Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody

     You may remember the well known tale Goodnight Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown with pictures by Clement Hurd.  Simple mention of the book may bring back memories of loved ones reading the story as you drifted off to sleep.  Are you aware that there is a parody to this soothing bedtime story?  Micheal Rex has presented readers with a spooky rendition of Goodnight Moon, a parody entitled Goodnight Goon.

     Like Goodnight Moon, the lines rhyme in couplets and readers will find roughly the same amount of text on each page as they would find in the original.  Though there are many similarities, the two books quickly diverge on the first page, where a reader will find small boy monster trying to sleep in his "cold gray tomb".  In place of a small bunny snuggled up in bed lies a boy monster surrounded by tomb stones, a black lagoon, skulls, bats, and other creepy creatures.  Hanging in the lair are pictures of "martians taking over the moon" and "three little mummies rubbing their tummies".  Reading on one discovers hairy claws, jaws, a screeching bat, a black hat, and later a skull, shoe, churning pot, and a werewolf on a rocking chair.  Once the creatures and objects in the room are made known the author begins to say good night to each of them. He wishes goodnight to the tomb and goon, to the martians on the moon, to the bones and black lagoon, and to the mummies and tummies. When at last it may seem that the creatures have all made their way to sleep, the little monster in his blue striped pajamas wishes the mischievous goon goodnight and sternly sends him to sleep under his bed.  The story closes with a goodnight wish to all creatures.
       Each page of the story is festooned with descriptive illustrations that cause readers to look beyond the text present and explore the setting of the page in much greater depth and detail.  Students will likely ask their teacher to pause before turning the page so that they may take in every minuscule piece of the picture.  As they look further into the pages of the story they will let their imaginations run wild as they pretend to be the small monster.
        Goodnight Goon would be a fantastic book to read and share at any time of the year, but may be especially fun during October as Halloween approaches.  Children of all ages would likely enjoy hearing the story read aloud, with high appeal for both girls and boys.  Due to the spooky nature of the story, teachers may wish to take time to emphasize that the story is purely fantasy and they need not worry about a goon sleeping under their bed.  Although the text may be quite simple for children in older grades, these children will be able to determine and understand the connections to Goodnight Moon.  The story also lends itself to many lesson ideas, ranging from drawing pictures to represent the story to having the students work as a class to write another parody on Goodnight Moon.    
      Like this parody by Micheal Rex?  Then take a look at The Runaway Mummy, another parody on The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown.