What does a children's book look like when it's written by Berkeley Breathed? Audiences got the answer in 1993. "This work of fine literature is not suggested for use by an adult," Breathed joked on its title page. "If a suitable minor cannot be located, a proper set of bunny jammies should be worn during the reading."
It's a children's book starring Opus the Penguin - but like a lot of Breathed's work, it makes reference to the rest of our culture. "Which book, dear Opus, may I read you tonight?" asks a kindly grandmother in an arm chair, and soon it's clear that the penguin wants to hear "Goodnight, Moon." But there's another way that the story resembles Breathed's work. It quickly takes a number of unexpected twists!
Opus has heard the rhyme 209 times, and now suddenly he's seized with the urge to re-write it. "'Goodnight!' I yelled down to the chap 'neath my bed. 'Goodnight to you, big-nosed blue-footed biped!" Breathed draws a surprisingly realistic drawing of a purple rhinoceros hiding under the bed. And of course, the rhino even answers him in rhyme
Opus's grandmother had scolded him when he'd tried to add a "good night" to the people in the Milky Way. But now that she's fallen asleep, Opus plans to pay a visit to them! The rhinoceros joins him, and "powered by dreams," they board a flying machine which lifts them to the sky. On the next page Opus is visiting the feet of the Lincoln Memorial. And on the page after it, the enormous Lincoln statue is leaping into the reflecting pond.
That's apparently been one of the Lincoln Memorial's longstanding dream, and Breathed is making a wonderful point. Imagine can do anything - even sudden, non-linear shifts. On the next page there's sailboats magically hovering over a blue lagoon. Opus's flying machine nearly collides with an airplane. And the Milky Way itself turns out to be filled with flying cows.
Breathed's bizarre sense of humor had gotten even stranger by 1993. He'd abandoned "Bloom Country" altogether, and he was using the same characters in a strange weekly strip called "Outland." But in a way, this book foreshadows the rest of his career. Soon he'd abandon "Outland" too for another strip that was based just on Opus the penguin. And in 2008 Breathed announced that instead of drawing cartoons, he just wanted to focus on children's books.
They all come together in "Goodnight Opus" - including a strong statement about the abandoning the familiar for the excitement of something new.