That makes me want to turn the pages too. The monkey “swings.” And each animal gets its own wonderful sound - “Hoom Praaa,” for the elephant, “Jiah, jiah,” for the monkey. The frog “leaps.” The musk ok “sweeps” the hay. This book subtly introduces a new verb with each new animal. Phyllis, you and I often talk about verbs. A question is asked, and we have to turn the page to get the answer. I wish I had a child to share this book with! I also loved the pattern of the page turns. The rhythm of the language is so satisfying. I love the pattern, the rhythm, the sounds of this story and could read it aloud again and again. The last page turn reveals - a smiling baby wide awake.

The story begins,įrom weeping mosquito to peeping long-tailed lizard to creeping cat to squeaking fat gray mouse to leaping green frog to sniffling pig to beeping duck to swinging monkey to sweeping water buffalo to shrieking elephant, the mother quiets the whole world around her baby, complete with the sounds each animal makes, until everyone is asleep, even the mother. Phyllis: Minfong Ho’s wonderful rhythm repetition in Hush! (pictures by Holly Meade) implores the world to keep quiet around a baby sleeping curled in a hammock. And the love in this lullaby is present in every syllable, or note. And, though I’m sure the illustrations are wonderful, I did not miss them because the imagery - “necklace of stars” and “bright diamond moon” - are so evocative. I had to listen to this lullaby as a song, instead of reading the book. Illustrated by Sean Qualls (copyright Sean Qualls) illustration from Lullaby for a (Black) Mother, written by Langston Hughes, Beautifully evocative and satisfying. Like the words, the illustrations flow across the page, showing the love between mother and child that carries them beyond the city into the sky of moon and stars and clouds and sun, then home again to a now-sleeping child held close in a mother’s arms. A note about the poet tells us that Hughes was inspired by music, and the words of this lullaby sing themselves off the pages. Published as a picture book in 2014 and illustrated by Sean Qualls, the book is a celebration of love between a black mother and her baby. Lullaby for a (Black) Mother by Langston Hughes is a poem from his 1932 collection The Dream Keeper and Other Poems.

So we thought we’d take a trip with some of those lullaby books, and a few more besides.

What better time to think about lullabies, those songs we sing to our babies to help them sleep? Research has shown how similar lullabies are all around the world in the sounds and rhythms they use to soothe babies. Phyllis: Winter in the north is made of longer and longer nights.

Lullaby by langston hughes