Goodnight Moon

By Margaret Wise Brown

Pictures by Clement Hurd

Copyright 1947

Countless children have this book as part of their bedtime ritual.  The words have a gentle, lulling effect on an overtired, restless spirit.  In Goodnight Moon, a little bunny is getting ready to go to sleep.  He looks at everything around him and as the dark closes in, he says goodnight to each object in turn.

 

It can be difficult for a child (or anyone, for that matter) to let go of the events of the day and relax enough to fall asleep.  What helps this bunny calm down is the assurance that he is safe, his room is as it should be, and when he says goodnight, he knows that everything will still be there when he wakes.    

Another calming influence is that gentle, quiet old lady whispering hush. 

Goodnight Moon is a beautiful, poetic book and needs no lesson.  But if you search for one, what you can see is that our demeanor can have a substantial effect on those around us.  Likewise, the mood of those around us can cause our tempers to change.  Like that quiet old lady whispering hush, we too can help soothe the restlessness of people around us.