Rock-a-bye Baby

by Jane Cabrera

Overview

All around an old oak tree, baby animals are being put to bed in this sweet reimaginaing of a classic nursery rhyme.

Rock-a-bye Squirrel, high in the tree, in Mommy's arms, cozy as can be. 

The familiar lullaby takes on a new life in Jane Cabrera's cozy rendition. In the branches and beneath the roots, tucked into nooks and nests, different animals, large and small, are getting ready for bed. The baby bat nestles with its mother, the bunny burrows in safe and warm—even a cheerful, fuzzy spider settles on its sparkling web.  At the end, a human father and his baby watch the tree from a distance, joining in on the sleepy song.

With clever new lyrics and bright, sweet illustrations of all kinds of animals, this is an irresistable addition to Jane Cabrera's library of refreshed nursery rhymes. . . and perfect to share with little ones you love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823448364
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Series:	Jane Cabrera's Story Time
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	6.01(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.47(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 2 Years

About the Author

Jane Cabrera is the author and illustrator of many beloved books for young children, including Baa, Baa, Black Sheep; There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe; and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. She is best known for her exuberant versions of classic nursery rhymes and her bright, kid-friendly paint and collage illustrations. She lives in Devon in England.

Editorial Reviews

"Acrylic painted pictures stretch corner to corner across spreads of warm yellows, tawny tans, and mossy greens with pletny of textured brush strokes and strong black outlines. . . . A sweet bedtime selection"—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2017
Toddler-PreS—Cabrera updates the nursery rhyme with a cast of animal characters putting their own babies to sleep in various places throughout a tree. While the first page starts with the familiar refrain of "Rock-a-bye Baby/on the treetop,/when the wind blows the cradle will rock," the illustration is of a full-branched knotty tree, complete with all of the animals and insects that will appear on future page spreads. An orange-hued squirrel cradles her baby in her arms as a watchful robin checks on its chick that is tucked in the nest. Anthropomorphized creatures such as smiling butterflies, spiders, and snakes are located in different parts of the tree with their slumbering tots. Acrylic painted pictures stretch corner to corner across spreads of warm yellows, tawny tans, and mossy greens with plenty of textured brush strokes and strong black outlines. The book ends with a slumbering newborn baby with brown skin being cradled by dad: "Rock-a-bye Baby,/WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TREE!/Sleep now, my darling,/HAPPY as can be." VERDICT A sweet bedtime selection for libraries where Cabrera's other titles are routinely checked out.—Lisa Kropp, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY

School Library Journal

2017-06-27
A riff on the familiar lullaby depicts various animal parents, and then a human father, soothing their sleepy little ones.An opening spread includes the traditional first verse of the titular lullaby, but instead of depicting a human baby in a treetop cradle, the accompanying illustration shows a large tree as habitat to the animals that are highlighted on subsequent pages. First the perspective zooms in on a painterly illustration rendered in acrylics of a mother squirrel cuddling her baby with text reading "Rock-a-bye Squirrel, / high in the tree, / in Mommy's arms, / cozy as can be." In this spread and others the cadence doesn't quite fit with the familiar tune, and repeated verses featuring different animals—all opening with the "Rock-a-bye" line—don't give way to the resolution. No winds blow, no boughs break, and the repetitive forced rhythm of the verse could cause stumbles when attempting a read-aloud. The final image of a human father and baby, whose skin tone and hair texture suggest that they are perhaps of South Asian descent, provides pleasing visual resolution in a book with art that outshines text. Ho-hum. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews