Children’s Literature Evaluation Form

Your Name: Sequoia Lansky

Book Title: Goodnight Moon
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Genre: Children’s Literature
Illustrator: Clement Hurd
Publisher/Year: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. 1947
Evaluate the Book for the following elements
Style and Language: Using examples for the book, explain the following: Word
choices, dialogue, rhythm, rhyme and sentence length. Share unexpected insights or
interesting information the reader learns from this story. (5 points)
The author of this book uses rhyming words throughout the entire story to capture
the reader’s attention. Dialogue is not long; it is short and to the point, so it is not
overwhelming to the reader (child). All of the word choices seem to flow together
well. I find this book to be one of the best children’s stories of all time. The way the
illustrator depicts the bedroom and then the author tells the story fully go hand in
hand with each other. This book is a great example of how the illustrations bring
more to the reader’s imagination when the reader is able to look at the book.

Character: With examples from the book, provide the following- (5 points)
Who is the main character?
How can the reader relate to the character?
Who are the supporting characters?
I find the main character of this story to be the little rabbit because it is told from her
point of view as she lies in her bed at night. The reader is able to connect with this
character almost instantly, especially if this book is chosen to be read before
bedtime. The reader’s caregiver (parent?) can encourage the child to say goodnight
to the things around his or her bedroom, especially if the child has a tough bedtime
routine. The supporting characters in this book could range from all of the items
around the little rabbit’s bedroom such as the little toyhouse and the quiet old lady.

Plot: Summarize the major events of the story (6 points)

At the beginning of this story, it has me questioning whether or not the little rabbit
will go to sleep as she is just looking at all of the items around her bedroom, but as
she starts to say goodnight to the items, it makes it clear by the end that she is going
to go to sleep.

Setting: Explain the place and time of this book. (2 points)

Theme: What is the main message of this book? (2 points)
This story takes place in the bedroom of the little rabbit. This book is present, as it
applies to a child every night.

There is a clear message in this book which tells the reader that it is okay to go to bed
each night. You may say goodnight to all of the familiar things (including familiar
adults) around your bedroom, and you will see them again the next day.

Illustration: Analyze the book you selected with the following categories
Style (realism, surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, naïve, cartoon art)? (2
points)

Cartoon art
Media Choice (paints, oils watercolors, pencils, pen, charcoal, crayons, acrylic, chalk):
(2 points)

Painterly media (acrylic, pencil)

Give examples of describe how the following visual elements are used in the
illustrations: (3)
Line: Lines in this book are used to signify the density of the bedroom and capture us,
almost, into that bedroom.
Shapes: We see dots in the windows throughout the book. We don’t know exactly
what these represent but we are to assume that they are stars.
Color: This story goes back and forth between two different colors. It is warm,
festive, and inviting. It is also achromatic when the pages are black and white.
Texture: This book has coarse texture, as it created a two-dimensional surface.

Page design (placement of the illustrations, use of borders, white and dark space and
all pages the same or different). (3)
Illustrations take up the entire page. They are the primary part of this book to the
reader. The pages are all different, as they vary from color to black and white.
Child Development Theory: Choose either Piaget, Erickson or Social Emotional to
describe the connection to the book Chose 1 only (5 points)

Emotional Development:
Identify the age: 1-2 years
Explain the social development for this age and how the book relates
to the emotional level you chose: This book expands the vocabulary for a child to talk
about his or her feelings as he or she struggles with going to bed at night.

1 would not recommend 2 average 3 highly recommended

Your rating of the book: 3

Why? This book is a great start for a child to recognize his or her feelings if struggling
with a bedtime routine. It will help the child understand that you will see everyone
and play with everything again the next day.