Goodnight Moon

Over the Moon #2

by Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illustrator)

Generations of children have made Goodnight Moon a favorite among bedtime stories. Now the popular board book edition is packaged with cuddly bunny slippers in an easy-to-carry tote that will be a treasure to keep and a wonderful gift for every young child.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Classics, Fiction, Poetry, Kids, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 1947

About the author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.

Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.

She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.

She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.

Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Reviews

[Lisa of Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn't love rhyming verse?

A delightful and enchanting night-time poetry book to calm the soul. Goodnight mittens, kittens, and the red balloon!

My buddy readers said 11 stars and then changed to 5 when the scale was explained.

This is one of the books from James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die A Life-Changing List.

2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal

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[Rosieface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodnight, Moon is the chilling portrayal of a small child (represented, oddly enough, by a rabbit), listing the things in their bedroom and then saying goonight to them, one by one.

At best, this is obvious stalling behavior by a willful child, remaining undealt with by a "programmed parent." At worst, it may be a symptom of what could turn into a crippling obsessive compulsive disorder, compelling the unnamed child to wish inanimate objects good night well past the threshold of exhaustion and madness.

A number of unanswered questions remain: Why do we only see the child in bed? Where are his or her parents? Who is the mysterious old woman who says "hush," and why are her preliminary attempts to quell the destructive behavior of the child not heeded?

All in all, a good read. Not quite the heart-stopping thrill ride of Runaway Bunny, by the same author, but with a subtle horror all its own. Two thumbs up, I say!

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was stunned to see this appear on a list of banned books . . . I mean, seriously? What could be more innocent than this book? What within these brightly-colored pages could possibly be considered objectionable? A Google search revealed nothing. Even Wiki let me down this time.

Luckily, while I was having this discussion with a library patron, the director happened to walk by, and she knew the answer.



You see the doll on the shelf behind the old lady rabbit's head?

It's not wearing any clothes.

The horror, the horror!

Anyway, here's LeVar Burton reading this risqué book to Neil deGrasse Tyson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s8oY...

And, a fascinating article about a librarian who REALLY HATED this book:

https://slate.com/culture/2020/01/goo...

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Wise Brown's nihilistic classic is a howling renunciation of God, here depicted as a "quiet old lady whispering 'hush'." There is no afterlife here, no reward, no release from the crushing mundanity of life. There is only the bowl of pathetic mush, the forlorn mittens, the abandoned balloon, the telephone that never rings. We live our lives in a "great green room", but at the end we accumulate nothing but the discarded trappings of our childhoods. Even love cannot offer solace: where are our families when the end comes? "Goodnight nobody," we call into the blackness.

There is no hope in the world without us. We know what will happen, when we close our eyes, to the young mouse left alone with two kittens. They will toy with him; they will torture him and leave his decapitated body on our pillow. But we will never awake to see its guts splayed out near our heads. "Goodnight air," the poem ends. "Goodnight noises everywhere." We fall, silently, into the void.

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Treasured Gift

After receiving this much beloved classic as a birthday gift from his grandparents, it instantaneously became a must-read every night for our son during his toddler years. I remember his sweet little voice - like it was yesterday - repeating the words: "Goodnight moon." Goodnight cow jumping over the moon..." with us as we read it to him. A delightful book for the ages.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of the books that followers of my blog voted as a must-read for our Children's Book August 2018 Readathon. Come check it out and join the next few weeks!

This picture book was such a delight. I hadn't remembered reading it when I was a child, but it might have been read to me... either way, it was like a whole new experience! It's always so difficult to convince a child to fall asleep at night. I don't have kids, but I do have a 5-month-old puppy who whines for 5 minutes every night when he goes in his cage/crate (hopefully he'll be fully housebroken soon so he can roam around when he wants). I can only imagine! I babysat a lot as a teenager and I have tons of younger cousins, nieces, and nephews, so I've been through it before, too. This was a believable experience, and it really helps show kids how to relax and just let go when it's time to sleep.

The bunny's are adorable. The rhymes are exquisite. I found it pretty fun, but possibly a little dated given many of those things aren't normal routines anymore. But the lessons to take from it are still powerful. Loved it! I want to sample some more books by this fine author and her illustrators.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catching Up...

Who hasn’t read this book? Raise your hand!

