The Runaway Bunny & Goodnight Moon

Loungin' with the bunnies

Baba G's Great Aunt Sue bought him Goodnight Moon a few months before he was born, and then followed up with its companion book The Runaway Bunny as an Easter gift this year. I, however, didn't realize the books were related in any way. I'd never read either and knew nothing about them, except for the fact that Goodnight Moon was one of the all-time best-selling children's books. And that it was one of those "Dammit, I could've written this and become a millionaire!" types of books in its extreme simplicity.

Since BG didn't have any sort of bedtime routine for quite a while, I didn't crack open Goodnight Moon until a month or so ago. But we've been reading The Runaway Bunny every single morning since he was less than three months old. It is OUR book, and no one else is allowed to read it to him. So don't try!

At first I was like, "Hmm, is reading this book each morning going to instill the desire in him to run away—if for no other reason to test whether or not I could catch him?" Because that's basically the entire story. The little boy bunny keeps saying he's going to run away and turn into different things (like a fish) and then the mom bunny explains how she'd still find him (she'll become a fisherman). Then I reasoned with myself that a kid probably isn't going to want to run away if you've openly talked about running away for years in the context of a bunny story. Where's the rebellion in that, right? Plus, he would know by then that I WOULD find him.

Yes, the story is simple. But what I love about it is that its phrasing is very rhythmic and sing-songy (at least it is the way I read it), and you can make up whatever you want to say for the picture-only pages, which comprise half the book. Plus, it's a great mother-son story.

So I adore The Runaway Bunny (and in researching for this post I learned that it's apparently one of David Letterman's favorite books to read his son, too), but remained skeptical about Goodnight Moon. Finally I gave it a shot, and now I understand what all the fuss is about.

First, the same little boy bunny from The Runaway Bunny is IN Goodnight Moon. I had no idea. There are a few other little cross-overs, too. I've personally had fun discovering those, as nerdy as that might sound.

Mmm, cardboard.

Second, the illustrations are really what make both of these books so wonderful. Margaret Wise Brown might have come up with some soothing verses, but Clement Hurd brings everything to life. Goodnight Moon is significantly better than The Runaway Bunny in this regard. Sure, there are major inconsistencies in the drawings across the pages, but there's just so much cool stuff in each room scene—I admit I'm looking forward to when BG realizes there's a tiny mouse who keeps moving around the room as the story progresses. Or when he starts imagining what the two silly cats are doing, or what the old lady bunny might be knitting. Or when he appreciates the beauty of the final illustration.

Right now, however, while he DOES listen patiently to the stories and look at the pictures, he's mostly concerned with gnawing on the corner of both books every chance he gets. Two more top teeth are coming in, and something must be done!

 The bottom line: There's a reason Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny have been in print since the '40s. They work. They're beautifully illustrated, the stories are engaging, and there's room for improv thanks to several picture-only pages in both. And I think The Runaway Bunny is especially great for mom-son reading time.

Once I figured out that the two books were connected, I rushed to Amazon to buy the third Wise/Hurd book, My World. But then I read all of the negative reviews and decided against it. Apparently the verses aren't sing-songy and there's a dad bunny smoking in it and random stuff like that. I guess there's a reason that one is NOT a children's classic, huh?

I wish I could tell you that this is a picture of Baba G being absolutely delighted after I finished reading him Goodnight Moon, but it's actually the first time he realized he was seeing himself (or at least a happy looking baby) on my phone when I turned the camera screen around to face him.

Have a great weekend!

Fuzzy Bee / Squishy Turtle and Friends (Cloth Books by Roger Priddy)

Anyone who's ever read a book to a baby knows that a lot of books geared toward infants are criminally dumb. At first I was all bitter that these kinds of books found publishers and made money for their authors and became best-sellers. I mean, don't even get me started on the "Goodnight nobody" page of Goodnight Moon.  ?!?!?

But then I had to get over my issues because I realized Baba G loves almost all of the books that I think are ridiculous.

I've been reading to him since he was approximately six days old (as in, his first day home from the hospital). I've had many friends say that they didn't start reading to their kids for several months, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I just lucked out with a baby who would actually sit still long enough for me to finish a book. But wait a second—these books are like eight pages max and some of them are a total of like FIVE words. So I'd say that it's worth a try no matter how squirmy your baby is.

