60 Years of Goodnight Moon Thanks for the Memories

Repeat after me, "In the great green room . . ." If you know what comes next, you've fallen under the hypnotic spell of Margaret Wise Brown, author of over one hundred stories and books and self-proclaimed "writer of Songs and Nonsense".

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the beloved children's book Goodnight Moon, the simple tale of a little bunny in the process of going to sleep. The story of Goodnight Moon began one morning in 1947 when Brown sat down at a typewriter and click-clacked the rhythmical story in a single rush of words, later telling friends she'd "dreamt" it during the night.

Brown believed in writing stories from a child's perspective, and insisted that they be illustrated that way, too. But illustrating Goodnight Moon proved to be more challenging than writing the manuscript. After all, nothing really happens. This presented a peculiar challenge for illustrator Clement Hurd.

Hurd made several attempts, submitting sample after sample that failed to meet with approval. The difficulty lay in confining the action to one room. Hurd's task was to bring visual variety to a story with no action. His final solution was the simple, yet brilliant, idea of varying focus and perspective. Moving from "wide angle" color illustrations, to "close up" black and white, Hurd not only created visual variety, but added a "look and find" element, as children compare illustrations from page to page.

The popularity of Goodnight Moon is due, in part, to this repetition of words and images. The repetition provides a soothing rhythm and a sense of security for young readers, making it a comforting bedtime story. Repetition is also what makes the story so memorable. Many families recall their preschool children "reading" Goodnight Moon at a very young age.

When I asked members of cafemom.com about Brown's timeless classic, one mom from Florida said, "I love it when my son says mom I'm gonna read you Goodnight Moon.' It is so sweet, He's 4yrs old, and he adds words, but for the most part he remembers the story so well."

Cindy from Hoover, Alabama said, "I started reading it to my oldest son when he was about 4 month old . . . One night when I was sick, I heard my four-year-old [over the baby monitor] reciting the book to his [younger] brother . . . I was in tears listening to him."

When Goodnight Moon was first released in 1947, it was one of the first books marketed to children.

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