Celebrating A Classic
By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 4/1/2007
Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown's gentle and lyrical bedtime story of a sleepy little bunny in "a great green room," has been soothing kids to sleep ever since its publication in 1947, an appropriate achievement for a story that Brown wrote in a single morning, she once said, after dreaming it during the night. Now in its 60th year of publication, the tale has sold more than 16 million copies and has reached iconic status for its sweet, simple poetry combined with Clement Hurd's bright illustrations.
"It still amazes me, as it did my father, to see the perennial enchantment that Goodnight Moon casts over young children," Clement Hurd's son, the award-winning author/illustrator Thacher Hurd, says. "Each new generation seems to find comfort and quiet pleasure in the simplicity of its pages." To commemorate the book's anniversary, HarperCollins is releasing new hardcover, board book and paperback editions, as well as Goodnight Moon 123, a counting-book companion by Thacher that features familiar words and images from the original.
Also new this year is a 36-piece, 16x16-inch mini cube puzzle from New York-based Galison/Mudpuppy (pictured), which joins a selection of other licensed products already on the market, including a board game from Briarpatch, Millburn, N.J., a DVD from HBO Home Video and boxed gift sets that pair the book with either an audio CD, baby socks, baby bunny slippers, a moon-themed nightlight or a plush bunny.
In addition, HarperCollins is partnering with Johnson's Baby to sponsor the Bedtime Classics Contest. From April 23 to June 15, 2007, parents are invited to submit an original bedtime story for a chance to have it become a children's picture book. For every entry received, the sponsors will donate an original copy of Goodnight Moon to the nonprofit literacy organization Reach Out and Read.