This book has been read to my sons, my grandkids, available in my Little Free Library Shed, oh my…

And yet…

What is this story really about?

It tells the story of a rabbit getting ready for bed. Goodnight to the toy house, a young mouse, “a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush and a quiet old lady who is whispering ‘hush.’”

Of course, the quiet old lady looks like a very mature bunny, sitting in a yellow rocking chair, knitting away, while the little guy makes his rounds, saying goodbye to all these things in his room, alone in his bed, looking so very serious.

And then…

The old lady leaves.

And…

He is all alone.

“Good night stars and good night air. Good night noises everywhere.”

Goodnight moon.

An opportunity for peace and calm before bedtime, for kids. What every kid needs, to learn that they are safe and secure in their bed, knowing their parents (or grandparents) are right there outside their door if they need them.

And all those things that are important to those kids…

And…

Surround them in their rooms…

Are right there…still when they wake up.

Wonderful read-along for young ages.

Lastly...

This book is timeless.

[Karen Chee · Rating 1 out of 5]

talked to my close friend Neil deGrasse Tyson and he was NOT happy with this book. apparently the moon does NOT sleep OR care if u live or die. I would give this read one star but Neil said that due to the physical laws of the universe I can neither give nor receive stars

[John Mauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the great green room
There was a child
And a red broom
And a book of-
A bunny saying goodnight to the moon
And there were two sleepy parents sitting on chairs
And a giant yawn
Awaiting the future dawn


Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight sleepy parents
Goodnight broom
Goodnight child
Goodnight book
Goodnight air
Goodnight sleepy readers everywhere

😴💤

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

why do people like this book? finding the little mouse on each page is fun, but other than that it's just a dumb book. there is a lame attempt to rhyme...sometimes. there's no rhythm. i don't get it.

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A great man in his pride . . .
 Casts derision upon

Supersession of breath;

He knows death to the bone

Man has created death.”

~William Butler Yeats



“Goodnight Moon . . . Goodnight Air. Goodnight noises everywhere”

~Margaret Wise Brown


There’s only one time in your life that you say goodbye to everything you’ve come to know and love . . . and even dedicate a little time saying goodbye to the things you’ve come to hate: the shitty bowl of mush growing cold on the night stand that your “old lady” tries to pass off as food, the filthy rodent that’ll probably leave droppings in said mush as you rest comfortably ETERNALLY. Because when you’re about to kick off, even the fecal matter your little brother leaves on the toilet after he forgets to wipe his butt is endearing, and the tasteless, formless garbage your nation has sold to you as “food” reminds you that's it's better to have the faculties to hate and loathe than to have nothing at all.

Most classic poets painted death with a palette of the morose and depressing. There was no room for cliché rhymes and red balloons in the classic written rendering of death, until Margaret Wise Brown came into the picture. In 1947, Brown threw out all the conventions established by previous poets writing about death, bidding folks like Yeats and Donne to say “goodnight air” as she peppered her death poetry with balloons, bears, and cows jumping over the moon.

Her work reminds us that death does not have to be a subject of woe. Death is best reminisced about with a cocktail of kittens and mittens, chairs and bears. The proverbial spoonful of sugar Brown gives to us with her stylistic rendering helps the medicine go down, as it were, continuing the discourse established by her predecessors and taking it in a direction desperately needed by people today. This is not just a book about a stubborn rabbit with OCD who will not go to bed until he lists everything in his room. This is a story about the human condition, and a celebration of our greatest collective vulnerability. Read. This. Shit.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book that makes you feel that everything will be fresh and new in the morning. This is THE bedtime story! I also think this book could be very helpful if you have a small child is afraid of the dark; by reassuring the child that everything is the same even when the lights are out it may be just the story to help them overcome their fear.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

“In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of – ”

Goodnight Moon is a classic and well-loved American children’s picture book from 1947. It was written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. Many American adults remember it as their favourite bedtime story, and it continues to lull young children to sleep to this very day.

The book describes a bedtime ritual, more than telling an actual story. A young anthropomorphic bunny is in bed saying “good night” to everything she can see around her:

“Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight light, and the red balloon ...”

There are three books in the series, all by the same author and illustrator, the others being “The Runaway Bunny” and “My World”. These three books have been published together as a collection, with the overall title “Over the Moon”.

