Last Updated on March 21, 2025 by Kieran Beckles
We love our Toniebox almost as much as our toddler loves it, but it took some time to find the best tonies for bedtime stories.
While our daughter enjoys using her Toniebox and array of Tonies throughout the day, some Tonie characters don’t make the best bedtime Tonies.
We found that Tonies such as Elsa and Ana from Frozen had too many songs and weren’t long enough. The result was a toddler creeping out of her room to ask why her Toniebox had stopped.
Through trial and error, we discovered some Tonies that make great additions to our daughter’s bedtime routine and have played an instrumental role in getting her to sleep.
In this article, I’m going to reveal the best bedtime Tonies based on our experience, as well as share some of Reddit’s favorite bedtime stories for Toniebox users.
Our Favorite Tonies Bedtime Stories
Paddington The Bear Tonie
My personal favorite is Paddington The Bear. My wife and I spent over a decade in London so we love the nostaglia. Stephen Fry is the narrator. Our daughter is currently falling asleep to Fry every night after falling in love with Paddington after seeing Paddington 3 at the cinema. There are 8 stories with a glorious runtime of 155 minutes. Sometimes my wife and I fall asleep to Paddington the Bear as Fry’s voice drifts from our toddler’s room into our room!
Buy Paddington Bear Tonie via this link
Angelina Ballerina Tonie
The first story Tonie that we purchased was Angelina Ballerina. Our daughter and some of her friends are big fans of the original television show from ITV in the UK. When we introduced the Angelina Ballerina Tonie, our toddler was thrilled. There are 10 different stories which gives good variation. The runtime is 73 minutes, which isn’t as long as Paddington, but our daughter is usually asleep by the time Angelina finishes.
Buy Angelina Ballerina Tonie via this link
Roald Dahl: Matilda Tonie
We introduced Danny De Vito’s 1995 Matilda adaption to our toddler over Christmas and she fell in love with this Roald Dahl character. You can imagine her reaction when we gifted her the Matilda Tonie. It’s an abridged version of the story that runs for 71 minutes. Not as long as Paddington, but our daughter loves it. It’s worth nothing Paddington and Matilda aren’t commonly stocked in stores such as Target, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and more. Your best bet is buying these two Tonies through the official Tonies website.
Buy Matilda Tonie via this link
Trolls: Viva Tonie
Our daughter loves Trolls so we were thrilled to find a Trolls story Tonie in the shape of Viva. It lasts 60 minutes with 15 chapters. While my daughter has listened to it semi-regularly, Viva trails behind Angelina, Paddington and Matilda in terms of popularity and usage.
Buy Trolls Viva Tonie via this link
Disney Encanto Tonie
We’ve been going through something of an Encanto phase in our home. While the Mirabel Tonie has the film’s four most popular songs (Family Madigral, Surface Pressure, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, What Else Can I Do, and Dos Oruguitas). If you can get through these five songs with a toddler starting to become sleepy, there’s an Encanto story in English followed by Spanish. Our daughter is bilingual so it works a treat for us.
Buy Encanto Tonie via this link
Creative Tonie
Lastly, we’d recommend a Creative Tonie if your child enjoys your bedtime stories or lullabies. It allows you to record and upload stories. We decided to get family members and friends to record stories for our toddler so she can feel connected to them, even though some family and friends live in different parts of the world.
Buy Creative Tonie via this link
Other Recomendations From Parents We Know
“The best ones for stories is Paddington, Peter Rabbit. They’re good ones for stories. Willy Wonka is a good one for a nice story.”
Reddit’s Recommendations For Best Tonies For Bedtime Stories
@cookielady86
“Daniel the Tiger is very cozy and calm. Along with Winnie the Pooh!”
@superpurpleu
“My son likes the Captain Dreambeard one and the sleepy bear one. They are both story based and calming!“
@novagirl0972
“Sleepy bunny and sleepy sheep. I’ve also made some creatives with lullaby versions of songs from legends of Zelda and studio ghibli films.“
@drsuezz
“Captain dreambeard is our favorite!! He talks in a calmer and slower tone so it really helps them wind down”
You can discover more on this thread.
Wrapping Up
So there we have it, we’ve broken down some excellent contenders for bedtime Tonies if your child likes to fall asleep to a story.
Our overall favorite would be Paddington Bear, read by Stephen Fry, with a long run time of over two and a half hours.
However, Angelina Ballerina, Matilda and Willy Wonka are also good options, while some Reddit users suggested Winnie the Pooh and Mater.
Kieran runs Life With Klee Kai on social media and other online platforms alongside his wife Yasmin. With over 10 years of experience as a journalist and a passionate dog owner, Kieran loves to combine his passion for pets and writing to share useful insights and product reviews to help other dog owners.