![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaCoincidentally all picture books.
My edition of Goodnight Mood is probably from 1980something but I don't have the patience to track down a precise date, which is ironic in light of my ongoing angst re: picture book imprints and edits, which will come up again in the review of My World, which is a Goodnight Moon sequel-esque thing. But Goodnight Moon is one of those universal classics that (I assume!) isn't likely to be edited upon reprint.
Title: Baby Dragon and Baby Unicorn
Author: Jean Marzollo and Claudio Marzollo
Illustrator: Kimberely Bulken Root
Published: Scholastic, 1989
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 310,040
Text Number: 1056
Read Because: reading the sequel, borrowed from Open Library
Review: Unlike The Baby Unicorn, Baby Unicorn and Baby Dragon wasn't a part of my childhood—so I'm surprised by how well I liked it without the benefit of nostalgia. The plot is more cohesive than the first book, and while I miss some of the quirkiness it still hits the right tone. The art is objectively weaker, but it's sufficiently emotive and I particularly love the gold and silver unicorn design. Like the first book, this isn't a forgotten classic by any means. But it's adequate, and I'm glad to've finally read it.
Title: Goodnight Moon
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Clement Hurd
Published: Harper & Row, 1975? (1947)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 310,070
Text Number: 1057
Read Because: personal enjoyment, from my personal library
Review: I put off rereading this for a long time because I worried that such a simple book couldn't live up to my memory of it, but it does. The gentle, intimate pacing of quiet goodbyes; the lived, dynamic, cozy room with now-iconic art and color palette; the gradually deepening shadows—it's as comforting as I remember. The "goodnight"-style picture books that I didn't grow up with have largely failed to impress me, so I'm certainly influenced by nostalgia. But this is the original and it's aged impeccably.
Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Author: Tim Burton
Published: Disney Press, 1993
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 310,110
Text Number: 1058
Read Because: personal enjoyment, borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The art here is sketchier than I expected, rough and quirky but likeable. The book has particular emphasis on the nightmare'd Christmas, which feels anticlimactic in the film but here is evocative and detailed, arguably the most robust section. The film meanwhile capitalizes on every background detail to flesh out a more robust and coherent narrative. Obviously this doesn't replace the film—what could?—but it enriches the experience while being enjoyable in its own right.
My edition of Goodnight Mood is probably from 1980something but I don't have the patience to track down a precise date, which is ironic in light of my ongoing angst re: picture book imprints and edits, which will come up again in the review of My World, which is a Goodnight Moon sequel-esque thing. But Goodnight Moon is one of those universal classics that (I assume!) isn't likely to be edited upon reprint.
Title: Baby Dragon and Baby Unicorn
Author: Jean Marzollo and Claudio Marzollo
Illustrator: Kimberely Bulken Root
Published: Scholastic, 1989
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 310,040
Text Number: 1056
Read Because: reading the sequel, borrowed from Open Library
Review: Unlike The Baby Unicorn, Baby Unicorn and Baby Dragon wasn't a part of my childhood—so I'm surprised by how well I liked it without the benefit of nostalgia. The plot is more cohesive than the first book, and while I miss some of the quirkiness it still hits the right tone. The art is objectively weaker, but it's sufficiently emotive and I particularly love the gold and silver unicorn design. Like the first book, this isn't a forgotten classic by any means. But it's adequate, and I'm glad to've finally read it.
Title: Goodnight Moon
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Clement Hurd
Published: Harper & Row, 1975? (1947)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 310,070
Text Number: 1057
Read Because: personal enjoyment, from my personal library
Review: I put off rereading this for a long time because I worried that such a simple book couldn't live up to my memory of it, but it does. The gentle, intimate pacing of quiet goodbyes; the lived, dynamic, cozy room with now-iconic art and color palette; the gradually deepening shadows—it's as comforting as I remember. The "goodnight"-style picture books that I didn't grow up with have largely failed to impress me, so I'm certainly influenced by nostalgia. But this is the original and it's aged impeccably.
Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Author: Tim Burton
Published: Disney Press, 1993
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 310,110
Text Number: 1058
Read Because: personal enjoyment, borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The art here is sketchier than I expected, rough and quirky but likeable. The book has particular emphasis on the nightmare'd Christmas, which feels anticlimactic in the film but here is evocative and detailed, arguably the most robust section. The film meanwhile capitalizes on every background detail to flesh out a more robust and coherent narrative. Obviously this doesn't replace the film—what could?—but it enriches the experience while being enjoyable in its own right.