In this rhyming poem, the bunny works her way through seemingly random but personally significant objects, such as a red balloon, the bunny’s doll’s house, two kittens, a brush and comb and so on. The book has slowly become a bestseller. It has currently sold an estimated 48 million copies, and been translated into over a dozen different languages. It is hard to see the attraction, save that a bedtime ritual is helpful and reassuring, little children love rhymes, and a familiar short book often becomes a favourite. The illustrations are simply drawn, and coloured in flat areas with no shading. There is a spacious feel about the room, however, and the light cast on the bunny seems benevolent; the moon outside friendly, the twinkly stars restful and familiar. To an adult it may seem surreal, but there is an appeal for young children.

It seems to be the case with several great writers of children’s classics, that they never leave their childhood behind in the conventional way. They never really become settled domestically, in happy relationships, or as normally functioning members of society. Perhaps the most inspired children’s writers never grow up. Margaret Wise Brown was a restless and unsettled person. She never had children of her own, and her affairs were often chaotic and unstable. She had periods of despair and loneliness, and there are many reports of her provocative or obstructive comments. Her books may seem delightfully whimsical, but under the surface seemingly lies isolation and turmoil. She called one longstanding lesbian lover, “Rabbit”, but even their relationship was by all accounts rocky and tormented. In desperation her lover once took an illustrator aside and said, “Why don’t you marry Margaret and take her off my hands?”

Perhaps it is the author’s brittle and alienated personality which enabled her to empathise with how little children would feel reassured. Margaret Wise Brown once said that she considered the purpose of children’s books to be:

“to jog him with the unexpected and comfort him with the familiar.”

Quite prolific in her work, Margaret Wise Brown originally worked as a teacher, and also studied art. It was while working at the “Bank Street Experimental School” in New York City, that she started writing books for children. The school believed in a new approach to children’s education and literature, one which was rooted in the real world, and the here and now. Margaret Wise Brown embraced both this philosophy, and also was influenced by the poet Gertrude Stein.

She once referred to the:

“painful shy animal dignity with which a child stretches to conform to a strange, adult social politeness.”

Margaret Wise Brown’s first children’s book was published in 1937 and entitled “When the Wind Blew”. She went on to develop her “Here and Now” stories, and later the “Noisy Book” series. Between 1944 and 1946, she wrote three picture books under the pseudonym “Golden MacDonald”. Even in her personal life the author went by various nicknames, perhaps seeking an identity. To some she was “Tim”, as her hair was the colour of timothy hay. To others she was “Brownie”. To those who were familiar with the use of the pseudonym “Golden MacDonald”, she was “Goldie”. Early in the 1950s she wrote several books for the “Little Golden Books” series, including “The Color Kittens”, “Mister Dog”, and “Scuppers The Sailor Dog”.

Margaret Wise Brown was a lifelong beagler, very keen on hunting hares and rabbits. A beagle pack of ten or more hounds, following the animals by scent, would usually be followed on foot. The author's enthusiasm and ability to keep pace with the hounds was well known at the time. In one interview for “Life” magazine, the reporter expressed surprise that such affectionate portrayals of so many rabbits in her books could be created by one who had such a zest for hunting and shooting rabbits. The author replied:

“Well, I don’t especially like children, either. At least not as a group. I won’t let anybody get away with anything just because he is little.”

Even her last moments seem akin to something from a black farce. Margaret Wise Brown was in a hospital in France, with appendicitis. The operation seemed to be routine, and she was clearly in one of her ebullient social moods. Earlier the same year she had met James Stillman “Pebble” Rockefeller Junior at a party, and they became engaged. One morning, she jokily kicked her leg in a can-can style, to prove to one of the medics how well she was recovering. An embolism killed her instantly. Perhaps she would have appreciated this grotesquerie.

Margaret Wise Brown left behind over 70 unpublished manuscripts. Her sister tried to sell them without success, so kept them instead, in a cedar trunk for decades. Comprising more than 500 typewritten pages in all, they were rediscovered in 1991, and most have now been published. Many of them have new illustrations, but most, like this edition of Goodnight Moon are still in print with the original illustrations.

