Hush, Little Baby

by Shari Halpern

Overview

A perfect lullaby! This fresh new board book edition of Shari Halpern's bright colorful quilt-like collages convey all the warmth and love at the heart of this bedtime classic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842335
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Pages:	16
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	Up to 3 Years

About the Author

Shari Halpern grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, and attended the Rhode Island School of Design. She has written numerous books for children. She lives in New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

This familiar lullaby is given bright quilt-like settings that frame each of its verses and it should be a favorite bedtime storybook for the very young. Sheet music is given at the back of the book for this old Appalachian tune.

Children's Literature - Judy Chernak

PreSThis book pairs bright, whimsical illustrations with the words to a traditional lullaby for a somewhat unusual effect. The nine full-page collages are made with paper painted with acrylics and watercolors as well as color photocopies of pieces of fabric. Each collage has a border of decorated squares that reflects the theme of the main picture; e.g., the picture of the mockingbird in its nest is matched with a border of berries and leaves, each on a square of a different color or pattern. The pictures are striking in both form and content. The diamond ring, made up of connected stars, is suspended in space and surrounded by a border of moons and planets. In the picture of the billy goat, the baby sits on the animal's back strumming a banjo. Traditionalists may opt for Aliki's version (S & S, 1972) or Margot Zemach's (Dutton, 1987; o.p.), both of which have a more realistic style and set the song in its native Victorian England. The words are the same in all three titles, except that the earlier picture books use "Papa" (although the illustrations show both parents) while Halpern uses "Mama" and depicts only the mother. The artist's busy collages won't help lull baby to sleep, but parents may enjoy sharing this book with their youngest children as a way to introduce literature at an early age. The music is included at the end of the book.Dawn Amsberry, Oakland Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

A traditional lullaby gets a fresh, lovely treatment in Halpern's quiltlike pictures. The artistic process is sophisticated-with collages of several types of paper and paints and photocopies of pieces of fabric-and the pictures are exquisitely detailed. At the same time, the illustrations are bright and clear, with the childlike simplicity of folk art, full of action and warmth. The full-page picture for each line of the song is like a quilt, with a central square vignette (the child with a horse and cart, with a mockingbird, with a billygoat, etc.) framed by a changing border of hearts, stars, teddy bears, and plants. The first and last pictures are of mother and child blissfully together.

Book Review Digest

Halpern (I Have a Pet!, 1994, etc.) adorns a lullaby favorite with her trademark cut-paper collage illustrations. Bright quilt squares form decorative, country-style borders that frame the corresponding picture for each line of the song; the toddler who is being sung to acts out the lines imaginatively, singing with a mockingbird in its nest, riding a goat, offering daisies to the bull in the cart. The diamond ring may be the one exception, here interpreted to be a constellation in the night sky. Observant readers may engage in a simple search-and-find game; the text page has a single quilt square that matches one in the border on the opposite page. The musical score for the melody is included.

Kirkus Reviews