BooksForKidsBlog

Monday, September 29, 2008

Spook Spoof: Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex


In a cold, gray tomb
There was a gravestone
And a black lagoon,
And a picture of--
Martians taking over the moon.

Hey, wait! This sounds familiar, but something's not quite right! Wasn't there supposed to be something about a red balloon, cows over the moon, a bowl of mush, an old woman whispering "Hush?"

And this place is creepy, not cozy. There're three little mummies in the painting, and something with toothy jaws is rising out of a lagoon where the hooked rug is supposed to be. And there's a tombstone with R.I.P. carved on it, and bats and a witchy hat, and a werewolf in the rocker where the old knitting lady is supposed to sit, and a big red spider suspended from the ceiling instead of the balloon, and an octopus in the fireplace, and, and..., well, YIKES! What could have happened to those playful kittens anyway?

Huh! This is not the beloved bedtime story. I'm looking carefully at the title page this time. Goodnight GOON. Ok-a-a-y, I get it. This is a SPOOF. Well, then...

Goodnight tomb.
Goodnight Goon.
Goodnight bones and black lagoon.

Goodnight moans.
Goodnight groans.
Goodnight creature,
Goodnight goo.
And goodnight to the werewolf whispering "BOO!"

Michael Rex's Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody isn't scary enough to keep anybody awake, but kids who still remember the real Goodnight Moon may want to stay awake chuckling through this semi-spooky spoof several times. For a classic which lends itself easily to parody, it's a tribute to the old bedtime staple that it stretches comfortably to accommodate this brand-new version just out for the scary season.

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2 Comments:

  • Hello again- Your friendly former librarian blog friend. Michael Rex is a local boy (Chatham NJ) where I live and I'm so happy for his success and glad you liked the book. I haven't seen it yet (his mother told me it was coming out in October). Of course, GN Moon was an all-time favorite so I should get a chuckle out of this one, right?
    Augusta

    By Blogger Augusta Scattergood, at 10:35 PM  

  • Hi, Augusta S.,
    Rex's book has been on display at my Barnes & Noble for a couple of weeks. I hope it's a big success!

    Tell his mom I appreciated his book for its humor and the chance to write a tongue-in-cheek review myself.

    By Blogger GTC, at 8:39 AM  

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