As if you didn’t already look forward to bedtime, five new books you’ll want to read — with or without your kids.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp
Marcel the Shell (a YouTube phenom with more than 12 million views) tries out life as a children’s picture book protagonist. The dreamlike illustrations and his quirky personality (his dog is a piece of lint) make him one of our favorite kid lit newcomers.

The Listeners/These Train Tracks, by Breathe Owl Breathe
From the band Breathe Owl Breathe comes a children’s book that time forgot. A canvas-covered volume features two stories illustrated by reproductions of woodcut prints that start at each end of the book and meet in the middle, where you’ll find a seven-inch record of both narratives recorded as indie-folk songs.

Birdie’s Big-Girl Dress, by Sujean Rim
DailyCandy’s illustrator emeritus publishes her second children’s book about a precocious little girl who likes to dress up. It’s the perfect bedtime tale for moms and daughters who know their way around a dressing room.

Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers
Little Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, so naturally he throws his shoe up after it. When his shoe gets lodged in the branches too, an unexpected cast of projectiles (a cat, a ladder, a fire engine) follows. Read-out-loud fun at its best.

Eli, No, by Katie Kirk
Try to resist the bold graphic illustrations in Kirk’s debut children’s book. But it’s the toddler tough-love lesson — “No!” doesn’t mean we love you any less — that has us stealing one last snuggle before lights out.

CREATE
The Expressive Hand
What: The paint-your-own pottery studio busts out an array of holiday-themed ceramics ($3 and up) to add color to.
Why: Your Thanksgiving table needs a little oomph.
When: Wed., noon-5 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m.
Where: 622 S. Ninth St. (267-519-2626).

HARMONIZE
Sound All Around: Double Bass
What: Story time with award-winning yarn spinner Charlotte Blake Alston and a short concert by Joseph Conyers of The Philadelphia Orchestra (ages 3-5).
Why: Your mini Mozart wants to make some noise.
When: Today, 10 & 11:15 a.m.
Where: The Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. Tickets at 215-893-1999 or online at philorch.org. Adults and children, $8.50.

STIR
Lenape Cooking
What: Watch food historian Susan Plaisted mix up a Native American meal in the log house.
Why: Little pilgrims are welcome to lend a hand.
When: Fri., noon-4 p.m.
Where: Mercer Museum, 84 S. Pine St., Doylestown (215-345-0210). Adults, $10; children, $4; under 5, free.

Photos: Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers; Courtesy of Little, Brown Books; Courtesy of Abrams Books