Moon: Goodnight Moon and Children Essay

Applying Theories to Children’s Literature
Ashley Hogan
ENG/290
Linda Florence

Introduction

The story Goodnight Moon that was written in 1947, by Margaret Wise Brown, is a story that was meant for bed time for children. It targets children ranging from 2 – 4 years old. This is the age they are in their preoperational stage as they are not independent in case of understanding the story but will be assisted by others and would need to be attracted by imagination provocations. This story is meant to capture the imagination as well as impact children in a positive manner by giving a moral to the story or a message through the story. The aim is to deliver a simple concept of being a bed time story and poem for children being told by a rabbit preparing for his own slumber. In this poem he gives goodnight wishes to everything in his sight and ear shot.

Summary

Goodnight Moon is a well written and creatively formed poem about a baby rabbit. The story is simple: A rabbit is going to bed, and after taking stock of every item in his room, he says goodnight to each, one at a time. Rhythmic, gently lulling words combined with warm and equally lulling pictures make this beloved classic "an ideal bedtime book. Brown's soothing text is complimented by vibrant illustrations. The illustrations are very vibrant in the beginning but everything starts to get a little darker as the story progresses. The outside gets darker and the stars get brighter as the rabbit says. The words slowly turn into whispers as the rabbit gets dreary so do the children that are reading it.

Discussion

This story aims to be a bedtime story for young children and uses poetic words and vibrant but sweet illustrations to tell a story. All these things applying to the different theories of Children’s literature. One mainly being the Preoperational Period. This book falls under the category of a fiction picture book because the illustrations expand the story, and the layout and design are visually appealing to the reader, with the vivid colors and details in the images it helps children stay engaged in the story while also learning. The book takes place in a great green room in the home of the rabbit that is going to bed. It takes place from 7:00 pm to 8:10 pm, which is the time it takes the rabbit to say goodnight to everything in the room and fall asleep. Goodnight Moon occurs during the winter, shown by the snow on the ground outside and the hanging mittens and socks in his room, next to the fire. This story becomes very relatable to many children reading it because of the characters and all the elements that make up the story.

Theoretical Models of Childhood

The "magic" of literature for children is necessarily bound with the nature of their development. Research in past decades reflects our changing view of how children develop and learn. Children have

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