It was Spring 2006 when I demanded more parody versions of Goodnight, Moon. And now that the most jaw-droppingly awesome, hilarious, and politically charged parody has hit the shelves, not only do I not get credit for its inspiration, I have to read about it a whole month later, and not even on NPR, but on freakin' BoingBoing?
Am I really going to have to start reading the NY Times, the SF Chronicle, Galleycat, Babble, and the Village Voice myself again?
From the illustrations and rhymes I've seen so far--and I only just ordered my copy today, so who knows, it could fall apart in the end--Gan Golan and Erich Origen's requiem on the George W. Bush administration actually accomplishes two intertwined missions at once: it's a pitch-perfect parody of the original, channeling the style of Margaret Wise Brown's verses and Clement Hurd's illustrations in a way that the woeful 1993 yuppie-themed parody, Boom Baby Moon, did not.
And thus, by not totally sucking, it's also a standout in the political-propaganda-in-children's-book-form genre characterized so far by unforgivably unfunny, unreadable hack jobs like Help, Mommy! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! and Why Mommy Is A Democrat.
As if this couplet weren't enough,
"A grand old party to war in a rush,
And a quiet Dick Cheney whispering 'hush.'"
there's merchandise: Goodnight, Bush t-shirts [I believe that's "Goodnight, evolution" on the infant tee], messenger bags, bumper stickers, and lawn signs. Lawn signs!
Buy many, many copies of Goodnight, Bush at Amazon to amuse/outrage your friends [amazon]
Check out a preview of the book, read the authors Q&A'ing themselves [goodnightbush.com]
