These include: the moon (of course) which the bunny sees through the window, the cow in the painting shown jumping over the moon, lights and chairs, the red balloon which has drifted up to the ceiling, the three bears in another painting, mittens and socks, a toy house, stars, and both a real live mouse and a pair of actual kittens to whom the old lady appears to be saying “hush.” Update this section! The only other “characters” in the book are the various animated and inanimate objects in the room to which the little bunny says goodnight.

Originally, both the bunny in bed and the old lady were intended to be humans, but the illustrator proved to be better at drawing rabbits than drawing humans and so both characters became rabbits. An older female bunny who appears to be making a “hush” gesture with her paw raised to her mouth. The Quiet Old Lady Whispering 'Hush'Īlthough she is described in the text as “quiet old lady” in the illustration the only other character in the room is another bunny. This oversight has led some to the conclusion that he is not in his own bed in his own room on this particular night. The little bunny says goodnight to the clocks, the comb, the brush and the bowl of mush, but not to the telephone. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the bed is another table on which sits a comb, a brush and a bowl of mush. The illustration shows a telephone on a nightstand alongside a clock. Some have suggested that though the bunny is engaging in his nightly ritual, in this particular instance he is not actually in his bed in his room. References in the illustrations that allude to another book by the same author- The Runaway Bunny-have been used as evidence to support the claim that the bunny in this story is the same one featured in the previous story. The story is an interior monologue in which the bunny is going through his nightly ritual of saying goodbye to objects inside his room.

The main character is the bunny who is lying in bed in the illustrations. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown