Rock-a-Bye Romp

Starred review from October 12, 2015
Let’s face it: as nursery rhymes go, “Rock-a-bye Baby” is ominous at best. Beyond being a real cliffhanger, “And down will come baby, cradle and all” isn’t exactly fodder for sweet dreams. “Sweet little Baby, rocking with me—/ Who’d put a cradle high in a tree?” muses Ashman (Little Baby Buttercup) toward the end of her gently funny and eminently reassuring expansion of the original rhyme, which replicates the soothing rhythms of the source material. As her Baby makes a peregrinating journey—from treetop cradle, onto the back of a pig, down a river on a runaway boat, and so on—its journey feels more magical than perilous, as though nature itself were looking out for the wayward child. Mulazzini’s (Tree of Wonder) mixed-media paintings play right into the safe, secure mood. Her softly flowing shapes, subdued palette, and quirky details (like purple flowers nestled in the fleece of a sheep) create the sense of a dreamscape—a feeling enhanced by the animals and objects that appear in a mobile in Baby’s bedroom at book’s end. Ages 1–3. Author’s agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agency: Morgan Gaynin.

October 1, 2015
Ashman's fresh take on the classic lullaby "Rock-A-Bye, Baby" first expands upon and then addresses the nonsensical aspects of the verses. A wordless page facing the copyright information shows the familiar image of a baby asleep in a treetop cradle. Even though the baby is smiling and the cradle appears to be securely lodged, there is something unsettling about the high perch. The page turn reveals the now-empty cradle with the accompanying verse, "Evening is near now. / Hear the wind blow. / Branches are shaking] / Where'd Baby go?" What follows is a succession of increasingly silly resting or play scenarios for baby]first the tot lands in a bird's nest, then atop a pig, then next to a sheep, and so on. Tumbles and flights resolve into a homecoming to mother's arms, where the scene reveals a nursery decorated with the animals and places of baby's adventures. This suggests that baby was always with mother, who made up this rock-a-bye romp of a song for her little one, concluding it with the lines, "Sweet little Baby, rocking with me] / Who'd put a cradle high in a tree? / Babies in trees are fine in a song] // But you, little one, / are where you belong." Mulazzani's mixed-media art indulges in delightful decorative details that provide visual interest, but it stops short of fully indulging in the silliness of the playful verses. A fine addition to the nursery bookshelf for baby and all. (Picture book. 0-3)

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December 1, 2015

PreS-For singing or reading aloud, this rhyming picture book expands on the "Rock-a-bye, Baby" lullaby, opening with a gentle scene of a cradle in the treetops and a sleeping baby. With the page turn, the text begins to ask key questions: "Rock-a-bye, Baby, /in the treetop./How did you ever get so high up?/Evening is near now./Hear the wind blow./Branches are shaking.../Where'd Baby go?" The accompanying illustration, straying from the original plot, now shows only an empty cradle in the treetop. Here Baby's adventure truly begins. From crow's nest to pig's back, Baby joyously ricochets throughout a farm with a variety of barnyard animals and then onto a boat and over a waterfall. Finally, the attentive moon intervenes and has the hawk bring Baby home to its (grounded) cradle and its mother. "Babies in trees are fine in a song.../But you, little one, /are where you belong." Careful observation reveals that the mural, mobile, and bedding in Baby's room all contain the adventure's plot points and characters. Soothing, dreamy art done in mixed media, including acrylic, colored pencil, and collage on paper, keeps the dark palette and wild adventure from feeling threatening with its friendly animals and personified sun, moon, and occasional trees all keeping watch over the baby. VERDICT This gently rhyming adventure provides a new take on a classic lullaby that may calm caregivers troubled by lyrics of babies falling from treetops.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

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