Goodnight Moon

by Margaret Wise Brown

Other authorsClement Hurd (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 1975

Status

Available

Call number

813.52

Collection

Publication

HarperColl (1997), 32 pages

Description

Goodnight to each of the objects in the great green room: goodnight chairs, goodnight comb, goodnight air.

Media reviews

User reviews

LibraryThing member SFM13
As a young child I hated to go to bed, for fear I would miss something. This bedtime story will help young children fall asleep easily as its pictures and texts combined take them into restfulness and finally deep sleep.

The opening scene shows bold, bright colors of dark value. The bunny is wide
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awake sitting up in his bed looking at the telephone on the bedside. The text mentions the telephone, along with a red balloon. The reader may wonder why the telephone is mentioned. Maybe the bunny thinks it might ring. He seems to be sitting up waiting for something. On the next page the colors are achromatic. Throughout the book the pages alternate between color and achromatic. I think this may be a strategy for making you sleepy. If every page were bright, the colors could act as a stimulant. Eventually another Bunny appears, this one an “old lady.” This “old lady” has her paw raised to her lips which corresponds to the text whispering “hush.” The bedside lamp casts light above and below the lampshade, illuminating the darkening room. The colors of the room directly touched by the lamplight are just a hint lighter, giving the room a cozy feel. The “old lady” has knitting in her lap, possibly sitting with the bunny until he goes to sleep. If you notice a strand of yarn leading from her lap to the floor, this straight line turns into curvy, tangled lines that show you the kittens are not sleepy yet. They are having too much fun playing with the ball of yarn.

Towards the end, the kittens are shown sitting alert and still, and if you notice the direction they are facing: They are both looking at the “old lady.” Her yarn has been rolled up, leaving the kittens nothing to play with. The text mentions her saying “hush” again. You can imagine that she is speaking in quiet tones as you study the setting and the room is beginning to grow darker. I noticed that the bunny changes positions in the bed from page to page. This leads me to believe that he was trying to fight sleep and stay awake, like many children do at bedtime. Then finally in the end the bunny is asleep, the room is totally dark. I think the artist washed over the picture with a light covering of watered down black paint. The effect allows the reader to see into the room, imagining your eyes have adjusted to the dark, and with your night vision see the basic outlines. Still the room is not pitch dark, because there are two windows letting in moonlight and showing shining stars. The “old lady” has left the room, which tells us the bunny is finally asleep, and the kittens have resigned to sleep themselves, as they curl up in the chair once occupied by the “old lady” bunny.
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LibraryThing member nmhale
Goodnight Moon is an old classic, and at first glance, you might wonder why. The pictures aren't bright and cheerful like more modern picture books, and the story is just a listing of a room, and the little bunny saying good night to all his possessions. Read it out loud, though, and you'll see -
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the story is a lullaby, a bedtime story, and the simple sentences are soothing and lulling. The pictures are comforting, a small room, lit by firelight, darkened by night. This book is a simple scene of domestic peace and sleepiness, and a perfect story to read to Aubrey right before bedtime.
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LibraryThing member ChelseaGriffin
Goodnight Moon is an easy read for younger children to read and a great story to listen too. The wonderful illustrations really add to the story.
LibraryThing member AlexEpstein
I love this book, but if you think about it, it's actually kind of alarming. When you think about it, there is something disturbing about the pictures. Has anyone else noticed the following odd things in the child bunny's bedroom:a. a fireplaceb. a telephonec. an expensive clockd. a bookshelf full
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of hardbound books of various editionsWho puts a telephone in a child's bedroom? It would just wake him up. Who gives a child a room this large? With a fireplace? With burning logs? And two clocks?There's another clue: the "quiet old lady ... whispering hush." What I get out of this setup is that she is the child's grandmother. And she is putting up the child bunny in a bedroom meant for adults because those adults are not there. The parents are not there. And the child is terrified of everything. "Goodnight nobody... goodnight noises everywhere."The child bunny isn't just visiting. The room has been turned into a child's bedroom. There are now paintings of the cow jumping over the moon and the three little bears. There's a red balloon and a doll's house (with, curiously, the lights on inside.)I don't think the parents are coming back.Yikes.Of course, none of this will occur to the four year old you're reading it to, so go for it.
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LibraryThing member meallen1
This is a really sweet story about a little bunny saying goodnight to everything in his room and everything he sees.
LibraryThing member Bookwormeater
This book is about saying good night to the things around the big green room. I don't care for it because the bunny says goodnight to the moon that watches over him while he sleeps. Instead of saying goodnight to God. I don't think that I would use this book in school or at home.
LibraryThing member GillianEvans
This was a good book but only for very young children. I would say between kindergarten and second grade. It is a very easy read. It is about a little bunny who is getting ready for bed. he tells everything in his room goodnight and describes everything in the room before he goes to sleep. I would
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use this book in my classroom when talking about descriptive writing or read it to kindergartners before naptime.
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LibraryThing member clong
One of the all-time classic picture books for children, Goodnight Moon has a lot of things to rave about. The cadence is magical, the alternation of black and white and color illustrations works well, the repeated "good night . . ." with objects varying from the very practical ". . . socks" to the
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very whimsical ". . . air" or " . . . nobody," and the gradually darkening palette as sleep approaches.

