A Kiss Goodnight – Richard Sherman & Floyd Norman Children’s Book (Jason’s 1st Impressions)
“A Kiss Goodnight” is a collaboration between two Disney Legends, Richard Sherman and Floyd Norman. The book is slated to be released August 22, 2017. At the D23 Expo there is a presentation on Saturday evening with the authors about the book plus a book signing by Floyd Norman on the schedule.
This children’s book tells a simplified biography/story of Walt Disney. A focal point is Walt’s appreciation of fireworks and how he referred to them as “a kiss goodnight”. That is how Walt referred to the nightly fireworks at Disneyland. The book includes references to Walt’s childhood then goes on to chronicle some of his achievements and setbacks.
Richard Sherman is a Disney song writing legend who brought us both movie and theme park music including it’s a Small World, Tiki Room, Mary Poppins, and Winnie the Pooh. For Disneyland’s 60th anniversary Richard wrote a new song called “A Kiss Goodnight”. It was recorded by Broadway star Ashley Brown and played nightly after the fireworks at Disneyland throughout the celebration. The song is included on a CD with the book. Richard Sherman writes an introductory section in the book talking about the song and how it came to be.
Floyd Norman is a legendary Disney animator and story artist with a career spanning over 60 years. He worked on films with Walt Disney including the Jungle Book and Mary Poppins as well as modern Disney and Pixar films. Floyd provided the illustrations for the book.
I found this to be a different subject for a children’s book. The book is almost a cliff-notes biography. Details are not present but the main plot points are Walt’s biography. As someone who knows the stories and references made in the book I found it an interesting read to see how they wove the story into something that can be presented to children. For someone not familiar I am curious how it would read.
If you have young kids and are looking for a book to read together it may be worth considering adding “A Kiss Goodnight” to your library. The artwork and story are well done. If you are an older Disney fan with no kids you may want to skip this one unless you want a copy of the song and a book from two Disney legends.
