Book Review: Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

Being a short poem of goodnight wishes written in basic rhyme, Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon" describes the bedtime ritual of a young rabbit saying goodnight to all the objects in the room. Originally published in 1947, "Goodnight Moon" is a classic of the modern literature for children. Straightforward and appealing to any age, "Goodnight Moon" is heartfelt and a plain joy to read.

As the fire crackles in the fireplace and the moon rises in a chilly night sky, the young rabbit is getting ready for sleep. His grandmother knits on her rocking chair with two tabbies at her feet playing in front of the fireplace and one mouse appearing from nowhere.

"Goodnight room."

"Goodnight moon."

"Goodnight cow jumping over the moon."

"Goodnight light and the red balloon."

Featuring quiet poetry, "Goodnight Moon" is perfect for calming down children to sleep. The words rhyme effortlessly and bring the story together in such an easy way that, children remember and recite the words. The book is also a perfect tool for parents to cite its words and talk to their children about the moon, the night, the shadows, what goodnight means, what goodbye means, how the sky gets darker, how the moon gets more distant, how the silence of the night puts everything to sleep.

The rhyming motivo of the words, repetitive and momentous, helps children to learn new words in an amusing and educative method. All children love to repeat refrains. And all children love to postpone their night sleep finding cute excuses to stay up a little more. With the repetition of the word "goodnight" the book offers an amusing game where children try to imagine what the next to say goodnight to could be.

The book's simple, yet endearing illustrations that swap between tiny ink drawings and vibrantly-colored views of the rabbit's room are impressive. Some of the details that are immediately noticed in Clement Hurd's illustrations is how the room gets progressively darker, how the moon rises outside the window, how the clock progresses from 7pm to 8:10pm, how the color progressively disappears as the rabbit goes on saying goodnight. The open book on the book-self is "The Runaway Bunny", another Brown's classic with illustrations by Clement Hurd. Using a wide variety of angles, Hurd creates an enjoyable setting, although the whole story develops in one room. Children may search the next object that the rabbit would say goodnight to.

"Goodnight Moon" has been the best children's bedtime book for over 60 years. Being small and simple enough for young children or toddlers to rhyme, it helps to the understanding of some simple meanings of children's nightly routine. Also, children may be taught about the difference among families by seeing how another kid's room may look like. Reflecting a sense gratitude for anything that surrounds us, "Goodnight Moon" offers a profound lesson of life. To my view, it is highly recommended and a perfect way to put your child to sleep.

http://www.amazon.com/Goodnight-Moon-Margaret-Wise-Brown/dp/0694003611
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Good-Night-Moon.html/details