With all three of our children, this was one of the very first books with which they really interacted--"where's the mouse" was a favorite game to play with each two year old as he/she tried to follow the little white mouse that moves around the room in the color illustrations.
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LibraryThing member hartn
Goodnight Moon. By Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd. HarperCollins, 1947.

A classic children’s book with skillful verse and illustrations that are both condensed to keep with the verse and also deftly move the eye and the action of the story. This is very much a bedtime story in
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which what is introduced is concisely foreclosed with a ‘goodnight’, all in a soft sounding verse that slows the reader and lulls those being read to. Part of a wave of ‘here and now’ picture books that developed out of the new education philosophies of the 20th century, Goodnight Moon has never been out of print and sets a standard for the format.
While there is familiarity in the here and now story, perspective is varied. The movement of the story, though a simple cumulative building up and breaking down movement, is illustrated through the movement of the moon, light and the characters – while the setting of the book never changes. The telling of goodnight to various parts of the room offers a kind of liberation from those things of the day that may hinder the exploration and imagination of the child – clocks, socks and mittens, mush and adults that say ‘hush’. There is even an allusion to the new type of literature saying goodbye to the old; the cow jumping over the moon and the three little bears are good-nighted, but the other picture on the child’s wall – from another of Brown’s popular stories, The Runaway Bunny, remains in the child’s world even after going to sleep. These, along with numerous other subtleties, offer delight while the broader theme and the text offer a very powerful concoction to induce pleasant and deep sleep.
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LibraryThing member wfzimmerman
Stunning surprise as everyday objects perform impossible activities lulling unsuspecting child readers to sleep.
LibraryThing member cjfox73
Gentle and repetitive, this book is the classic bedtime read.
LibraryThing member tngrant
All time classic. All parents need this book for their children's collection.
LibraryThing member MrsLee
We read this over and over and over and over, yet I never tired of it.
LibraryThing member blue8444
An obvious classic. We read it every night for almost a year to each of our twins. It is simple and helps with winding down at the end of the day. It even made me yawn sometimes!
LibraryThing member dchaves
Everyone likes this book and I have enjoyed many Margaret Wise Brown books, but I have to say this one is just boring.
LibraryThing member BVstorytime
Goodnight to each of the objects in the great green room: goodnight chairs, goodnight comb, goodnight air.
LibraryThing member smilz23
One of my families favorite picture books. A small bunny looks at all the things in his room and then says good night to them all. There are few words and beautiful pictures of everything in the room.

Classroom connections: This would be a great book for teaching vocabulary. Especially to young ESL
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students learning about things around the house. It is also a good seek and find book to look for small details in the pictures.
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LibraryThing member kmtheodorou
This book is good for smaller kids. it is big with big bright pictures. it rhymes on every page! I loved the pictues also!
LibraryThing member Justy
This book was a staple bedtime story for my son for several years. He loved looking at the pictures and seeing the lights go out as the little bunny got ready for sleep.
LibraryThing member S1BRNSUGAR
I liked this book. It didn't have many words. I think it was ok for a picture book. the children can relate to book. Most of them do the same thing as the bunny at night. I think the book would be a good story during naptime.
LibraryThing member lindsaygits1
Saying good night to everything in his room is the little bunnies nightly routien. I think that all children love this book, and can relate to making bedtime drawn-out by saying a few too many goodnights. This book is a classic that we have all grown to love. The pictures are simple and sweet, and
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it is a perfect bedtime story.
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LibraryThing member jrjohnson1
This is a great book. It is so cute. It is great for younger kids and has a ryme on every page.
LibraryThing member lacykay9300
This book was cute. It didn’t have many words. It was about a little Bunnie , every night he would tell everything in his room goodnight. It was sweet.
I liked this book the pictures in it were very well done and it was just a really cute book.
I would use it in a class room to talk about the kids
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and there nightly routine and maybe have them write a journal about it .
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LibraryThing member conuly
This book was written to be very boring, very calming.

As a result, many adults simply cannot stand it. I firmly suggest that you read the book before purchasing it or putting it on your baby registry. If you remember it from your childhood, re-read it - many childhood books seem different once
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you've grown up.

Then, if you still love it and don't mind the thought of reading it every night for a year (children *will* get their little fixations), go ahead and buy it! (This is actually good advice for any children's book, but especially the ones in the "lull them to sleep" group.)

If you find it a little too much... get something else.

I will note that even if you do not buy the book, many people find that saying goodnight to everything in the room (or good-bye if you're leaving the house instead of taking a nap) is a good transition activity for little children.
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LibraryThing member sailornate82
I don't remember much from this book, as my mother read this to me when I was very young, but I still remember it being a favorite of mine.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1947

Physical description

7.08 x 0.37 inches

ISBN

0060207051 / 9780060207052
Page: 4.548 seconds