The Beauty of Goodnight Moon

Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon is far and away the book I enjoyed reading to my children most. Those beautiful illustrations by Clement Hurd, that gentle prose... For years my kids fell asleep to this book, it was a staple.

At some point over the past year or so, my youngest outgrew Goodnight Moon. I no longer read it, and it breaks my heart. This entry serves absolutely no purpose except to allow me to reproduce those words here, without permission from the copyright holder.

In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of --
The cow jumping over the moon
 
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
 
And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens
 
And a little toyhouse
And a young mouse
 
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady who was whispering "hush"
 
Goodnight room
Godnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight light
And the red balloon
 
Goodnight bears
Goodnight chairs
 
Goodnight kittens
And goodnight mittens
 
Goodnight clocks
And goodnight socks
 
Goodnight little house
And goodnight mouse
 
Goodnight comb
And goodnight brush
 
Goodnight nobody
Goodnight mush
 
And goodnight to the old lady whispering "hush"
 
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
 
Goodnight noises everywhere

Previous tributes to Goodnight Moon:

• February 2, 2007
• May 29, 2004
• October 20, 2004