The Bunny in the Bed
The main character is the bunny who is lying in bed in the illustrations. The story is an interior monologue in which the bunny is going through his nightly ritual of saying goodbye to objects inside 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 Telephone
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. The illustration shows a telephone on a nightstand alongside a clock. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the bed is another table on which sits a comb, a brush and a bowl of mush. The little bunny says goodnight to the clocks, the comb, the brush and the bowl of mush, but not to the telephone. 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 Quiet Old Lady Whispering "Hush"
Although she is described in the text as “quiet old lady” in the illustration the only other character in the room is another bunny. An older female bunny who appears to be making a “hush” gesture with her paw raised to her mouth. 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.
The Goodnight Objects
The only other “characters” in the book are the various animated and inanimate objects in the room to which the little bunny says goodnight. 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.”
