Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody Jeanette Hulick Rex, Michael; Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody; written and illus. by Michael Rex. Putnam, 2008; 32p ISBN 978-0-399-24534-3 $14.99 R 5–8 yrs Page for page, Rex parodies Goodnight Moon. as a little werewolf (rather than bunny) bids goodnight to various objects (and creatures) in his “cold gray tomb.” Pictures of martians and mummies adorn this child’s walls, a black lagoon containing a purple amphibious creature spreads across part of the floor, and some sort of tentacled thing resides in the fireplace. The titular goon is a green creature in blue-and-white striped pajamas who sneaks in through the window and cavorts across the pages, interacting with the various other monsters, until being banished by the werewolf child to its apparent spot under the bed: “Goodnight you/ Get under there/ Goodnight monsters everywhere.” Kids familiar with GM (but old enough to find it babyish) and adults heartily sick of reading it will get the most enjoyment out of this monstrous twist on a classic bedtime tale, but it will also appeal to young monster fans unaware of Margaret Wise Brown. Rex’s pencil drawings colored in Photoshop are cartoonishly atmospheric, with lots of green goo and sharp teeth, the odd tentacle poking out here and there, and plenty of gray mist hanging about. The larger room scenes tend to be compositionally cluttered, but they invite detailed comparison with the original, and young viewers will enjoy picking out entertaining illustrative details such as the goon stealing a skeleton’s femur to use as a fishing rod in the lagoon or the father werewolf (in the chair hollering “Boo!”) happily working on a gingerbread boy-shaped voodoo doll. This may not be brilliant parody, but it’s still a lot of fun, and it may inspire kids to come up with their own retellings of other familiar classics (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, anyone?). Copyright © 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois