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¶ … Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Specifically, it will include a brief comparison between a good children's book and a bad one. In the text, author Natalie Babbitt states "Good stories are always a pleasure to read, and we like pleasure, regardless of our ages" (Norton et al. 80). Good children's books are more than stories that are easy to read, have an important message or theme, or keep the child entertained. A good children's story is a pleasure to read, and Brown's classis "Goodnight Moon" is indeed a pleasure to read, which makes it an excellent children's book.
"Goodnight Moon" was originally written in 1947, but the message it gives children is still vital and entertaining today. The book is quite easy to read, which makes it a good bedtime story, and the illustrations by Clement Hurd are enchanting, which add to the pleasure of reading this book. Good illustrations that carry out the theme and message of the book are quite essential in a good children's book, and so are many other elements.
What makes a children's book less than desirable? One extremely important item is stereotyping....
When a children's book stereotypes race, sex, or even age, then it can give the child the wrong, and often enduring idea that this is not only acceptable, but that the stereotypes are indeed true. Norton and her co-authors continue, "Of particular concern are literary selections that inadequately represent minority groups and females or that represent them in insensitive or demeaning ways" (Norton et al. 77). Stereotyping is only one element of a story, but a book that uses stereotypes may be suspect in other areas, too.
Another indicator of a bad children's book is a book that does not hold a child's interest, or is too elemental for the child. Each child reads at a different level, and even children in the same age group can read at many different levels, so what might be right for one child might be totally inadequate for the next. So, looking for a book that has good storytelling to hold the child's interest is extremely important. Illustrations help in this, but ultimately it is the plot, and the author's ability to keep the child literally turning the pages that matters most.
In "Goodnight…
References
Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1975.
Norton, Donna E., Saundra E. Norton, and Amy McClure. Through the Eyes of a Child: An Introduction to Children's Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.
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