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Goodnight, Ocean

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Goodnight, Emilia · Story 2

About “Goodnight, Ocean”

Emilia's bed becomes a little boat on a calm, moonlit sea, and she and Pip say goodnight to the fish, a crab, an octopus, a sea turtle, two dolphins and a mother whale and her calf, learning how each one sleeps. But one baby sea otter keeps drifting away... what will help him stay?

Here Emilia's own bed turns into a little boat on a calm, moonlit sea, and the dream lets her peek down through clear water at how sea animals rest. Fish keep their eyes open because they have no eyelids. A crab wiggles into the sand, an octopus curls up in her den while children count her eight arms, a sea turtle naps under a rock ledge, holding its breath, and two dolphins doze with one eye shut. All the while a baby sea otter keeps drifting, his mama always close by, until she takes his paw. Then the boat rocks home and is her bed again.

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

What Emilia learns

  • fish
  • crab
  • octopus
  • sea otter
  • sea turtle
  • dolphin
  • whale
  • calf

Tips for grown-ups

  • The otters are the heart of this one. When the mama takes her pup's paw, hold your child's hand the same way, and keep that hand-hold as part of your own goodnight.
  • The AAP suggests calming bedtime routines built on reading and snuggling. If you watched earlier in the evening, retell the boat ride at bedtime in a whisper, with the bed as the boat and the blanket as the sea.
  • When the words are "I'm not tired," try the dolphin trick: shut one eye together, then the other, and see who can keep both closed while you count slowly to eight, one for each octopus arm.
  • If the story plays on a TV or tablet, the AAP suggests making a playlist of good videos and turning off autoplay. That way it ends on its own lullaby instead of rolling into something louder.
  • The National Sleep Foundation advises avoiding stimulating or upsetting material at night. This sea stays calm on purpose, with no sharks and no storms, but a first watch in daylight tells you how your child takes it.

Talk about it

After watching, ask:

  • What did Emilia's bed turn into?
  • How do fish sleep?
  • How many arms does the octopus have?
  • How did the dolphins sleep?
  • What helped the baby otter stop drifting?
  • What was the moon, back in her room?

Try this together

Tuck a blanket snugly around your child like the sides of a boat and rock very gently. Whisper the sea animals from the story one by one, and when you reach the otters, hold paws and say goodnight.

Free coloring page

Coloring page: Emilia sitting up in her bed, which is a little boat floating on gentle waves, hugging Pip, with the sleepy moon and a baby sea otter floating on his back

Goodnight, Ocean: Emilia's Bed-Boat: print it (US Letter or A4) or color it on screen.

Read the story

Goodnight, Ocean. Emilia's bed is a boat tonight,
rocking slow on a sea of silver light.
Near his mama, a baby sea otter keeps drifting away.
He can't fall asleep! Let's find what helps him stay.

Emilia peeked down. Little fish hung still below,
asleep with their eyes open, in the moonlight's glow.
Fish have no eyelids, so their eyes can't close.
Goodnight, fish. Goodnight, sea. Time to doze.

Down on the sea floor, all sandy and deep,
a little red crab scuttled sideways to sleep.
Many crabs dig in sand to rest. Wiggle, wiggle... in!
Goodnight, crab. Goodnight, sand. Two eyes and a grin.

In a cozy rock den, an octopus curled up small.
An octopus has eight arms! Let's count them all:
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Goodnight, octopus. Goodnight, arms. It's getting late.

Up above, the baby sea otter kept drifting about,
wide awake. Emilia pointed: could his mama help him out?

Under a rock ledge, like a roof overhead,
a big sea turtle lay snug, like you in your bed.
Sea turtles can hold their breath for hours, asleep.
Goodnight, sea turtle. Goodnight, rock. Not a peep.

Two gray dolphins came gliding slowly by.
Dolphins sleep with one eye shut... and one open eye!
Emilia closed one eye, like a dolphin. Can you?
Goodnight, dolphins. One shut, one peeking through.

Now the baby sea otter was still drifting away.
His mama swam over. She knew how to help him stay:
she took his small paw, and she held it so tight,
and he drifted no more, all snug for the night.
Sea otters can hold paws to sleep. No drifting apart!
Goodnight, mama. Goodnight, baby, heart to heart.

Along came a big, gentle mother whale,
and her baby, a calf, floating close by her tail.
Whales rest near the top, so they can breathe air.
Goodnight, whale. Goodnight, calf. What a sleepy pair.

Emilia hugged Pip as the boat rocked its way home,
past the moon on the water, through the silver foam.
The boat was her bed, in her room, all the while,
and the moon? Just her nightlight, with a sleepy smile.

On her ceiling, a new star glowed. Now there were two.
Next time: the animals sleeping at the zoo.

Shh... the ocean's asleep. Let's sing a lullaby.

The lullaby: “Goodnight, Ocean”

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

Goodnight, ocean, so silver and deep,
the fish and the crab and the octopus sleep.
The turtle is tucked under rocks down below,
the dolphins shut one eye and doze as they go.
The otters hold paws so they won't drift away,
the whale and her calf float together till day.
Goodnight, ocean, and goodnight, little one,
with your bunny held close till the night is done.

Goodnight, ocean... goodnight, ocean...

Questions parents ask

Is it OK to use a video at bedtime?

It can fit if it stays calm, short and shared. Watch together earlier in the routine, after the bath for example, and let books and a cuddle come last, since the AAP's advice for this age favors bedtime routines built on reading and snuggling. If you do play it later, your child can just listen, with the screen dimmed or turned away.

Do sea otters really hold paws?

Sometimes. Sea otters sleep floating on their backs, and holding paws, or more often wrapping up in kelp, keeps them from drifting apart. A pup often naps on his mama's tummy, as the one in the story does.

Is the ocean scary in this story?

No. The sea stays smooth and silver, nothing hunts, and the drifting otter's mama is always nearby. It's a dream, and the boat turns back into her bed at the end.

Sources

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