This week’s “This is Us” featured the children’s book Goodnight Moon.

I, like many parents, read this book hundreds of times over several years. Seeing it on this show made me happy and sad (like everything on this show, right??) – sad because it has been years since I read Goodnight Moon but happy that I shared this experience with all the parents on this show (and real people around the world) across generations who have also read this book to their children at night. My copy of this book says 60th anniversary, and we’ve had it for about 10 years now!!

This post will take much less investigation than my previous book sighting on this show because I actually have this book in my bookcase though it hasn’t been off the shelf in years. 

Our copies of Goodnight Moon are tattered and torn. The photo I’m using at the top of this post is – I think – our second copy. The first has no spine and is missing the back cover. But I still won’t throw it away. No way.

I read this book again last night, and it is still so familiar. I remembered how we thoroughly studied the pictures, which are in black and white on alternating pages.

This book is charmingly bizarre. They live in a REALLY green room.There is a “woman” on a chair except it’s a bunny. They live with kittens and a young mouse. And they leave their bowl of mush out all night, which is ok I guess as long as you say “goodnight” to the mush.

The full moon moves across the window as all the goodnights are said.

I attepted to read this book to my kids last night and they had no interest because now they are reading “chapter books” to themselves as they reminded me. So if you can still read this book to your kids, cherish these moments; these years will be gone before you know it.

But I made them listen anyway, and at the end I found myself saying “And that’s Goodnight Moon.” This is how I finished reading this book for several years and the tradition came back before I realized what I was saying.

After my emotional reunion with “the old lady whispering hush” and all the random objects in her great green room, my copies will go back in my bookcases. But I will continue to buy this book for new parents and babies.

There are a couple of Goodnight Moon companion books. Another one we had was: Goodnight Moon ABC Board Book: An Alphabet Book. And My World: A Companion to Goodnight Moon. A play on this book we really enjoyed was Good Night Ocean (Good Night Our World). Feel free to suggest others in the comments.

RELATED POST: My other go-to baby gift book.

RELATED POST: Father Bear’s Mitten and my first critical reading

Thanks to “This is Us” for reminding me how much I loved Goodnight Moon. I hope this post reminds you and helps someone else discover this timeless book.

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