Goodnight Moon :: A Bedtime Favorite
A Review of a True Classic
This book is one that every child must have. It's simple and accessible story is great for any child. Here I am in this room, these are the things around me, I am comfortable and safe here, and it is time for bed.
This is the type of story kids want read again and again. The seemingly simple illustrations have more to them then you initially see, giving you a little more each time you read it, and the stark contrast in the color and black and white pages, give the book as a whole more interest. This is a truly great work.
Goodnight Moon
Perhaps the perfect children's bedtime book, Goodnight Moon is a short poem of goodnight wishes from a young rabbit preparing for--or attempting to postpone--his own slumber. He says goodnight to every object in sight and within earshot, including the "quiet old lady whispering hush." Clement Hurd's illustrations are simple and effective, alternating between small ink drawings and wide, brightly colored views of the little rabbit's room.
Finding all of the items mentioned throughout the book within the pictures is a good bedtime activity--a reappearing little mouse is particularly pesky. By the end of the little rabbit's goodnight poem, the story has quieted to a whisper, and the drawings have darkened with nightfall. As you turn the last page, you can expect a sleepy smile and at least a yawn or two.
Margaret Wise Brown's official site - Learn about the author of Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown wrote many children's books. Goodnight moon and The runaway Bunny were both illustrated by Clement Hurd.
- Margaret Wise Brown Home
Margaret Wise Brown's official site
In the great green room
there was a telephone, and the red balloon, and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon.
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My World - by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd
Originally published in 1949 (two years after Goodnight Moon) and out of print for more than 30 years, this melodic companion narrated by the endearing rabbit child introduces those elements of his life that he holds most dear. Brown's minimal text has a dreamlike, impressionistic quality reminiscent of her earlier book, yet the narrative adheres to a child's sense of logic as the bunny strings together the items and activities that fill his day.
Goodnight Moon Review
Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon - by Leonard S. Marcus
Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon and dozens of other children's classics, all but invented the picture book as we know it today. Combining poetic instinct with a profound empathy for small children, she knew of a child's need for security, love, and a sense of being at home in the world and she brought that unique tenderness to the page.
Yet these were comforts that eluded her. Brown's youthful presence and professional success as an editor, bestselling author, and self-styled impresario masked in security that left her restless and vulnerable. In this moving biography, Marcus portrays Brown's complex character and her tragic, seesaw life. Her literary achievement and groundbreaking discoveries about small children's emotional needs were offset by tormented romances including a passionate relationship with Michael Strange, the celebrity socialite once married to John Barrymore.
Reading Goodnight Moon
Links to Activities
- Online Coloring Game
Harper Collins Children's Online Coloring Activity - Goodnight Moon E-card
Harper Collins Children's Goodnight Moon E-card - The Goodnight Moon Coloring Sheet
Printable Coloring Page - Say "Goodnight" to the Objects in the Room
Printable Activity - Matching Goodnight Moon Pictures to Their Names
Printable Activity Page
Goodnight Moon Available in Other Languages
Goodnight Moon has been published in several languages.
Here you'll find it available in Spanish, French, and Vietnamese.
The Picture Book Made New: Margaret Wise Brown and Her Illustrators
From "Acknowledgments," by H. Nichols B. Clark:
"Margaret Wise Brown launched her writing career at a time when a rejection of the fanciful and romantic in children's literature was reinforced by a belief that the genre should reflect a new reality embodied in the ascendant industrial and urban society of America. Consequently, a significant aspect of Brown's literary output was grounded in the 'here and now,' and she gravitated to artists who shared similar modernist tendencies. To be sure, many of her stories were rooted in the imaginary, and a good fit between narrative and image was always paramount."
On the Walls
Decorate your walls with Goodnight Moon poster print, or growth chart.
More books by Margaret Wise Brown - Vote for your favorites, or add any I missed.
The Big Book
If you are a teacher or librarian who tends to read to a group, this Goodnight Moon Big Book is perfect. Being extra large, you can turn the book for all the kids to be able to easily see the illustrations. This would be a great item for just before nap time in a nursery school.
What do YOU think?
On a scale of 1-7, what did you REALLY think?
Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales
Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's bestselling children's book headlines this winning 25-minute collection of sleepytime tales from HBO. Susan Sarandon narrates the simple story of a bunny readying for bed. Other top entertainers lend their voices to the tape: Tony Bennett sings the story of "Hit the Road to Dreamland"; Lauryn Hill brings rhythm to "Hush, Little Baby" (the best segment); Billy Crystal lends many voices to Mercer Mayer's "There's a Nightmare in My Closet"; and singers Natalie Cole, Aaron Neville, and Patti LeBelle sing other tales. A dandy video for the youngster, punctuated with "interviews" of real kids answering a host of bedtime questions. --Doug Thomas
Where's the cigarette?
The cigarette in the hand of illustrator Edward Hurd was digitally removed from his picture, that has been on the book for decades because it sent the wrong message" to young fans.
- Lying to Kids For Their Own Good: 'Goodnight Cigarette'
Lying to Kids For Their Own Good: "Goodnight Cigarette" (11/19/2005) A picture is worth a thousand words, 'tis said, and it follows that when the picture is altered to reflect... - 'Goodnight Moon,' Smokeless Version
Article from the NY Times. - 'Goodnight Moon' Gets Politically Correct Makeover
CHICAGO (CBS) ― A classic piece of children's literature is getting a makeover to be more politically correct for the 21st century, but some people are crying censorship. - NY Times Op-Ed
"Child-proofing" Goodnight Moon
Reading Goodnight Moon
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