Goodnight, society as we knew it.
Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 children’s book “Goodnight Moon” has been reimagined for the time of the coronavirus. “Good Morning Zoom,” a parody version of the book by investment banker Lindsay Rechler and illustrator June Park, will be published by Penguin Random House in October.
“It seemed fitting because ‘Goodnight Moon’ takes place exclusively in one room or home, and that is how I felt about quarantine,” Rechler, who’s been quarantining with a 2- and a 4-year-old in a Manhattan apartment since March, told Jewish parenting site Kveller. “Zoom was a nice play on words and fitting, given our new reality and this concept of replacing hugs with technology.”
In addition to bringing adults a smile with her clever alternative to the original, Rechler also believes the book will bring solace to young readers. “I think children will find comfort because the book details what they are actually going through each and every day,” she said, adding that the book is intended to serve as a source of simultaneous familiarity and a prompt for questions on recent, drastic changes to little ones’ daily lives. “Most importantly, for both kids and parents, I want the book to provide hope.”
Book profits will be donated to coronavirus-relief charities.
Rechler is not the first mom to be inspired by COVID-19 to reboot children’s literature for the present moment. During lockdown, Manhattan mother Stefanie Trilling topically redesigned kids’ book covers, including “Green Eggs and Wash Your Hands” and “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Time Home.”
And “Good Morning Zoom” is not the first alternative take on the classic read — “Moon” has also been rewritten as “Goodnight Dune” and “Goodnight iPad” over the years.
Children’s author Wise Brown was beloved for the timeless tale, which has sold more than 14 million copies. She died in 1952 and is remembered as a bisexual rebel who didn’t like kids. Her work has been posthumously published as recently as 2017.