The book is compact and sturdy. In this case “board” book describes the pages as well as the cover. It is very substantial and can withstand overly affectionate treatment by the smallest people. However, neither the text nor the illustrations of the book especially appeal to me. I do understand that it has had a classic appeal to several generations. I see that no less than fifteen of my friends have rated it 5 stars, and several more rate it above average. I have to assume then, that in this case I am out of step with the target audience, and let this book stay at my personal default of 3 stars.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a thousand times to the little girl I was a nanny for this summer. It is the perfect book to read right before a nap because I found my voice would naturally get softer while I flipped the pages.

It's true the colours are a bit garish and it drives me absolutely bonkers that she writes "goodnight moon" and then follows with "goodnight cow jumping over the moon." I tried every which way to make the rhythm work but it just doesn't no matter what you do. But what the heck does a 15 month-old care?

I find it strange that people are put off by saying goodnight to inanimate objects but babies LOVE DOING THAT. If the baby was upset because we were leaving the park, I would just start saying goodbye to the slide, goodbye to the swings and she would start waving with me and then she felt better about walking away. It's a really good trick!

Ultimately it's a classic and it ends in a very quiet, sleepy way that is perfect for bedtime.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came across this “classic” today and…well…where do I begin? The back cover advises that this “is the perfect first book to share with a child.” My family agreed so I had to read this inane “story” every night to my son until I was able to locate significantly better board books. That is, until I made it to the local bookshop and grabbed any and everything that wasn’t Goodnight Moon. Ten years later, my son disdains books and, upon rediscovering this, I now know why. Now I understand why the cover doesn’t specify that you should share this with your child. My son finally slept through the night once I switched to NOT-Goodnight Moon.

Unlike one of the other reviews here, I won’t force a “spoiler alert” by giving away the ending. Of course, I ask you, what freaking ending? The annoying infant/rabbit/thing finally shuts up? Whoops! Did I give it away? No, no, this book doesn’t really ever end. The garish graphics and rhythmic incompetence ring in your head for months after finally tossing it into a box in the basement (use triple layers of packing tape).

Let me just pinpoint one aspect that’s bothered me for years. You cannot rhyme “moon” with “moon” and be granted “Classic” status. I’m sorry – no dice. No third-rate, illiterate rapper would get away with this, why does Brown? All I can guess is that, written shortly after the Second World War, the author (and illustrator) composed this under the duress of shell shock. Is that the explanation? Any other logic eludes me.

Perhaps it is telling that the one object the baby bunny neglects to acknowledge is the copy of Goodnight Moon sitting on the night stand.

[etherealfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both hubby and I read over and over to our daughter Amanda for years. A common parental experience for sure and such a lovely little book for everyone touched by it.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, calming bedtime story. A rabbit child is going to sleep, a grandmother rabbit watches and some kittens play on the rug by the fire. The story is safe, soporific and reassuring. I loved the funny details, like the bowl of mush and the saying goodnight to objects. This is an unusual mix of traditional style illustrations and crazy clashing colours.

I borrowed this from openlibrary, an actual copy would probably be even more enjoyable.

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my daughter’s bedtime. Before going to sleep, a kid is saying Goodnight to all of the things in the room.

Read from kindle unlimited.

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who didn’t love this peaceful drowsy dreamy moonlit magic …..

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was very young, like the little rabbit child depicted in Margaret Wise Brown's classic Goodnight Moon, I also had the tendency to bid goodnight to most if not all of the objects in my room (both those readily visible and things located in drawers and closets). And therefore (although truth be told, I actually never did experience Goodnight Moon as a child, which I really kind of regret more than a bit), both Margaret Wise Brown's text and Clement Hurd's accompanying illustrations have felt magical and sweet not only just in and of themselves, they have also (and of course) nostalgically taken me back to my own childhood, where indeed, once I had retired for the night, I would spend many minutes telling my books, my toys, my furniture and such goodnight (but ironically speaking, not the moon, for as a young child I was actually kind of afraid of the moon, especially when it was sickle shaped, and thus usually rather avoided either looking at the moon or talking to and about it).

A wonderful combination of Margaret Wise Brown's gentle and repetitively lulling text and Clement Hurd's brilliantly rendered pictures (which juxtaposition of bright colours interspersed with monochrome does much to gently tone down the inherent garishness of the former), in my opinion, Goodnight Moon is a perfect bedtime read for the very young, in all ways deserving to be labelled a classic and much beloved by many (and honestly, I also cannot believe and fathom that Goodnight Moon has actually sometimes been challenged as supposedly inappropriate simply because some obviously seriously emotionally unbalanced, mentally unhinged puritans have found the fact that in the little rabbit child's room, there are a few dolls depicted as being in the buff, as wearing no clothing as somehow anathema and supposedly sexually charged).

