Goodnight Moon Study Guide - Cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn

Welcome!WELCOME2Dear Teacher,The State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey welcomes you to theperformance of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. The production, byMermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, brings to life these two popular children’sbooks written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd.These Keynotes provide information and activities that will help you prepareyour students for the performance and then reflect on what they’ve seen andheard in the show. With younger students, we encourage you to read theinformation to them and facilitate the activities. This guide also containsreproducible activity pages that can be used with even the youngest students.See you at the State Theatre!CONTENTSWelcome/Acknowledgements.2The Stories.3Meet the Creators .4About the Production .5Bunny Basics .6Activity Page: Rhyme Time .7-8Activity Page: Color the Bunny .9Activity Page: What’s My Job at the Show?.10Resources .11Photos by Margo E. GesserKeynotes are made possible bya generous grant from Bank ofAmerica Charitable Foundation.The State Theatre’s education program is funded in part by Bank of America Charitable Foundation, BristolMyers Squibb, Brother International Corporation, Forward Air, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey,Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, J. SewardJohnson, Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, McCrane Foundation, MetLifeFoundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, National Starch and Chemical Foundation, Inc., PNC Foundation,Provident Bank Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Verizon, and Wachovia Foundation. Theirsupport is gratefully acknowledged.Funding has been madepossible in part by the NewJersey State Council on theArts/Department of State, apartner agency of theNational Endowment for the Arts.Continental Airlinesis the official airlineof the StateTheatre.The Heldrichis the officialhotel of theState Theatre.Keynotes are produced by the Education Departmentof the State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ.Wesley Brustad, PresidentLian Farrer, Vice President for EducationOnline at www.StateTheatreNJ.org/KeynotesKeynotes for Goodnight Moon and The RunawayBunny created by Katie Pyott. Edited by Lian Farrer. 2009 State TheatreFind us at www.StateTheatreNJ.orgContact: education@StateTheatreNJ.orgThe State Theatre, a premier nonprofit venue for theperforming arts and entertainment.

3The StoriesIn Goodnight Moon, a young rabbit goesthrough a bedtime ritual of sayinggoodnight to every object in sight and inhis imagination, from the pictures on thewalls to the brush and comb, to the moonand stars, to “the old lady whispering‘hush.’”. The text is written in the form of arhyming poem.Ask your students: Can you name any of the things thebunny says goodnight to in the story?How many can you think of? Do you like going to bed? What are some of the things you do toget ready for bed? Who do you say goodnight to beforebedtime?In The Runaway Bunny, a young bunny tells hismother he wants to run away. “‘If you run away,’says his mother, ‘I will run after you.’” And sobegins an imaginary game of chase. Whateverthe little bunny declares he will change himselfinto—a fish, a rock, a bird, a boat, etc.—hismother replies that she, too, will change herselfso that she can always keep her little bunny safeand protected.Ask your students: Can you name any of the things the bunnysays he will become? How many can youname? If you could change into anything youwanted, what would you become? Why? Why do you think the little bunny wantedto run away? Have you ever wanted to run away? Why?

4Meet the CreatorsWhen Margaret Wise Brown(1910-1952) began to write foryoung children, most pictureHave You Read.?books were written byIn addition to Goodnight Moon and Theillustrators, whose training andRunaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Browntalents lay mainly in the visualand Clement Hurd also teamed up toarts. Brown was the first picture-create My World and Bumble Bugs andbook author to achieveElephants.recognition as a writer.Other books by Margaret Wise BrownAfter graduating from Hollinsinclude:College in 1932, Brown worked My World of Coloras a teacher and also studied The Moon Shines Downart. It was while working at the Two Little TrainsBank Street Experimental School Sneakers, the Seaside Catin New York City that she started writing books for children. Her first The Little Fir Treebook was When the Wind Blew, published in 1937 by Harper & Brothers. The Important BookBrown went on to develop her Here and Now stories and Noisy Bookseries while employed as an editor at William R. Scott. In the early 1950s,Ask your students:she wrote several books for the Little Golden Books series, including The Have you heard of any of these books?Color Kittens, Mister Dog, and Sailor Dog. How many have you read? Do you remember the stories?Clement Hurd (1908-1988) was an Americanillustrator of children’s books. He is best knownfor his collaborations with author Margaret WiseBrown. He also illustrated a number of bookswritten by his wife Edith (a friend of Brown’s), aswell as The World Is Round, a children’s bookwritten by Gertrude Stein.The son of a New York mortgagebanker, Hurd was educated at St. Paul’sSchool in Concord, New Hampshire, studied architecture at YaleUniversity and painting with Fernand Léger in Paris. On seeing twoof his paintings, Brown asked him if he would consider illustratingchildren’s books.Take a Closer Look!Look carefully at the bookshelves pictured inGoodnight Moon. You’ll see that one of the little rabbit’sbooks is The Runaway Bunny. One of three framed pictures onthe walls shows a scene from the same book. Do you remember any of the pictures?

