More Margaret Wise Brown... And More Moon
What's the deal with Goodnight, Moon? That's what I thought every time I saw it on a toddler's shelf or at a baby shower, and when Seattle Children's Theater made it into a play (now playing in Dallas!). Even when I first started reading it as part of my son's night-time ritual, I didn't really get it: Goodnight nobody? Huh? And what's that mush doing in his bedroom?
Like so many great things, the brilliance of Goodnight Moon reveals itself only with repetition. Silas caught onto it before I did; it's the only book he can sit through without squirming. I've even found myself reciting the rhymes in a cheap effort to make him laugh when he's cranky.
I recently found this fun, thoughtful analysis of the book by Elizabeth Kolbert in the December 6, 2006 New Yorker. Kolbert includes some background on its author, Margaret Wise Brown (who admitted to Life magazine, "I don't really like children..."), and says of the book:
Goodnight Moon is more restrained, more exacting, and more lyrical than anything written for children today. In its own quiet way, it is also more brutal.... Time moves forward, and the little bunny doesn’t stand a chance.
Now that the book is a family favorite, we were excited to see that a new Margaret Wise Brown story, The Moon Shines Down, is about the see the light of day.
Thomas Nelson acquired Brown's manuscript, which was found among a "sheaf of yellow pages held together by paper clips" in her sister's attic, according to Publishers Weekly. The picture book, with Clement Hurd-style illustrations by Linda Bleck, will be available in November of this year.
This time the moon story is based on an old prayer/nursery rhyme: I see the moon, and the moon sees me... --Heidi
Susan P. on February 08, 2008 at 07:54 AM
My two-year-old went through a period between, say, 14 and 20 months where she insisted on reading Good Night Moon almost every night. The text is lovely in its simplicity, but the illustrations are also enticing for a little brain. Every item noted in the text must be duly pointed out with a little baby finger. "Balloon" was one of the first words she said (the red balloon was apparently her favorite item in the room). As an adult, I love the existential salutation "Good night, nobody." There is always a nobody somewhere who needs saying good night to. (Although I do wonder, when we direct our Lacanian gaze to "nobody" does he/she/it then become somebody?)
Matt in Denver on February 08, 2008 at 05:24 PM
Don't forget the roving mouse! My daughter noticed the little mouse changing locations as the story progresses, and from that moment forward still can't turn the page without touching the little mouse.
bfwebster on February 08, 2008 at 06:31 PM
I read this book so often to my daughters that I had the book memorized within a month or so. Of all the books I read to my children when they were growing up, this remains _my_ favorite. ..bruce..
Soldier's Dad on February 08, 2008 at 06:45 PM
My son loved that book. Perhaps in part because of the mouse, he recently ordered humane traps for his room in his forward operating base in Afghanistan, so he can trap the mice that infest the place without killing them.
Jim on February 08, 2008 at 07:32 PM
All three of my children (now all adults) loved Goodnight Moon and I loved reading it to them. I hope the newly discovered book is published soon because my eldest grandson will turn five this summer and I think it would be marvelous to be able to read both books to my grandchildren.
Joan on February 09, 2008 at 12:32 PM
I read this to both of my kids so many times that I had the entire text memorized. Unexpected bonus: reciting the text quietly with lights out made it easier for them to drift off to sleep in their beds. Guess they were imagining the great pictures, which, by then, they had also no doubt memorized.
Rick Bornemann on February 09, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Reading this book to my son at night was one of the best experiences of fatherhood. (And don't forget "The Runaway Bunny.")
Glen Roven on June 10, 2008 at 10:41 PM
I wanted to tell you guys about my new Violin Concerto based on THE RUNAWAY BUNNY. It's rather like Peter and the Wolf with the violin portraying the bunny. SONY just released it with Brooke Shields doing the narration and the Royal Philharmonic playing it. I just performed it at Carnegie Hall with Glenn Close narrating. Perhaps it might be of interest!? Here's the amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Bunny-Paddington-Bears-Concert/dp/B0013PVGM2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1213162345&sr=8-1