Write a Review Wednesday: Goodnight Goon

From School Library Journal

Grade 1–3—Imitation can indeed be sincere flattery, as Rex proves in his slightly eerie reworking of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd’s classic bedtime tale. The young bunny has been replaced by a little monster, but he still wears striped pajamas as he lies in his bed and says good night to his surroundings. “In the cold gray tomb/There was a gravestone/And a black lagoon/And a picture of—Martians taking over the moon.” The parody is clever, matching original verse with rhymes that seem unforced and appropriate for the new setting: “Goodnight skull/And goodnight shoe/Goodnight creature/Goodnight goo/And goodnight to the old werewolf hollering ‘Boo.'” Rex’s color drawings create a monster child’s bedroom filled with the same late-evening light of Hurd’s illustrations. The book ends on the same peaceful note as the original. A clever offering just right for graduates of bedtimes with Goodnight Moon.—Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Just in time for Halloween, Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Micheal Rex is a fun parody of beloved (at least in my house) Goodnight Moon. In this version all things spooky and ghoulish are being put to bed. The rhyming text will illicit giggles and the colorful illustrations are a fun way to enjoy the story.

This book reads well one on one and with a crowd. The group I read this with enjoyed groaning and moaning and a discussion about the line describing The Black Lagoon was had.

Despite this being a “spooky” book, there is nothing really frightening about the monsters. The illustrations did not scare the group and are not too explicit.

Check out this book from your local library or using the link above.

Drinking goo!
-r