[Parnian.K · Rating 3 out of 5]

حس خوبی توی کتاب جاری بود. منو یه جورایی یاد کتابای دکتر سوس انداخت.

[John Beeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is about this book that haunts me? Is it the deep sense of emptiness? That the room stays the same, but objects move and light slowly fades into dark? That the narrator has no connection at all with the only other "human," the old lady whispering hush?

Or is that that the narrator says goodnight to "nobody," that as we go outside her room, we see only stars - no people, no cities. It's as if this little bunny is the last one on earth, and is being watched by some robotic nanny bunny.

I get the chills reading it, and I wonder if Cosette will pick up on it. She loves it too, but probably because of the red balloon and two kittens.

Mmmm. Mush.

[Benjamingibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The baby bunny is oddly unengaged with a temperamental grandma bunny as he (or she) watches the room grow darker (even though the moon rises). Despite these inconsistencies and occasional strange reading cadences (goodnight nobody? what does that mean), I would recommend book to anyone interested in going to bed at night and suffers from separation anxiety with inanimate objects.

[Heba · Rating 4 out of 5]

هنالك أرنبٌ صغير يندس في الفراش ..يبدو إنه حان وقت النوم...لكن في غرفته الخضراء الكبيرة أشياء كثيرة ..
يذكرها واحدة تلو الأخرى ومن ثم يقول لها طبتِ مساءً....
وهناك السيدة أرنبة العجوز...تهمس من وقتٍ لآخر..hush
كل ذلك جميل ولطيف..لكن ماذا يعني أن أردد الكلمات كأغنية وبابتسامة لم تفارقني كما لو كنت طفلة صغيرة في الخامسة من عمرها....؟!!
لا أود البحث عن إجابة....وأنت كذلك لا تفعل....

[Luann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is a book you have to have read first when you were very young in order to LOVE it. At least for me, when I first read it as an adult, I just didn't get why it is such a classic and why so many people count it as their all-time favorite first book from their childhood. I can see that this is a nice book for reading at bedtime. But the list of things on the "goodnight" list just seems really random to me. I wonder if some kids love it because they can soon "read" it themselves, long before they can read any other book? Anyhow, I wish I could love this one as much as many other people do, but I just don't. My all-time favorite first book from my childhood is Scuffy the Tugboat. That's the book I first read all the way through independently when I was learning to read. That's the book that brings back fond memories from my childhood. Sorry, Goodnight Moon.

[Dee (in the Desert) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was interested in this after reading an article on its' author. I should have read it when I was a kid, but I weirdly had no memory of it (though it would have been near 60 yrs.!) It's really a sweet kiddo book

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodnight Moon is a board book for young readers by Margaret Wise Brown. The charming illustrations are by Clement Hurd. It’s bed time for bunny, and he’s in the great green room wishing a good night to all those familiar items occupying the room, or seen from the window. As those items are first listed and then bid goodnight, there’s plenty of rhyming going on. This is a loved classic bedtime book, first published in 1947 and never out of print in over seventy years. Delightful!

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bunny tucked in bed says goodnight to all the familiar things in his great green room. The fireplace is burning, the lights are on as the little bunny says goodnight. By the end of the book the lights are out and the moon is shining through the window. Little rabbit says, "Goodnight noises everywhere."

This ingenious book settles down the little ones for bed. The full page illustrations alternate between boldly colorful layouts to small black and white pictures. The texts is simple and direct. I recommend this book.

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book to read right before bedtime!

[♥ℂĦℝΪՖƬΪℕÅ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Goodnigh Moon ★'s

“Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere.”



You can watch/listen to this book here - Goodnigh Moon Narrated by Susan Sarandon

This book is a classic and it's a good go-to-bed story. My niece really enjoyed it but for me, it was just alright. Not quite as good as I remember but then again few things are. It's all VERY simple but the illustrations are cute and colorful so there's that! Definitely worth the read. Other than that I'm really not sure what to say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.