Because I think the book “Goodnight Moon” is totally stupid.
I know! Terrible thing to say. I kind of feel like God himself may be ashamed of me for saying that out loud. But there it is: I don’t get this book.
Here are my three main issues:
1. One of the “rhymes” is, “Goodnight Moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.” Ummm…that’s not a rhyme. That’s the same word. And the fact that that particular line is the name of the whole book makes it even more weird.
2. Another line says, “Goodnight mush” and there’s a picture of a bowl full of it. Gross! No one wants to eat mush. In “Annie,” mush was what Miss Hannigan fed all the orphans. And Miss Hannigan hated the orphans!
3. “And goodnight to the old lady whispering ‘hush'”. What?! Why is there some “old lady” in your child’s bedroom? Also, the picture is of an adult rabbit and the baby rabbit is going to sleep. IS THE “OLD LADY” THE MOM? Cause…yeah.
I know there are lots of children’s books out there and a lot of them are really odd or nonsensical-seeming to adults. And I probably just haven’t gotten to those books yet. (I’m just saying that. I actually think “Goodnight Moon” is by far the weirdest.)
I’m telling you — I have a feeling Margaret Wise Brown has been ripping off parents for years.