Review of Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

Authors

Courtney Raymond, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Publisher

Sterling Children's Books

City

New York, New York, United States of America

Date of Publication

2014

ISBN

978-1-4549-0446-5

Date of Review

2014

Disciplines

Library and Information Science | Modern Literature

Keywords

Children's literature, reviews, lullabies

Review

Donkeys, abandoned towns, and the man in the moon are just a few subjects in this collection of lyrics from the late Margaret Wise Brown. Collected from her personal papers after her death, the collection consists of twelve sets of song lyrics written by Brown, each paired with an illustration by one of twelve notable illustrators. The book also comes with a CD of original music composed to accompany the lyrics. However, despite the beautiful and intricate illustrations and the Brown name on the cover, this book does not come together as one cohesive unit. The lyrics are not suited to reading, either aloud or to oneself, as they don’t follow any poetic pattern and are awkwardly structured. The songs themselves do not contain stories of much depth, which is not so much of an issue as they are advertised as lullaby songs, but as a book, it seems this one is simply charming fodder for children’s bookshelves – not one that will be read together or much beloved. Optional. Courtney Raymond, Centennial Library Intern

Recommended Citation

Raymond, Courtney, "Review of Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown" (2014). Library Intern Book Reviews. 111.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/intern_book_reviews/111

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