Goodnight, Emilia · Story 3
About “Goodnight, Zoo”
- Ages: 2-5
- Length: 5 min
- Season: Goodnight, Emilia, story 3
It's closing time at the zoo, and Emilia and Pip tiptoe from the zebras to the lions, learning how each animal sleeps: standing up, on one leg, even under water! But the giraffe can't get comfy... where does a long, long neck go at bedtime?
Closing time at the zoo becomes a gentle tour of the many ways animals sleep. Zebras doze standing up in their herd, flamingos balance on one leg, a mother elephant sleeps on her feet while her baby lies down, and hippos sleep under water, bobbing up to breathe without waking. Through it all the giraffe can't get comfy, and her trouble carries the story: where does such a long neck go at bedtime? Emilia shows her by curling up with her head on Pip, and the giraffe curls her neck back to rest her head near her tail. Then a pride of lions, champion sleepers, settles into a heap.
- zoo animals
- how animals sleep
- getting comfy
- animal groups
This story is coming to YouTube soon. You can read it below and print its coloring page now.
What Emilia learns
- zebra
- herd
- flamingo
- giraffe
- elephant
- hippo
- lion
- pride
Tips for grown-ups
- Turn the story into a slow stretch before bed: stand like a zebra, balance on one leg like a flamingo, then lie down and curl up like the giraffe. The National Sleep Foundation notes that a short stretching routine, repeated nightly, becomes a sleep cue over time.
- Always end the poses lying down, the way the story ends with the giraffe and the lions. Standing animals first, curled-up animals last, then straight under the covers.
- When your child keeps popping up, like the giraffe's head over the trees, treat it as a comfort question: what would help you get comfy? A pillow moved, a stuffed animal closer, a blanket smoothed.
- Lions rest up to 20 hours a day, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. At lights out, see if your child can be as still as a sleepy lion while you count slowly to ten.
- Make the goodnights a countdown: zebras, flamingos, elephants, hippos, giraffe, lions, and last of all, your child.
Talk about it
After watching, ask:
- How do zebras sleep?
- Who slept on one leg?
- Where did the hippos sleep?
- Where did the giraffe put her long neck?
- What did Emilia use as a pillow?
- Who sleeps more, the lions or the giraffe?
Try this together
Play Sleepy Zoo: name an animal from the story and show how it sleeps together, standing like a zebra, on one leg like a flamingo, under a blanket pond like a hippo. Finish curled up like the giraffe and lying very still.
Free coloring page
Goodnight, Zoo: Emilia and the Sleepy Giraffe: print it (US Letter or A4) or color it on screen.
Read the story
Goodnight, Zoo. The sky is turning red,
and Emilia and Pip tiptoe in, to put the zoo to bed.
But the giraffe can't get comfy. Her neck is so long!
Where does it go at bedtime? Let's tiptoe along.
By the gate, the zebras stood close for the night,
a group called a herd, all in stripes, black and white.
Zebras can sleep standing up, and just shut their eyes.
Goodnight, zebras. Goodnight, herd. Sleep till sunrise.
At the pond, the flamingos stood pink in a row.
Flamingos can sleep on one leg! Just one. Did you know?
Each one tucked up a foot, and tucked in a sleepy beak.
Goodnight, flamingos. Goodnight, one leg. Don't peek.
And there was the giraffe, as tall as a tree,
trying to sleep on one leg, with a wobbly knee!
She lay down, but her neck stuck up, long, long, long.
At bedtime, where does a long neck belong?
Under the trees, the elephants yawned, big and slow.
Elephants can sleep standing up, trunks hanging low.
But the baby lay down on his side, fast asleep.
Goodnight, elephants. Goodnight, baby. Sleep deep.
In the pool, the big hippos slid down for a doze.
Hippos can sleep under water. They close up their nose!
Up they bobbed for a breath, still asleep in their tub.
Goodnight, hippos. Goodnight, bubbles. Blub, blub.
Then Emilia showed the giraffe her own trick for bed:
she curled up, with Pip as a pillow under her head.
The giraffe watched, then curled her long neck around,
and her head found a pillow: her back! Safe and sound.
So that's where a giraffe's long neck goes at night!
Goodnight, giraffe. Goodnight, long neck. Sleep tight.
Giraffes sleep just a little. But lions sleep a lot!
Most of the day and the night, in their favorite spot.
A lion family is a pride, all snug in a heap.
Goodnight, lions. Goodnight, pride. Not a peep.
Out through the gate, by the light of the moon,
then home to her bed, with Pip, for a sleepy tune.
And up on her ceiling, a new glow star: number three!
Next time: sleepy sheep... how many will there be?
The whole zoo is dreaming now. Let's sing a lullaby.
The lullaby: “Goodnight, Zoo”
The story ends with its own lullaby, sung softly while everyone falls asleep. Sing it at bedtime, slowly.
Goodnight, zoo, as the moon rises high,
the zebra herd sleeps under the starry sky.
Flamingos on one leg, all pink in a row,
the elephants rest, and the hippos float low.
The giraffe, snug and comfy, neck curled just right,
and the pride of lions is dreaming tonight.
Goodnight, zoo, from the big to the small,
tomorrow we'll wave to them, one and all.
Goodnight, zoo... goodnight, zoo...
Questions parents ask
Do giraffes really rest their heads near their tails?
For their deepest sleep, giraffes often lie down and curl the neck back so the head rests on the hindquarters. They sleep only a little each day, in short naps, which is why the story says lions sleep a lot more.
Can hippos really sleep under water?
Yes. Hippos can sleep under water with their nostrils closed, and they bob up to breathe without waking.
Is this a good pick for a child who can't settle down?
It can help. The giraffe's whole problem is getting comfortable, and her answer is a pillow and a curl, which gives you a playful way to ask your child what would help.
Sources
Our tips follow these pages. They are general information, not medical advice: ask your child's doctor or dentist about your child.
- Lion Cam, Smithsonian's National Zoo
- The Family That Sleeps Well, Does Well, National Sleep Foundation