Goodnight Moon-Weary Parents May Ask of This Book: "Where Have You Been?"

Among the many books for very young children, few have achieved the canonical status of Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon. The simple, comforting series of goodnights to familiar objects makes it a popular choice for toddlers, though parents may grow tired of the repetition. This repetition is out in full force in Brown's Where Have You Been?, written the year that she died.

A series of six-line verses, they all follow a very basic format that varies little from page to page. For instance: "Little Old Mole / Little Old Mole / Where have you been? / Down a long dark hole / Said the Little Old Mole. / That's where I've been." On most pages, the only real variation comes in the fourth line, though later in the book Brown changes it up a bit by asking questions other than "Where have you been?"

Each page features a different animal, for 14 in all, though several of Barbara Cooney's illustrations contain more than just the subject of the verse at hand. A picture of a whale, for example, includes a jellyfish, and a picture of a bunny includes a cricket. The drawings are rendered with only black and red ink, and as they were done in 1952, they have a very old-fashioned look to them. I would say they are charming, but they might be a bit bland for children used to vibrant, full-color illustrations.

Still, there is enough detail in Cooney's work to merit a second look. If you glance closely, you can see a boy waving at the conductor of the train over which the brown bird flies, and you might be amused, as I was, by the frog's sheet music, whose lyrics read, "Hallelujah! I'm a bum."

This is a book for the very young; anyone older than four will probably tire of it quickly. But for sleepy toddlers, especially those who love animals, Where Have You Been? may serve as an ideal ticket to dreamland. At least it will give their parents a break from Goodnight Moon.