Safely in my arms
When the waves go up and down
You are safe from harm.”
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
46 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
Beautiful and enchanting
By Robert Busko
When I stumbled across Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown in a bookstore to say I was surprised would be a gross understatement. As a retired librarian I’ve lost my information pipeline about what is being published and when and have to rely on visits to bookstores to view the available crop.Ms Brown died the year before I was born but I can still remember my mother reading Goodnight Moon to me when I was small and my brother after me.Goodnight Songs is made up of a treasure trove of unpublished poems by Margaret Wise Brown that have now been illustrated by some of the best illustrators currently working and set to music. Artists like Jonathan Bean, Carin Berger, Renata Liwska, Christopher Silas Neal, Sophie Blackall, Dan Yaccarino, Melissa Sweet, Isabel Roxas, Sean Qualls, Zachariah O’Hora, Linda Bleck, and Eric Puybaret each designed artwork. The accompanying CD features lyrics put to music and performed by Emily Gary and Tom Proutt.My favorite three are When I Close My Eyes at Night; When the Man in the Moon Was a Little Boy; and Sounds in the Night.The story behind the discovery of this material and how it all made it’s way to the bookstores is interesting in itself. It took many years for these songs to be published and the details to be worked out. The completed product is enchanting and sure to please.It’s amazing that Margaret Wise Brown will reach a completely new generation of children with material that was written before their parents and even their grandparents were born.I highly recommend.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.This is a true treasure!
By klog
What a treasure found in a trunk in a barn! The poems, illustrations, and the CD in this book are all beautiful. I read this to my grandchildren, ages seven and four, before bed and then let them listen to the CD while they were going to sleep. The next evening they asked if they could again read the book and listen to the CD. "That helped me sleep, Nana," the four-year-old said. "Goodnight Songs" will become a tradition at Nana's house!I heard about this book on NPR; thanks, NPR, for wonderful information you share with us. Thanks, Amazon, for selling; this hardback book with CD is a steal.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.stellar cd and a wonderful all-round project
By K. Morris
This book of wonderfully illustrated poems is top-shelf, indeed, but I’m equally floored by the CD of songs that accompanies it. I’ve reviewed albums in the past, and I recall reviewing several children’s albums that were nominated for Grammys. “Goodnight Songs” is far better than any of those. Tom Proutt and Emily Gary have taken Margaret Wise Brown’s poems to new heights, turning them into songs imbued with warmth and a sense of wonder.The refreshing thing here is that Proutt and Gary have made a thoroughly accessible children’s album that doesn’t talk down to its audience. In fact, the songs are smart enough that they’ll appeal to adults as well. How often can you say that about a children’s album? That’s the beauty of this record: it’s not just for children, it’s for the whole family. And it’s darn good.Listen to “Sounds in the Night” and you’ll hear immediately what I’m talking about. You’ll also probably recognize the Brian Wilson influence on the vocals and melody line. But “Sounds in the Night” stands on its own--a lullaby with a subtly mysterious air about it. Your kids probably won’t recognize the influence of REM on the chord progression of “LIttle Donkey Close Your Eyes,” but you will, and you’ll appreciate the song even more because of it. Or maybe it’s because of Andy Thacker, whose virtuoso mandolin-playing runs through the album.The key to the record’s effectiveness is the combination of Proutt’s deft musical instincts and Gary’s appropriately sweet and motherly vocals. They handle this material flawlessly. “Goodnight Songs” is intelligent, evocative stuff. The music industry has dumbed down children’s music for several decades now, to the point that they’ve practically killed what once was a vital art form. But “Goodnight Songs” revitalizes the genre and provides a direction for the future. This is what children’s music can be. And what it should be.
