I Just Want To Say Good Night

A young African girl named Lala, living with her family in a village on the veld, delays her bedtime for as long as she can, insisting that she must say goodnight to a variety of animals and objects. Having put off going to sleep for as long as possible, she finally settles in, saying goodnight to

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her book - the much-loved classic, Goodnight Moon.

I found I Just Want to Say Good Night quite charming, both for its presentation of that classic early childhood experience - delaying bedtime - and for the delightful illustrations it contains. I also appreciated author/illustrator Rachel Isadora's tribute to the Margaret Wise Brown classic, Goodnight Moon. All that said, I did wonder a bit at her decision to set her story in a generic "Africa," rather than in a specific country. It's true that the "veld" is to be found in the southern part of the continent, but there a number of countries which contain this ecosystem - why not choose one? Leaving that issue aside, I was pleased with this sweet story of a little African girl and her bedtime rituals. Recommended to anyone looking for goodnight books with an African cultural setting, or featuring black characters.

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