Who Will Sing a Lullaby?
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
BABY IS CRYING and Crow and Goose and Owl and Swan all think they have the perfect antidote - "I'll take baby flying, that will stop the crying." And as baby floats on wings of love above fields and oceans, he is soothed. . . until each bird in turn crows just a bit too loudly and proudly at his own success and wakes that baby up again. Finally, little Nightingale, who has been struggling to be heard, gets her chance to try a lullaby. Our tearful baby is now dreamimg sweet dreams. And soon the birds are sleepingtoo - and so will you.This book has perfect pacing, exactly mirroring the rhythm of a child struggling to fall asleep and finally settling down. And Dan Yaccarino's dreamy, etherial artwork is the perfect match for Dee Lillegard's sweet song of a story.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Much like a bedtime song itself, Lillegard's (Balloons, Balloons, Balloons) story soothes and comforts with repetitive verse (" 'Listen to that baby cry!'/ the birds around the cradle sigh./ Who will sing a lullaby?"). As a round-headed baby wails, several birds take turns attempting to quiet it, and the tot curls up contentedly aboard the backs of a crow, goose and other birds as they fly over fields or tuck into their nests-but the peace never lasts long. Often startled by the birds' songs, the child repeatedly awakens and howls anew, until a nightingale leads his avian friends in a lullaby that finally does the trick. Yaccarino (Every Friday) approaches the story from various perspectives, including bird's-eye view spreads and close-ups of the cranky infant. (The latter play up the humorousness of the child's incessant crying, as they alternate with more serene spreads of the infant nearing sleep.) The bold gouache palette should keep readers engaged, as should the baby's vacillation between discontent and peacefulness; with the latter winning out in the end, Lillegard and Yaccarino's gentle tale may well send readers off to dreamland along with baby and birds. Ages 3-6.
