Goodnight Moon Board Book

Customer Reviews

The quintessential bedtime book

Don't listen to the one- and two-star people!

"Goodnight Moon" is the quintessential bedtime book. It is worded perfectly for a relaxed pace and soothing tone from the reader, as well as a nice poetic rhythm. The little bunny in the story says goodnight to objects in the room as he goes to bed; you can continue from this book to say goodnight to objects in your child's own room. As you read, watch the moon rise and the time change on the clocks, and remember to look around the room for the mouse!

I am perplexed by the reasons given by some reviewers as to why they don't like this book. As for boredom, any adult can become bored with a children's book of this level when it's read over and over and over (and over), as children of this age require of you. "Goodnight Moon" is not aimed at adults. That obvious fact being said, I have *never* been bored with this long-memorized book in four years of reading it (over and over and over), because it is so well written.

One current reviewer claims there is no lyricism or poetry to the words, which left me agape -- anyone who can speak English decently well could feel the rhythm and lyricism in the text, and read it accordingly. Was she reading a different book?

To the reviewer who noted the "tired catalogue of meaningless objects," remember that small children need repetition to learn -- "Read it, Papa, read it (over and over and over)!" -- and no objects are meaningless to them. They are curious about everything; it is we adults who often narrow our curiosity too much, teaching our children to do likewise. And of course, the worth of artwork is always a matter of opinion -- he is obviously a "modern art" person from his other reviews, so he knows this very well. I too like Jackson Pollock's work, but I also happen to like Clement Hurd's "shrilly colored, crudely drawn, flatly artless illustrations" in this book and would not describe them that way. The colors are bright monochrome (a bit garish) and they contrast starkly; the drawings are simple and basic: it's a valid style, and it draws the child's attention. But anyway, his recommendation of D.B. Johnson's "Henry Builds a Cabin" is great; the book looks and sounds fantastic, so I'll order it. I too look for children's books with an eye to the artistic quality of illustrations.

Our older daughter (4.5) loved this book from the age of 6 months or so, and the younger (20 mos.) has too, although she loves the author's "The Runaway Bunny" better. We replaced tattered, well-loved paperbacks of both these books with the big lap edition board books which, though heavy, are great for the size of the illustrations and are virtually indestructible. The baby carries the lighter, tattered copies hither and thither, though she will heft the big ones also.

"Goodnight Moon" is a wonderful book. Your child will love it.

My 9 month old demands this book!! Among his favorites...

I have been reading to my son since he was a newborn and like other viewers it wasn't obvious to me why he would like this book. He is now 9 months and grins like crazy when he sees the first page and protests if i do not reread the book to him. Saying goodnight to multiple objects through a rhyme is soothing while a brightly lit colorful room grows dimmer and dimmer.Also the bright pages are interlaced with back and white pages with simpler pictures which works well in terms of keeping the pace right and not over stimulating him as a bedtime story.
I did a lot of research in picking his first board bks and he thoroughly enjoys all of them. Highly Recommended!
1. Goodnight Moon (bed time)
2. The Big Red Barn (bed time)
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
4. The Runaway Bunny
5. Pat the Bunny (not exactly a board book)

A Must-Have Bedtime Book...

This book was one of our bedtime rituals. When I was weaning my son from frequent night-time breastfeedings, we would read this book at bedtime every evening. Sometimes I could hear him "reading" this book to himself in the dark if he was still have trouble settling down. Often, we read it in unison, and chuckled together. It's sweet and slow and comforting, and simply taking the time to cuddle and read it has a peaceful effect on both parent and child.