Margaret Wise Brown’s: Goodnight Moon (Children’s Book)

Last week, I was cleaning out some things and ran across a few books that I had saved from childhood. Reading has always been a huge part of my life and I have always had a large collection of books, even as a young child. One particular book was a favorite of mine and I suspect that it makes many reader’s list as a best loved childhood book. Long before Harry Potter made his way to my collection and even before Encyclopedia Brown, there was Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon.  The book is simple and the illustrations, by Clement Hurd, are engaging for children. This is a wonderful book to introduce nighttime reading for very young children. The love for reading and appreciation for books is learned at an early age and Goodnight Moon offers just the correct amount of words and pictures to keep interest high. Certainly, there are several children’s books that deserve a place in any library and the worth of a book is not tied to the amount of words between its covers but, rather, to the amount of enjoyment it affords the reader. Some books make us think and some books make us laugh. Some books even horrify the reader with their subject matter but few books impact like first books. They plant the seed that makes the tree grow and Goodnight Moon is truly one of the best around. I suggest that it should be a part of every library and have certainly dusted off the well worn pages and placed it in a position of honor in my own varied collection.