Adam Gamble

I remember books and places together. I remember the place I was when I read a book. Sometimes it's the place I remember first. Good Night California by Adam Gamble will forever be linked to Christmas morning, 2013.

The book belongs to my nephew. We were at his house to open presents and while we were waiting for things to start, I borrowed his board book and read it.

Good Night California, as the title implies, is an homage to Goodnight Moon. It's part of a series of state themed books, show more giving children a chance to say goodnight to their home state.

The book covers a bunch of landmarks and different times of day. As we live about 500 miles away (but in the same state) as our nephew, a book like this is a nice way for us to connect. show less

Summary: This is a charming bedtime story that takes young readers on a journey through the unique and beautiful landmarks of Arizona. The book celebrates the state’s natural wonders, cultural highlights, and famous attractions, such as the Grand Canyon, Saguaro National Park, Monument Valley, and historic Route 66. With its soothing rhymes and colorful illustrations, the story offers a perfect way to introduce children to Arizona’s diverse landscapes and traditions while saying show more goodnight to the state’s special places.
Comments: I thought that this book was very sweet, and was very similar to the book "Goodnight Moon", just more about Arizona and its unique characteristics. This book encapsulates all the special attributes of out state, and I think children from here or from somewhere else, would enjoy this sweet bedtime book. This book is informative of the nature and wildlife all around Arizona, and I think it would be a beneficial contribution to the classroom! show less

A fun read-aloud for babies and toddlers. It features a lot of different species/types of sharks -- many I hadn't heard of before which made it an enjoyable read for me as an adult.

I like several of the "Goodnight" Moon series of bedtime stories.
This one though has off-topic diversions and even unsuitable content.
The reference to dogsleds should not be in a book about mountains. Anyone who is familiar with dogsledding or even read about it, knows it occurs on fairly flat regions, not mountains, not even along mountain streams.

References to rock climbing in the Sierras instead of just rock climbing, biking in the Blue Ridge mountains and not just mountains, hiking the show more Appalachian Trail instead of just the trails, camping in the Smoky Mountains and not other mountains. These specific human places detract from the story and require the reader to stop and explain to the child that yes, you can camp in other mountains and that yes, rock climbing is also very popular in other places like Yosemite., and no, there is little to no dog sledding in the mountains.

Also, the author diverged from the goodnight series theme of goodnight. There are a lot more sentences starting with "Hello" and "Good Morning".
What's this about observatories? Sure mountains are common sites for the few major observatories but observatories are not common to mountains. Go out and look at a random mountain. See the observatory? There are plenty of common elements in mountains to not need to stretch for rare things, things you cannot see outside your tent, cabin, or lodge with the kids.

The illustrations are well done.

I will find a better bedtime book about just mountains in general so I will not have to explain all these irrelevant references to specific places my grandkids will not recognize. show less