Goodnight Moon

This is one of my favorite children's books. It is so sweet. I recommend to everyone.

This was practically the first book I read to my son, from the time he was one month old. It's got a beautiful rythm, and is the perfect length for a first baby book. The story is very simple: a young bunny says good night to everything in his room, which is great so that a baby can first familiarize himself with his surroundings. I've read that some reviewers didn't like the black and white pictures in between the color ones, but I think the alternation (color, b&w, color, and so forth) fits very nicely and is a good way to keep the attention of a very small baby, as well as the change from looking at the whole bedroom to a particular object on each page, which helps the baby learn about context and to focus. Once my son was older, we had lots of fun looking for the mouse in all of the color pictures.

Frankly, I read the poor reviews and I don't agree with those opinions. One of the complaints was that the story was too simple, but I think that they might not be able to see that a very young baby needs a very simple storyline, a month-old baby couldn't follow a more complex story like "The cat in the hat" for example (which I love, don't get me wrong!!!). I just think that those who reviewed this book poorly can't look through the eyes of a very young baby, or bought it for an older child and of course couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. My son is now 3y.o. and we hardly ever get this book anymore, but I can't wait to be pregnant again to start reading it to another baby...

I started reading Goodnight Moon to my son at 4 months of age and it became his favorite bedtime story. When he reached about 9 months I started pointing out objects to him and naming them for him, like the cat, moon, fireplace, red balloon etc. Before long he'd point them out to me as I read. He's nearly 2 and he still enjoys this book, although he gets to choose each night and he often now chooses another book. I know he still likes it though, and he still will point out things to me. I think this is a great book to get someone as a gift or just to add to your baby/toddlers library.

Im not sure if my daughter just has less of an attention span or wants to look at more interesting things but i found this a highly useless book. The objects in the book were very small, on some pages they were in black and white and some of the things in the room arent very topical or relevant. I tried reading to my daughter from this book. she was happy to bang her hands on the book generally and try to turn the pages but the pictures werent in the least bit interesting to her and the lyrics didnt have much of a soothing effect either. i find it hard to believe that america finds such a third rate book such a classic.

I got this book from friends several years back and thought then that it was cute, but now that I have a one year old son I think it is GREAT! My son absolutely adores this book and we have to read it to him every evening before he goes to bed. He also carries it around with him during the day (first thing he picks off the shelf in his room), and it seems to give him a great sense of comfort.
Personally, I love the way the book is set up with the repetition of the same motifs and the gradual darkening of the room. So clever! The repetitiveness also is great for fostering cognitive development. My son now recognizes a few items in the book and points them out as I read it to him.
I can't wait for the moment when we can together say goodnight to all the different objects in his room at the end of the day. What a great way to end a child's day and help him get comfortable in his room and ready for the night.