By WILLIAM BENAC
The report of a Chinese fashion of wearing pajamas in public from the New York Times earlier this year feels too remote. How about PJs in an Orem bookstore?
'Jammies and pillows are encouraged,' says the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Orem, throwing a 50th anniversary celebration this Friday at 7 p.m. for the classic bedtime story, 'Goodnight Moon' by Margaret Wise Brown.
'Goodight Moon' is loved by many in the BYU community, many of whom have their own associations with the book.
Brittany Maxwell of Barnes & Noble says pajama-wearing students are welcome to what she describes as 'just a big slumber party.'
Some remember the book as a bright light in their childhood, others from high school. Some have used it to teach children dance. A mother's boy can't stop talking about it. An English professor keeps it on her shelf.
But they will tell it.
Kim McClellan, a senior from Hayward, Calif., majoring in zoology, reminisced, 'Good book. My best friend at home, I didn't meet her untill fourth grade, but then she made me read it to her when we were in junior high and high school when I would spend the night at her house. I didn't have any exposure to it when I was a little kid.
'I like the pictures. They use good colors. They do something with them that really makes you feel all cozy and warm. It's a really good bedtime story. Everything just feels nice,' she said.
A senior in economics, Dave Griffin, from Sacramento, Calif., said, 'It's one of my favorite all-time children's stories. I read that almost every night before I went to sleep or my mom read it too me. I loved it. In fact, I memorized it.
'He said goodnight to everything. 'Good night, cat. Good night, milk. Good night, bowl. Good night, shoe.' You know, just good night to everything.'
Leslie Heath, a senior, from Salt Lake, majoring in music-dance theater said,
'When I was teaching in Salt Lake at the live arts center -- which is creative dance for children -- we would read the book, then they'd go up and create a dance from it, from the different segments of it.
Mary Durfey, a photography major from Vernal, has already started reading Goodnight Moon to her seven-month-old son, Joshua.
'I have read Goodnight Moon to Joshua at the library, I don't own it. I read everything. He loves Doctor Seuss. I go to Mother Goose at the Provo Library, they read books to babies under 18 months or a year, I can't remember exactly, but his age. You sing songs with them and its one of the books they read and I think its kind of cute, so I checked it out and read it to him.
Louise Plummer, an Assistant Professor in the English Department has Good Night, Moon within arm's reach in her office. She said:
'The reason I liked it as an adult is because it's a good goodnight book. And the child knows it. I never get tired of reading it as an adult even, I don't know why that is. It must be the repetition.
'And it's 50 years old. Nothings last that long anymore.
Re-ignite your 'Goodnight Moon' memories this Friday. The doors are open at Barnes & Noble in Orem, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call 229-1611 for further information.