Goodnight Moon by M.W. Brown

Book Review- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

A.    Bibliography

Wise Brown, Margaret. 1947. Goodnight Moon. Ill by Clement Hurd. New York, New York: Harper Collins ISBN 0064430170

B.     Plot Summary

Goodnight Moon is a classic rhyming poem featuring a bunny rabbit saying goodnight to all the familiar objects in his room. The story begins with a description of all the objects that reside in the bunny’s room, including: a toy house, clocks, kittens, and a mouse.  As bedtime approaches, the rabbit begins saying goodnight to each object. The story ends with our main character saying goodnight to the final objects, “Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere.”

C.    Critical Analysis

As a bedtime story, Goodnight Moon is the perfect way to lull a child to sleep. The text is very soothing and rhythmic- with enough identifiable objects that children can easily participate in the reading.

The illustrator, Clement Hurd, does a fabulous job portraying the room. The entire story takes place in the “great green room,” and so, it is fitting that there is a varied amount of detail for each of the pages that feature the room. Rereading this book several times will reveal details in the illustrations that may have been missed from initial readings. For instance, subtle light changes show the shift in time as bedtime approaches. Also, the young mouse is found somewhere on the pages featuring the green room.  Also, paying attention to the old woman sitting in the chair, the reader will see that there is progression of her knitting process. These subtle details fit nicely into the bold colors of the room, and it makes for an interesting, soothing bedtime story.  

D.    Review Excerpts

·         “Top 100 Picture Books” from 2012 School Library Journal

·         Sold more than 4 million copies since publication

E.     Connections

·         Students can sequence the events found in this story

·         Compare and contrast bunny’s bedtime routine to child’s own bedtime routine

·         This text is great for shared reading because of the identifiable objects and rhythmic tone