Goodnight Moon
Reading to our son is a cornerstone of his nightly pre-bed bedtime routine. It helps calm him down when he’s cranky and tired, and acts as a signal that it’s time to start winding down. One of the first books we got for him and a household favorite is Goodnight Moon
It’s the simple story of a bunny climbing into bed and saying goodnight to everything in his surroundings. He says goodnight to pictures on the wall, kittens, a balloon and, among other things, the moon. This Margaret Wise Brown classic has a great rhythm which reads quickly and melodically. The illustrations are great and are all in primary colors, which makes them more easily visible to babies.
Our son quiets as soon as we start reading and follows along with his little eyes darting across each page. Funny enough, one of his favorite parts is the large white-on-orange circle on the back cover. One reason my wife and I like it so much is that the story is very similar to rituals we practice with him every night; saying goodnight to his stuffed animals, his turtle light, his giant Winnie the Pooh doll, the plants, etcetera before putting him down. Reading is a great way to help boost a child’s cognitive skills, establish a nighttime routine and strengthen the parent-child bond, so it’s a great things to start if you’re not doing it already. If you haven’t ever read it to your child, I strongly recommend Goodnight Moon
* Photo via Amazon.com
Have you noticed that the young mouse is on every set of colored pages? Our twins are just over two, and now they’ve moved from merely liking primary colors and rhythym to counting the two socks, two cats, thre bears, etc., and hunting for the mouse on each page. I used to hate this book (because of the inconsistent meter, a pet peeve of mine that this author repeatedly hits), but now I realize how many details it has that you child can grow into, so it never gets dull. We’ve been reading it most nights for around a year now. It’s the only book by Margaret Wise Brown that I like so far. I bet your son will still love this book through his toddler years.