BiblioAddict

Goodnight Bush
by Erich Origen & Gan Golan
Little, Brown, & Company / May 2008
$14.00 / 48 pps.

This parody of the popular children’s book Goodnight Moon is one of the best ways I can think of to spend a good ten minutes. The verse is hilarious, but the illustrations are what really make this book worth paying $14.99 for something that is essentially the size of a children’s book (are real children’s books actually this expensive?).

Case in point, the first illustration in the book shows a smiling Bush all tucked in and ready for bed. At first glance the illustration looks pretty innocuous. However… on second glance – wait is that yellow cake on his nightstand table? And is that – yeah, I think it is – that’s a mini Osama Bin Ladin crawling from behind a Florida ballot box! And, oh wonders of wonders, there’s the infamous My Pet Goat sitting on the other night stand table. Who needs verse when you’ve got illustrations as full of funny detail as this?

I won’t say any more because I don’t want to give away too much detail (though if you’re living in the States sadly there isn’t much you don’t already know). But if you can’t wait to close the book on the Bush years, Goodnight Bush will give you a chuckle until we do.

For more on the book and the author and illustrator visit NPR here.

For your own viewing fun: a copy of the first illustration. How many Bush year references can you find?

The First Illustration