuffed animals into a burrow or a nest made from a blanket.
  • If your child calls out after lights out, Zero to Three notes that answering every call tends to bring more calls. A whispered "Goodnight, sleepyhead" at the door, like the owl's last line, and then a calm exit, keeps it short.

Talk about it

After watching, ask:

  • Where does the bunny sleep?
  • What is a baby deer called?
  • What does the squirrel use as a blanket?
  • Who was saying hoo?
  • What does nocturnal mean?
  • Is Emilia nocturnal? Are you?

Try this together

Drape a blanket over two chairs for a tent and camp out for a few minutes with a small lamp. Whisper goodnight to a stuffed animal or two, hoot softly like the owl, then switch off the lamp and walk to the real bed.

Free coloring page

Coloring page: Emilia in her pajamas with her lantern and Pip beside her backyard tent, an owl awake on a branch and a little hedgehog snuffling by

Goodnight, Forest: Emilia's Backyard Tent: print it (US Letter or A4) or color it on screen.

Read the story

Goodnight, Forest. In a tent, snug and small,
Emilia and Pip camp out back, where the trees grow tall.
But one forest friend is waking up... at bedtime. Who?
Let's whisper goodnight, and let's look for a clue.

By the tent, a brown bunny gave a big yawn,
and hopped into her burrow, a hole by the lawn.
It's her home under the ground, all cozy and deep.
Goodnight, bunny. Goodnight, burrow. Time to sleep.

In the tall grass nearby, a mother deer lay down,
with her baby, a fawn, who was spotty and brown.
Deer sleep in a grassy place called a deer bed!
Goodnight, deer. Goodnight, fawn. Rest your head.

High in a tree, in a hole just her size,
a squirrel curled up and closed her sleepy eyes.
Her big, fluffy tail is her blanket at night!
Goodnight, squirrel. Goodnight, tree. Sleep tight.

On a branch sat a nest, made of twigs, round and neat,
where three baby birds sang one last sleepy "tweet."
Under their mama's wings, they kept warm in the nest.
Goodnight, birds. Goodnight, nest. Snuggle and rest.

But up in the old oak, what did Emilia hear?
"Hoo... hoo..." A clue! So soft and so clear.
It wasn't the bunny. It wasn't the deer. So who?
Who's awake at night? Who's saying "hoo, hoo"?

It was an owl! She opened her eyes, round and bright,
and stretched out her wings, to the left and the right.
She's nocturnal. That means she sleeps all day through,
and wakes up at night! "Good morning! Hoo, hoo!"

An owl can turn her head most of the way around.
Off she flew on soft wings that hardly made a sound.

Snuffle, snuffle... from under a mossy old log,
out trundled a prickly, wide-awake hedgehog.
He's nocturnal too: he snacks on bugs till it's light.
Good morning, hedgehog. Have a snuffly night.

Emilia yawned. She's not nocturnal at all.
Goodnight, forest. Goodnight, trees, big and small.
She tiptoed home with Pip, and was tucked into bed,
and the owl hooted, "Hoo... goodnight, sleepyhead."

And up on her ceiling, star number six began to glow.
Next time: the garden, where sleepy flowers grow.

Shh... the forest is sleepy. Let's sing it a lullaby.

The lullaby: “Goodnight, Forest”

The story ends with its own lullaby, sung softly while everyone falls asleep. Sing it at bedtime, slowly.

Goodnight, forest, in the moon's gentle glow,
the bunny is snug in her burrow below.
The deer and her fawn in the grass take their rest,
the squirrel tucked in, and the birds in their nest.
The owl is nocturnal, awake in the night,
the hedgehog is out in the silvery light.
Goodnight, forest, and goodnight, sleepy you,
the owl's keeping watch with a soft little hoo.

Goodnight, forest... goodnight, forest...

Questions parents ask

What does nocturnal mean?

It means sleeping in the daytime and waking up at night. Most owls are nocturnal, and so are hedgehogs, which snuffle about at night eating bugs. People are not: we sleep at night.

Can an owl really turn its head all the way around?

Not quite. An owl can turn its head about three quarters of the way around, far enough to look behind it, which is why the story says most of the way around.

Is camping out at night scary in this story?

No. The tent is in her own backyard, the warm window of her house shows in the wide pictures, and at the end she tiptoes home and a grown-up tucks her in.

Sources

Our tips follow these pages. They are general information, not medical advice: ask your child's doctor or dentist about your child.