It may be one of the most timeless and popular children's books of all time, yet there's a whole lot of weird going on in Margaret Wise Brown's classic, Goodnight Moon, that you and your child probably never noticed - even after 554 read-throughs.
A blog by The Ugly Volvo cleverly deconstructs the 1947 book. And the wry observations are priceless.
For starters, the bedroom is big, like "banquet hall in Downton Abbey" big. Even the toy house in the scene would "rent out at $2,500 a month in Manhattan (not including utilities)." And it has electricity. These are clearly not people of modest means, like the apartment dwellers in Corduroy.
Secondly, the "tomato-coloured" scheme in the book is deeply disturbing and worthy of Amityville or The Shining. And it's complemented with dark green and mustard yellow.
But don't worry. We'll distract everyone with a tiger-skin run, and they'll forget all about the colour massacre.
This is a child's room, people. Whoever designed the set needs to be fired.
And while we're at it - what's up with the fireplace? Any parent reading the book will notice there is no safety grille over the fire... And there's the fact that there is a fireplace... IN A CHILD'S BEDROOM!
Best of all, though, is Ugly Volvo's singling out of the "totally ignored existential mouse." A mouse that happens to casually coexist in a space shared with two domestic cats? Yeah, completely realistic.
As for props, I can almost understand the comb and toothbrush. I can even get past the unappealing cold bowl of mush, but why a child would need an old rotary phone in their bedroom is an enigma.
Thanks, Ugly Volvo, you've officially ruined Goodnight Moon for me forever. I will never look at this classic story in the same light ever again.
RELATED: Heartbreaking Kids Books We Loved in the 80s 
Printer-friendly version