Is it safe for my child?

Stories are written to be warm and gentle, with tension matched to your child’s age, and every story is checked before you see it. You can add anything you’d like kept out of bedtime, and if something ever feels wrong you can tell us from the story itself.

What happens to my family’s details?

They’re used to write your stories, only after you agree, and never for ads. You can remove anything, or delete your account and everything with it, from inside the app.

A new story every night for your first week, then one new story a week for your household — continuing each one a few times, with read-along, bedtime music, the dark reader and sharing. Premium adds a story every night, every child in the family, and your whole shelf.

Can grandparents use it?

Yes. Send them a story by link — it opens in any browser — or invite them into your family: up to 4 grown-ups share one subscription.

Does it need an internet connection?

Only to write a new story. Stories you’ve already made are kept on your phone.

Is there an Android version?

Not yet. Once is for iPhone and iPad, in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Bedtime Stories About Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are enormous, ancient, and long gone, which is exactly why they make such good bedtime company. A child who loves dinosaurs gets to feel like an expert, naming the long-necked ones and the ones with plates on their backs, while the story itself can move at the slowest, calmest pace imaginable.

The trick with dinosaur stories at night is choosing gentle ones. No roaring, no chasing, no meteor. Just a quiet, sleepy creature in a quiet, sleepy world, doing the same small things your child does before bed: finding a soft spot, curling up, closing its eyes.

Example story covers

Examples of the illustrated books Once makes. Every family’s are their own.

A watercolor illustration of an orange and yellow spiky lizard resting on a grassy hill at night under a starry sky, with a few small plants and flowers nearby. — Pepper and the Hill of Wishing Flowers

A small red pterosaur-like creature with outstretched wings flies through the night sky above green fern leaves, with stars twinkling in the dark blue sky above and a soft glowing light near the horizon. — Rosie's Flight to the Farthest Light

A small yellow and orange baby dinosaur stands alone on a path in front of glowing stone archway ruins, set against a deep blue night sky, with a soft golden light shining through the arches behind it. — Lola and the Ruins That Hummed

Why dinosaurs work at bedtime

Dinosaurs give a child a sense of scale and wonder without asking them to imagine anything scary. They lived a very long time ago, they were real, and they are not going to show up in the backyard. That distance makes them safe territory for a wandering bedtime imagination.

Many children who love dinosaurs already know more facts about them than their parents do. A bedtime story can lean into that. Let the story be gentle and slow, and let your child correct you if you get a detail wrong. That small role reversal, where the child is the calm expert, can be settling in itself.

Keeping it calm, not exciting

The word dinosaur can pull a story toward drama: a hungry hunter, a startled herd, a chase through the trees. Save that energy for daytime. At night, keep the dinosaur small in the story's stakes. It might be looking for a good sleeping spot, listening to the wind, or watching the stars with a friend.

Give the dinosaur gentle, plant-eating habits where you can, or simply do not mention what it eats at all. Slow the pace of your voice as the story goes on. If your child asks whether a certain dinosaur was fierce, a simple honest answer is fine, but the story itself does not need to go there tonight.

The right age for dinosaur stories

Children as young as two often enjoy simple dinosaur stories built around a favorite word or a big gentle shape. By four or five, kids can follow a full slow story with a dinosaur character who has a name and a small nightly routine. By six to eight, many children want more accurate detail, like real dinosaur names or a nod to a place their species has been found, which can make the story feel more like theirs.

If your child has big feelings about extinction or worries about dinosaurs being gone forever, keep your answers simple and reassuring, and bring it to their doctor if the worry seems to be affecting their sleep.

Make the dinosaur theirs with Once

Once writes bedtime stories starring your own child, using their name along with real pets, family members, and familiar places. For a dinosaur fan, that might mean a small, friendly dinosaur who turns up quietly in their own backyard or right beside their own bed, and who behaves exactly as gently as you'd like.

You read the story aloud yourself, from a calm, dark page designed for low light. While reading, you can tap Gentler, More, or Sleepy to guide what happens next, so you stay in control of the pace right up to the last page. Once a story turns out well, you can share it with family by private link, so grandparents can read the same dinosaur adventure too.

Six ideas to tell tonight

1A gentle long-necked dinosaur stretches up to nibble the highest leaves of a tree, then folds its legs and settles into the soft grass for the night.
2A small, spiky dinosaur curls into a round ball among the ferns, listening to the quiet chirps of night insects until its eyes close.
3Two dinosaur friends compare footprints in the mud by the riverbank, then lie down side by side under the first stars.
4A young dinosaur who is a little afraid of the dark walks beside its parent through a fern forest, both of them yawning by the time they reach their sleeping hollow.
5A gentle winged reptile glides low over a quiet valley, looking for a safe branch to rest on as the sky turns from orange to deep blue.
6A patient dinosaur parent hums low and slow to its sleepy hatchlings while the whole nest settles down under a wide, star-filled sky.

Questions parents ask

My child wants dinosaurs but gets overexcited. What can I do?

Keep the story's events small and slow: finding a resting spot, watching the sky, listening to night sounds. Save chasing and roaring for daytime play, and let your voice slow down as the story goes on.

Should I mention that dinosaurs are extinct?

You can, gently and simply, if your child asks. There is no need to bring it up in the story itself if it might unsettle them. If worries about this seem to affect sleep, it is worth mentioning to their doctor.

What if my child only likes the fierce dinosaurs, like ones with sharp teeth?

You can keep the character but soften the story: at night, even a fierce-looking dinosaur can simply be tired, full, and ready to rest. The story does not need to include hunting to include the dinosaur your child loves.

Is it all right to make up a dinosaur species?

Yes. Many gentle bedtime dinosaurs can be entirely imaginary, especially for younger children. For kids who want accuracy, you can use real dinosaur names and keep the events of the story calm regardless.

What age is right for dinosaur bedtime stories?

Most children who show interest, often from around age two or three, can enjoy a simple version. Older children, from about six, often like more specific detail and real dinosaur names woven into a calm story.