Bedtime music/poems/stories on CD?

[butterfly_mommy]

So DS traded  in his soosies last Thursday for a Marble Run. He was very happy to do so and he wanted too, however come bedtime it was pretty hard for him :(  It is getting better but from reading the other posts I thought it might be helpful to change up the bedtime routine a bit. I want to offer DS a choice of listening to music, poetry or some stories on CD like Little Bear after we  read  a story and say good night instead of us lying with him  which is what I think reminds him of his soosie (some of the nights this week he asked us to leave him alone but then he cried :(

Anyway looking for suggestions of gentle soothing stuff for him. He loves Shel Silverstein poetry but Uncle Shelby can be pretty intense at moments  :)

[reezley]

A few things we've liked for bedtime are the story "Moonbeam Bear" on CD.  Pretty short story, maybe 7 minutes or so. Music for bedtime -  Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell's album "Catch The Moon" - that's the only one we have but the other CDs of Elizabeth Mitchell look good too.  Raffi, any album, is nice too - kind of lively but in a calm soothing way...

By the way, if you like Shel Silverstein's telling of his poems you might really like hearing Robert Munsch's stories on CD.  The stories are on the whole more "gentle" (less morbid) than Shel Silverstein's... and he tells them in a really crazy fun way. I recently got it from the library, but I don't know if there's more than one. The one I have has "The Paper Bag Priness" on it.

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by butterfly_mommy 

Anyway looking for suggestions of gentle soothing stuff for him. He loves Shel Silverstein poetry but Uncle Shelby can be pretty intense at moments  :)

My kids love Shel's books, but they found the audio version of Where the Sidewalk Ends downright creepy. They asked me to turn it off, TURN IT OFF before we were done with two poems.
 

For bedtime music, though, our whole family really likes "Mellow My Baby" by Sherry Goffin Kondor. They are lullabyes, but at 6 and 4, my boys still enjoy listening to them when it is time to settle down. DH and I enjoy them too, and often find ourselves humming the songs long after the music has been turned off.
 

[LuckyMommaToo]

Jim Weiss's Good Night Stories and the Frog and Toad stories are our favorites for bedtime.

[ollyoxenfree]

I don't know if it's still available, but Classical Kids' "Daydreams and Lullabies" is lovely. It's a collection of traditional poetry, songs and classical music woven together. 

In fact, the entire Classical Kids series is great (Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Mozart's Magic Fantasy, Tchaikovsky Discovers America. etc.). They weave a dramatic story/play together with excerpts of familiar music from the particular composer.  The stories are mostly adventures, so they may not be exactly the kind of soothing bedtime ritual you are seeking (except the lullabies one I first mentioned), but they are terrific listening. 

[butterfly_mommy]

Thanks everyone this is a great list :)