I'm sure I'll be reviewing a ton of BG's favorite books over the course of time, but I had to make sure I talked about his absolute favorite book to date: Fuzzy Bee and Friends, by Roger Priddy. My knee-jerk reaction to this book was that it was cute and colorful, and the only page I felt left something to be desired was the one for the butterfly. I mean, that rhyme is weak:

"I wonder why I'm such a splendid butterfly"? That is the best Mr. Priddy could come up with? Seriously.

BUT it doesn't matter to Baba G. From the early weeks he was immediately drawn to the things he could touch and pull at on each page (not sure how clear it is above, but the beetlebug's blue wings and one of the butterfly's red wings are like flaps).

Four months old and still captivated.

The whole book is made of cloth and it's got crinkly stuff in it. Crinkly stuff is like crack for babies, for real.

MUST... CRINKLE!

I've always thought that Baba G (and any baby, really) slightly resembled the Baby Worm, so I always squeal "BAAAAAaaaabbbby WOOOORRRRMmmm!" when we get to that part and he laughs and laughs. He still does, 6.5 months in.

Similar profile, and both bald with big eyes. There are worse things to look like.

After we knew Fuzzy Bee was a huge hit, my parents bought him another cloth book by Priddy: Squishy Turtle and Friends. Baba G loves this one, too. As I was preparing to write this post and Googling for links to use for the books, I realized that there is ANOTHER one of these cloth/crinkly books by Priddy: Fluffy Chick and Friends. Damn! How could I have not known about this? (It's since been ordered and will arrive in 2 days. Baba G is in for a surprise!)

The bottom line: I highly, highly, highly recommend buying all three cloth books by Roger Priddy: Fuzzy Bee, Squishy Turtle and Fluffy Chick (and Friends). Yes, I am recommending a book I don't even have yet because I looked through it online and know it's going to be just as loved by Baba G as the other two.

All of these books are brightly colored, have large, simply drawn animals on each page, and have sing-songy rhymes that make sense (for the most part)—BUT the secret to their success is the materials they're made out of. Both the crinkle-stuff inside the cloth pages and the textured wings, flaps, spouts, fins, tentacles, etc. of the "friends" on each page are what makes these books so irresistible to the tots. They're $9 or $10 each on Amazon—well worth the money.

"I See Me!" Personalized Books

It's been a crazy week of FOUR ROUNDS of different visitors staying with us, but Baba G is currently napping and I've managed to find a moment to check in. I thought that today I'd write about this totally cool book that one of our friends bought for Baba G, because—on top of having a stream of people staying with us over the past seven days—my husband was also traveling for work two of those nights, and when he came back the first thing he did was sit down with BG and read him the book below in a bunch of different silly voices. And let me tell you that is quite a long book for a six-month-old to be interested in, so the silly voices were key!

What's awesome about this book, and all of the other "I See Me!" books, is that they're customized so that they work your kid's name into the story. The pirate one is about a bunch of little kiddie pirates who need to find a first mate that will lead them to a treasure. Different sea creatures pop up and give their opinions on what kind of matey they should be looking for, which helps to eventually spell out both a first and last name.

You can take a virtual tour of the pirate book here.

The Manta Ray suggests a Mindful boy

The Dolphin says to look for a Dependable boy

The books can be customized for girls and boys and there are a ton of different stories to choose from if for some reason you are not a fan of pirates. (What's wrong with you?!?) They've got one about fairies, holiday-themed stories, adventure stories, ones for big brothers or sisters, you name it.

My husband reads the dialogue for each of the sea animals in a different voice and it never fails to crack me up. He's got a deep, slow voice for the walrus, a high squeaky voice for the dolphin, and don't even get me started on how well he can talk like a pirate. I knew there was a reason I married him.

As you can see, Baba G is quite captivated by the whole thing.

I can't stand the suspense!

The bottom line: Any "I See Me!" book would make for a great, unique baby/toddler/kid gift. It looks like they run from around $25 to $35 each. If books aren't your thing, they also carry personalized placemats, puzzles, and coloring books. Baba G gives his book a pirate's seal of approval!