The Banned Classic? Why the New York Public Library Shuttered 'Goodnight Moon' for Decades
By James H. Sterling
The woman behind the world's most tranquil read-aloud picture book led an audacious, nonconformist existence. Brown lived in a Manhattan cobblestone farmhouse nicknamed Cobble Court, threw lavish parties with royalty checks, drove an open-air roadster, and engaged in passionate romantic relationships with both men and women, including a turbulent multi-year affair with Blanche Oelrichs (who wrote poetry under the pseudonym Michael Strange).
Brown never spoke down to her audience. She insisted that adults rarely comprehend the emotional intensity of childhood. Tragic irony cut her life short in 1952. While recovering from an appendectomy in Nice, France, Brown playfully kicked her leg up can-can style to prove her health to doctors, unintentionally dislodging an undetected blood clot. She died within minutes at age 42.
Her will left publishing royalties to Albert Clarke, the nine-year-old son of a neighboring friend. Clarke inherited a financial windfall that transformed into tens of millions of dollars as consumer licensing exploded. Clement Hurd, meanwhile, retained his artist share, ensuring his family estate shared in the phenomenon as generations passed.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
