Lovely rhyme, adventurous baby, calm ending - sing this book! ( )

Having suffered through many an insipid book for very young babies, I was so pleased to find this creative and humorous update to the lullaby “Rock-a-Bye Baby.”

The story starts like the conventional lullaby, with the baby in a cradle in a treetop, but quickly gets much more interesting. The baby, blown from the cradle by the wind, drops into a nest. It is nudged from the nest by a bird, and falls onto the back of a pig, which takes the baby for a ride. The baby is thrown, and rolls into a warm soft sheep. The adventures of the baby continue all through a farm. Then we follow the baby as it crawls into a boat that starts to float. The moon sees what is happening, and calls on a hawk to bring the baby home, into his mother’s arms.

The story is enhanced significantly by the mixed-media art of award-winning Simona Mulazzani. She adds many whimsical details that parents can point out to babies, including trees with faces and a sheep with a fleece full of flowers.

Evaluation: This book will almost make you want to have a baby, so you have an audience for this delightful story! ( )