Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
A Kiss Goodnight
Illustrator: Floyd Norman , Adrienne Brown Norman
Nonfiction Picture Book and music CD
For ages 5 to 7
Disney Editions, 2017 ISBN: 978-1484782286
Many years ago a little boy lived on a farm in Missouri. His life was full of chores and not much else, but he did have his imagination to sustain him. In addition, every year on the Fourth of July, he would watch the fireworks at the end of the day with delight. For him, the wonderful show playing out above his head was “the perfect kiss goodnight.”
Life continued to be hard in the years that followed. The boy grew into a teenager who got a job selling things to passengers on trains. When he was young man that same imagination that kept him going as a child made him a useful addition to the staff of his high school newspaper.
The young man served in World War I, and when he came home he started several businesses, some of which succeeded and some of which failed. Then, when he was twenty-one, he went to Hollywood where he and his brother created a company that “would tell stories.” Telling stories and using his imagination was, after all, something he had been doing all his life.
One day he created a mouse character that took the world by storm, and fifteen years later he created a film called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that showed the world that here was a man who had a vision.
Creating films was certainly one of his goals, but he wanted more. He wanted “to create an entire new land” where his imagination could be free, and where he could give something to the people who visited his land at the end of each and every day.
This wonderful story will show young readers why, at the end of every day, there are fireworks at Disney Land and Disney World. Walt Disney wanted to make sure that he gave every visitor who came to his parks a little thank you, and the reason why he wanted to do this lay in his own life story.
In 2015 the legendry Disney songwriter, Richard M. Sherman, composed a song to accompany the fireworks display. The song, A Kiss Goodnight, inspired the writing of this book. A CD is included with the book so that readers can listen to the song that has delighted countless people.
