"Goodnight Keith Moon: A Parody!"
By Bruce Worden and Clare Cross

Two things I LOVE are parody and rock & roll, so of course I couldn't wait to get a copy of "Goodnight Keith Moon: A Parody!" The book is a parody of the bestselling bedtime story children's book, "Goodnight Moon" (which was originally published in 1947). In the original story, a bunny getting ready for bed says goodnight to everything in the room: a balloon, a dollhouse, kittens, a young mouse, a painting of the cow jumping over the moon, etc. And as the story progresses, the room slowly gets darker as the clock changes time.

In "Goodnight Keith Moon: A Parody!” not only do the illustrations mimic the original, but the rhyme scheme does as well. But the difference is: now the room is filled with Keith Moon references and it takes place in the room where Keith died in 1978! So you have a painting of Pete Townsend jumping over the Moon, a pinball machine, a magic bus, a picture of "Who's Next", and of course the obligatory empty alcohol bottles and pills (Hey, this IS Keith Moon we are talking about!). It is fun to spot the Keith Moon references around the room: the "not to be taken away" chair from "Who Are You"; the ghost of Mama Cass (who died in the exact same flat in 1974); "Animal" from the Muppets (whose character was based on Keith Moon!); a drum tom filled with fish (Keith played just such a tom on a television appearance). And there are many album covers lying on the floor: "Let It Bleed", "Rubber Soul", "T-Rex", "Blonde On Blonde", "A Hard Days Night", "Nashville Skyline", etc. (What?! No Beach Boys? They were Keith's favorites!).

All in all, "Goodnight Keith Moon: A Parody!" is a devilishly clever parody (while maybe not appropriate to read to all children, ha ha). Rock & roll fans familiar with the original book will find it a hilarious read! I hope that Bruce Worden and Clare Cross continue to do such parodies because the possibilities are endless.