Children's Picture Books

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

By: Maryann Cusimano Love
Illustrated by: Maria van Lieshout
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Date: October 2009
ISBN: 978-0399247538
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: December 7, 2009

A baby lamb is curled up in blissful sleep as its parents whisper “sleep, baby, sleep.” Thus opens this charming new bedtime story about the daily adventures a lamb, or other baby animal might have during one day’s time.

The effortless rhyming text has a soft, comforting rhythm that should comfort any young child. The prose on each page presents a different activity such as “soar, baby, soar,” and “climb, baby, climb,” with accompanying illustrations of baby animals enjoying the activity under the careful watch of ones parent(s).

“Laugh, baby, laugh,
frolic like the calf,
nose tickled by the grass and rye,
eyes twinkling at the beaming sky,
laugh, baby, laugh.

After many soothing pages, the poem concludes as it started, with “sleep, baby, sleep.”

The drawings are simple and bright and complement the story perfectly. This is a book that young children will want read to them over and over.

Quill says: Sleep, Baby, Sleep is the perfect bedtime story.