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To the Little Old Lady Whispering Hush

Goodnight Moon is a classic bedtime story, that didn't have much traction till many years later.

By Frankiesha Published 3 years ago 4 min read
3

Goodnight Moon is a classic bedtime story that always gave me a type of comforting feeling. I don't remember my mom reading it to me, but I do remember the HBO special that would come on, I would sit and take in the beauty of the narration, the illustrations, and the overall nostalgia of the cartoon.

Margaret Wise Brown has made wonderful books that take you to a world of imagination and child-like wonder. This book not only gives a perspective of a toddler but also helps young readers with rhyming.

In this Vocal story, I share with you a brief history of the author, as well as a backstory on the librarian who banned the book from the New York Library.

Behind the Author: Margaret Wise Brown

The "Goodnight Moon" author with her dog

The book was written by Margaret Wise Brown, who also wrote "The Runaway Bunny." The book was published on September 3rd, 1947, and since then has been called a highly acclaimed bedtime story.

In an article from MyModernMet.com, Margaret Wise Brown was born in Brooklyn in 1910. She had an education in Switzerland and attended Hollins College (now Hollins University) in Virginia. She later attended Bank Street Experimental School and worked as an editor. She was later introduced to a genre of writing called "here and now" which was created by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, founder of the school.

The article, explains that she wanted to introduce a new "Avante-Garde" form of writing, where it introduces stories that allow you to experience things in the present, rather than over-the-top fairy tale stories.

According to an article from Britannica, Brown's books became a success, and her books became classics.

She also had several egos and was known for her nom de plume when it came to some of her works. Her names were Juniper Sage, Timothy Hay, and the one she would use a lot would be Golden McDonald.

The Book That Was Banned from the Public Library

An Image of Anne Carroll Moore

In an article from Fatherly.com, The New York library actually didn't carry the book until 1972. That's 25 years that the book was basically banned. And it was because Anne Carroll Moore disliked the story.

Anne Carroll Moore (July 12th, 1871- January 20th, 1961) was an American educator, writer, and advocate for children's libraries. An article from NYPL.org, states that Moore wanted a space to be designated for children in public libraries since kids younger than 14 were not allowed in libraries in 1894.

By 1913, children's books were in libraries and she even worked with a few publishers to get better quality of the books, and she had very high standards of children's books. Her opinion of "Goodnight Moon" was that she saw it as "over-sentimental." She didn't like to mix realism with fiction in children's stories.

This critic from the librarian caused the book to lose sales. In an article from Fatherly.com, The New York library actually didn't carry the book until 1972. That's 25 years that the book was banned. Slate.com even shares that Brown tried her best for her book to be approved.

"Margaret Wise Brown wanted librarians to adopt Goodnight Moon; she even blurred out the udder of the cow who jumped over the moon to avoid offending those “Important Ladies.” But it certainly wasn’t enough for Moore."

At one point, in 1951, the sales dropped so low, the publisher (Harper Brothers) even considered putting it out of print.

The Success After The Author's Death

The author continued to write books until 1952, where she died of complications from surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. She was 42. She died before seeing the success of the bedtime story.

In 1990, a researcher named Amy Gary discovered at least 70 unpublished manuscripts from the author and helped published them. The biography "In The Great Green Room", was published by Gary, talking about the life of the "Goodnight Moon" author.

Goodnight Moon later would be sold over 15 million copied and awarded by the Young Readers Choice Awards. HBO also brought the story to life in their special called "Goodnight Moon and other Sleepy Times Tales" which had actress Sarah Sarandon narrated. It introduced a beautiful, nostalgic feel to the animation and I can personally say, I completely love it.

I think it's safe to say that justice was served for Brown. This is to Moore, the little old lady whispering hush. I believe you have lost. And Brown has graciously won.

children
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About the Creator

Frankiesha

---- Article & Fictional Writer On Vocal. Media ---

☀️ Host of the "A Collaboration of my Emotions” podcast ☀️

--- Frankiesha is my name and Anime is my Game ---

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