GOODNIGHT GREAT OUTDOORS

A Goodnight Moon for camping families.

“In the great outdoors / there was a forest floor / and a fading light / and a shadow of // a stand of pines over a campsite.” While this new version lacks the lyricism and simple rhythm of the original, it follows the classic’s pattern quite closely, saying goodnight to everything introduced, but then spoils it by following “Goodnight creatures everywhere” with two additional double-page spreads that find the text dribbling off with “Goodnight forest floor / and goodnight great outdoors.” Also echoing the format of the classic, the illustrations alternate double-page spreads of a sparse, almost prehistoric-looking forest near a lake with up-close vignettes. But the quality of the artwork in no way compares to the original. The various elements, including the family members, are merely cut and pasted from one page to the next save for a dragonfly readers can search for on each large spread. The final spread adds a bunch of new animals to the staid nighttime tent scene, and there’s a backmatter spread highlighting each one and providing a brief paragraph of facts. Every animal and human in the book has V-shaped lines denoting closed eyes. On reposing animals, these make it look like they are sleeping, but nocturnal animals midstep appear to be sleepwalking, and the family members are off in their own worlds, disconnected from one another. Myers portrays the humans as a family of color.

There’s no substitute for nature (or Goodnight Moon). Skip this and go camping instead.