Mentally I am.... in the 'Goodnight Moon' room
"Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon..."
An image of the rabbit in bed from the book ‘Goodnight, Moon’ by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd
Back in September 2020, my friend Julia tweeted a video from TikTok that takes place in the Goodnight Moon room through the magic of a green screen. It was love at first click and instantly sent me into a deep state of nostalgia. “I want to be in the ‘Goodnight Moon’ room more than anything in the world like I want to be here with Mr. Rabbit,” he says. “The current state of the world is stressing me out and I feel like this is a catacomb that would block out any outside negative energy and this is where I belong... Physically and mentally, I need to be here. Spiritually, I already am here.”
As a child, being tucked in with Goodnight Moon was a bedtime ritual. I never wanted to go to sleep, but reading this children’s book was something I looked forward to when the clock struck seven o’clock—I’m certain that my parents had to read it to me several times because I didn’t (and still don’t) fall asleep easily. If you’re not familiar, it’s a simple story about a baby bunny that says "good night" to everything in his/her/their sight. (There’s a new theory about how it takes the bunny an estimated 70 minutes to bid its g’nights.) I have the first board book edition that was published in 1991 by HarperCollins, but did you know this book has been around since 1947?
Apparently, the original version of Goodnight Moon was a flop when it debuted, but became a bestseller during the post-World War II era thanks to the Baby Boom. While looking into the history of the book, I came across an article published last year about how the librarian Anne Carroll Moore detested Goodnight Moon so much that she convinced the New York Public Library not to stock it in the children’s book department. Evidently, the book found success without the official NYPL endorsement, but the institution eventually had a change of heart after 1972.
Upon re-reading the picture book for my own personal amusement, I noticed a number of questionable items scattered around the room like a red balloon, a mouse, and an animal print rug. What really puzzles me now is the pair of kittens because in what world would a family of rabbits have pet kittens? It’s just not realistic! The bunny in the rocking chair has some serious explaining to do… Like what is in the bowl full of “mush” on the table with the comb and brush? And why would you leave a fireplace on in a baby’s room while they’re sleeping??? Picture me tossing red flags in the air.
The Goodnight Moon interior decor is honestly better than most of the celebrity homes that are featured on Architectural Digest though—money can’t buy taste, but if you have the means then it’s worth paying people with taste to do the curating for you! (I’m looking at you, Drake and Gigi Hadid...) The Goodnight Moon room is giving “avant basic” as all the girls with a bone to pick on Twitter dot com like to say. The framed artwork that hangs on the green walls is a nice touch, who wouldn’t want to take in the view of a cow jumping over the moon, three little bears sitting on chairs, or a rabbit fishing in a river? I think we can all agree that the overall aesthetic is chaotic neutral.
There’s this page in the book where the baby bunny is saying goodnight to the clocks and socks, and the way that it’s curled up on the bed with their little arms wrapped around their legs is practically screaming A-N-X-I-E-T-Y. In that moment of divine realization, I saw my inner child. Prior to putting those pieces together, I decided that my new “happy place” to go in my head when anxiety possessed my body would be the Goodnight Moon room at the end of 2020. (How appropriate that Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen would repeat their tradition of reading from a book titled Goodnight 2020 to ring in the new year!) There’s something consoling about the imaginary space even though the layout of the room doesn’t make much sense...
When the world shut down during the pandemic, staying inside meant more than just staying at home for me. Isolation taught me how to go inward without fully disassociating—it was during this incubation period that I mastered the art of protecting my vibes. This self-made room in my subconscious is an extension of that inner work. I’m not a prisoner of my own mind, but a frequent visitor. To quote my dear friend Tam, “we’re all trying to create our version of the goodnight moon room.”
For the record, the pandemic parody Good Morning Zoom does not have my approval!