Rock-a-Bye Room

September 15, 2013
As gentle a rocking rock-a-bye as anyone's likely to find this side of the moon. An electric guitar-playing mama sways her little one to sleep. As her toddler daughter puts her rocking horse, dollies, trains and blocks to bed, her mother urges the child to, "Say good night to the pictures / That hang on the wall," along with everything in the room. Then it's time for a bedtime story, and this dozy-eyed girl is down for the night. In the midst of their loving routine, the bedroom is transformed from everyday playroom to a place of sleepy-time magic. Though it attempts a rockabilly sensibility, there is little jumping or jiving to be had in this quiet little tale. The most rocking allusion may be an Elvis poster or perhaps a portrait displaying Little Boy Blue in seemingly blue suede shoes. In this way, Bates peppers the pages with sly allusions to classic nursery-rhyme characters, sometimes getting a bit too oblique for the intended readership. Though it sometimes threatens to veer too close to saccharine, the pairing of words and text in this book instead makes it a real, if not rocking, bedtime treat. (Picture book. 2-4)

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November 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 2-Meyers and Bates team up again, this time for a lullaby with a distinct down-home feel. Illustrated with ink and crayon in soft hues of yellow and blue, the book depicts a young mother and her baby getting ready for bedtime. Mama, wearing a sleeveless blue gingham dress with a white ruffle at the hem, and Baby go about their nighttime routine. Mama cuddles and sings to her child, "Rock-a-bye little one, /Bedtime is soon. Rocking horse waits/In your rock-a-bye room...." Together they say goodnight to the dolls snug in their bed, to the blocks, and to an assortment of decorations on the wall, including a Kit-Cat Clock, Humpty Dumpty, and even an Elvis poster. The pair sit on a big rocking chair and share a story. When Baby falls asleep cuddling her teddy bear, Mama gently carries her to a cradle suspended from a tree. As a final note, Mama blows a kiss and sings a "rock-a-bye love song/To last the night through." Bates captures the mother's tenderness in every expression. This dreamy and comforting story will make a sweet addition to bedtime-story collections.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA

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