''My World: A Companion To Goodnight Moon'' is an American
children's
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
written by
Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' and ''The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" for ...
and illustrated by
Clement Hurd
Clement Gazzam Hurd (January 12, 1908 – February 5, 1988) was an American artist. He is known for illustrations of children's picture books, especially collaborations with writer Margaret Wise Brown including ''Goodnight Moon'' (1947) and ''The ...
. The third book in Brown and Hurd's "classic series" (or "
Runaway Bunny" series), it is the "companion" to Brown & Hurd's ''
Goodnight Moon
''Goodnight Moon'' is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story.
This book is the second in Brown and Hurd's "cla ...
''. ''My World'' was published in December
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
.
Publication history
''My World'' was published in 1949, just two years after ''Goodnight Moon''. It is dedicated to Clement Hurd's son
Thacher Hurd
John Thacher Hurd (born March 6, 1949) is an American artist and the creator of children's picture books including ''Mama Don't Allow'' and ''Art Dog''.
Biography
Thacher Hurd was born in Burlington, Vermont, the son of children's book creato ...
(who was born shortly before it was published).
''My World'' was out of print by the 1970s, with some speculating that one scene showing the mother, father, and child sharing the bathroom may have been scandalous for that time period.
[Review of ''My World''. ]
'Kirkus Reviews'' (July 1, 2001). In 2001,
HarperFestival
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
republished the book,
recolored by
Thacher Hurd
John Thacher Hurd (born March 6, 1949) is an American artist and the creator of children's picture books including ''Mama Don't Allow'' and ''Art Dog''.
Biography
Thacher Hurd was born in Burlington, Vermont, the son of children's book creato ...
.
[Review of ''My World.'']
''Publishers Weekly'' (2001).
In addition to multiple
octavo
Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...
and
duodecimo
Paper size standards govern the size of sheets of paper used as writing paper, stationery, cards, and for some printed documents.
The ISO 216 standard, which includes the commonly used A4 size, is the international standard for paper size. I ...
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
editions, ''My World'' is available in a
board book
Board or Boards may refer to:
Flat surface
* Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat
** Plank (wood)
** Cutting board
** Sounding board, of a musical instrument
* Cardboard (paper product)
* Paperboard
* Fiberboard
** Hardboard, a ty ...
edition, a book whose pages are actually stiff cardboard to make it suitable to give to a very young child.
''My World'', ''
The Runaway Bunny
''The Runaway Bunny'' is a 1942 picture book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. The plot deals with a small rabbit, who wants to run away. His mother, however, tells him that "if you run away, I will run after you."
T ...
'', and ''Goodnight Moon'' have been published together as a collection titled ''Over the Moon''.
Synopsis
''My World'' features what appears to be the same rabbit child from its predecessor, but the bunny's consciousness now expands in scope beyond the green bedroom to a wide world. The child's understanding of the world exists in relation to his parents: "My slippers. / My pajamas. / Daddy's pajamas," and "Mother's chair. / My chair. / A low chair. / A high chair. / But certainly my chair." The child engages in various activities in parallel to his parents: brushing his teeth, playing with his toy car, etc. The book ends with his parents sitting nearby as the rabbit child swings from a tree branch, thinking "Your world. / My world. / I can swing / Right over the world."
As with ''Goodnight Moon'', Brown's text is minimal, with a dreamlike quality and a narrative that conforms to a child's sense of logic. The artwork is composed of alternating spreads, mostly black-and-white with occasional color spreads.
Reception
Upon its release in 1949, the ''New York Times'' wrote of the book,
''Publishers Weekly'' wrote of the re-issued edition, "The volume's words and pictures stretch the boundaries of its time-honored predecessor, affirming that there is, indeed, a warm and welcoming world beyond the great green room."
Hillary Williamson of ''BookLoons'' wrote that although, "the author's poetic style and the illustrator's familiar scenes convey the same charm and subtle comfort as the original," ''My World'' lacked "... the focus of ... ''Goodnight Moon''."
In Claudia Pearson's ''Have a Carrot: Oedipal Theory and Symbolism in Margaret Wise Brown's Runaway Bunny Trilogy'', the author posits that "''My World'' ... explores the bunny-boy's competitive approach to the father he simultaneously resents, admires and loves, while the mother rabbit slips from prominence in his life and into the shadows."
[Paraphrased from Pearson, Claudia. ''Have a Carrot: Oedipal Theory and Symbolism in Margaret Wise Brown's Runaway Bunny Trilogy'' (Look Again Press, 2010). .]
References
{{Portal bar , Children's literature
1949 children's books
American children's books
American picture books
Children's books about rabbits and hares
Books by Margaret Wise Brown
Harper & Brothers books