GOODNIGHT SONGS

A multimedia tribute to the great picture-book writer in her own words.

This sumptuous compilation not only brings together a dozen songs by the late author of Goodnight Moon, here given new visual life in evocative spreads by 12 award-winning illustrators, but also includes a CD of Brown’s lyrics set to music and performed by Tom Proutt and Emily Gary. As a whole, these nature-based songs look to animals and the seasons to remind children of the pleasures of the outdoors. Illustrators Peter Brown, Floyd Cooper, Blanca Gómez, Satoe Tone, and eight others capture the essence of bees and birds in flight, leaves adrift on the wind, or light, imagined situations like a kitten’s dream or a cat the size of a pussy willow. Musically, a number of the songs, such as the magical “Snowfall,” have a soft, lilting quality sure to help young listeners off to dreamland, while a couple of the more memorable settings might have the opposite effect. The sharp baritone-sax honks of “Buzz, Buzz, Buzz” graphically emulate bees at work “in the solemn heat,” for instance. While the collection is no doubt titled to evoke its author’s most renowned work, overall these songs prove anything but drowsy.

A treat for the eye, ear, and heart.