In Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 classic “Goodnight Moon,” a bunny falls asleep as a little old lady tenderly hushes the child in the glow of the moon. That was so 20th century.
In this book for the 21st-century digital era that is appropriate for any age reader, a little old granny rabbit is startled awake by a cacophony of beeps, tweets and clicks (a bunny playing “Doom,” “you’ve got mail” messages and Eminem’s voice) with a family bound to the gigantic Wi-Fi HDTV.
Granny cannot be heard over the din of the digital devices, and the moon’s gentle glow is diminished by iPads, Nooks and a laptop whose screen saver is a bird (an Angry Bird, of course).
“And the fed-up old woman who was trying to sleep” said, “OK, that’s it!”
“Goodnight, Nooks and digital books”
“Goodnight, LOLs/ Goodnight, MP’s”
“Goodnight, buzzing/ Goodnight, beeps”
“Goodnight, everybody/ who should be asleep.”
“Goodnight, pop stars/ Goodnight, MacBook Air”
“Goodnight, gadgets everywhere.”
Ann Droyd (a clever pseudonym for award-winning writer David Milgrim) pokes fun at the plugged-in life in a rhythm reminiscent of the original. The cartoon-like illustrations are stuffed with humorous details: children begging “Do we have to?” over extension cords, empty bookshelves, cluttered rooms heated by an electric fireplace, and the tiniest bunny wearing ear buds.
Milgrim says “Goodnight iPad” is not anti-tech but rather a reminder for families to keep a balance with the digital “toys” while remembering the peaceful quiet world of Brown’s classic poem.
“I love my iPhone. It’s great. But,” he said in a recent press release, "I fear that some of the simple and quieter things may get lost, in the same way the night sky gets lost to the lights.”
