Emily Gary and Tom Proutt of Charlottesville, Va., will present a concert for all ages “Goodnight Songs” based on a cache of previously unknown poems by author Margaret Wise Brown, author of the children’s books “Goodnight Moon” and “Runaway Bunny.”
The concert will be at 4 p.m. Thursday (July 14) on the Books To Be Read stage followed by a book signing.
The “Goodnight Songs” poetry was published in March 2014 more than 65 years after Brown’s “Moon” was first released.
“Goodnight Moon,” one of the most popular children’s books, was first published in 1947 and its author Brown died a few years later in 1952. Before the Brooklyn native died of embolism, she hid a collection of poetry at her sister’s barn in Vermont, which wasn’t looked at until over 30 years later.
The accompanying music, provided by folk singers Tom Proutt and Emily Gary, is calming without being dull, and appeals to both grownups and kids alike. Proutt and Gary employ lots of different instruments—from mandolins to slide trombones to high-strung electric guitars—which keeps things from getting repetitive or too darling. It’s a little mellow rock, a little bluegrass.
