Monday, January 1, 2024
Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd
As part of my endeavors of trying to grow kids’ minds by getting kids to read and write more, Mrs. Udderbutter and I are going to review kids’ books and place them in this blog. To start it all off is an oldie, but goodie — Goodnight Moon, from Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd.
Published in 1947, this picture book has been a staple in many a family’s home library, as evidenced by the 48 million copies sold by 2017. And that was seven years ago. With a quick check of Amazon, the book is currently #4,420 in Books, #16 in Children’s Rabbit Books, and #117 in Children’s Classics. As you can see, still in the minds of many a child and their adult.
The 32-page story is meant for bedtime, and therefore, doesn’t have a complex story structure and dynamics. It’s just about a little rabbit about to go to sleep with an older female rabbit knitting across the room.
It starts off with a short stanza, with a picture of the rabbit’s whole room. It will be a continuing theme, words followed by a picture of the words for reinforcement. There’s usually one little phrase or at most, a whole sentence, on each page, accompanied by its respective picture.
The book has allusions and shout-outs to old school nursery rhymes like Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Hey Diddle, Diddle. See if you can spot the Easter eggs hidden in the illustrations!
Cute pictures, repetitive wording and rhymes makes for a comforting and educational time with the young one in your life. As noted before, it’s meant to put kids to sleep, but in a good way. In a sense, it’s like Where’s Waldo? meets Mary Had a Little Lamb.
My kids loved this book, so it was on permanent rotation in our bedtime storytelling adventures. With that, Mrs. Udderbutter stamps her Hoof of Approval!
Have fun reading!