5About the ProductionThe performance of GoodnightMoon and The Runaway Bunnyemploys a variety of styles ofPUPPETS—including rod and tabletop puppets—to tell the two thestories. Amazingly, all of the puppetsand scenic elements are manipulatedby just three puppeteers!In Goodnight Moon, part of thevisual magic comes from the use ofBLACK LIGHT. Black light makesfluorescent colors glow in the dark,and makes anything black invisible tothe eye. In Goodnight Moon, thepuppets and scenery are painted withfluorescent paint, which makes them really stand out under theultraviolet light. The puppeteers are onstage as they work with thepuppets. They wear black clothing and black masks and perform infront of a black wall. This makes them almost invisible to theaudience and allows them to execute all kinds of visual illusionswith the puppets.The show also employs pre-recorded NARRATION ofMargaret Wise Brown’s text of the two stories, and originalMUSIC composed by Steven Naylor especially for thisMake Your Own Puppets!Sock Puppetwww.daniellesplace.com/HTML/puppets.htmlRod his production is byMERMAID THEATRE OF NOVASCOTIA. Founded in 1972, the company ranks among Canada’smost respected creators of theater for children. Mermaid hasperformed for more than three million people on four continents.Bunny Hand Puppet:www.bluebonnetvillage.com/puppet.htm

6Bunny BasicsRabbits are ground dwellers that live inenvironments ranging from desert towetland. They have long ears that allowthem to hear very well. In addition to theirprominent ears, which can measure morethan 4 inches long, rabbits have long,powerful hind legs and a short tail.Did You Know? Rabbits are not rodents butbelong to their own ordercalledLAGOMORPHS. Rabbits areHERBIVORES, whichmeans they eat plants, but donot eat meat. Rabbits’ teeth never stop growing. They keepthem from growing too long by constantlychewing to wear them down. Rabbits will chew onalmost anything but house rabbits especially likeremote controls! House rabbits generally live 8-12 years. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, theoldest rabbit in the world lived to the age of 18. Larger rabbits generally have shorter lifespans thansmaller rabbits. Outdoor rabbits have (onAsk your students: Can you think of any other famousrabbits besides the ones in GoodnightMoon and The Runaway Bunny? What do real rabbits eat? Do theaverage) a much shorter lifespanrabbits in Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny eatbecause of the many risks andor drink anything?hazards associated with livingoutside. Rabbits should notbe kept as a A herbivore is an animal that eats only plants, such asfruits, vegetables, grass, and leaves. Carnivores eat meat.Omnivores eat EVERYTHING. Are rabbits herbivores,carnivores, or omnivores? What about people?classroom pet.Students can play this online animal diet game to learnabout the difference between the three types of dscorner/games/animaldietgame.htm

Rhyme TimeCut out the pictures below. On the next page, have your students match the pictures tothe correct spaces in order to create their own picture book for this nursery rhyme.7

8Rhyme TimeHey diddle diddle, theand the, theover thejumped. The littlelaughed to see such sport, and theran away with the.

Color the Bunny9 2006 by Margaret Wise BrownArt Clement HurdHarperCollinsPublishers

10What’s My Job at the Show?Going to see a play at a theater is not the same as watching TV. When you aresitting in audience at the State Theatre, the actors will be in the same roomas you. They will be able to hear and see everything that goes on in theaudience. Use the key to find out what your job is at the performance.lookWhen I go to alistenperformanceaudience, I am part of thevery important job. I have to. This is aandcarefully.If I talk or move around, the actors and thehard time paying attention to theWhen theclapwill have a.is over, it’s okay for me to.

11ResourcesGoodnight Moon /The Runaway BunnyOver the Moon: A Collection of First Books:Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny and MyWorld, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated byClement Hurd. HarperCollins, 2006.Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales. DVD,PuppetsNot rated. HBO Home Video, 2000.Learn more about Margaret Wise Brown at herwebsite. See photos of her and view originalVisit Mermaid Theatre’s website for more informationon the retwisebrown.comFor more information about black light, check outThe Runaway Bunny was turned into a concertwww.howstuffworks.com/question59.htmpiece for violin, orchestra and narrator bycomposer Glen Roven. Visit the website to learnmore and hear the music.If you’re interested in learning how to use puppetswith your students, here are some useful resources:Making Puppets Come Alive, by Larry Engler andwww.runawaybunnymusic.comCarol Fijan. Dover, 1997.A Show of Hands: Using Puppets with Young Children,by Ingrid M. Crepeau and M. Ann Richards. ReadleafPress, 2003.RabbitsLearn about keeping rabbits as pets at the NJ House Rabbit Society website.www.njhrs.comFirst-School offers rabbit crafts and activities for young bbit.htmOther books about bunnies:Funny Bunnies, by Laurie Frankel. Chronicle Books, 2004.The Rabbit Handbook, by K. Gendron. Barron’s Educational Series, 2000.The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter. Grosset & Dunlap, 2004.The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams. HarperCollins, 1999.Guess How Much I Love You? By Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram.Candlewick, 2008.

In Goodnight Moon, a young rabbit goes through a bedtime ritual of saying goodnight to every object in sight and in his imagination, from the pictures on the walls to the brush and comb, to the moon and stars, to “the old lady whispering ‘hush.’”. The text is