Good Night

We rated this book:

$8.09


Good Night by Natalia Padilla is an adorable children’s book that follows the story of a young girl through her daily rituals. Definitely for very early or beginner English readers, the story has a simple and direct plot told through easy-to-read sentences and words. The lines rhyme, a wise touch, as Padilla’s goal is to teach readers to pronounce English vowel and consonant sounds correctly. Beautifully illustrated with rich colors and hand-drawn graphics, I loved the unique look to each character. Vibrant outfits, unique expressions, and so many people of different shapes and sizes, I loved the diversity of Padilla’s character choice.

Mary, the young protagonist, pronounces at the beginning of this story, “Good night, sleep tight,” as she settles off to sleep with her pink polka dot comforter and a beautiful arrangement of stars in the window behind her. The next morning, she wakes up and tells her mother and father about her cloud-filled dreams. They then proceed to send her off to the city of Grady to find Lily from Philly. Lilly from Philly is a music teacher. Playing the piano, she introduces the reader to the keys A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Accompanying this page is a short paragraph of sheet music created by Padilla entitled Good Night. This song presents a cute opportunity for the reader to sing the song along with Lilly from Philly and Mary.

Continuing on through Mary’s day, the reader is then introduced to “fanboys” who are “jam boys.” Otherwise known as “for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so,” Padilla explains that fanboys connect sentences together with commas. At the end of Mary’s day, she wishes the reader once again, “Good Night sleep tight,” as she falls asleep with the cheese-colored moon and stars behind her.

The next day, Mary wakes up to the beaming sun in her window and goes outside to play. It is springtime, so naturally, Mary tends to her flowers and frolics in the sunshine. Depicted in this scene along with Mary are a chirping bird with her chicks, two adorable bunnies, and the smiling sun, showing Padilla’s creative touches enhancing the springtime scene.

Overall, I thought Padilla’s story was well done. I think she accomplished her goal of presenting a pleasant read that also helps listeners learn to pronounce difficult-to-say English words and phrases. However, I do wish the story was a little longer. I felt the ending of Mary’s tale was a little abrupt and the book would have been enhanced by having a few more days and scenes added in.


Reviewed By:

Author Natalia Padilla
Star Count /5
Format Trade
Page Count 28 pages
Publisher ReadersMagnet LLC
Publish Date 15-Jul-2021
ISBN 9781951775735
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue November 2021
Category Children's
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