A Stamp-Sized Lullaby

For generations, Goodnight Moon has wrapped young readers in its gentle spell, turning bedtime into a soothing ritual of words and images. The book’s quiet magic has touched countless families — including art director Derry Noyes, who grew up surrounded by the books of Margaret Wise Brown. 

“Goodnight Moon has always been part of my life,” Noyes recalls. She cherished the book as a child, shared it with her own children, and now, she has brought its dreamlike essence to postage stamps. Her goal? To let the book speak for itself. 

A bedtime story that changed children’s literature 

When Goodnight Moon was published by Harper & Brothers in 1947, it was unlike anything else in children’s publishing. Written by Margaret Wise Brown and with artwork by Clement Hurd, the book eschewed the moralistic fairy tales that had long dominated bedtime reading. Instead, it offered something radical: a simple story that reflected a child’s real-world experience. 

Brown had been at the forefront of this shift for over a decade. In 1935, she enrolled at what is now the Bank Street College of Education in New York City, founded by progressive educator Lucy Sprague Mitchell. At a time when children’s books focused on fantasy and fables, Bank Street was pioneering a new approach — one rooted in the daily sights, sounds, and emotions that young children actually encountered. Brown embraced this philosophy, becoming the most prolific writer of what was called "here-and-now" literature. 

One morning in 1945, she wrote the first draft of Goodnight Moon in a burst of inspiration. “In the great green room,” the book begins, “There was a telephone / And a red balloon.” Over the course of the book, a young bunny bids goodnight to everything in the cozy room — clocks, socks, kittens, mittens, a tiny mouse. The hypnotic rhythm mimics the slow approach of sleep, easing young readers into slumber. 

The illustrations that bring the story to life 

Brown sent the manuscript to her friend Clement Hurd, who spent much of the next year illustrating the book. 

His images alternate between black-and-white close-ups of small objects — like a bowl of mush left on the bedside table — and panoramic views of the “great green room,” which grows darker as the book progresses. Over the years, generations of readers have delighted in his subtle details: the clock moving forward, the mouse scurrying from page to page, and even a copy of Goodnight Moon sitting on the nightstand.

Although it’s now considered a classic, Goodnight Moon was not an instant success. It sold modestly upon release, and the New York Public Library didn’t even add it to its collection until 1972. But word-of-mouth recommendations among parents slowly built its reputation. By the 1950s, it had become a bedtime staple, and today, with more than 48 million copies sold, it ranks among the best-selling children’s books of all time. 

Capturing a classic on stamps 

Designing a stamp pane for such a beloved book required a delicate balance. At first, Noyes considered using a single image but soon realized that multiple scenes would better capture the book’s quiet magic. Nearly every cherished detail from the book made it onto the stamps — the toy house, the kittens on the floor, the tiny mouse. 

“Some images didn’t translate well when cropped or were just too dark to use,” Noyes explains. “I had to focus primarily on brighter details.” Some elements, like the red balloon, had to be left out, but the final pane preserves the book’s gentle rhythm and comforting atmosphere. 

For Noyes, capturing that essence was about more than just the visuals — it was about reflecting the book’s emotional warmth. 

“I hope these stamps evoke cherished memories of the gentle magic and the special bond that Goodnight Moon fosters between parents and children,” Noyes says. In her eyes, the book’s power lies in its ability to create a sense of closeness — a quiet moment of connection between generations.

“Like all of Brown’s books, it captivates everyone who reads it,” she adds. “That magic is not accidental.” 

In a world that moves ever faster, Goodnight Moon offers a quiet space for young readers and their families. And now, thanks to these beautifully designed stamps, we can carry a piece of that bedtime magic wherever our letters take us.