The Silver Moon: Lullabies and Cradle Songs

PreS—Twenty short lullabies are paired with stylized illustrations in eye-catching colors. The simple songs, none more than two stanzas long, focus on gentle aspects of the nighttime world: sleepy animals, ocean rhythms, the contrast between outside and cozy indoors. "And while the rabbits hop and hop/The starry night away,/My little baby softly sleeps/ Until the break of day." Two selections feature a mother's voice, two others have a father's, and there are one each for grandfathers and grandmothers. The acrylic paintings, completed digitally, are dreamlike, balanced compositions of softly rounded babies, toys, and animals. Prelutsky displays a keen ear for soothing cadences, but this slight volume lacks the depth of larger collections of bedtime poetry, such as Nancy Larrick's classic When the Dark Comes Dancing (Philomel, 1983).—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA