Goodnight Opus

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Through characteristically snappy wordplay, cartoonist Breathed ( The Last Basselope ) introduces a true ``goodnight opus'' that's both bedtime tale and vehicle for his own Opus the penguin. According to a self-consciously whimsical narrative--whose rhyme structure strongly resembles that of `` 'Twas the Night Before Christmas''--Opus slips into ``pink bunny jammies'' and listens to his grandmother reciting his favorite story. However, when Grandma dozes off, a mischievous Opus admits, ``I departed the text.'' Here, black-and-white illustrations give way to arresting technicolor a la The Wizard of Oz . Opus joins a mouse, a helium-balloon-headed pillow and a gargatuan purple critter on a flying tricycle to bid sweet dreams to the holsteins in the Milky Way (has someone been reading Gary Larson's Cows of Our Planet? ). Breathed demonstrates his airbrush mastery with stark color contrasts and luminescent spreads that fairly pop off the page. Nevertheless, he delivers his message--to ``depart the text'' of ordinary life for flights of fancy--in florid language that young readers may find opaque; beneath the window dressing, his clear attempt to woo the Dr. Seuss crowd seems soulless. All ages. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

Gr 1 Up-This imaginative bedtime story pokes gentle fun at a childhood classic and encourages children to ``depart the text'' occasionally and search for new adventures. Opus the penguin is snuggled up in bed, wearing his bunny jammies and listening to the 210th reading of his favorite bedtime story when his sweet old grannie starts to snooze. With a friend or two in tow (one cleverly constructed from a pillow and a smiling balloon), Opus decides to head for the Milky Way. After several brief stops (one to take a dip in the reflecting pool with Abe Lincoln; another to commiserate with an overworked tooth fairy), the penguin and his pals arrive at their destination, where they feast on ice cream with a crowd of cheerful cows. Back home, Granny wakes up to discover Opus asleep on the kitchen floor with a pint of ice cream clutched in his hand. The comical illustrations allude to Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, as does the bouncy, rhyming text. The art is similar to that in Breathed's cartoons, but has a broader, more Disney-film feel. Animals and people are not realistically portrayed, but are rounded, exaggerated caricatures. While there are occasional glimpses of Breathed's typical barbed wit, the general tone of the story is less sarcastic than that of his cartoon collections. This gentler tone, along with the popularity of the title he parodies, makes the book accessible to a wide age range. While the most likely audience consists of ``Bloom County'' and/or ``Outland'' fans, even libraries without his previous titles may want to consider this one.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

From Barnes & Noble

A riotous new picture book featuring Opus (the world's best-known penguin in bunny jammies) and his flights of fancy during Grandma's bedtime story-reading sessions. 10 1/2" x 10". Color illus. Ages 6-8